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Year 7
In Year 7, the students complete a compulsory course. The aim of this is to allow them to explore a wide range of curriculum areas that challenge and engage them. Each course provides them with a foundation so they can begin to identify their passions and skills. Students complete two languages and three of the technology areas as introductory courses. They will experience a performing arts course that combines elements of dance, drama, and music, and a full year of visual arts to hone their skills in this area. Individual students, in consultation with the Head of Middle School, Dean, and the Learning Enhancement Faculty, may be offered Learning Enhancement (LEC) to provide personalised support or extension. Additionally, students for whom English is an additional language may be advised to attend English language support classes.
Note: As students move through the Middle School they will get greater opportunity to choose the subjects they would like to pursue.
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Compulsory
ENSS
Health and Physical Education
Mathematics
Performing Arts
Science
Religious Education
Visual Art Creative Technologies
One third of the year of the following:
Digital Technology
Food Technology
Hard Materials Technology
Languages
Half year of two of the following:
Chinese
French
Spanish
Te Reo Māori
The Arts
Year 7 Performing Arts
The arts are a fundamental form of expression, both personal and cultural, and provide powerful, life-enriching experiences. Year 7 has a compulsory
Students will explore the elements of dance through creative processes. They will explore and develop movement and performance vocabularies in a variety of genre and cultural dance forms. Students will discuss and include dance in meaningful social and historical contexts.
Dance
Drama
Students develop independent drama skills and techniques through process drama, performance, and the creative use of drama elements (voice, body, movement, and use of space) and conventions. They identify and discuss how drama creates meaning and engages an audience.
Music
Music will cover a wide range of historical, social, and cultural contexts, exploring its relevance to students’ lives and communities. Practical musical knowledge and ideas will be developed as students listen and respond to music, and explore how music sounds are made. Students will develop music performance skills, and reflect on live and recorded music.
The theme for Year 7 is ‘Nature’ towards abstraction, looking at botanical subject matter and pattern. Students will look at plants; leaves and flowers, through drawing of still-life. Through observation and developing drawing skills, students then look at methods of abstraction using painting, printmaking, mixed media methods, and processes based on contemporary artists. arts course that includes three periods of performing arts each week, covering the three disciplines of dance, drama, and music throughout the year.
Visual Art
Content includes: › Dancing through the ages › Line, folk, and hip hop dancing › Creative choreography
Content includes: › Improvisation › Role-playing › Process drama › Class production
Content includes: › Ukulele, keyboard, percussion instruments, and singing › Elements of pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and notation › Music theory, composition, history, and different genres of music › Instruments of the orchestra
Skills developed: Developing Practical Knowledge Explore art-making techniques and apply knowledge of elements and principles, through the use of materials and processes. Developing Ideas Develop and revisit visual ideas, in response to a variety of motivations, observation, and imagination, supported by the study of artists’ works. Art Research and Context Investigate traditional and contemporary art practice. Identify its context and understand the ideas in their own and artists’ artworks.
Creative Technologies
Year 7
Students in Year 7 get an opportunity to experience three different technology contexts. They rotate through each context, as a module, that lasts one third of the year. The following contexts are studied in Year 7.
Digital Technology
In this module the emphasis is to understand how digital technology works. Students will engage in a variety of activities that enable them to apply technology terminology and produce a digital outcome on an aspect of the course that impacts on them.
In this module students learn to make a range of snack foods and then reflect on the appeal and key basic nutritional attributes of these. Following the design process, they plan and develop a food product that better meets the requirements of their peer group.
In this module students will select and develop a series of designs suitable for a personalised identity tag made from wood. They will then embellish the surface with paint and other materials, ensuring the final product is both individual and decorative.
Food Technology
Hard Materials Technology
Skills developed: › Computational thinking › Decomposition › Sequencing › Technological systems › Creating and developing a digital outcome
Skills developed: › Key food preparation skills › Safe and proper use of equipment › Confidence when working in a food preparation environment › Building a positive attitude to new food experiences › Creativity
Skills developed: › Creativity › Planning › Brief development › Machining › Drawing › Material understanding
ENSS
Year 7
ENSS is the combined study of English and social sciences. Blending these two learning areas together allows students to see how text and context interact and enables students to go deeper into inquiry learning. Each term is based around a different topic, with texts linked to that theme.
In Year 7 ENSS students develop core skills to set them up for success in the rest of their schooling journey. Students are taught to make meaning through listening, reading, and viewing texts, and to create meaning for themselves and others through speaking, writing, and presenting. The course focuses on empowering students to work both independently and collaboratively with their peers. Skills developed: › Reading and writing › Speaking and listening › Viewing and presenting › Inquiring and exploring values
Content: Me & My World – Understanding ourselves, our traditions and cultures, and those of others. Students complete a novel study, inquiry, and creative writing. Stories of Survivors – Conducting an inquiry into survival skills, completing a novel study, and performing a speech and a presentation. Investigating Animals – Appreciating the place of animals in our world through completing a short text study and creating an information report. Marketing with a Mission – Selecting a charity to support and raising money via ‘Market Day’. Working collaboratively to create a business pitch, advertisements, and products.
Health and Physical Education
Year 7
Our vision for students in health and physical education is to create healthy, empowered, positively engaged young women, who can grow and develop sustainable and meaningful connections.
Course outline: Students in Year 7 participate in three periods of health and physical education lessons per week. These units are designed specifically for students to develop a range of skills, strategies, and knowledge pertaining to issues and topics relevant to this age group. We aim to provide practical experiences that are varied, fun, and promote a positive attitude towards movement and physical activity. Skills developed: › Communication › Creativity › Time-management › Collaboration › Confidence › Grit › Critical-thinking › Game strategies and tactics › Physical skills in a variety of contexts › Positive self-esteem
Content: Making Connections – all about us, adventure based learning and personal identity, Te Ao Kori Everyone Counts – hockey and friendships Bend, Stretch, and Grow – rhythmic gymnastics Sexuality Education Flipper Ball – pool based activities and fun!
Languages
Year 7
Learning a new language is not just about learning new words – it’s also about discovering other cultures and becoming more aware of your own. It’s about learning to see things from different points of view. It also means thinking about how other people see you.
The course is made up of four language modules over Years 7 and 8, specifically French, Spanish, Te Reo and Chinese. Each module lasts for two terms and classes are once a week. Students will study two languages each year so that prior to Year 9 they can make an informed decision on which language to study in Years 9 and 10. The exact order of languages they study depends on timetable constraints.
Emphasis is on the oral communicative approach to second language learning. Skills developed: Language Knowledge › Productive skills – speaking and writing › Receptive skills – listening and reading
Cultural Knowledge › Ability to recognise that the other cultures are organised in particular ways › Ability to make connections with known culture(s)
Content includes but is not limited to: › Self-introduction including: name, age, birth date, family members, pets › Colours, numbers and animals › Sports, food, free time activities › Cultural practices such as festivals, legends, traditions, songs, dances etc
Mathematics
Year 7
Having mathematical understanding is a vital skill for everyone in our society. All students need to leave school with the ability to calculate, estimate, solve problems, think logically, gather and process information, and communicate ideas effectively. In addition, mathematics is an essential tool in many other subjects.
Course outline: The mathematics programme is based on the National Curriculum and comprises of three strands: › Number and Algebra › Geometry and Measurement › Statistics All three strands are covered each year with a cyclic approach to covering the curriculum. The Year 7 mathematics programme is mostly based on Levels 3 and 4 of the National Curriculum. The students follow the same course but the classes in each year level are streamed to meet the needs of all students. Skills developed: In a range of meaningful contexts, students will be engaged in thinking mathematically and statistically. They will solve problems and model situations that require them to: › Generalise mathematical properties › Investigate and/or gather information › Use technology where applicable › Build on mathematical knowledge from previous years › Communicate methods › Develop deeper understanding These skills are demonstrated in hands-on project-based learning including designing mini golf courses, competing in the Measurement Olympics, and building our own geometry houses.
Knowledge and concepts covered: › Use number strategies to solve problems › Know number knowledge to express ideas › Explore patterns and relationships › Use appropriate measures and scales › Solve measurement problems › Classify shapes and solids › Locate position and orientation › Use transformations to explore properties of shapes › Plan and carry out a statistical investigation › Understand statistical literacy › Investigate situations involving elements of chance › Calculate probabilities
Science
Year 7
In Year 7, our SMC girls begin their science journey in a fully equipped Science laboratory with a specialist teacher. Students will work on developing their knowledge in a wide range of topics, touching on all areas of the New Zealand Science curriculum; biology, chemistry, earth science and physics.
Alongside this, they learn how to work accurately and safely during practical work.
Science Badges are a creative part of this subject that also allow girls to extend themselves in areas of Science that we might not look at during the year. Each girl completes a badge as part of a topic taught during the programme. Then many students go on to complete badge/s that they are interested in or have a passion for.
The cohort participates in an Education Outside the Classroom experience with a visit to the Orana Wildlife Park as part of their Amazing Animals unit. Skills developed: › Understanding of a range of science ideas and concepts › Planning and carrying out investigations › Researching and communicating science ideas › Independence and self-management › Participating in group work
Ideas and concepts: › Working safely and accurately in a science laboratory › Finding out about what makes something living and then using common features to classifying them › Explain the benefits of adaptations › Explore and describe the physical phenomena of forces › Investigate the components of the solar system, developing an appreciation of the distances between them › Compare chemical and physical changes
