Curriculum

Year 10 Academic Attainment Test

Academic Attainment Testing for Year 10 (10AAT) is currently scheduled for Wednesday 3 May (Week 2, Term 2). Please note this assessment will be rescheduled to Tuesday 9 May.  

The purpose of the 10AAT is to provide the College with externally determined independent assessment data that will inform prospective Year 11 students and their parents/carers making appropriate subject selection choices for the senior years of secondary schooling.

The 10AAT is administered by Academic Assessment Services, formerly Robert Allwell and Associates, who are nationally renowned independent consultants specialising in the assessment and analysis of educational performance and progress.

It is important to note that the data from the 10AAT will contribute significantly to subject selection recommendations for Year 11 in 2023 along with the results from the Year 9 Examination Block conducted in fourth term of last year, the upcoming Year 10 Examinations and the NESA HSC Minimum Standards Tests which will be conducted on throughout Term 2, Week 3. 

Italian Language Tour

The upcoming Italian Tour is an exciting extension of curriculum and student learning. Experience tells us young men learn best when given the opportunity to ‘action’ their learning; one of the reasons practical based courses are popular in boys’ schools. The gift of immersing oneself in a homestay and engaging in learning experiences with native speakers will no doubt strengthen and concrete the knowledge of our language students. The cultural exchange of visiting significant Italian (world) monuments and institutions further builds learning pathways. Associating knowledge and theory to a lived experience builds memory and a depth of understanding that transforms learning. Knowledge moves from recall and route to cogency and fluency.

Nicholas Phillipson

Acting Director of Curriculum

Italian Study Tour 2023

With the 2023 Italian Study Tour departing in a matter of days, the excitement in the air is tangible. The group departs this Saturday 1 April and returns on Saturday 22 April. Students will participate in a home-stay experience with Italian families and will attend school at Liceo Blaise Pascal in Pomezia, near Rome. Together the group will then tour across Italy visiting Pompeii, Sorrento, Florence, Maranello, Venice, Milan, and Como. It will be an exciting academic and cultural experience for the boys who will be immersed in the language they have been studying for several years.

Experiential learning opportunities such as study tours allow students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world scenarios. The learning becomes relevant, practical and comes to life in a way that would be impossible within the confines of a classroom. While travel overseas will always add an immeasurable value to a person’s life experience, travel during students’ formative years with their peers and teachers, also builds confidence, resilience, and forges lifelong memories.

All students participating in the Italian Study Tour have studied the language between two and four years. Travel to the country will allow students to build their confidence in carrying out transactions in shops and restaurants and engaging with members of the public. The home-stay dimension of the tour however, combined with the school experience, will allow our students to interact with peers, families, and teachers in the language, learn to use a range of expressions, understand the nuances of register, and be exposed to the inextricable link between spoken language and cultural practices. 

I wish to thank Annelise Macolino (Languages teacher) and Nicholas Phillipson (Acting Director of Curriculum), who will be assisting me and accompanying the students throughout the three-week stay. Thank you also to Romina Fisicaro (Languages teacher) who has been assisting with the boys’ preparation in running lunchtime sessions and has provided insights from previous Italian Study Tours. I would also like to thank our students and their families for their willingness to embrace the experience, their cooperation, and the trust they have placed in us.

The following students will be participating in the tour:

Buon viaggio ragazzi e in bocca al lupo!

Multicultural NSW HSC High Achievers in Language Interpreter and Translator Scholarship program

Congratulations to Old Boy Austin Fazzalaro (’22) who has been selected to participate in the Multicultural NSW HSC High Achievers in Language Interpreter and Translator Scholarship Program. Students who achieve within the top performance band (E4) in HSC Extension Languages courses are selected to participate in the program. The program allows them to obtain formal qualifications as NAATI certified interpreters and/or translators. On completion of the program, graduates will gain casual employment on the Multicultural NSW Interpreter and Translator Panel. 

Austin demonstrated a consistently diligent and dedicated approach to his study of Italian from Years 8 to 12 during his time at the College. His passion and talent for the language will undoubtedly lead to a successful completion of the course and will allow him to make an important contribution to society. 

Auguri Austin!

Maria Capobianco

Head of Languages