Year 9 News

Welcome to the 2024 learning year. 

The year 9 team would like to welcome all members of the Kurnai Learning Community and extend a warm welcome the all-new families to Kurnai College.

My name is Ross Johnson and my role for 2024 is Year 9 Team Leader. I am excited to work with your child and your family throughout 2024. 

Year 9 Team

Ross Johnson : Year 9 Team Leader

Karen Anders: Learning Specialist & English/Humanities 

Shawn Jordan: Art 

Jesse Berryman – Lambert: Digital Technologies 

Mark Heiberg:  Maths Teacher 

Nia Whitney: Humanities & Science 

Megan Schwarzenberg: Advocate & Food Tech

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS)

As previous years we will be continuing the use of Kurnai Positive Acknowledgements (KPA’s), it has been fantastic to see students settling back into the Kurnai Learning Community and being acknowledged for their efforts within the classroom. 

KPA Data Term 1 Week 2

9A-  473

9B-  253

9C- 260

9D- 226

Attendance

This year our aim is to improve student attendance rates to an above 95% average. If you student is absent please contact Kurnai’s absence hotline on 5132 3711 or contact Ross Johnson directly via Compass. 

Year 9 Camp

The 2024 Year 9 Camp planning is underway, and expression of interest forms will be sent out soon. This camp will be a 4-night stay in Melbourne where students will have the opportunity to experience a range of cultural, educational and leisure activities in the Melbourne CBD. This camp will be capped at 70 students due to accommodation and activity factors. If more than 70 students return expressions of interest, attendance data and behavioral data will be used to select places. The Melbourne Discovery Camp will be via DOXA Youth Foundation and will cost $150 per student (subject to change).

Expression of Interest forms are available on Compass. Expression of Interest will close on the 12th March 2024. 

Around the classrooms:

English: This term in English, we are exploring their creative writing abilities, while dissecting a range of mentor texts including Diary Entries, Blog Posts, Six Word Stories and Poetry.

Math: In Math we are studying statistics and probability. We have learnt about how different types of data can be collected. 

Science: In science we are currently learning about the periodic table and the structure of atoms. 

Humanities: In Humanities we are studying WWII, in particular how events from WWI contributed to WWII.

NAPLAN

In 2024 Year 9 students  undertake NAPLAN testing in Week 7 & 8  (13th-25th March). This can be a stressful time for some students so please reach out if your student may need some extra support.Our message to each individual child is DO YOUR BEST ON THE NAPLAN TEST. Over the coming weeks students will learn a range of strategies so they can be fully prepared for each test. 

Contact Details 

If you have any concerns regarding Year 9 students, please don’t hesitate to email me of phone me on 5165 0600 or Ross.Johnson@kurnaicollege.vic.edu.au