Web Content Display (Global)
The Standard | Term 1 2022
On this page
- From the Chief Executive
- Continuing the learning
- Introducing Education Services
- Congratulations to the Class of 2021
- Getting ready information for SACE Coordinators
- Pilot to test new subjects begins
- E-exams in 2022
- SACE Art Show 2022
- Merit Ceremony postponed
- Key dates
- Examination timetable for 2022
- Science and Mathematics faculty workshops
From the Chief Executive
Dear Colleague
What a start to the year. I am sure it’s been difficult to frame the year in terms of the opportunities ahead when there have been so many immediate challenges with split schooling. The situation has again highlighted to the broader South Australian community the professionalism and commitment of our educators and education leaders.
As always, the SACE Board is committed to supporting you and your teachers. We will continue to work together to help make sure that this is a successful year for you, your students and your school community. With you, we want to hold the line on the commitment to learning for each of your students but we are ready to quickly adapt as events unfold.
We have the benefits of experience now and have confidence that the SACE program is COVID resilient.
The start of the year has brought its own COVID challenges to us too, as we had to make the difficult decision to postpone the 2022 SACE Merit Ceremony. After careful consideration, and in consultation with all three education sectors, we decided postponing the ceremony was the best way to keep teachers, students and their families safe. We hope to reschedule the event later in the year.
On a more positive note, this semester the pilot for the revitalised Personal Learning Plan and Research Project subjects, Exploring Identities and Futures and Activating Identities and Futures commences. The start of the year has also seen the launch of our new Education Services team. You can read more about both of these exciting developments below.
Despite everything that has been going on over the last two years, a record breaking 15,644 students completed their SACE last year, and these numbers are a testament to the work that you do every day to help your students to thrive. I’d like to take a moment to congratulate you for your outstanding efforts throughout 2021.
I am looking forward to the year ahead with much anticipation as we work together on delivering new innovations and initiatives which support our students to thrive.
Here’s to a successful 2022!
Yours ever
Martin Westwell
Continuing the learning
The SACE Board is keeping a close eye on the changing conditions in school communities with the ongoing effects of COVID-19.
We are monitoring this ever-evolving situation, considering our position regarding impacts to student absences and teacher availability, for instance. We are taking a pro-active and responsive approach, working through a range of scenarios to help us plan for any situation that may arise.
We have the necessary systems and processes in place and are confident that teachers and schools will use the flexibility of the SACE to continue to deliver learning to students.
The existing Special Provisions Policy holds for individual students who are, for example, unable to attend school due to COVID for extended periods of time or miss specific deadlines.
We are staying connected with educators and keeping a very close watch on the impact of current restrictions on VET and specific subjects such as Outdoor Education and Music subjects. We are hoping that the situation in South Australia will allow for a relaxation in some of the settings soon. Should that not be the case, we will provide additional flexibility where it is needed.
We remain committed to our promise to every student that their learning is valued and that they will not be disadvantaged due to the impact of Covid.
It is understandable that some students may be feeling uncertain about what is in store for them as the year progresses, please reassure them that we are carefully watching the situation and are ready to adapt quickly, as we have in the past.
We will keep you informed of any changes as the situation unfolds.
Introducing Education Services
There has been a subtle shift to the way we are working at SACE, and we are delighted to introduce our new Education Services.
By developing an integrated community of networks, we will be able to lead education in a way where it will support students to thrive.
We have established education faculties to better support our services to the education community.
The four faculties are:
- Arts and Pathways
- English and Languages
- Health and Humanities
- Science and Mathematics
We have aligned SACE subjects to these faculty areas and more information will soon be available on our website. The VET Program Manager will continue to lead the focus on recognition and VET from within the Education Services team.
Our aim is to activate learning communities and engage you in faculty conversations to share practice and hear about learning insights from practitioners. This may take the form of partnering within current networks, such as subject association communities and developing new connections within the community. Our Faculty Managers, Program Manager, and Education Consultants will be working with subject leaders, educators, industry, and the broader community to deliver SACE educational change.
So, what does this change mean for you?
We will continue to assist you with your queries through our education faculties and askSACE team. Instead of one SACE contact for each subject, you will have a faculty of Education Consultants and a Faculty Manager to support you. Online support through PLATO will be available to clarify standards and the SACE website is another valuable source of information.
We look forward to working with you to support students to thrive in their learning.
If you are interested in joining the SACE Board as we continue to lead educational change, we have opportunities in the market now. Contact Natalie Hamood, our Director Education Services, for more information at natalie.hamood@sa.gov.au
Congratulations to the Class of 2021
Celebrations were the order of the day across the state on Monday 13 December 2021 for SACE results release day.
A group of SACE graduates gathered for a media event at the Australian Space Discovery Centre, sharing their inspirational stories about overcoming challenges during the pandemic and successfully achieving their SACE.
It was a record-breaking year with 15,644 students completing their SACE in 2021.
Read more in the media release about the 2021 SACE results release.
Find out more about the Class of 2021:
Getting ready information for SACE Coordinators
In the past SACE Coordinators would attend face-to-face SACE Management Conferences at the SACE Board premises. In 2021, in response to COVID-19 we experimented with the format of how we provided support for those managing SACE within school communities.
This has led us to develop our new Getting Started pack for 2022. This pack will help to keep track of the essential Term 1 tasks that need to be managed, as well as an opportunity to engage in a SACE Management Q&A's.
New starter SACE Coordinators will be further supported with an induction PLATO course
We are in the process of finalising the contents of the Getting Started pack and will get in touch direct with all SACE Coordinators early in Term 1 when they are ready. We can’t wait to share them with you!
In the meantime, if you have any SACE management enquiries, please contact askSACE from Monday to Friday anytime from 8.30am to 5.00pm:
Email: askSACE@sa.gov.au
Phone: (08) 8115 4700
Fax: (08) 8124 4553
Pilot to test new subjects begins
In the first semester of 2022 a pilot program of the revitalised Personal Learning Plan and Research Project subjects, Exploring Identities and Futures and Activating Identities and Futures is being trialled in government, independent and Catholic participating schools across South Australia.
The revitalised subjects are all part of the new direction for the SACE Board and its ongoing commitment to every student becoming a thriving learner.
SACE has worked in a responsive way with many teachers and leaders in the SACE Change Network to test and prototype the new subjects.
In Semester 1 a total of 30 schools will be trialling Activating Identities and Futures and 23 trialling Exploring Identities and Futures subjects in a live environment, teaching the pilot subject outline and testing the shift in teacher practice. Participating teachers will share experiences and be guided within a community of practice framework. The SACE project team will learn from these insights to refine and enhance the subjects.
These new subjects will continue to be compulsory subjects for SACE completion that all students will be entitled to complete. Activating Identities and Futures will have a TAS status and will contribute to the ATAR.
In Exploring Identities and Futures students will lead their own learning by using a self-directed approach, moving away from the old way of ‘what do you want to be’ and moving towards ‘exploring who you are will help you discover and guide who you want to be.’
Students will then build upon this learning in Activating Identities and Futures, by following their own unique interests and ways of thinking to progress their understanding and learning. So instead of following the usual methods of research, students will come up with their own ways to solve a problem.
Following the completion of the pilot, SACE Board will review the outcome and impact of both subjects.
Throughout 2022 all schools will continue to offer the current subjects PLP, RPA and RPB, with the intention to implement Exploring Identities and Futures and Activating Identities and Futures in 2023. This will require transition arrangements to be in place to result RPA and RPB in June 2023.
We will continue to keep you informed about the pilot and the transition throughout the year.
E-exams in 2022
The e-exams program continues to expand with the addition of two new subjects in 2022.
- English as an Additional Language
- Japanese (Continuers).
What’s next?
In 2022 we will continue to provide support as you prepare for the delivery of e-exams, starting early in the new year with subject specific support materials.
In the meantime, there are various resources, including familiarisation activities and instructional videos on the SACE website to get you started.
In 2023 we are planning to introduce an e-exam for Accounting. This year we will spend time working with the Accounting teachers to support their readiness for 2023.
SACE will continue to work in partnership with you to ensure that we are developing and delivering e-exams that provide better assessment for all students.
For support, please contact askSACE from Monday to Friday anytime from 8.30am to 5.00pm:
Email: askSACE@sa.gov.au
Phone: (08) 8115 4700
Fax: (08) 8124 4553
SACE Art Show 2022
In 2022 the SACE Art Show will be presented as both a virtual and physical COVID safe exhibition. Selected student art works will be on display at the Light Square Galley at the Adelaide College of the Arts in the city. As there is no opening night event this year, awards will be presented at a closing night ceremony on Friday 22 April 2022.
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to vote for their favourite artwork. Prizes will be awarded for best artwork, runner up, teacher’s prize and voter’s prize, thanks to the generosity of major sponsor Credit Union SA.
School bookings are essential to ensure social distancing requirements in the gallery. Book now via Eventbrite
For more information, contact SACE.Events@sa.gov.au
Tuesday 22 March – Friday 22 April 2022
Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm
Saturdays (excluding public holidays) from 10am to 3pm
Light Square Gallery, Adelaide College of the Arts
Merit Ceremony postponed
On 22 December 2021 we sent email invitations to merit recipients in readiness for the Merit Ceremony, originally planned for February 2022. Unfortunately, like many activities across the country, our special event was impacted by the challenges of Omicron. Earlier this year we had to make the difficult decision to delay the 2022 Merit Ceremony. Following our postponement announcement on 20 January 2022, we sent an email and SMS to all invited merit recipients informing them of the decision.
To postpone the Merit Ceremony was not a decision that we made lightly, and it was taken in consideration with all three education sectors. It was after careful consideration that we felt postponing the event was the best way to keep education leaders, students and parents safe, particularly with the levels of COVID within the community combined with the staggered commencement of face-to-face teaching within schools.
While this is disappointing news, the SACE Board remains committed to celebrating the impressive achievements of the merit students from the Class of 2021 in the near future. We expect that the 2022 Merit Ceremony will be held later in the year.
For all Merit Ceremony enquires please email SACE.Events@sa.gov.au
Key dates
- 2022 SACE examinations – Monday 7 November to Friday 18 November
- Stage 2 Psychology Workshops – Thursday 24 February and Tuesday 1 March 2022
- Important SACE calendar dates for South Australia and Northern Territory can be found online
- Calendar dates for SACE International schools in the Southern Hemisphere are available on the SACE International web page.
Examination timetable for 2022
SACE Examinations, both written and e-exams, will take place from Monday 7 November to Friday 18 November 2022. The examination timetable is now available.
We are yet to be advised regarding the dates for the Collaborative Curriculum and Assessment Framework for Languages (CCAFL) written examinations. Updates to the SACE website will be added once the dates and times have been confirmed. Oral examinations will be conducted online in 2022 in the same way as last year.
Science and Mathematics faculty workshops
Bookings are now open for two online workshops designed to support teachers’ understanding of the new Organisational Psychology topic.
Stage 2 Psychology - New Organisational Psychology topic
Thursday 24 February 2022
Session presented by Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer, University of South Australia
Stage 2 Psychology: Q&A Discussion
Tuesday 1 March 2022
An opportunity for discussion with Lead Practitioners, the subject community and the SACE Education Consultant about Stage 2 Psychology.