200 Hour Electives  

COMMERCE (200 hours)

AIMS & OBJECTIVES:

The aim of Commerce is to enable students to acquire the knowledge and develop the skills and understanding necessary to research and find solutions to consumer, financial, legal, business and employment issues.

Commerce helps young people to make informed and responsible decisions and prepares them for a variety of roles such as consumer, producer, worker, owner, manager, unionist, investor and taxpayer. It provides a good basis for the senior HSIE subjects of Business Studies, Economics and Legal Studies.

CONTENT:

• Core topics: Consumer Choice, Personal Finance, Law and Society, and Employment Issues;

• A choice of five of the options: Investing, Promoting and Selling, E-commerce, Global Links, Towards Independence, Political Involvement, Travel, Law in Action, Our Economy, Community Participation and Running a Business.  The options that will be studied will be decided in discussions between the teacher and students.

ASSESSMENT:

• Consumer choice research task

• Topic test on finance

• Plan a dream holiday

• Create a resume and cover letter for a job search task

Students participate in:

• Classroom discussions, assignments, newspaper and magazine stimulus and videos;

• The Sharemarket Game, played on-line through the Australian Stock Exchange;

• Excursions to local businesses, markets, Wollongong Court and the Sydney Stock Exchange.

Commerce is a varied and practical subject which is relevant to everyone’s life. It provides a good introduction to areas of study and careers in business, economics and the law.

HSIE Head Teacher: Jillian Jones

JAPANESE (200 hours)

AIMS & OBJECTIVES:

Languages courses provide opportunities for students to engage with the linguistic and cultural diversity of the world and its peoples. Students broaden their horizons in relation to personal, social, cultural and employment opportunities in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. Learning languages exercises students’ intellectual curiosity, increases metalinguistic awareness, strengthens intellectual, analytical and reflective capabilities, and enhances creative and critical thinking.

Japanese can be studied in Stage 5 as a stand-alone course, or as a precursor to Japanese studies in year 11&12. The study of Japanese allows students to engage with elements of modern Japan, including popular culture such as anime, manga, music and fashion, as well as with the rich cultural traditions of this part of Asia.

Students at Woonona High School are fortunate enough to engage in student exchange programs both at school and abroad in Japan. During the exchange in Japan, students are exposed to Japanese history, culture and most importantly, opportunities to practice and develop their Japanese language skills.Whilst this complements the study of Japanese the exchange is not a compulsory part of the course.

CONTENT:

Students will apply pronunciation, intonation and phrasing patterns of spoken Japanese, recognising that most kanji have more than one reading and that pronunciation changes according to kanji compounds. They write texts comprising hiragana, katakana and familiar kanji, using knowledge of familiar kanji to predict the meaning of new vocabulary. They understand the systematic nature of Japanese grammatical forms, and use elements of grammar to express complex ideas. They will participate in a range of collaborative tasks, activities and experiences that involve making plans, negotiating and solving problems.

ASSESSMENT:

The four macro skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing are assessed throughout the two years of the course under two strands: communicating and understanding. Assessable tasks include class work, homework and assignments.

Topics for assessment will include:

• Family

• School

• Leisure

• Outing

• Home and neighbourhood

• Eating out

• Navigating in Japan

• Future plans

HSIE Head Teacher: Jillian Jones

PSYCHOLOGY (200 hours)

AIMS & OBJECTIVES:

The aim of this course is to promote understanding and critical awareness of the nature of human behaviour. Students will develop a knowledge and understanding of human nature by asking scientific and philosophical questions and by undertaking studies into the fields of neuroscience, cognitive sciences and social psychology. Through these studies, students will appreciate how people perceive the world around them and how they respond to it, how human learning develops and how they relate to others and function in groups.

CONTENT:

The main areas of study include:

ASSESSMENT:

• Psychology social experiment

• Research – Forensic Case study

• Project Based Learning – The Brain

  • Action – based research task

  • Group Presentation

  • Written tasks

• Examination

Choosing this elective will benefit students’ skills in research, writing, and discussion which can improve performance and provide a solid foundation for senior HSIE subjects such as Legal Studies and Society and Culture. It will also enable students to better understand and respond to varying types of human behaviour and provide a practical insight into the work of a psychologist.

• This course will not be listed on the Record of School Achievement (RoSA) 

HSIE Head Teacher: Jillian Jones

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