STRESS LESS: Orange High School student Kaleah Blowes studies for the HSC. Photo: JUDE KEOGH 1012hsc1
THE HSC kicks off on Monday and it is not just the students who are feeling the pressure.
Parents stand by helplessly watching their children enter one of the most stressful periods in their life.
Kinross Wolaroi School year 12 coordinator and careers advisor Cherie Byrnes knows all too well what it is like to be in that position.
She has seen her four children go through the exams and said the hardest part was to take a step back.
The best advice she can give is trust your child and be there when they ask for you.
“Most parents are more than happy to discuss what routine their child needs,” she said.
“Like what time their child wants dinner, try and work around them.”
Mrs Byrnes believes the worst is over for the students. She thinks the trial exams are more scary than the real thing.
“The students are still learning things right up until the day before ,” she said.
“They’ve had time now to study and practice, and experience what the exams are like.”
Mrs Byrnes said it was important for parents to let their child know that they can only do their best and the HSC is not the be all and end all in life.
“My husband used to always say to my kids ‘remember to answer the question’,” she said.
“Often kids will get really excited when they see a question and think they know the answer and sometimes they forget to answer the specific question.”
Orange High School student Kaleah Blowes says she is handling the pressure, however, her parents would probably like her to study a bit more.
“I’m the opposite to my older sister who studied every day for hours,” she said.
“They’ve pressured me to study a bit more but they’re alright. They leave it up to me.”
Kaleah said she wasn’t really concerned about the upcoming exams because she knew there was more to life than the HSC.
TOP TIPS FOR STUDYING
* Group study sessions with classmates can be a helpful and entertaining way of studying, but keep your focus on what you want to achieve with these sessions.
* Talk about what you are studying with family members and friends as this helps to retain the info more, especially names and dates etc.
* Ask friends what they are doing that is helping with their study or friends who did it last year.
* Turn off social media. If you are addicted then log off for hours at a time and have a short 15 minute fix.
nicole.kuter@ruralpress.com
