Faculty News
Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE)
Year 7
Year 7 students in HSIE have been busily working away at completing the ‘Big History’ syllabus. The focus of Term 3 has been on student learning about the origins of early humans. Students have demonstrated their knowledge through the creation of their own species, becoming the authors and illustrators of their own comic strips, beginning to develop their skills in extended response writing and being assessed through a historical debate on the reasons that early humans developed the characteristics that they did. It has been a challenging but rewarding term for Year 7 students and we look forward to continuing these challenges to close out the school year.
Year 9
Year 9 wrapped up their Geography topics at the end of Term 2 and started their investigation into History this term. Students will be studying the Industrial Revolution, How Australia became a Nation, World War One and World War Two. They were given the exciting opportunity to see a real-life stage performance called, ‘3 weeks in Spring’ in Week 4 at the State Theatre in Sydney. The musical explored the themes of conditions and experiences during World War One and the creation of the ANZAC legend. It will assist them as they investigate the World War One topic next term. Students were in awe of the theatrics on stage and were riveted by the performance. Mr Tamayo and Ms Tryhuba would like to congratulate the attendees on their excellent behaviour and engagement and the HSIE staff look forward to providing many more opportunities like this for our students.
Year 11
Students in the various subjects of Year 11 have used Term 3 to give themselves the best possible opportunity to prepare themselves for the final year of their schooling. Students in Ancient and Modern History have completed their ‘Historical Investigation’ assessment task where they were expected to produce an historical argument of university standard with great success. Business Studies students played the role of business entrepreneur, where they were required to formulate their own business idea and sell it to their peers in a ‘Shark Tank’ style assessment task. Society and Culture have worked through the ‘Intercultural Communication’ topic which is a fascinating look at the ways that people of different cultures communicate with one another and how miscommunication can have a huge impact on social relationships. Whilst Legal Studies have worked on their own investigations into the effectiveness of both legal and non-legal responses to their chosen contemporary issues within Australian society. These thorough and enriching units of work have put students into a position where they are ready to complete the Higher School Certificate course, and if the manner in which the students have completed them is anything to go by, then they will be extremely successful over the next school year.
Year 12
A huge congratulations to all Year 12 students who have now completed all assessment tasks in the lead up to the end of Year 12. In particular to Society and Culture students who submitted their major work, The Personal Interest Project in Week 3. Students conducted their own primary and secondary research into topics of their own choosing including: the portrayal of LGBTQI+ people in entertainment media, the treatment of refugees in Australia in comparison to countries like Turkey, the move from a reliance on Westernised medicine to more traditional methods like music therapy and essential oils and the portrayal of Islam in news and entertainment media and how this impacts people’s perception of the religion. Students have been working on this since Term 4 2018 and it is huge relief for them to have completed 40% of their Higher School Certificate (HSC) Examination mark. We look forward to sharing our student’s Personal Interest Projects with you in a later newsletter when they have been returned from HSC markers.
Year 12 students are now in the midst of the most challenging period of their school lives. They have just completed their Trial HSC Examinations with enthusiasm and this hard work will position them nicely to complete their HSC Examinations in the opening weeks of Term 4. Parents and carers are reminded to please ensure that students are undertaking an appropriate amount of daily study in the weeks leading up to the examinations, but to also ensure that students are taking time to pursue other constructive past times in order to decrease chances of student ‘burnout’. Students are encouraged to seek assistance from their teachers in the time leading up to their examinations should they require any advice in regard to the content of their courses. Good luck to both students and parents over this time period. The end is in sight!
EALLS Faculty
The EALLS Faculty, newly formed at Evans this year, comprises English and Additional Languages and Dialects (EAL/D) teachers, and Learning and Support teachers (L&ST). Members include:
- Rose Loudon-Williams – Head Teacher
- Shabnam Shah – EAL/D teacher – Second in Charge
- Maati El Hafiane – L&S teacher – Year 7 Year Advisor
- Priti Mann – L&S teacher
- Taahira Taufique – EAL/D teacher – Welcome Program coordinator
- Mary Kavanagh – EAL/D teacher – Refugee Support Leader for the Bungarribee Area
- Imrana Ali – EAL/D teacher
The EALLS Faculty is a highly specialised team who collaborate with subject teachers to support students with EAL/D and students experiencing difficulties in their learning. The mode of operation includes: collaborative planning with teachers; teaching EAL/D targeted classes; team teaching with subject teachers; withdrawal groups; and individual plan development.
