Year 9 Election Program

After date changes and a postponement due to Covid, it was wonderful that our annual Year 9 Election Program was finally able to run in its entirety. This learning experience immerses students in some of the key aspects of Australian politics, including federation, the Constitution, separation of powers, levels of government, elections, and voting. Students were busy for two full days writing speeches, designing badges and websites, developing policies, creating badges and posters, filming promotional videos and much more. Each party was allocated an educational issue to research and develop a policy on, including the cost of university courses, providing job opportunities for school leavers, and building on the current mental health and wellbeing resources already available in schools.

We were thrilled to see how our Year 9s enthusiastically threw themselves into their work. The collaboration, creativity and attention to detail were outstanding. Our students worked wonderfully in teams, living out Romans 12:10 which asks us to Be first to honour others by putting them first.

This year, instead of allocating each Home Group a political party identity, they were allocated colours only, and encouraged to develop their own names, policies, slogans and logos:

Many students provided thoughtful and honest reflections on the program. Here is a selection:

A very cool experience, I really enjoyed being involved in this program and I have learned a lot more in depth about the Australian Government, and how voting in Australia works. Eco Zhou (9.19)

Election Program 2022 grew our knowledge of the world of politics in a fun way. I was able to expand my creativity in such a unique environment. It was so lovely to see everyone having a giggle and seeing people having such a great time and just the Year 6s being so intrigued was amazing. Stella Lantry (9.21)

Through this experience and the freedom we have been given, I have learnt a lot not only about how our country works, but also about many of my peers who I hadn't spoken to that much. Working together as a team to pull together one cohesive party was very fun and it really allowed us to take the initiative. Overall, this mock election made learning about the government and voting a whole lot more fun and interesting! Ruby Warburton (9.19)

The Year 9 Election Program has been an awesome experience that has taught us all important lessons about our political system and Australian government, as well as being a great exercise in teamwork and organisation. Above all else I think it was good to see the friendly competition between the parties and the Year 6s and 9s interacting and enjoying this great opportunity together. Rohan Mishra (9.20)

I absolutely loved the Election Program! We learnt so much about our governments and how they work, along with working with the members of our class to create great policies and an epic morning tea for the Year 6s to enjoy. This experience has been fantastic and if I could do it again, I would! Lucy Destry (9.21)

It was such a fun time having the opportunity to play the role of people who run this amazing country. Getting in on the action and really working with the class to develop and expand passion in us as young people, and slowly rising to the position to become the ones who might uphold our future. Anna Li (9.19)

We were also thrilled to be visited by Year 6 students and their teachers, Miss Gaiser and Mrs Heckathorn. Year 6s visited the speech sessions and the morning tea and cast votes to help decide the winning party. Reflecting on what they saw, some students shared what they were most looking forward to when they participate in the program in 2025:

Writing the speeches and doing it as a team… Creating a logo to grab people to vote for my party… Getting to contribute to the policy or the speech itself… Making the morning tea... Being able to research about different aspects of what I could do for Australia… Making the websites and videos and the policies… Supporting / representing an argument or policy and formulating a speech… Having a friendly competition with my peers… Getting our topics, writing speeches and getting to speak about our topic. Elvin, Steffan, Diana, Jonathan, Rachel, Rueben, Imogen, Elijah and Cindy

This year's winning Home Group was 9.21, the Outliers Party! It was an extremely close result, with the Outliers relying on preferences to get them over the line in front of The U Party, who led after the first round of voting was completed. The final two-party preferred result was 78-75 – the closest in recent history. Congratulations to 9.21, expertly led by Diella Baker and Anika Vinod.

My thanks go out to the many teaching and administration staff who worked with our Year 9s throughout the program, providing support and encouragement. I especially acknowledge the Home Group teachers, Mr Goode, Miss Zhong, and Mrs Jetten, and Year 9 Coordinator, Mr Fox, for their involvement.

Stephen White

Head of Humanities