Curriculum ___________________________________Page

CELEBRATING OUR TEACHING AND LEARNING PROGRAM

Schools are always busy places. You only need to wander the corridors, walk through the yard or visit before or after school hours to find that it is a hive of activity. Guest speakers, special programs, debating, musical rehearsal, art classes, the trade centre, sports practice… the list goes on. With nearly 1600 boys spread across two campuses there is always something interesting going on. The glue that holds all this together is the curriculum. One of the most exciting changes to occur has been the commencement of our Year 9 campus, Westcourt. For the first time, our students were not all on the same site. Our new campus saw the delivery of an exciting and challenging program designed specifically for Year 9 students. From the very first day when students walked into their vibrant and colourful classrooms, there was a feeling of belonging to a special community. Within the Westcourt program, exciting projects were developed within Challenge subjects such as DIY guitar, Planet Green, Adventure Race and Showtime. The advent of a separate campus also allowed students to create special programs that connected to their core studies such as a very moving ANZAC ceremony and display, the Amazing Race adventure and the Solo Experience (The Rite Journey). Our Year 9 students who are studying Chinese were also given the opportunity to participate in a State Government initiative of travelling to China to experience an immersion experience designed to prepare them for living and working in a globalised world. Eleven students participated in the Victorian Young Leaders to China program which involved one week of intensive language training; one week of visiting cultural sites and four weeks of studying in classes at different schools in Nanjing. It is particularly pleasing to report that one of these students, Liam Jelley, has been awarded The AFS Special Galatti Scholarship to study abroad next year. Liam will have the opportunity to deepen his language skills and appreciation of Chinese culture through a year-long immersion in China.

Another wonderful addition to the College has been the implementation of The Joseph Innovation and Trade Trading Centre. This wonderful facility has offered breadth to the array of subjects that we can offer, particularly to our Senior school students. This year we have offered new VET courses on site in Carbon Management, Building and Construction (Carpentry), Allied Health and Electro-technology. This has been a wonderful complement to other courses that we have been able to offer such as Furniture Making and Product Design and Technology. We were thrilled to see one of our VCE Systems Engineering students, Adam Lloyd, appear in The Age newspaper in recognition of his extraordinary work in developing a replica K-9. This year we have been reviewing our current Year 7 and 8 programs and developing new aims and vision for our junior school. Some exciting developments have begun which we will continue to build on for introduction in 2016. In particular, we have begun looking at the ways in which we design and implement curriculum and the role of technology in the execution of these programs all designed at creating 21st Century learners. As an offshoot to this we have recognised the need to address the learning spaces that our students occupy. As such, six junior classrooms have been refurbished with new tables, carpet wall tiles, coloured whiteboards and soft furnishings. Our teachers are engaged in ongoing professional learning both at the college and beyond. Our aim has been to offer sustained, peer based learning which has a strong mix of theoretical research and practical application. Some of the areas that we have looked at have included: the use of technology in the classroom; dealing with difficult students; modifying work for students with specific learning needs and the role of Literacy across the curriculum. We will continue this work in the new year. 2015 promises to be as busy and exciting as this year. Through the curriculum we hope our students become the best men that they can be by aiming high, developing their skills and talents and respecting and showing compassion for others in their community.

Michelle Brodrick & Mark Stracey

Young Leaders to China Program Adam Lloyd with his K-9 Robot

Year 7 Classroom Refurbishments