| School | Bullying | Studying, Exam Tips and Tool for Success |

Choosing Subjects at School 

Choosing subjects can be stressful because many students worry about the consequences of getting it wrong. Below are some tips to help you to make the right decision for YOU. Don’t forget there are hundreds of courses that DON’T have subject pre-requisites, so there are always going to options regardless of subject choices.

It’s a good idea, if you haven’t already done so to start exploring career choices. This will help you choose the best subjects to achieve your goal. You will find information and tools on exploring career choices in the “What Do I Want To Do?” section of this website under the “Work” menu heading.

VET subjects can give you a great head start as well as some good practical skills in a particular area.

If you are looking at a particular university course, there may be pre-requisite subjects. Do your research, find out what pre-requisites, recommended subjects or assumed knowledge is required for that course. The best place to look is uac website

Overall choose subjects/units that:

Bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence are all abuses of power.

Also have a look at the section in Healthy Living on No to Homophobia for more info

Bullying and harassment occur when people use and abuse power to trouble, annoy or oppress a person.

Up to 20 per cent of students in Australian schools have experienced bullying or harassment. The real figure may be even higher, because many problems are not reported.

Whether we're younger, older, an adult, a friend, we can all be bullied or use our power to bully and harass others. Bullying and harassment can:

• be physical (hitting, kicking, pinching), verbal (name-calling, teasing), psychological (stand-over tactics, gestures), social (social exclusion, rumours, putdowns) or sexual (physical, verbal or non-verbal sexual conduct)
• be motivated by jealousy, distrust, fear, misunderstanding or lack of knowledge
• make people feel threatened
• continue over time
• be hidden from adults
• continue, even if adults and peers take no action.

"To be bullied and harassed is not a good feeling, especially when you wake up in the morning and dread going to school because
of the fear of being picked on."

...Year 9 student

I really like what best-selling author Nick Earls has to say about bullying.

“Nick believes we can take control of our own lives by making some friends who will treat us well, by vigorously pursuing the things we really want, by having some practical life plans as well as dreams and by setting out to make a contribution and giving something back.”

Read more from Nick

Here’s a few things that you can do if you are having to deal with bullies

There are no simple, quick fix answers to bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence. But here are some ideas that have helped others and may help you.

Find someone to talk to.

Tell a trusted friend, teacher or carer. They may be able to support you in your decisions or even mediate between you and the person who is doing the bullying. Best of all, they will listen to how you feel.

Talk to yourself.

No, you're not going mad! Your mind is your own private space to think through and talk about what has happened and how you feel. Writing down your thoughts and feelings can help too.

Stay positive.

Bullying usually makes us feel small and powerless so it can be difficult to feel positive. Focus upon all the things that you do well.

Be confident & Act Brave

Use strong, assertive 'I' statements. When you think people are misusing power, tell them 'I don't like that,' in a strong confident voice. Hold your head high and feel strong. Practice this with your friends.

Use conflict resolution skills.

Talk with the person who is harassing or bullying you. Ask them if there is a problem that you might be able to sort out together.

Where possible, ignore people who bully or harass.

You don't have to respond. You can walk away from people who are harassing you. This does not always work, particularly if it is persistent bullying or violence that needs to be reported. You may need to continue ignoring the behaviour for a while.

Hang around with your friends.

Be with people who help you feel good about yourself. Good friends respect, encourage and support you. They care for your wellbeing and are fun to be around. And you'll make new friends by respecting, encouraging and supporting others.

Stick up for your friends.

If you have a friend who is being bullied, stick up for them, listen to them talk about how it feels, let them know you care and give them this information. Also try standing up for others you don't know so well.

Doing nothing means you’re part of the problem!

| School | Bullying | Studying, Exam Tips and Tool for Success |

Studying, Exam Tips and Tool for Success 

Ideas for success at school

Here are some tips for success from students who have done well in their school studies:

You’ll also find some great and detailed tips for success at school at http://www.achieveonline.com.au/article/articleview/248/1/8/

Tips for Studying

• Establish a routine, set aside a particular time (not too late) and stick to it for study and revision
• Create a comfortable, distraction-free study area
• Make a timetable so each subject gets the time needed to study
• To do lists – make lists of small manageable study tasks and enjoy crossing them off with a fat texta.
• Look after yourself – eat well, drink water, exercise regularly and sleep well
• Reward yourself for studying – chat, watch a favourite TV program, whatever works for you.
• Have variety in your study – mix it up so you don’t get bored
• Know your preferred learning style – visual, aural and utilise different tools.
• Avoid disrupting your concentration – have all your materials ready and turn your phone, email and instant messaging off.
• Test yourself as you go – enlist friends and family to quiz you as you go
• Don’t panic and cram at exam time – if you’ve studied along the way you will be OK.
• Ask your teachers for help – if you don’t understand something or need help ask your teachers.
• Take a short break every 50 minutes
• Use past exam papers – this will help you know what to expect.

There is some excellent information about studying at home and at school and preparing for exams at http://www.boredofstudies.org/studying.php

Exam Time Stress

You can expect stress levels to be higher than usual at exam time. A little bit of stress can be good, keeping you focused and motivated – but too much can be unhelpful and overwhelm you. Utilise the tips and strategies listed above and on the links below to help plan your year prior to exams, that way you should be well-prepared for your exam. Having effective study habits throughout the year (see above) is probably the best way to minimise exam stress.

There are a couple of things to consider as well:

Manage expectations – external pressures from well-meaning friends and family can put a lot of pressure on us. Don’t forget it’s your life and your exam. Your previous achievements will probably be an indicator of how you go in your exam so talk to your friends and family about their wishes for you and give them your perspective too. Let them know what you think is realistic and share your thoughts and plans.

Keep your options open – wouldn’t it be great to get the marks you want first time around? It’s really important to have a few options up your sleeve just in case things don’t go right the first time. This might include deferring for a year to get some practical experience, retaking a subject, writing to the university, having a Plan B course in mind, taking a course in a related area and then transferring over. The important thing is to have a few options in mind to start with.