Middle School & HSIE Report
Middle School Report
Year 7 have had a very productive term 1 and have settled into the Middle School routine very well. Our semester 1 assessment program is well underway and students have produced excellent results this term.
Students were very busy completing their Identity Projects this term. Students were asked to visually represent the wonderful things that make them unique and the level of creativity was outstanding. Students work has been proudly on display in our library area and photographed for future reference
Students have also enjoyed our collaborative way of learning in our new strand PBL (Project Based Learning). Our classrooms have been productive and students have adapted very well to this innovative form of program delivery. I wish to thank Ms Brien and Mrs Jones for all their hard work to ensure the success of the program.
Students in Global Awareness will be receiving their Egyptian artefact task for term 2. This will allow students to demonstrate their understanding of Egyptian history and culture in a creative way.
Middle School teachers would like to thank students and parents for joining for the Year 7 Information Night on 8 March. We had some very favourable feedback on our classroom visits and we are pleased that parents found these sessions fun and informative.
Students will be busily preparing for Year 7 Camp this week and we will have a full report on our adventures in an early term 2 newsletter.
Please contact Middle School teachers if you have any concerns about your child’s progress. We are happy to help in any way possible.
Thank you Year 7 for a wonderful term 1.
HSIE Report
Term 1 seems have raced by and it hard to believe that holidays and our important Anzac Day Commemoration will soon be upon us. The HSIE faculty has welcomed a new member to our team – Ms Chloe Thompson. Ms Thompson was successful through the merit selection process and she has taken up her position in Modern History, junior HSIE and English this year. We are so happy to have Ms Thompson as part of our HSIE family and she has already made a valuable contribution to the faculty and as a sports coach this term.
Year 7 Young Achiever students have enjoyed their introduction to the world of history and archaeology this term. Their assessment tasks which focused on Narrabeen Man demonstrated a wonderful ability to analyse written, archaeological and visual sources. The forensic reports produced by students were detailed and highly original. Students will be completing their artefact task and exploring Ancient China in term 2.
Year 8 History students have completed their source analysis task based on their study of the Medieval Europe and the Black Death in term 1. Students have explored this historical period in depth and classes have enjoyed exploring medieval defence with our trebuchet (thanks to Mr Ardley).
Year 9 students have explored the Industrial Revolution this term and assessment task 1 – Source Analysis, has been completed. Our new NSW AC Geography program was also introduced in term 1 and students have investigated sustainable biomes. Students have focused on the use of biomes by humans, as well the issues of sustainability, population growth and food security.
Congratulations to our Year 10 students on the completion of their Pop Culture visual representations in History this term. Teachers have been impressed with the quality of tasks and students have truly embraced the opportunity to be creative. Film, television, fashion, literature, sport, food and animation are just some of the areas students explored this term.
The first formal assessment tasks as senior students have also been completed by Preliminary HSC (Year 11 students) this term. Generally, students have adjusted well to the demands of the senior school and teachers have been pleased with their progress.
Good luck to our HSC students who completed important mid-course exams in weeks 10 and 11. It is vital that students are well prepared for these formal tasks and use this time to develop their exam techniques.
The HSIE faculty will be leading our school’s Anzac Day Commemoration on Friday 28 April and students are busily preparing presentations for this important event. This year we acknowledge 100 years since important battles on the Western Front, as well as 75th anniversary of key World War II events (Darwin, The Fall of Singapore, and El Alamein).
Enjoy the holidays and we look forward to a terrific term 2
Mr Mark Macdonald - Head Teacher HSIE, Languages and Middle School