Year 7 - 9 Community

Year 7 - 8

For English this term, our focus in ⅞ is on Language Analysis. With a focus on persuasive writing to drive our studies. We are working on being able to identify the different types of persuasive devices from a variety of texts using annotation. Evaluate the impact the author has in persuading the audience and then being able to use this knowledge in their own persuasive writing. 

In WE5 , we began exploring persuasive writing, and honestly, it's turned out to be more enjoyable than I thought. Our mission is to persuade others that climate change is a massive issue and it deserves more attention, using strong arguments and a clear format.

We decided to focus on climate change because it’s a massive problem that impacts not just the planet but also our local communities. Unfortunately, climate change often lacks the attention and action it truly requires. Right now, we’re still in the research stage, collecting information about rising sea temperatures, air pollution, natural disasters, ice melting, and how all these issues are linked to human actions.

Our teacher, Ms Edwards, is guiding us through the process of making a persuasive piece step by step. She’s teaching us how to structure our writing and to add factual evidence rather than just opinions. We’ve also looked at examples of persuasive writing to enhance our writing skills.

I’ve recently started writing my piece, and even though I found the topic really interesting, it’s also a little bit tough. There’s a lot to think about, but I’m hoping that when it’s complete, my writing will encourage people to think about how serious climate change is and why we should take action now before it’s too late.

Gerome Roubos - Wexford Year 8

Maths

This year in Math, I’ve worked on a variety of interesting topics in MathPathways, some that stand out for me  are cross cancelling in fraction work, integers on a number line, transformations on a cartesian plane, addition and subtraction of decimals and prime and composite numbers.

 My personal favourite is cross cancellation, it is a really helpful trick to simplify a fraction before multiplying it. This makes the problem much quicker and easier

I also heavily enjoyed all the tasks that we do every week. These tasks are just difficult math questions that we have 5 minutes of independent time to work on, then we share our ideas. The most recent one that we did was called ‘Decimal Sudoku’ . We were trying to get the closest decimal to 1 while using the numbers 1-9 once, using addition. It was fun and challenging. 

Something I like about Math Pathways is Bonus Diagnostics that measure your level of math and gives you harder or easier work depending on your level, the reason why I like this feature so much is because it can give you really challenging and new work that can make math much more enjoyable with something new every time.

Abdal Alamaro - Wexford year 7.

Humanities

For Humanities this term, our focus is on History. Specifically, the history of medieval Europe! We are working on developing our students' historical skills such as; chronology, comparing and contrasting, primary and secondary sources and unpacking the cause and effect of historical events.  

Student Update

This term has been used in medieval Europe. We have learned about the feudal system and what the different medieval classes day to day lives look like. As well as the different elements of their roles. The feudal system is like a pyramid with the distinct classes, the first and highest on the pyramid is the king\queen. Next is lords then knights and last on the pyramid is the peasants. We did a lot of research on medieval time and how people in medieval time would handle work, hygiene, living conditions and entertainment. A good example of this is earlier in the term, we did a timeline for the medieval event of our choosing, I chose Joan of Arc but, I know that there were a lot of different ones too like the 100 year war and the Black Death. I think that it was a good opportunity to learn about medieval times and the feudal system and I hope to continue to learn about medieval Europe.

Harper Potter – Wexford year 7.

Incursions & Excursions

Year ⅞ Incursion 

Coming up this term, we are all excited about the upcoming medieval Europe Incursion. We are having external providers come to each campus to deliver what promises to be an exciting full day of learning and activities. The activities the students will be completing are;

• Archery
• Tournament
• Crime and punishment
• Educational Games and activities.

Wexford will have this on June 2nd. 

Peacock on June 10th 

Tallis June 12th 

Hendy on June 23rd.

Wellbeing Day 

On June 16th, year ⅞ students from all campuses will be coming together to engage in a full day ‘Wellbeing Day’ event. Students will be given the chance to learn about the activities they will be engaging in on the day and put their preferences down for what they would like to take part in. They will be able to choose from the following;

• Yoga
• Karate
• Boxing
• Skateboarding
• Law
• Community Police
• AOD
• Mental Health
• Physical Health
• Healthy Relationships & Consent
• Music, Creativity & wellbeing
• Self-care

This will be a great opportunity for our Northern Bay College students from across the campuses to come together and engage in some valuable well being focused activities. 

Year 9

Term 2 is well underway, and our Year 9 students have already begun engaging in some exciting and thought-provoking learning experiences across their core subjects. In English, students have launched into a film study of Hunt for the Wilderpeople. This unit not only builds their understanding of visual storytelling but also develops their analytical writing skills, as they learn to craft structured responses exploring character, conflict, and cinematic techniques. Health and Physical Education has taken a real-world focus with the commencement of the "Love, Sex, and Relationships" unit. Through guided discussions and activities, students are learning about respectful relationships, consent, and communication, critical topics that empower them with knowledge and awareness as they navigate adolescence. These curriculum programs reflect a commitment to equipping students with both academic and social-emotional skills that will serve them beyond the classroom.

Beyond their classroom learning, Year 9 students have much to look forward to this term. The upcoming Year 9 Camp in Week 6 is generating a lot of excitement across the cohort, with students eager for the chance to challenge themselves, and connect with their peers and teachers in a new environment. This camp experience is often a highlight of the middle years, supporting personal growth and community building. 

As the term continues, students will also work towards key assessments in their subjects, including written responses in English and project work in Health. It’s been fantastic to see students engaging thoughtfully with complex ideas and contributing their voices in classroom discussions. We look forward to seeing them continue to grow in confidence and capability over the coming weeks.

Jana McElhinney

Year 7-8 Community Leader

Mathew Potter

Assistant Principal - Hendy Campus

Year 7-9 SoL Leader