OUTDOOR EDUCATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Content Strands

Personal, Social and Community Health and
Movement and Physical Activity

Learning Focus

Students will experience a number of outdoor activities in a range of challenging environments. They will be required to participate in both practical and theoretical components which will allow them to gain a better understanding and appreciation for the importance of outdoor environments. Students will investigate, research and discover theory related to map reading skills, National Parks, minimal impact, Australian flora and fauna, introduced and endangered species, first aid and food preparation for camping. Students will also be exposed to practical skills such as bush walking, orienteering, camp preparation, and first aid.

Practical Skills & Experiences

2 day overnight hike
Level 1 First Aid certificate
Stand up paddle boarding
Orienteering at Brimbank Park

Requirements

All students must be prepared to commit to the outdoor expeditions that will involve bushwalking, stand up paddle boarding and an overnight outdoor camp.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH

Content Strands

Personal, Social and Community Health and
Movement and Physical Activity

Learning Focus

There are three award levels in the Duke of Edinburgh, Bronze, Silver and Gold. The Bronze award at Year 9 is aimed at students 14+ years. This award involves students completing four set requirements:

Service: To develop and encourage a sense of community spirit and responsibility to others
Physical Recreation: To encourage participation in a physical recreation and improvement in physical fitness and performance.
Skill: To encourage the development of personal interests and practical skills
Adventurous journey: To encourage a spirit of adventure and discovery

Practical Requirements outside of school hours

One hour per week of selected Physical recreation for 13 weeks
One hour per week of selected Skill for 13 weeks
One hour per week of selected Community service for 13 weeks

PERFORMING ARTS

DRAMA

Explore and Express Ideas
Drama Practices
Present and Perform

Learning Focus

In Year 9 Drama students create an Ensemble Performance based on the subject matter of Asylum Seekers vs Migration and The Stolen Generation in performance making. They will explore conflict and Stanislavsky’s method of acting and how it is applied to performance. Students develop skills in making decisions about creative ways of generating and implementing ideas and extracting dramatic potential from a stimulus material. They reflect on their experiences and observations, consider what they have learned about styles and particular drama practices and explore issues in an abstract manner. Students will also learn the principles and conventions used through storytelling and fairytales to effectively engage an audience.

MUSIC

Explore and Express Ideas
Music Practices
Present and Perform
Respond and Interpret

Learning Focus

Students will choose an instrument to study and perform a selected piece to play as a soloist. They will also form their own ensembles and present two contrasting works focusing on stagecraft and performance techniques. Using a Twelve Bar Blues structure students will create their own composition with lyrics and perform live before an audience. Theoretically students will be introduced to scales, intervals and chord writing focusing on the keys of C, F and G major. Aurally students will recognise intervals, chords, rhythmic and melodic patterns through dictation and practical exercises. Students will develop their music terminology and incorporate at all times. They use their understanding of music making in different cultures, times and places to inform and shape their interpretations, performances and compositions.

VISUAL ARTS

Visual Arts

Content Strands

Explore and Express Ideas
Visual Arts Practices
Present and Perform
Respond and Interpret

Learning Focus

Students will explore different materials, skills and techniques in drawing and painting based on the investigation of particular artists and artistic styles. Working through the design process students experiment with imaginative and innovative ways of using traditional and contemporary skills. They document their trials in a visual diary to support a folio of artworks. The focus of the folio will be to develop the application of two and three-dimensional art using art elements and principles. Students will also learn to observe, research and critically discuss a range of contemporary, traditional, stylistic, historical and cultural examples of artworks.

Media Arts

Content Strands

Explore and Express Ideas
Media Arts Practices
Present and Perform
Respond and Interpret

Learning Focus

Students will create and make various forms of Media. They will use digital equipment such as the latest SLR cameras and industry-standard software including Photoshop. Students use and manipulate media elements, techniques and conventions to develop media texts in specific styles for different audiences. Students also learn to respond to different forms of media through analysis and interpretation. They will learn to describe the content, meaning and structure of a range of media texts.

Visual Communication Design

Content Strands

Explore and Express Ideas
Visual Communication Design Practices
Present and Perform
Respond and Interpret

Learning Focus

Students will creatively explore drawing skills through conceptual thumbnail sketching. They will develop concepts and ideas based on a response to particular design constraints. In understanding the purpose of the brief, students will develop knowledge of audience, context, materials, media and methods. Various forms of drawing, typography and conventions applicable to print media and net diagrams will be investigated and used to create communication designs and packaging. An investigation of existing packaging design will be explored and used as starting point to develop individual designs. An investigation of Historical and contemporary package designer will also support their overall design exploration.

TECHNOLOGIES

Food For Life

Content Strands

Technologies and Society
Technological Contexts
Creating Design Solutions

Learning Focus

The preparation and consumption of food is part of our everyday lives. In this unit, students will be provided with the theoretical knowledge of food and cookery along with the hands-on practical opportunities to apply what they have learnt in the classroom to the kitchen.

Students will explore the properties of key ingredients ranging from fruits, vegetables, cereals, dairy, eggs and meat. During this investigation students will explore the structure, function, nutritional value, preparation and suitable methods of cooking of these key ingredients. They will apply this knowledge to designing with food and adapting recipes for designed solutions, with the underlying theme of the importance of a healthy and balance diet during adolescence.

As part of their major assessment tasks students use the design process to develop folios where they design and prepare a recipe using unusual vegetables and design a recipe using minced meat.

In this subject, students cook twice each cycle in order to develop the skills to confidently incorporate these ingredients into their daily lives. Students will work independently and collaboratively throughout this unit on many assessments.

Textiles Design

Content Strands

Technologies and Society
Technological Contexts
Creating Design Solutions

Learning Focus

In Textiles Design students further develop both hand sewing and machine skills by way of practical projects. Using the design process students will create a personalised hand stitched appliquéd cushion. They will gain insight into garment construction by learning to read a commercial pattern, cut-out and machine sew together garment pieces to produce a finished product that is wearable and meets the appropriate standard. Students also have the opportunity to investigate the historical aspects of Fashion design. They learn how to research and analyse the work of others by choosing an Australian designer. Through this investigation, they are inspired to produce an illustrated design.

Digital Technologies

Digital Systems
Data and Information
Creating Digital Solutions

Content Strands

Digital Systems
Data and Information
Creating Digital Solutions

Learning Focus

The main emphasis in these courses is on the rapidly developing areas of multimedia and application software. The students will learn to use a variety of industry-standard software and hardware to produce solutions to information and communications problems encountered by individuals and organisations.

Information and communications technology (ICT) is the hardware and software that enables data to be digitally processed, stored and communicated. ICT can be used to access, process, manage and present information; model and control events; construct new understanding; and communicate with others.

The knowledge, skills and behaviours identified for this domain enable students to:

develop new thinking and learning skills that produce creative and innovative insights
develop more productive ways of working and solving problems individually and collaboratively
create information products that demonstrate their understanding of concepts, issues, relationships and processes
express themselves in contemporary and socially relevant ways
communicate locally and globally to solve problems and to share knowledge
understand the implications of the use of ICT and their social and ethical responsibilities as users of ICT.

STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

Content Strands

Design Technologies

Technologies and Society
Creating Designed Solutions

Mathematics

Measurement and Geometry
Statistics and Probability

Science

Science Inquiry Skills

Learning Focus

STEM is the combined application of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics through a hands-on and project-based style of learning. This course will present students with various problems and design briefs which will allow students to make choices, interpret, formulate, model, investigate and communicate solutions effectively. A major focus of STEM is the introduction and use of the Engineering Process to solve real world problems. Using these new skills, students will face challenges that require the systematic approach of Engineering to develop the best solution possible. To reflect the nature of a career in any STEM related field, students will be required to work in project teams, develop their communication and collaborative skills and work within deadlines.

In the second term, students will choose their own ‘problem’ where they will use this process, their existing Scientific, Mathematical and Technical knowledge to develop a solution in teams. This final Engineering problem will culminate in the development, creation and presentation of their solution to the wider community.

LANGUAGES

Content Strands

Communicating
Understanding

Learning Focus

Communicating

Using language for communicative purposes in interpreting, creating and exchanging meaning.

Socialising

Interacting orally and in writing to exchange ideas, opinions, experiences, thoughts and feelings, and participating in planning, negotiating, deciding and taking action.

Informing

Obtaining, processing, interpreting and conveying information through a range of oral, written and multimodal texts, developing and applying knowledge.

Creating

Engaging with imaginative experience by participating in, responding to and creating a range of texts, such as stories, songs, drama and music.

Translating

Moving between languages and cultures orally and in writing, recognising different interpretations and explaining these to others.

Reflecting

Participating in intercultural exchange, questioning reactions and assumptions, and considering how interaction shapes communication and identity.

Understanding

Analysing and understanding language and culture as resources for interpreting and shaping meaning in intercultural exchange.

Systems of language

Understanding language as a system that includes sound, writing, grammatical and textual conventions.

Language variation and change

Understanding how languages vary in use (register, style, standard and non-standard varieties) and change over time and place.

The role of language and culture

Analysing and understanding the role of language and culture in the exchange of meaning.

Outdoor Education & Environmental studies