HaSS Learning Area Snapshot
As Term 3 comes to an end and takes the last of winter with it, Humanities and Social Science also brings to a close a busy and successful term for students and staff.
Egyptology
Ancient History students and many curious staff have enjoyed presentations from Dr Julien Cooper, an Egyptologist, Nubiologist and archaeologist from Macquarie University, who shared his experiences and studies on the Sudanese gold mines that filled the coffers of the Pharaohs. This is the second specialist in Egyptology (following Egyptologist and Hieroglyphics specialist Heather Tunmore earlier in the year) who has advanced the Ancient History students’ knowledge of this fascinating period of human history. Thank you to Ms Ludowyck for organising these engaging presentations.
Australian History Competition
Congratulations to the many students across Years 7 – 10 who have been awarded Distinctions and High Distinctions in this year’s Australian History Competition. The source-based nationwide competition, coordinated by Mr Houden, is a major HASS event each yea,r and the students’ enthusiasm for it this year has been wonderful.
Australian Geography Competition
Further congratulations to the Year 7 – 10 students who received a very high number of Distinctions and High Distinctions in this year’s Australian Geography Competition. Additionally, Applecross is proud of the achievement of Lauran Dunn (7) and Samantha Majer (10) for being in the top 1% of students in this Australia-wide competition. Thanks to Mr Houden for running the competition this year.
ESSI Financial Literacy
As part of our ongoing commitment to financial literacy, a number of HASS teachers have been running the ESSI Competition with their classes. The results have been outstanding, with several students ranking among the top in the state in this program in terms of earnings, savings, spending, and investing. Mr Coveney has successfully arranged for prizes donated by Curtin University to be awarded to students early next.
John Button
As the Year 9 students engage with our Civics and Citizenship program, Applecross hosted Mr John Button, who presented to our students on his experiences in the criminal justice system. Miscarriages of justice are an important topic of study in the Western Australian syllabus, and we appreciate him sharing his personal and difficult story in such a compelling way. John has accepted an invitation to return next term to share his story with more students.
Book Week
The teaching staff in HASS had an enjoyable end of Week 5 as we joined English and many others in celebrating Book Week. As all HASS teachers are naturally curious about the world, it was elementary that we marked the dress-up event as characters from Sherlock Holmes.
Mock Exams
Humanities and Social Sciences wish all our students the very best for their upcoming mock exams and hope that their efforts are well rewarded.
In The Classroom
Our HASS teachers have been busy providing many stimulating activities in the classroom as students explore (and create) volcanoes and earthquakes in Geography and the mummification (of bananas with googly eyes – photos to come) process in History. Thank you to our teachers for not only running these creative and enjoyable activities, but also for all the cleaning up that follows!
Term Four
Next term, students will be exploring the following:
Year 7 – Economics and Business
Year 8 – Civics and Citizenship
Year 9 – Economics and Business
Year 10 – History
Alex Roseveare, Hola HASS