"HSC" The HSC is a set of exams taken by year 12 students for all of their classes. these exams take place over the month of october and can range in length from 1hr 30min to 4hrs each. The HSC exam results determine 50% of your ATAR rank.
"ATAR" The ATAR, or Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, is a number between 0.00 and 99.95 used in Australia to indicate a student's relative position among their peers in the final year of secondary education. 50% of your ATAR rank is determined by your HSC exams, with the other 50% being determined by the exams you take over your 12th grade. It is primarily used for university admission purposes. so pretty much, the high your ATAR rank, the more choices you have in university courses. most uni courses have a minimum ATAR requirement, witht the more complex courses having the highest required ATAR.
"House", "Sports House", "House Colour", "House Group" Sports houses in australia are the same as they are in harry potter; each student in the school is sectioned off into for different houses represented by different names and colours. we use these for competing in sporting events within the school, organising field trips, as well as many other things. our four houses are named after significant catholic figures: Reynolds (red)(this is my house hehe), Hoade (green), Dalton (blue), Hanly(yellow)
"Formal" An Australian formal, often referred to as the Year 12 formal, is an event similar to the American prom. It involves dancing, socializing, and celebrating the completion of high school. While in the United States, proms can often be extravagant affairs, Australian formals tend to be more understated but still hold importance as a rite of passage. girly typicaly wear long formal dresses, and boys wear suits. After formal there is usually an afterparty which in our schools case will last until midnight (and i think will also serve alchohol to students that are 18 and older).
"Doyle Centre" This is just the school gym, this is where we have assembilies and most school events. There is a chapel on one end that is closed off unless we are having mass, and there is a stage at the other end which is where the staff presents from for events. Im not sure why its called the doyle haha.
"COLA" COLA stands for "Coverd Outdoor Learning Area". its basicly a large carpated space within the school with removable walls so that its sort of outside and sort of not.