Humanities Humanities in 2016 has offered some challenging and exciting opportunities for students to explore History, Geography and Civics and Commerce subjects. Year 8 students, as part of a Project-based Learning unit, undertook field work at the Barwon River and completed a study as part of the assessment. Year 11 students visited Barwon Prison for their Legal Studies class. Whilst there, they had the opportunity to talk with inmates about their experiences with the Australian legal system and how this has affected their lives. Students at other year levels have been involved in camps, excursions and a range of exciting activities. There is commentary below regarding student involvement and achievement in the 22nd Annual Geography Competition. There is also some information regarding other Project-based Learning units and the fantastic experiences students are having through this innovative teaching and learning method. I hope you enjoy looking at a snapshot of Humanities in 2016! - Michelle Bishop, Humanities Domain Leader & Teaching Innovation Coordinator 2016 AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHY COMPETITION Students from Year 10 and 11 took part in the 22nd annual Australian Geography Competition during Term 2. Approximately 60,000 students from around Australia entered the Competition, which is organised by the Australian Geography Teachers’ Association and the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland. Competition coordinator Bernard Fitzpatrick said that the Competition gave teachers an opportunity to highlight geography in their schools. “In today’s society, geography is a vital subject that all young people should study. Understanding place and people, and the socio-economic and environmental interactions at local, regional, national and international levels is important to the economic and environmental future of Australia,” said Mr Fitzpatrick. He
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concluded, “Geography helps students understand the world around them, and the interconnections of the physical and social sciences within their local community and global communities.” The following students performed particularly well: High Distinction Lachlan Peck - Year 10 Distinctions Year 11 - Jacob Bakker, Bill Rowe, Peter Watkin. Year 10 - Joseph Flintoff, Griffin Harvey, Lewis Rancic Credits Year 11 - Angus McKinnon, Benjamin Semmler. Year 10 - Samuel Barling, Fionn Guina Stannard, Oliver Hanneysee, Thomas Hartney. RE PROJECT – LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE Students in RE have worked through their project “Living a Christian Life”. As part of the project students had to contact a local aide agency in Geelong and create an advertisement that helped to promote the aims of the agency. The students found this quite a challenging activity but have learnt a lot about formal communication and working collaboratively to achieve their goals. “The call to the charity was a great success. I made the call and the people on the other end of the phone were a great help towards me and my group…I would prepare myself better in future telephone calls and I would also try to be a lot less nervous. It was helpful that they wanted us to help them and they also gave us good information and insight into their organisation. Overall I think our phone call was a great success and me and my group are very happy with the final outcome.” - Jake Charles, Year 8
