Year 9 Subject Selection

Elective subjects

HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

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.

 

Dance 

 

Content Strands

  • Explore and Express Ideas
  • Dance Practices
  • Present and Perform
  • Respond and Interpret

 

Learning Focus

 

Dance provides opportunities for students to explore the potential of movement as a means of creative expression and communication. In Year 9 Dance, students will be introduced to and will explore a variety of dance styles from historical and contemporary contexts. Students will be required to participate in both practical and theoretical lessons which will allow them to gain an understanding of safe dance practices and the elements of dance. In class, students will have the opportunity to perform as a soloist and in an ensemble group, using expressive skills and production elements to enhance the performance. Throughout this unit, students will also have the opportunity to choreograph short routines whilst using combinations of the elements of dance and choreographic devices to communicate their choreographic intent. Students will reflect on and evaluate their performances and performances by dance professionals. 

 

There is an expectation in this course that students are willing to dance and perform in front of the class/an audience. 

 

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 work in the Media forms of video, sound and print. They will use digital equipment such as DSLR cameras for video and video editing software. Students use and manipulate media elements, techniques and conventions to understand how an audience reads and understands symbols in media products such as film, sound and print. They create media products in specific styles for specific audiences, for example planning and creating an music video clip of a selected era or print product such as birthday cards, postcards and magazine covers. Students also learn to respond to different forms of media through visual analysis and interpretation of meaning. They will learn to describe the content, meaning and structure of a range of media texts.

 

Digital Art: Photography

 Content Strands

  • Explore and Express Ideas
  • Practices: Media, Visual Arts, Visual Communication Design
  • Present and Perform
  • Respond and Interpret

Learning Focus

 

Lens & Light: Exploring Photographic Art & Design 

 

Through development of manual DSLR camera skills, students will work in a space where Visual Art, Media and Visual Communication & Design meet.

 

Students will work using the earliest photographic and light sensitive art making techniques and processes such as the cyanotype and or pinhole cameras - they will learn about analogue film and digital photography as a visual art medium where students draw on artworks from a range of cultures, times and locations.

 

They reflect on the development of different traditional and contemporary styles of photographic artworks, also developing skills in the use of industry standard editing software such as Photoshop and an investigation into the use of A.I. in the Art, Media and Visual Communication fields. Through a hybrid print/photography project, students will reflect on the contribution and evolution of historical and cultural design movements and contributors in the field of print.  

 

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.

 

 

Product Design: Textiles

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.

 

Robotics

 

Content Strands

  • Technologies and Society
  • Technological Contexts
  • Creating Design Solutions

In this course, students dive into the fundamentals of robotics, blending creativity, engineering, and programming. Students start by learning about the engineering design process, which includes brainstorming, designing, building, and testing your own robots. This hands-on approach will help you understand how to turn your ideas into real, working machines. Programming is a crucial part of robotics. Students engage in coding, learning how to instruct their robots to perform tasks and solve problems. Through project-based assessments, students apply what they’ve learned by working on fun and challenging projects, from simple robots to more complex systems.

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.