Middle Years

Year 9 Elective Program

As the term progresses, it is clear that students have settled well into their new classes. With the term more than half over – yes it is a very short term! – it has been good to see that students have completed this transition period of settling back into the school year quickly, and are doing their best to get involved and try new things.

For Year 9 students in particular, this year is a taste of what Later Years learning will be like, as they began their elective program for the first time at the start of the school year. The elective program involves students taking ownership of their learning for the first time, as they are able to select three electives to participate in per semester. This is a taste of Later Years learning, as when students move to Year 10 their program is entirely built around their electives. At Year 9 students still experience core classes in English, Humanities, Maths, Science and Health in addition to their electives.

Every year Year 9 students are excited to go to these classes, as they are often linked to their interest areas and can be used as a guide to assist with choosing – or in some cases not choosing! – future pathways. However, this is all part of the philosophy behind the program, as trialling a wide range of electives gives students the chance to dip in and out and see what they really like.

Below are some comments from students on how they’re feeling about their electives…

My two favourite electives are Court Sport and Field Sport. I love running around kicking a football and playing basketball while hanging with friends and getting motivated. So far the electives this semester have been great. Next semester I am looking forward to Materials Technology because I like building and constructing different things with wood.

Colby Peatling

The start of this year’s electives has been fun as you go into different classes and meet new people and make new friends. My favourite subject of my electives would be Drama, as you’re having fun acting but also learning new things as you go. The reason why I enjoy Drama and that it is my favourite, is because we do different performances along with learning scripts and just having fun. In Drama you are allowed to look silly without letting your insecurities get the best of you. I also love Drama as it has made me a lot more confident.

Eva Zatovic

My favourite elective of this semester is Digital Photography. You get to learn a wide range of skills and techniques. I’m looking forward to next semester for Bakery Café so I can learn how to cook better.

John Pitch

So far the electives program has been really fun and an easy way to communicate and socialise with other students. I’m really looking forward to sport and Integrated Systems Engineering next semester!

Jade Hordern

If I had to choose a favourite elective, it would have to be Racquet Sports. I chose it as an elective because I had the freedom of picking which sports I wanted to pursue. My least favourite elective would have to be cooking, but that’s okay, because I know I don’t fit with it and will choose something different in Year 10.

Gavin Lim

My favourite elective is Science of Cells and Systems, because I learn things that I never knew before and I think it is very interesting – and sometimes it can be fun. Next semester I’m looking forward to Visual Communication and Design, because I love art and it may be in my future when I leave high school.

Abigail Gojar

My favourite elective this semester would have to be Dance. It has built up my confidence in dancing in front of people and given me an idea of what dance really is and what type of skills are needed, as well as ways to be better. I’m looking forward to Court Sport next semester as I love sport; I love being outside and getting active. Court Sports also has netball which is my passion.

Olivia Woodman

My favourite elective is Bakery Café because it is fun and you get to cook and learn about different foods. You learn how to cook lots of different things and you learn about the different kitchen appliances. Next semester I’m most looking forward to doing Field Sport, because it includes the sports I enjoy the most such as footy, soccer and rugby.

Jan Luedtke

Year 7 Family Evening

On Tuesday 1st March, the Year 7 Family Evening was held. The topic of the evening was pro-social behaviour. The purpose of the evening was to encourage students and their families to understand what pro-social behaviour is, to recognise when it is appropriate to use it and for parents and students to develop a common language.

The evening began with a Keynote speech by Katrina Katz, our Leader of Student Wellbeing, in the Theatre. This was followed by a BBQ dinner outside the Orchard where teachers had the opportunity to mingle with the parents of their students. The evening finished with small group workshops where students and parents had the opportunity to work through some of the ideas raised in the presentation. To assist parents who had younger children with them as well, Year 10 Peer Support leaders also attended the evening and entertained these children with various activities in the library over the course of the night.

The College has found this evening to be very useful in order to develop student awareness of community and of how we would like them to operate whilst at school. It is also useful in developing networks amongst the school community, due to the capacity for parents to meet their child’s teachers as well as new school friends and Peer Support leaders. 

Below are some comments from students regarding what they thought of the night and what they took away from it…

I really liked the way it was run. I learnt how pro-social behaviour works and how to react in difficult situations.

Ben Bayley

The pro-social night was a great hit. I liked the sausages and the workshops were cool! In the workshops I liked the part where we had to look at scenarios, and we had to think about what you would do if faced with them.

Olivia Bedford

The pro-social behaviour family evening was a fun and interesting night. The talk about pro-social behaviour was interesting and I learnt a lot about ‘pay it forward’ scenarios and the possible reactions to bullying. It was fun talking about different scenarios with my friends’ parents and getting to know them. The videos were interesting to watch and I definitely got something out of it!

Talia Ruighaver

The night was amazing and it was definitely not what I was expecting. I expected long boring speeches with a sausage sizzle at the end. When I arrived at the theatre, everything was organised perfectly. We watched three videos that represented pro-social behaviour. After the speeches and videos we had a sausage sizzle dinner which was run by the Year 10 Peer Support students. After that we went through scenarios. Discussing these scenarios really made me realise how bad today’s society can be.

Jack Megee

The night was well organised and presented well. I enjoyed the ‘pay it forward’ presentation that showed that nice things you do actually come back to you. My parents enjoyed meeting the teachers and other parents.

Benjamin Barrett

I really enjoyed learning about pro-social behaviour because I got to take my parents back to school. My mum was very proud of how much I was contributing. Ms Katz’s presentation was important because it makes sense that if you help someone you will also get help.

Luke Smith

Ms Katz’s presentation was really interesting. Both my dad and I enjoyed it. We watched three videos about pro-social behaviour, all very meaningful and memorable. The first one gave me the message of passing on the good deed and how from little things, big things can grow. The second video was kind of scary, as two guys were fake fighting to see what the reaction of bystanders would be, and it made me think that if I was in a situation like that, I wouldn’t feel safe. After that we were taken to Mason House to workshop ideas and my dad and I had a chuckle about how school had changed so much from when he attended.

Mackenzie Le Fevre

The pro-social behaviour evening taught me a lot. One of the things that I learnt was how to actually deal with a situation where someone is being mistreated without getting physical. The workshop we went to was really interesting. There were so many bad situations with many options of how to deal with them. Some problems even involved stealing!

Gemma Stange

Peer Support Program

To support our Year 7 students as they begin high school, Wantirna College runs a Peer Support program in semester 1. The Peer Support program sees two to three Year 10 students paired up with between eight to ten Year 7 students. They meet once a week and together the Year 10 students assist in guiding the younger students through what can sometimes be a difficult time – the beginning of high school.

Their role is to provide support, stimulation and mentoring to the Year 7s to support the transition process, as at times it can be easier for young students to communicate with a peer rather than with a teacher. It also has the additional benefit of developing the leadership capacity of our Year 10s as part of their elective program. The classes are spread over the school, and it is always entertaining walking through Mason House and seeing groups of young people laughing and working together to achieve a goal.