Over the last few weeks I’ve had many HSC CoWorks students ask me how they can effectively use their time over the summer holidays in order to put themselves in the best possible position for 2016.

Firstly, I would advise you to consider these factors before you sit down to map out a work plan for the holidays:

• Where you are currently sitting in terms of your recent assessment marks and subject rankings from term 4
• Where you would like to be sitting by the end of term 1
• How many tasks you need to complete over the break, including holiday homework set by teachers and your own personal revision
• The time you have available to do so i.e. are you going away at all?
• What your subjects require you to do over the break e.g. languages, major works

Now that you’ve had a good think about all of this, here are some steps to follow when devising your Summer 2015/2016 Game Plan!

1. Get it all down

Write a list of everything you would realistically like to have completed by the end of the holidays, dividing it up into subheadings for different subjects such as English Advanced, General Maths etc. You can consult your school diary or uncompleted Basecamp agenda items to figure out what needs to be done. A great way to do this is to use Basecamp to-do lists on your project, because you can track your progress by ticking things off.

2. Devise a schedule

Whether it’s using a wall planner or the calendar feature on Basecamp, which allows you to assign dates to to-dos, start allocating different tasks to different days or weeks. Have a think about how specific you want to be – planning out full days or just setting yourself weekly goals?

3. Talk to a coach at the HSC CoWorks office

Next time you’re in the space for a Holiday Support Session or Bootcamp, have a chat to one of the HSC Coaches if you’re unsure as to how to formulate your plan or if you would like some feedback on how it’s looking so far.

Finally, here are some tips to keep in mind:

• I often find that students neglect topics like WWI and Discovery reading tasks, so a little extra revision over the break will put you in an excellent position for trials.
• If you’re working on a Major Work, this is a fantastic opportunity to make progress before you start having assessments for other subjects.
• Language students should really try to keep their language fresh in their mind e.g. watching the French news.
• Try to read your English texts for terms 1 and 2 to get ahead.
• Never forget your Mount HSC vision!

For more holiday tips & to-dos, see our post on Summer Holiday Recommended To Do List

Veronica M