Teaching and Learning

Junior

Middle

VCE Year 11

VCE Year 12

Junior

Term 3 in Junior English will focus on reading and analysing the text ‘Digger J Jones’ by Richard Frankland, a fictional diary of a young Aboriginal boy growing up in Melbourne in 1967. The diary gently explores the issues facing Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians at this time including the 1967 referendum, the Vietnam War and racial segregation. Assessment for this unit includes comprehension activities as we read the text before producing creative responses to the themes explored.

Middle

Term 3 in Middle English will focus on reading and analysing the text ‘Future Girl’ by Asphyxia. ‘Future Girl’ explores what it means to come of age as a Deaf teenager, against the backdrop of a near-future Melbourne on the brink of environmental catastrophe. Assessment for this unit includes comprehension activities as we read the text before producing creative responses to the themes explored.

VCE Year 11

This term in English we are concentrating on the development of reading and viewing skills with a particular focus on inferential reading and viewing. The core text of the term is the film Charlie’s Country directed by Rolf De Heer. Students will be honing their analysis skills by engaging with ideas, concerns and tensions in texts by recognising the ways vocabulary, text structure, language features and text conventions work together to create meaning. Students will be writing a number of pieces of analysis across the term and this will culminate in a final text analysis SAC.

VCE Year 12

This term in English students are starting unit 4 which involves comparing the presentation of ideas, issues and themes in texts. There are two outcomes this term. 

The first outcome involves reading and comparing two texts - Pride and I Am Malala. Students will analyse and compare these texts to gain a deeper understanding of the ideas, issues and themes. At the completion of the unit they will produce a detailed written analysis SAC which compares these texts, discussing similarities and differences. The second outcome, which will be completed across term 3 and 4, is the presentation of argument. Students will build their understanding of both the analysis and comparison of texts that attempt to influence audiences. They will then use this knowledge of argument and persuasive language to create an oral presentation that demonstrates a sustained and reasoned point of view on a topical issue.

VCE Vocational Major Literacy

Across Semester 2 VM Literacy students will read, view and listen to a range of texts that demonstrate diverse opinions on a range of local and global issues, and which may impact on their community or be of particular concern to a vocational or workplace group. They will then have the opportunity to explore issues that are important to them, and present their own views to their peers. Assessment for this unit includes written and oral analysis of language used to persuade an audience, and the creation of a podcast presenting different perspectives on a topic of interest.

Middles

This term in History, the Middles will explore the Industrial Revolution, the Gold Rush, and the Opium Wars, with a focus on relationships between Australia and China through the lens of British colonisation. Students will develop their historical skills in chronology and cause and effect, and apply these by creating a historical artefact for each topic such as a newspaper article or a letter.

VCE History year 11

In History this term students will be exploring the causes and consequences of the Cold War. This will include examining the competing ideologies that underpinned events, the effects on people, groups and nations, and the reasons for the end of this period of ideological conflict. Students will learn that while the USA and the USSR never engaged in direct armed conflict, their opposition was demonstrated in other significant ways such as international conflicts in Berlin, Cuba and Vietnam. For the SAC students will be asked to undertake a number of distinct tasks that will aim to further develop the skills we have been working on throughout the year. These will include engaging in historical inquiry, analysing sources and exploration of Cold War historiography.

VCE History Year 12

This term we will be studying Chinese History and the events and conditions that contributed to the outbreak of the Revolution. We examine the challenges to the early Republican era, the First United Front, the Northern Expedition, the Shanghai Massacre, the Jiangxi Soviet the Nationalist Decade (the Nanjing Decade), the Long March, the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and the Sino-Japanese War, the Yan’an Soviet, the Xian Incident and Second United Front, and the Civil War. We will continue to use and analyse primary and secondary written and visual representations. Students will continue to develop their analytical skills along with their understanding of historiography. The School Based Assessment for this unit of the work will be a research project.

Junior

This term the junior science crew is looking at chemical reactions through the study of chemistry. We will be applying the ‘particle theory’ to explain why things evaporate, burn, expand and pop. The key learning is not knowing that, for example, mentos and coke explode, but being able to explain why and how we can control it. Along the way we will learn about the periodic table and design a science demonstration show that we hope to show to a primary school audience. The main assessment will be to communicate how a reaction works using the particle model.

Middle

Term three middle science students are doing the physics of motion. Including the forces and types of energy that make objects move. We will talk about car crashes, trampolines and parachuting. Assessment will consist of a large format poster summarising the forces and energy rollercoaster passengers experience. Students will also be assessed on a model rollercoaster they will construct.

VCE Psychology Year 11

Psychology this term gets all social, as we turn our gaze to how psychology affects how we learn, the attitudes we develop and how advertising is using psychology to sell you things you don’t want or need. Along the way we will look at our own attitudes; how they develop, how they affect our behaviour and how they can turn into prejudice and discrimination. We will also look at some classic research like the Stanford Prison Experiment, Asch’s experiments on conformity and why in 1964, 38 people heard a woman's screams for help but only 1 called for help. Our assessments will be a response to media (SAC 1), a bullying posters (SAC 2) and a coursework booklet on social psychology (SAC 3)

VCE Psychology Year 12

Junior

This term in Junior Art we will be exploring the element of form (3D structure) and Aboriginal dot painting. Students will construct a 3D alphabetical letter out of paper mache. Students will then decorate their letter using their own Aboriginal dot painting designs after exploring the cultural practices of Aboriginal art. These letters will collaboratively create a sign that will have the purpose of accentuating and decorating a space within the school.

Middle

In term 3 middle students are to learn a range of printing techniques alongside learning about artists (Howard Arkley, Matisse, Keith Harington, and Peter Cromer) who specialise in bold style and selected material and techniques. The theme will be Homes & Places, students will reflect on important places to them, and through observation, collage, stencil and printing techniques will create a booklet to present their printed artworks. The booklet of artworks will show a range of newly learnt printing techniques and different materials to demonstrate the students' learning of how to interpret artists' influence and style into their own work to create student individual creative style and practice.

VCE Year 11

In Unit 2 students investigate the artistic and collaborative practices of artists. They will use the Cultural Lens, and the other Interpretive Lenses, to examine artworks from different periods of time and cultures. Exploring the different ways that artists interpret and communicate cultural, social and personal ideas in artworks.

Students explore and engage with collaborative practice as artists and use the Creative Practice to make and present collaborative artworks. They will develop visual responses based on their investigations, exploring the way historical and contemporary cultural contexts, ideas and approaches have influenced the artworks and the practices of the artists, as well as their own art practice. During the unit students will also continue the skills developed from unit 1, using documentation in their visual dairies that will show and evaluate the collaborative creative practice taken through reflective practices.

VCE Year 12

Junior

The Junior students will explore video game soundtracks, and investigate the roles of background and interactive sound in gameplay. They will apply their knowledge of digital audio workspaces from last term to create original game music and sound effects of their own. The students will also learn to play famous themes on mallet percussion to add another instrument to their growing musical toolkits.

Middle

In Enhance Music, students will compose and record their own soundscapes or movie soundtracks collaboratively in groups. Students will learn how to use Ableton to create and arrange samples, and record their own found sounds for realistic foley and sound effects.

VET Music

In Semester 2, VET Music is undertaking 3 Units of Competency. They will be writing 3 original musical works to a genre brief, developing an understanding of how to setup and operate a basic lighting system and use these skills to run an event.

Junior

In junior PE this term we will be using net games to learn about the concepts of space, time and effort and how these can be used to improve participation and success. This might be learning about where you need to stand or place the ball in volleyball (space). It might be how you can use both slow and fast shots in badminton (time) to win a point or how hard you can hit a table tennis smash (effort) so the ball goes fast but you still hit the table. Over the term the students will assess themselves to monitor how they are progressing along a spectrum of net games and racquet skills.

Middle

The middles this term will start off looking at fitness and health. We’ll explore how the body makes energy, how it moves and what different levels of intensity ‘feel’ like. We’ll use this information to plan how to stay active and healthy and maybe even improve our performance if competitive sport is your thing. In the second half of the term we will apply this to a specific activity of the students’ selection. They will analyse, plan a program, follow it and then see what the impact has been. This evaluation will form the main assessment for this term.

Junior

This term in Junior Community we have two main areas of focus. We are beginning the term by exploring the roles and tasks involved in running a cafe, before using our shared knowledge to create and run a cafe for all students and staff at SRCS. In the second half of the term we will look beyond our school by learning about and participating in giving to the local community. Throughout both of these units students will be assessed on their ability to perform in a variety of team roles and to manage conflict and differences.

Middle

This term in Middle Community we are focusing on career development and preparation. Students will begin by participating in work experience and/or a SRCS specific World of Work program. Students will follow this by taking part in the RIJI program. RIJI stands for Real Industry Job Interview (program) and involves students finding a job advertisement and going through a mock interview process. Students will create a resume and cover letter for their chosen job and will be interviewed by a volunteer business leader in Merri Bek. Students will receive targeted feedback on all elements of their job application and this will be reflected upon in class.

Junior

In Junior Health this term students will continue to build on their existing knowledge of Sexual Health, Respectful Relationships, Rights and Resilience. We will cover the basics of changes that occur during puberty, conception and reproduction as well as looking at contraceptives and how to practise safe sex. We will learn about the importance of consent, boundary setting as well as how to start and end a relationship in a respectful manner. We will explore gender and how ideas around gender and sex can impact the health and wellbeing of young people. We will look at gender equality and  power and will begin learning about gender based violence and how to keep safe in the physical and online worlds.

Middle

In the first part of term 3, Middle Health will continue to build on their existing knowledge of Sexual Health and Respectful Relationships, refresh their understanding of conception and contraception, ensuring students are equipped to confidently build increasingly mature and respectful intimate relationships into their adult lives. We will look at the social and emotional impacts of pornography on young people's understanding of sexual relationships and their expectations of intimate partners. 

In the later part of the term we will explore neurodiversity and look into the range of diagnoses that young people may encounter which change the way they interact with the world and build and maintain social connections, employment and general health.

VCE Year 11 and 12 Health and Human Development

The focus of Term 2 VCE HHD is on improvement in health. We will look at the different approaches to health care and health promotion in Australia. Students will look at the changes that have occurred in Australia since the 1900s to the present.  Students will learn about improvements that have occurred in Australian health status as systems moved from the old public health model to health promotions as informed by the Ottawa charter. Students will then learn about the current Australian health system including Medicare, health insurance, the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme PDS and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. NDIS. Students will then learn about the current focuses in health promotion in Australia including looking in depth at the work of Nutrition Australia, the Australian Cancer Council, Diabetes Australia, and the Heart Foundation. This Assessment this semester will take the form of an information brochure or a short class presentation along with in class short answer questions, case studies and data analysis.