Year 9 News

Year 9 Update 

Our year 9 students have generally started term 1 well and have been busy with their new elective subjects, NAPLAN and their new classes.  

Students have settled well into their new classes, with their new teachers and we are pleased to say that as a cohort we have earned 1704 posi slips this term. We have had a solid term of learning, with students focusing on key literacy skills in English, Australian politics in Humanities, chemistry and practical investigations in Science, geometry in Maths and responsible life skills in Health. We have also worked with our year 9 students to rename our ‘Learn to Learn’ program to ‘Connect4’.  

Alongside this we have also run a large number of extracurricular activities, including the Gippsland Social Innovators Program, an Engineering Workshop, Hands on Learning and interschool sport. Our year 9 students also completed their FINAL EVER NAPLAN last week, with all students trying their best and behaving respectfully and politely in the NAPLAN room. Ms Westphalen and Mrs. Johnston are proud of the way most of our year 9 students continue to embody our school values each day at school and in the community.  

Moving forward into term 2, we will be focusing on careers in Connect4, building skills such as resume writing, interview skills and an awareness of different jobs and pathways. We will also be having a focus as a cohort on our attendance, as we aim to encourage all students to have above 90% attendance. Attendance is exceptionally important for all students in year 9 as we want to prepare students as best as we can for senior school next year, part-time employment and opportunities for TAFE, traineeships, and school-based apprenticeships. Obviously, we know that sometimes students will need to be away if they are unwell, however it is important that every other day students are attending school and ready to learn.  

We hope you have a safe and happy Easter and look forward to continuing to work with you to support our year 9 students in term 2!  

Elise Westphalen

Year 9 Leader