Every year in NSW, thousands of Year 12 students face the high-stakes pressure of the HSC—a series of exams that often determine university entry, future pathways, and, for many, self-worth. The “exam block” format, where multiple exams occur within days, intensifies this stress. Students frequently describe the experience as overwhelming: long hours of study, limited rest, and constant comparison with peers. Yet, while exam anxiety is common, the growing role of tutoring in NSW has become a powerful tool not just for academic improvement but also for emotional support.

Tutoring offers a sense of structure during what often feels like chaos. A skilled tutor doesn’t just teach content—they model effective study habits, build exam strategies, and help students break down large syllabuses into manageable goals. For instance, by practicing under timed conditions, students learn how to manage pressure and pacing, transforming uncertainty into predictability. When students enter the HSC exam room already familiar with question styles and expectations, stress often turns into focus.

Moreover, tutoring provides a personalised learning environment often missing in crowded classrooms. Students can ask “silly” questions without judgment, revisit difficult topics, and gain feedback that is immediate and tailored. This fosters confidence—arguably one of the strongest antidotes to stress. Research in educational psychology supports this: students who feel competent and supported experience reduced cortisol levels during testing and perform more consistently.

Ultimately, while tutoring is often viewed as an academic advantage, its emotional benefits are equally important. In a culture where the HSC can dominate teenage life, tutors play a quiet but crucial role—mentors who not only prepare students for exams but also help them develop resilience, self-belief, and balance. The best tutoring doesn’t just produce marks; it produces calm, confident learners ready to face challenges beyond the HSC.

Gabrielle Tran

Hey everyone, I had the amazing opportunity to observe Kaeley’s session. She did a great job going through her students homework. They spent half the session doing English and Maths. They looked at reading comprehension and spelling words. They went through different difficulties of texts to work out where Kaeley’s student feels comfortable. They did some easy questions and some harder questions.

They started doing spelling words to prepare her for her weekly spelling test. Kaeley’s started by reading out each spelling word and then she would put the word into a sentence and he her student to sound out each word phonetically. She would also get her student to write the word and then put the word into her own sentence. If her student got the word wrong, Kaeley would explain what error she made and would then go through the correct spelling rule her student needs to follow.

Kaeley got her student to read the text out loud so she could practice her reading skills. They also did some maths questions. They looked at addition, subtraction and number lines. The number lines will help her student to visually understand the process of adding and subtracting numbers. It was great to see her student practice her addition and subtraction skills. When her student got stuck, Kaeley would give her student some hints to help her. Kaeley gave her student some maths homework, based on what they went through in the session.

It was great to see how friendly they were and how comfortable her primary school student was with her. They had a great relationship and they got along really well. Overall, Kaeley did a great job helping her student. It was a great session and such a pleasure to observe. Keep it up!

Ashley Cohen

When building a machine learning model, analysis is the step that transforms raw numbers into meaningful insight. It’s the bridge between data collection and intelligent design, helping you understand not only what your dataset contains, but also what story it tells.

The first stage of analysis involves exploring the dataset’s structure: identifying key variables, checking for missing values, and understanding distributions. This process reveals whether the data is balanced, biased, or needs cleaning before any model can be trained. For example, noticing that one category dominates another might signal the need for resampling or weighting. Each observation becomes a clue about how your model might behave later on.

From there, you begin forming conjectures, educated guesses about which factors may drive outcomes. In a predictive maintenance context, temperature or vibration signals might emerge as leading indicators of failure. In music analysis, perhaps tempo or frequency patterns correlate with emotional tone. These hypotheses don’t have to be perfect, but they create a logical foundation for model design and experimentation.

Analysing data also helps shape your report. Instead of writing in the abstract, you can anchor each section around evidence: describing what you found, why it matters, and how it informed your next steps. A clear analytical narrative turns your project into more than a technical exercise, it becomes a story of discovery.

Ultimately, dataset analysis is where intuition meets evidence. It’s about asking the right questions, recognising patterns, and using those insights to guide model development. When done thoughtfully, it ensures your machine learning report isn’t just a record of process, but a reflection of how understanding emerges from exploration.

Allegra Pezzullo

Many student use the phrase “I hate maths”. This can be one of the most harmful things a maths student can say. The power of mindset is something underestimated by most and the statement “I hate maths” is something that many students say absent mindedly without knowing the implecations. When a student says this they often are simply stuggeling with the subject thus making their experience negative, but by saying this they are only making it harder. Their mentality shifts from I am stuggling and need to work on it to I don’t like it and don’t want to try. This lack of effort often creates a cycle and pattern of students who have convinced themselves they don’t like maths and then stop putting in effort which causes them to struggle more and dislike the subject more. This can become extremely disheartening for a student and can cause them to fall behind further.

By changing their mindset it can unlock many oportunities for growth, with students learning that it’s okay to stuggle and need help. I have had students begin tutoring with this hatred for maths and as they improve and begin consistently getting questions correct they have realised they never hated maths, they hated struggling in the subject which is something universal. This shift in mindset can take time and effort, but this change can be key for motivating students to improve rather than struggle and live with the notion that maths isn’t for them. With the correct support and guidence I believe everyone can love maths.

Olivia Moustakis

In a world of crowded classrooms and on-size-fits-all instruction, one-on-one tutoring offers the opportunity for focused responsive attention. This individualised approach doesn’t just boost academic performance, it reshapes how students learn, think and study.

At the core of personalised tutoring is the ability to tailor strategies to a student’s unique learning, style, pace and goals. Tutors can observe how a student approaches tasks, identify unproductive habits and co-create routine that actually stick. Whether it’s breaking down assignments into manageable chunks, using timers to build focus, or designing visual planners, these strategies are most effective when they’re built with the student, not just for them.

Procrastination, often rooted in overwhelm or fear of failure can be gently dismantled in a one-on-one setting. Tutors can help students reframe their mindset, celebrate small wins, and build momentum through achievable goals. Over time, students begin to internalise these tools, minimising the fear of failure that causes procrastination.

A transformative development is the student’s ability to reflect upon their own thinking. In a tutoring session, students are encouraged to reflect” What helped you remember that? Why did this strategy work better? These moments of guided self-awareness foster independence and resilience, turning passive learners into active problem solvers.

Ultimately, personalised tutoring is about more than catching up or getting ahead. It’s about equipping students with the habits, confidence, and self-knowledge to thrive long after the session ends. When students feel seen, supported and empowered, their study habits don’t just improve, they evolve.

Sophia McLean

This week I thought about ‘Servant Leadership’. This means that the person must serve their team rather than commanding them. I thought about the importance of balancing both serving your team but also being an authority that can direct change. When I think of good leadership, I think of someone who listens to those around them and their main objective being to ensure that they make the best decisions for the team. Leadership is not just about listening; it is also about guiding the group in the right direction, especially during moments of uncertainty or conflict. In an age where capitalism is thriving, I think servant leadership is dwindling as people aim to serve themselves. Thus, we should aim to serve others and not just ourselves. An issue I had with the content this week is the amount of information in the ‘Navigating Complexity’ unit. It is so hard to retain the valuable information that we learn. Now that my leadership practice has finished, I reflect on how it developed my understanding of servant leadership, and the importance of listening to the people I tutor, however, also placing strict boundaries and leading my students so that they work hard and understand the content.

Charlotte Ellis

Revising for an exam isn’t just about putting in hours, it’s about making those hours count. The best approach starts with understanding what you need to learn. Break down the syllabus into smaller, manageable sections, and create a clear revision timetable. Spreading topics out over days or weeks prevents cramming, which often leads to shallow understanding and poor recall under pressure.

Active recall is one of the most powerful tools you can use. Instead of simply reading notes, test yourself regularly. Close your book and try to explain a concept out loud or write it down from memory. This forces your brain to retrieve information, strengthening the neural pathways that store it. Pair this with spaced repetition, revisiting topics at increasing intervals, to make sure the knowledge sticks long-term.

Past papers are invaluable. They familiarise you with the format of the exam, the style of questions, and the areas that come up repeatedly. Time yourself when doing them to build exam stamina and get a realistic feel for pacing. Afterwards, review your answers critically to identify gaps or weak areas to focus on.

Don’t underestimate the value of variety. Switch between reading, summarising, practising problems, and teaching the material to someone else. This keeps your mind engaged and allows you to approach the content from different angles, which deepens understanding.

Finally, look after yourself. Sleep, nutrition, and regular breaks are not luxuries, they are essential for brain performance. Cramming at 3 a.m. might feel productive in the moment, but it’s far less effective than consistent, well-rested study. The goal is to walk into the exam calm, prepared, and confident, knowing you’ve done the work in the smartest way possible.

Michael Fry

Hi everyone, today I had the opportunity to observe Leela’s session with her Year 5 student who was working on an English practice test for narrative writing. The tutor helpfully dedicated 15 minutes of time at the beginning of the session to allow her student to plan, after she had asked her to briefly describe what her ideas were. When Leela’s student explained her ideas, Leela praised the creativity of what she had imagined, affirmation which encourages a student and aids in their confidence, particularly in an area where students often get embarrassed of their creative work. The tutor further interrogated certain details about the world her student had imagined – this helps to ‘fill in the gaps’ concerning where/what the place she is writing in is like, allowing for her to compose a well-rounded and solid setting for her narrative to take place in. After carefully evaluating the writing plan, the student mentioned some issues she was having with some missing ideas. The tutor provided a great range of suggestions, without ‘giving’ the story to her – the student was able to consider all of them and build off their different directions with her own ideas. While giving this advice Leela also emphasised how it still ‘up to the student’ – which is great as it affirms to the student how they are still in control of their creative decisions and allows them to not feel bad about turning certain ideas down if they wish to. It also ensures they remain feeling engaged with their own work and that it is theirs, motivating them. Throughout the rest of the session Leela gave her student the adequate space and time to work on her narrative, occasionally interrupting to ask how she was going to check in on her. Overall, it was a great and helpful session to observe, thank you so much Leela!

Sofala Vogt

In maths, neatness is more than just good presentation—it directly affects how well a student can think and work through problems. That is why I always encourage students to organise their working clearly from the very first step.

When work is messy, it becomes easy to lose track of numbers, misread a line, or skip a step altogether. I often see students get the right idea but the wrong answer simply because their work was too hard to follow. Writing neatly, lining up equals signs, and spacing each step properly helps the brain stay organised and reduces careless mistakes.

In tutoring sessions, I model what clear working looks like. I show students how to label each step, underline final answers, and leave space between questions. These small habits make a big difference, especially during exams when time pressure can make students rush.

Neat working also helps me see where a student’s thinking went wrong, which makes feedback faster and more effective. When their steps are clear, we can identify exactly where a misunderstanding happened and fix it immediately.

I remind students that neatness is not about perfection, it is about clarity. The clearer their work is, the easier it is for them, their teacher, or a marker to follow. Over time, this habit becomes automatic, and their accuracy improves right alongside it.

James Valiozis

In today’s observation, I watched David teach a Year 9 student how to factorise non-monic quadratics. The session was engaging and well-structured, providing insight into effective teaching strategies for complex algebraic concepts.

The lesson began with a brief review of basic factorisation, ensuring the student had a solid foundation. David then introduced the idea of non-monic quadratics quadratics where the leading coefficient is not equal to 1 (e.g. 2x^2 + 5x + 3). The student had limited confidence with this topic to begin with however, David’s approach was encouraging and educational.

He started by explaining the general form of non-monic quadratics, highlighting the need to break down the middle term by finding two numbers that multiply to the product of the leading coefficient and the constant term. David demonstrated this process step by step, breaking down the process of multiplication and factoring. He emphasised the importance of finding the right pair of factors and using this to split the middle term correctly.

The student struggled briefly with identifying the correct factor pairs, but David patiently guided them through the logic. He used visual aids, such as writing down the factors on the board, which helped clarify the process. They then moved into grouping terms and factoring them step by step. By using both numerical and graphical representations, David made sure the student could see the connection between the algebraic process and the quadratic graph.

The key takeaway from the session was the importance of patience and clear, structured guidance. David’s method not only helped the student understand the process of factorisation but also built their confidence in tackling more complex algebraic problems. It was clear that through this approach, the student began to develop a deeper understanding of quadratic equations, and their confidence towards these problems increased.

James Maatouk