Around the KLA's

CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts)

It has been a busy time in CAPA with HSC major works being prepared and marked for Music and Visual Art. Congratulations to Zoe Minehan, Madelene Holmes, Xavier Andrews, Fred Griffin and Molly Hardy have now completed this component of their subjects. Major works were showcased on Wednesday 23rd September for school staff and students, and Mrs Killen has been busy filming and editing the performances and bodies of work. These will be released for the whole community soon so stay tuned!

Year 11 Music Students have been presenting their final performances which are part of their recent assessment task. The could choose their own topic to research this term and had to present a viva voce and performance based around their research.

Georgia Luchich performed “At Last” by Etta James, accompanied by Jock Sweeney. 

Charlie Fittler performed “Shake the Frost” by Tyler Childers, accompanied Mr Stephen Tafra and Emma. 

VIDEO: Georgia Luchich performing "At Last" by Etta James. 

VIDEO: (below) Charlie Fittler performing "Shake the Frost" by Tyler Childers. 

Design and Technology

This week saw the marking of HSC Major Design Projects for Textiles & Design and Design & Technology. Unfortunately due to COVID the projects are not open for outside viewing by parents and friends. The staff celebrated the occasion marking the end of almost 12 months work with a special staff morning team in the Construction area where students were able to show off the fruits of their labour.

English

In our final few weeks of term the English faculty has been wrapping up our 7-10 units and planning for a new HSC Year with our Year 11s beginning the challenge next term. We have also had a strong focus on celebrating the success of every year 12 English as they head into the final period of study in preparation for the HSC examinations. As a faculty, we would like to congratulate all of Year 12 on their efforts and wish them all the best for the exams before having a well deserved rest after what has been a very unique final year of school.

HSIE

HSIE classes have been finishing up their first History units for the semester.  Year 7 classes have been learning the skills needed to be an Historian and have learnt about Ancient Australia.  They are now beginning their studies of Ancient Egypt. Year 8 students have discovered what life was like in Mediaeval Europe and will be moving on to a comparative study in Mediaeval Japan.  Year 9 students have investigated and evaluated industrialisation in the 19th century while Year 10 have been learning about human rights and the rights and freedom movements of the mid-late 20th century.  Year 9 students will learn about Australians at War (WWI and WWII) next Semester while Year 10 students will commence an independent project in an area of modern history of their choice.

PHOTOS:   8.4s Feudal Role play

Meanwhile senior students are wrapping up their HSC revision in preparation for their upcoming exams.  The HSIE staff are so proud of their efforts - they have been resilient, creative, persistent and have overcome many challenges to get to this point.  We wish them all the very best for their upcoming examinations - and beyond.

French

The study of another language provides students with a unique insight into their own language. This term in French, we have been working on the topic of family and the French grammatical complexities made the students appreciate that English was quite straightforward by comparison!

There are 3 ways of saying ‘my’ depending on whether the word that follows is masculine, feminine or plural: ma mère, mon père, mes parents (my mother, my father, my parents).

Our Year 7 students have navigated this challenge with ease and created - or for some of them are in the process of creating – an illustrated slide presentation of their family.

We have also been reflecting on symbols associated with some cultures and countries and this led to an animated discussion around the Australian identity. Students then took part in a French title page competition. Some of the resulting work was quite sophisticated and showed great awareness of the French culture.

Mathematics

In Maths classes, students have been working hard on these topics:

• Year 7’s are studying the Measurement topic.  Particularly length and perimeter.
• Year 8 have just finished the Data unit and now have started the Rates and Ratios topic.
• Year 9 5.1 have been working on their skills in algebra.
• Yr 9 5.2 have just begun the Probability with the plan to run their own Casino early next term.  Not with real money, of course!
• Year 9 5.3 are expanding and factorising quadratics, which has some high level algebra in it.
• Year 10 5.1 have finished their Tiny House investigation and have moved onto triangles and Pythagoras’ Theorem.
• Year 10 5.2 are finishing off the Trigonometry unit.
• Year 10 5.3 are exploring Proof in mathematics.  This will give them a good lead-in to the extension maths courses in Year 11 and 12.

PHOTO: Brayden Davies inspecting an igloo constructed in maths. 

Our Year 11 classes can be commended for completing their final Year 11 exams.  Most of them have worked hard since getting these back to move their learning forward.  It’s all about improvement!

Year 12 had their least lesson ever on Wednesday.  This lesson was Maths.  We now expect them to complete loads of practice exam questions before the HSC exams next term.  Good luck to you all, Year 12.

PHOTO:  Seth in Year 7, measuring the diameter of a circle so he can calculate the circumference.

PHOTO: (below) Henry and Liam fine-tuning their Ext 2 Maths skills.

PHOTO: (below) Prac Teacher, Miss Cush, working with Mia and Tilly in Year 7.

PDHPE

Our department has been working on finishing the term well:

• Year 7’s have been studying Risk taking and invasion games
• Year 8’s have been studying a variety of harmful substances and invasion games
• Year 9’s have been studying mental health and have been presenting an International game of their choice to the class
• Year 10’s have been working on a unit titled “The Party” and invasion games
• Yr 11’s are almost finished their course work with their last unit “First Aid”
• Yr 12’s have finished all content and have been busy studying for their HSC exams!!
• The following pictures are from Yr 10 Child Studies. They have been studying the unit Children and Culture. In this image one student presented the Mexican culture through a pinata experience.

Science

In Science students have been wrapping up their learning around the following areas;

Year 7 has been studying classification. They have grouped animals according to similarities that are shared within classes. Students began with vertebrates like fish, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians and then moved to invertebrates like molluscs and arthropods. After conquering the animal kingdom students then tackled plants. They learnt about dicots and monocots and further classifications of mosses, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Year 8 has been learning about the human body. They have journeyed through the digestive system, the circulatory system, the respiratory system and the excretory system. Students finished by learning how our body grows and repairs itself and have compared this to reproduction. 

Year 9 has been learning about the big systems that are at play in the world we live in. The forces that drive plate tectonics and how this causes continental drift, volcanoes and earthquakes. They have been developing their skills in using compasses to triangulate the location of an earthquake epicentre.

Year 10 has been rounding out their understanding of the periodic table by investigating trends and patterns of reactivity that occur with elements and taking note of their location on the periodic table. To further their knowledge of the atom, students have been delving into the weird world of the nucleus to begin their journey as nuclear physicists. They have looked at the difference between fission and fusion and evaluate the credibility of using nuclear power as an option to help curb increasing temperatures by reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Year 11 have just completed their yearly exams and are bracing themselves for their HSC studies that begin next term.

Year 12 have completed their studies in all of their courses and fine tuning their revision skills and exam technique. It is at this time of year that we particularly think of our year 12 students. We have seen tremendous growth in their knowledge of subject material but more importantly they have transitioned to becoming young adults who are capable and able to weather the storms that life throws at them. 

 VET (Vocational Education and Training)The last few weeks have been a busy time in ‘VETland’.

As Year 10 students have been making their subject selections for Stage 6 many have realised that Vocational Education & Training courses can play a very important role in their future career. Currently there are 4 VET courses offered at O’Connor; Business Services, Hospitality, Construction and Primary Industries. But other courses, known as TVET offered by TAFE, can also be valuable for our students. More than 20 Year 10 students have opted for a TVET Course in 2021. On top of all that, some students (around 10 across Years 10 & 11) who know exactly what they want to do post-school, have managed to secure a traineeship or apprenticeship in areas as diverse as nursing, plumbing, childcare and hairdressing. 

A case in point is Yr 11 student, Kloe Levingston who is enrolled in Early Childhood Care & Education at TAFE, also has a School Based Traineeship (SBAT) with Armidale real estate agents The Professionals. Kloe was recently awarded her Certificate of Registration as an Assistant Agent in both Real Estate and Stock & Station. By the end of 2021, all being well, not only will Kloe have a Higher School Certificate, but also a Certificate II in Early Childhood Education and a Certificate in Real Estate thanks to VET courses.