Teaching and Learning

Our connected community at The Hamilton and Alexandra College ensures students are empowered to achieve their best. Student courses for 2021 were confirmed in the last few weeks, and many students and parents have been talking about how what we do here at College equips students for a future world of work and study. Students have three entry points for learning program:

• Engage Program (Transition) Year 7
• Explore Program (Breadth) Year 8-9
• Emerge Program (Depth) Year 10-12

I thought it might be useful to document some of the ways students are enabled to follow their passions and interests as they progress from Year 7 to Year 12, and what the learning program might look like. Let me introduce you to three fictional students: Anna, Jeremy and Phillip.

Anna is a motivated and high achieving student. She started at the school in Year 7 as a boarder from SA. Anna began her learning journey in the Engage program with a strong core curriculum of English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, Chinese, Music, Art, PE and Health and Wellbeing. Each term she does a new rotation subject – Food Technology, Drama and Digital Technology. Anna has enjoyed life at the College and finds it difficult to choose a single area of interest. As Anna moved into the EXPLORE program, she decided to continue her study of Language (Chinese) and take a range of subjects to experience new learning. This included Literature, Agriculture Science, Art Photography, Software Development, and a STEM project. Year 10 marks the beginning of the EMERGE program, a pre-VCE pathway program and here Anna had the opportunity for early entry into a VCE unit. Anna continued to study English, Maths, Science, PE and Health and Wellbeing, but focused on Language and IT. In the Emerge program she was able to undertake a research project, develop leadership skills, participate in a work experience program, and begin some student coaching. Her final years at the College enabled her to pursue her love of language, literature, and IT, preparing her for a creative and confident future.

Jeremy arrived at the college in Year 9 and entered the EXPLORE Program. He is passionate about working on his family farm and has an interest in machinery. In Year 9 Jeremy was able to take an elective unit in Business Management, several IT units and an Agriculture unit delivered offsite at RIST. Jeremy’s interest in returning to the family farm continued to be front of mind as he applied to study Certificate II in Agriculture at RIST, Geography and Commerce in Year 10. The opportunity to work with the College and RIST provided Jeremy with independence and agency over his learning. He was able to develop confidence in his literacy and numeracy skills, accessing extra support when required and learning how to study, organise and manage his time. Jeremy graduated from the College with his VCE and a Certificate III in Agriculture. He plans to work and study post school before returning to the family property.

Phillip has been at the College since Year 2. He started at Myrniong and has loved the co-curricular offerings at the school. Phillip is a skilled basketball player and a sportsman with strong leadership skills. His other love is music, and this was sparked by the Strings program, early in his time in the Junior School. Initially Phillip believed that his music and  sport where interests only, but has he progressed through the school he realised the potential to gain real depth in his learning about music and his capacity to lead and understand more about the science of sport. Phillip completed Engage and Explore knowing he wanted to begin the Emerge program with a focus on music performance and sport. At Year 10 he was able to study Music Performance, Sports Science – a pre VCE PE unit, Psychology, and develop coaching skills as he completed his leadership program. Phillip’s leadership capacity was developed by his involvement with the Creative and Performing Arts program at the school as well as his love of sport.

The story we tell at The College is that we want the best for and from our students. Each young person has a unique learning journey, and our new Curriculum model enables each student to have access to the best learning pathways for them. 

Susan Bradbeer

VCE Unit 3 & 4 Studies (Year 11 and 12) – Examination Preparation

What a wonderful celebratory week it was for our Year 12s last week. Despite the most bizarre year, they proudly reflected on 2020 as a challenge they have overcome. I urge them all to take this confident attitude into their exams and finish the year positively.

I met with the Year 11 & 12 VCE Students last week to give some final exanimation preparation advice and guidelines for the conduct of the VCAA guidelines. Students have recently sat the GAT and the advice is very similar in terms of what they must do to remain COVID safe and what materials they are allowed to bring into each examination.

Year 12s finished their final classes this Friday; however, they are expected to maintain contact with each subject teacher right up to the day of each examination.  Units 3&4 classes will continue to run at normal scheduled times to enable ongoing access to subject teachers throughout the examination period. One of the best things that a Year 12 student can do in the lead up to final examinations is to stay in the school routine. This routine will ensure students have fixed hours for study, rather than procrastinating at home. One trap that students can fall into after the conclusion of formal classes is to start sleeping in. This is dangerous because exams that start at 9.00am require students to be mentally awake in the morning; a routine of sleeping in can mean that a student is physically present but mentally asleep at the start of a morning exam. Sleeping in also encourages staying up late, which obviously is not a good idea on the night before an exam.

I would like to wish our Year 11 and Year 12 students the very best for their exams and congratulate them on the commitment they have shown towards their studies this year.

Mrs Rebekah Bonnett

Head of VCE Studies and Head of Science

Edrolo Resources in 2021