At Alkimos Baptist College, we believe that for students to get the most out of their courses, continuing and revising content at home is greatly beneficial. To this end, we incorporate our Home Learning policy across all core subjects through Years 7 to 10.
The Home Learning strategy comprises three elements:
- Homework
- Assignments
- Study
The following times are the expected amounts students are to put towards Home Learning each week intotal. These times should incorporate all three (3) elements.
- Year 7 5 hours per week (1 hour and 15 minutes per class)
- Year 8 6 hours per week (1 hour and 30 minutes per class)
- Year 9 7 hours per week (1 hour and 45 minutes per class)
- Year 10 8 hours per week (2 hours per class)
These are estimates we have made that would be appropriate for students looking to succeed in their core class, completing all given tasks and reviewing material for assessments like tests and exams. Understandably, some students may take less or more time.
Homework
Homework will be given once a week for each core subject. Students will have one week to complete their homework for each class. Homework will always be provided on the same day each week and is expected to be handed in on the same day the following week.
Homework will be regular (weekly), with completion recorded and content reviewed each week.
Students may receive incidental work to complete (for example, work not finished during class time); however, this is not considered their weekly homework.
The homework intends to allow students to revisit material covered in class and improve their understanding or expose areas they need to clarify with their teacher.
We generally do not consider an event the night before as a valid reason for students not completing their homework. Students are advised to use their diaries and plan to complete their homework earlier than the night before.
Assignments
Assignments are assessments to be completed mostly at home and are considered an integral component of education, providing an opportunity for students to develop researching and critical-assessing skills.
During peak periods of assignment time, the teacher may reduce the amount of homework given for that class. However, homework will still be assigned.
The expectation is that students are given sufficient notice ahead of time to work on assignments over a more extended period at home so as not to compromise their time to complete homework.
Study
Study is the active revision and learning of class content to prepare for tests and exams. As the repeated review of learning significantly increases long-term memory retention and understanding, developing good study habits will help improve the academic results of our College students.
Students must create and maintain a Study Journal in English, Maths, Science, and Humanities.
The Study Journal will be:
- rewritten notes from class,
- summarised notes from the textbook,
- and completed examples and focused questions.
Using this tool will help you retain class information and prepare for tests and exams.
To ensure students complete the required study, study journals will be assessed twice per term. In this way, students can take some time each week to complete their study journals by adding the content they have learned during that week, so they are not burdened before exams. We recommend that students have four A5 size books to use as their Study Journals, as is on the booklist. In order to differentiate notes between subjects, each subject requires a separate book.
Training and Teaching
In the above processes, students will receive training and instruction. Training and teaching will occur during class and the Friday Extended Form period.
All students will create a weekly Home Learning Timetable that outlines when they will be working on Homework, Assignments and their Study Journals.
Students working in the various streamed classes, Extension, Standard and General will have different requirements and levels expected of them for the three (3) areas of Homework, Assignments and Study.
