Each student will end up with two electives for Year 9. Students in Year 8 need to choose two of the following electives on the Edval Choices form. Preference 1 and Preference 2 in that order. They also need to choose two reserve units in order. Reserve 1 and reserve 2. It is important to know how the system then works. The subject will only run if enough students choose it as one of their main choices. Out of the 16 choices, approximately 10 will end up running on two lines of 5 each. If enough students pick the same subject, that subject may run on both lines (two different classes). The important thing to know is that it is the students choices that determine these lines, not staff.
Elective Subject Information
Agriculture - Breeding for Profit (Semester 1)
Course Description
Students will experience aspects of an agricultural lifestyle through direct contact with plants and animals and a variety of outside activities. They explore the many and varied career opportunities in agriculture and its related service industries.
Students investigate the sustainability of Australian agriculture through the careful management of resources and agricultural systems, as well as the relationships between production and marketing.
The study of a range of enterprises allows students to make responsible decisions about the appropriate use of agricultural technologies.
Semester 2 compliments Semester 1.
What will students learn about?
Agriculture – Breeding for Profit in Semester 1 is based around stock appraisal and exhibiting sheep and cattle at the local shows together with the basics of pastures and soils. It is a mostly practical course delivered outside on the school farm with a variety of excursions.
The course follows the seasonal activities at the school farm including calving, exhibition of cattle, joining and hay production.
What will students learn to do?
Students will spend approximately 70% of the course time on practical experiences related to extensive sheep and cattle enterprises, including livestock evaluation, preparing cattle for exhibition, exhibiting livestock, attending local events and relating agricultural production to market potential.
Students will learn to identify and assess local soils and pasture species including weeds.
Skills will include livestock handling, show preparation, communication, data analysis, decision making and collaborative learning.
What will students require?
Students will need a small PPE kit including safety glasses, ear plugs, close fitting work gloves and a P2 mask to be kept at school in an individual bag.
Intensive Agricultural Systems (Semester 2 - 50 Hours)
Course Description
Students will experience aspects of an agricultural lifestyle through direct contact with plants and animals and a variety of outside activities. They explore the many and varied career opportunities in agriculture and its related service industries.
Students investigate the sustainability of Australian agriculture through the careful management of resources and agricultural systems, as well as the relationships between production and marketing.
The study of a range of enterprises allows students to make responsible decisions about the appropriate use of agricultural technologies.
Semester 1 compliments Semester 2.
What will students learn about?
Intensive Agricultural Systems is based around intensive agriculture including exhibition poultry, fat lambs, wool production and fruit, vegetables and flower production. This course is delivered predominately outdoors with a practical focus supported by theory as required.
The course follows the seasonal activities at the school farm including poultry breeding and exhibition, finishing fat lambs, shearing and lambing. The spring summer season revolves around growing fruit, vegetables and flowers.
There is the option to look at exhibition of cattle late in term 4.
What will students learn to do?
Students will spend approximately 70% of the course time on practical experiences related to intensive livestock enterprises, including poultry, fat lambs and growing fruit, vegetables and flowers..
Skills will include livestock handling, poultry show preparation, soil preparation, planting seeds and seedlings, communication skills, data analysis, decision making and collaborative learning.
What will students require?
Students will need a small PPE kit including safety glasses, ear plugs, close fitting work gloves and a P2 mask to be kept at school in an individual bag.
Course description
Child Studies aims to develop in students the knowledge, understanding and skills to positively influence the wellbeing and development of children in the critical early years in a range of settings and contexts.
What will students learn about?
The syllabus includes a range of modules that provide flexibility for schools to design and deliver a course in Child Studies that meets the needs and interests of their students. Modules should be between 15 and 30 hours duration.
The syllabus modules are:
Preparing for parenthood
Conception to birth
Family interactions
Newborn care
Growth and development
Play and the developing child
Health and safety in childhood
Food and nutrition in childhood
Children and culture
Media and technology in childhood
Aboriginal cultures and childhood
The diverse needs of children
Childcare services and career opportunities
What will students learn to do?
Throughout the course students will develop skills that enhance their ability to:
Support a child’s development from pre-conception through to and including the early years
Positively influence the growth, development and wellbeing of children
Consider the external factors that support the growth, development and wellbeing of children
Research, communicate and evaluate issues related to child development.
For more information see the Stage 5 PDHPE Electives site: Stage 5 Subject Selection
Course description
Commerce enables young people to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes that form the foundation on which they can make sound decisions about consumer, financial, economic, business, legal, political and employment issues. It develops in students the ability to research information, apply problem-solving strategies and evaluate options in order to make informed and responsible decisions as individuals and as part of the community.
What will students learn about?
Students investigate the consumer, financial, economic, business, legal, political and employment world and are provided with the opportunity to develop their research, decision-making and problem-solving skills. Students develop an understanding of political and legal processes in order to become informed, responsible and active citizens. Commerce provides opportunities for students to develop the skills required to become responsible and independent individuals who can contribute to society.
What will students learn to do?
Student learning in Commerce promotes critical thinking and the opportunity to participate in the community. Students learn to identify, research and evaluate options when solving problems and making decisions on matters relating to their consumer, financial, economic, business, legal, political and employment interactions. They develop research and communication skills, including the use of ICT, and the skills of working independently and collaboratively.
100 hours (Year 9 2025)
(replacing Design & Technology in 2025)
Course description
The study of Industrial Technology- TIMBER provides students with opportunities to engage in a diverse range of creative and practical experiences using timber and timber related products.
What students will learn about
The Timber focus area provides opportunities for students to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to the timber and associated industries.
The core module develops knowledge and skills in the use of tools, materials and techniques related to timber which are enhanced and further developed through the study of a specialist module.
What students will learn to do
Practical projects undertaken reflect the nature of the Timber focus area and provide opportunities for students to develop specific knowledge, understanding and skills related to timber technologies. These may include:
· decorative timber products
· furniture items
· small bowls or turned items
· storage and display units
· storage and transportation products
Course Description
Drama enables young people to develop knowledge, understanding and skills
individually and collaboratively to make, perform and appreciate dramatic and theatrical works. Students take on roles as a means of exploring both familiar and unfamiliar aspects of their world while exploring the ways people react and respond to different situations, issues and ideas.
What will students learn about?
All students undertake a unit of playbuilding in every 100 hours of the course.
Playbuilding refers to a group of students collaborating to make their own piece of drama from a variety of stimuli. At least one other dramatic form or performance style must also be studied in the first 100 hours. Examples of these include improvisation, mime, script, puppetry, small screen drama, physical theatre, street theatre, mask, comedy and Shakespeare. Students also learn about the elements of drama, various roles in the theatre, the visual impact of design, production elements and the importance of the audience in any performance.
What will students learn to do?
Students learn to make, perform and appreciate dramatic and theatrical works. They devise and enact dramas using scripted and unscripted material and use acting and performance techniques to convey meaning to an audience. They learn to respond to, reflect on and analyse their own work and the work of others and evaluate the contribution of drama and theatre to enriching society.
Course description
The study of Food Technology provides students with a broad knowledge of food properties, processing, preparation, nutritional considerations and consumption patterns. It addresses the importance of hygiene, safe working practices and legislation in relation to the production of food. Students develop food-specific skills, which can be applied in a range of contexts enabling students to produce quality food products. The course also provides students with contexts through which to explore the richness, pleasure and variety food adds to life and how it contributes to both vocational and general life experiences.
What students learn
Students learn about food in a variety of settings, enabling them to evaluate the relationships between food, technology, nutritional status and the quality of life.
The major emphasis of the Food Technology syllabus is on students exploring food-related issues through a range of practical experiences, allowing them to make informed and appropriate choices with regard to food. Students develop the ability and confidence to design, produce and evaluate solutions to situations involving food. They learn about Work Health and Safety issues, and learn to select and use appropriate ingredients, methods and equipment safely and competently.
Students learn about food through the following focus areas:
Food in Australia
Food Equity
Food Product Development
Food Selection and Health
Food Service and Catering
Food for Specific Needs
Food for Special Occasions
Food Trends.
Students undertaking the 100-hour course are required to complete THREE to FOUR focus areas.
Course requirements
To satisfy the requirements of the syllabus, students must undertake a range of practical experiences that occupy the majority of course time. Practical experiences allow students to develop skills and confidence in the use of a range of equipment.
The French K–10 Syllabus provides opportunities for students to engage with the linguistic and cultural diversity of French-speaking communities. Through learning French, students develop communicative skills in the language, an understanding of how languages work as a system and intercultural understanding capability.
Course Description
History enables young people to develop an interest in and enjoyment of exploring the past. History Elective provides opportunities to develop a knowledge and understanding of past societies and historical periods.
What will students learn about?
The History (Elective) course consists of three topics which include a range of options for study
Topic 1: History, Heritage and Archaeology
Students explore the nature of history, heritage and archaeology and the methods that historians use to construct history. Historical issues studied include the collection, display and reconstruction of the past, including preserved human remains, ethical issues of ownership, preservation and conservation of the past.
Topic 2: Ancient, Medieval and Modern Societies
Students have the opportunity to explore a range of ancient, medieval and modern societies and their features as well as significant individuals
Topic 3: Themes and big ideas in history
Students investigate a theme or a big idea from history. There is a diverse range of ideas that can be studied.
Options include (but are not limited to)
Herstory
Children’s history
Heroes and villains
Crime and punishment
Freedom and slavery
Mythology
War crimes trials
Colonisation and First Nations Peoples
Crusades
What will students learn to do?
Students undertake processes of historical inquiry, including understanding and analysing sources and sequencing major historical events to show an understanding of continuity, change and causation. Students develop an understanding of historical concepts such as:
empathetic understanding;
significance and
contestability.
They apply research and communication skills, including the use of ICT, and examine different perspectives and interpretations to develop an understanding of a wide variety of viewpoints. Students are provided with opportunities to construct a logical historical argument supported by relevant evidence and to communicate effectively about the past for different audiences.
STEM - Fundamentals and Aerodynamics (Semester 1)
Courses offered in STEM Learning Yrs 9 & 10
STEM - Fundamentals and Aerodynamics (Yr 9)
STEM - Coding and Computer Aided Design (Yr 9)
STEM - CO2 Dragsters (Yr 10)
STEM - Robotics, Drones, Lasers & LED’s (Yr 10)
Course Description
To satisfy the requirements of the course students must undertake a range of inquiry-based learning activities, which occupy the majority of course time.
Inquiry-based learning assists students to actively pursue and use technological knowledge rather than experience it as pre-packaged and complete —to be accepted and practised. Thus in the course structure there are many points at which students raise questions and explore ideas.
In module 1 activities 'guided inquiry' strategies are used in engineering challenges. The ways of thinking that students develop through this time are nurtured in the bigger challenges that follow.
The aim of the STEM course is to promote the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through the immersion of students in challenges that need an understanding of these four disciplines to complete the challenge.
What will students learn about?
Students will learn to use a range of tools, techniques and processes, including relevant technologies in order to develop solutions to a wide variety of problems relating to their present and future needs and aspirations.
Students will undertake some of the following challenges to build upon their critical thinking skills:
Paper table
Float your boat
Bridge building
Bristle bots
Paper planes
Walk along glider
LEAN Manufacturing
Water Rockets
Power Anchor - SkyLap
STEM - Coding and Computer Aided Design (CAD)
(Semester 2)
Course Description
To satisfy the requirements of the course students must undertake a range of inquiry-based learning activities, which occupy the majority of course time.
In this course students develop skills using SketchUp, a 3D modelling program that allows students to quickly design a 3D model of an object that later be built (like a shed, house, car engine, musical instrument, surfboard, light shade etc). Amazingly this can then be 3D printed or laser cut to make the virtual designs a reality. Students will then laser custom of their virtual constructions which will give them real industry standard skills that will make them more employable in the near future.
Students will move through three phases of coding. Firstly they will begin with block coding when constructing their own catch game from a program called Scratch. After this students will learn some of the fundamental skills in coding in a language called Python. This is a computer coding language that is used in the majority of phone applications that are on the market today. In the third phase of coding, students will learn to code an arduino, which uses a different language of code called “C++”. This will give them the ability to program a microcontroller (a mini computer) that is able to open and close doors, automatically feed and water chickens and lock them up when it gets dark, enable plants to send you a message via their own (the plant’s own) twitter account to instruct you to water it - the sky's the limit here. Students will finish this section by coding their own christmas light sequence.
What will students learn about?
Students will learn to use a range of tools, techniques and processes, including relevant technologies in order to develop solutions to a wide variety of problems relating to their present and future needs and aspirations.
Students will undertake some of the following challenges to build upon their critical thinking skills:
3 x 3 x 3 Tetris Cube
SketchUp House
Laser-cut Desk Organiser
Design a Coaster
Phone Docking Station
Scratch Catch Game
GROK Python Turtle
GROK Arduino Esplora
Arduino Christmas Tree Lights
(100 hours)
Course description
This course provides students with the opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal Peoples, histories and cultures. The programme is designed to be inclusive of all students in NSW schools and of value to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students and non-Aboriginal students.
Aboriginal students are empowered through the exploration and celebration of their cultural and social heritage, continuity and resilience. Cultural affirmation through the study of their local/regional community(ies) and Aboriginal cultural diversity can contribute to personal and cultural wellbeing.
Non-Aboriginal students are provided with opportunities to recognise and respect the knowledge and practices of Aboriginal Peoples as the most sustained globally. The study of Aboriginal identity and lived experiences of Aboriginal Peoples benefits non-Aboriginal students by providing deeper insights that can enable more respectful and reciprocal engagement with Aboriginal Peoples and communities.
Indigenous Enterprise (Semester 1)
What will students learn about?
The focus of this course is Aboriginal Peoples and human rights, with emphasis on the importance of self-determination and autonomy. Students explore the activities of organisations, movements and individuals who have worked towards Aboriginal autonomy, through the context of an integrated case study that focuses on an Aboriginal response to events and individuals related to self-determination.
Students also learn about the processes of establishing Aboriginal organisations and enterprises and their impact on Aboriginal communities, self-esteem and sense of personal and cultural autonomy. Studies include the establishment of early Aboriginal organisations and the types of Aboriginal organisations which now exist (eg community-based, cultural, employment, medical and legal services), the types and diversity of Aboriginal enterprises in areas such as land development, tourism, business enterprises and non-profit organisations.
What will students learn to do?
Students develop ethical research skills and recognise the importance of applying community consultation protocols, including in relation to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP). In their research, students develop understanding and experience of a variety of appropriate information and communication technologies.
Knowledge about the historical and contemporary experiences of Aboriginal Peoples, and the range of relationships with non-Aboriginal people, contributes to ethical and empathetic understandings that are of value to students’ personal, social, cultural, academic and professional development. In these ways, students can become active and informed advocates for a just and inclusive world.
Indigenous Expression (Semester 2)
What will students learn about?
This course focuses on the diversity of Aboriginal cultures and identities and the factors that contribute to their development and expression. Students explore the social factors and experiences that affect identity and cultural expressions. This course also develops knowledge and understanding about appropriate consultation protocols so that students are able to work effectively with their local Aboriginal communities.
Students also learn about the role and diversity of Aboriginal contributions to Visual and Performing arts (including dance, music and drama) and film and television. They investigate the importance of visual and performing arts to the survival of Aboriginal Peoples as unique groups within Australian society, their importance in expressing the diverse senses of identity of Aboriginal Peoples and the significance of the arts to the survival of cultures and identities of Aboriginal Peoples within Australian society. Issues surrounding cultural appropriation, the protection of intellectual and artistic copyright, and the varying and sensitive roles of individuals, communities, and language and cultural groups in the development and expression of Aboriginal visual arts are investigated.
What will students learn to do?
Students develop ethical research skills and recognise the importance of applying community consultation protocols, including in relation to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP). In their research, students develop understanding and experience of a variety of appropriate information and communication technologies.
Knowledge about the historical and contemporary experiences of Aboriginal Peoples, and the range of relationships with non-Aboriginal people, contributes to ethical and empathetic understandings that are of value to students’ personal, social, cultural, academic and professional development. In these ways, students can become active and informed advocates for a just and inclusive world.
Course Description
Music plays an important role in the social, cultural, aesthetic and spiritual lives of people. At an individual level, music is a medium of personal expression. It enables the sharing of ideas, feelings and experiences. The nature of musical study also allows students to develop their capacity to manage their own learning, engage in problem-solving, work collaboratively and engage in activities that reflects the real world practice of performers, composers and audiences.
What will students learn about?
Students will learn about the concepts of music (duration, pitch, dynamics and expressive techniques, tone colour, texture and structure) through performing, composing and listening, within the context of a range of styles, periods and genres.
The elective course requires students to study the topic of Australian Music, as well as a number of optional topics that represent a broad range of musical styles, periods and genres.
What will students learn to do?
Students will learn to perform music in a range of musical contexts, compose music that represents the topics studied and listen with discrimination, meaning and appreciation to a broad range of musical styles.
Course Description
Physical Activity and Sports Studies aims to enhance students’ capacity to participate effectively in physical activity and sport, leading to improved quality of life for themselves and others.
Students engage in a wide range of physical activities in order to develop key
understandings about how and why we move and how to enhance quality and
enjoyment of movement.
What will students learn about?
The course includes modules selected from each of the following three areas of study:
Foundations of Physical Activity
Body systems and energy for physical activity
Physical activity for health
Physical fitness
Fundamentals of movement skill development
Nutrition and physical activity
Participating with safety
Physical Activity and Sport in Society
Australia’s sporting identity
Lifestyle, leisure and recreation
Physical activity and sport for specific groups
Opportunities and pathways in physical activity and sport
Issues in physical activity and sport
Enhancing Participation and Performance
Promoting active lifestyles
Coaching
Enhancing performance – strategies and techniques
Technology, participation and performance
Event management
For more information see the Stage 5 PDHPE Electives site: Stage 5 Subject Selection
Textiles “Carry It” (Semester 1)
Course Description
This course will focus on developing basic practical skills used in the production of a range of textile items made for carrying purposes. These practical construction skills will be developed throughout the unit including seam types, finishes, hems, and closures. Safety in the textiles workshop will form an important part of this course.
An introduction to simple pattern making for various items such as a pencil case, calico shopping bag, travel holder for cutlery, slouch bag and a duffle bag useful for overnight purposes will be developed and used in preparation for construction. A few other options may also be available depending on the interest of the students and the time allowed.
Students will develop an understanding of how textile materials differ in their properties and what makes them useful for different textile items. They will be exposed to a range of different textile materials, testing the materials and learning about how they are made. For example, the production of cotton; from fibre through to yarn, and then finally fabric.
Students will be experimenting with a range of printing and dyeing techniques and then incorporating some of these into their design projects.
Electronic textiles or e-textiles is an area of innovation which will be investigated. A swing tag created on the laser cutter and the use of LED lights will be incorporated.
Course requirements
Students undertaking the ‘Carry It’ course will be required to complete:
• a minimum of two projects
• a short research project based on one of the topics covered in the course
Textiles “War on Waste” (Semester 2)
Course Description
The ‘throw away’ culture has created an avalanche of cheap clothing being discarded at an alarming rate. To create a more sustainable way of living, customers need to reduce, reuse and recycle valuable textiles resources.
This course will give students the opportunity to design and construct a textile item from a previously loved piece or pieces of clothing and/or textile material. This could be from apparel, non apparel, furnishing, textile art or costume.
An excursion to the local charity stores to gather inspiration and ideas will be the starting point for our journey into the lifecycle of textiles.
Fast fashion and the damage it has done to our environment will be explored. Research will be undertaken into environmental sustainability and how, as consumers of textiles, we can play our part in becoming more responsible in the use of our precious resources. Natural dyeing and printing as forms of colouration will be experienced.
Students will be given the opportunity to learn the art of cottage crafts that are making a huge resurgence in the 21st century as niche markets become more and more popular. Examples include macrame, crochet, knitting, weaving (loom and basket), lace making. Students may wish to focus on one of these textile art forms to create their own ‘work of art’.
Course requirements
Students undertaking the ‘Upcycle’ course will be required to complete:
a minimum of two projects
a short research project based on one of the topics covered in the course
a short folio detailing the design process
(100 hours)
Course Description 100hrs
Visual Arts fosters the development of imaginative, lateral thinking and creative problem solving together with the opportunity for the expression of ideas, feelings and beliefs.
What will students learn about?
This course is for students who wish to communicate their ideas visually through a variety of materials and techniques. They refine their skills to produce work which reflects the development of their conceptual and practical abilities.
What will students learn to do?
Semester 1 Paint Me
Focusing on the qualities of paint and a variety of techniques, students will create a stretched canvas artwork. Our identity and the influence of the world around us will be a source of inspiration in the development of skills and techniques with paint. Art will be studied and used to develop your painting skills.
Semester 2 Out of the Box
Students will design a special box and the items to go inside including jewellery and or other small objects using a variety of materials. Explore clay hand-building techniques including coil, slab, carving and modelling. Various methods of surface decoration include underglazes and glazes. You will learn about the properties of clay.
Course Requirements
Students are required to develop ideas through research in their Visual Arts Diary leading to the construction of artworks.
Course description
We surround ourselves with designed images and objects!
Artistic practices that incorporate visual design play an important part in the contemporary art world
What will students learn about?
Practice within the school context is intended to approximate practice used in the contemporary world by artists as visual designers. These practices, including collaborative and sustainable design practices, provide real-world models for learning and may establish career options available to students.
What will students learn to do?
Semester 1 Letter Art
The focus of this commercially based course is Graphic Design. The language and processes of graphic design are learned as students tackle design briefs in a range of options including poster design, typography, logos, labels etc.
Semester 2 Tic Toc
Design and construct creative and functional objects which may include options such as a clock, posters, jewellery, 3D books etc. Opportunities are offered to work with a variety of drawing, painting, printmaking and ceramic materials to construct your masterpieces.
Course Requirements
Students are required to develop ideas through research in their Visual Design Diary leading to the construction of artworks.