Table of Contents
About Year 9 Subject Selection
- Advanced options – students can self-elect into advanced options at Year 9
- Acceleration options – classes taken from the offerings of the year level above – requires an application (Accelerated Learning Program – ALP).
Accelerated subjects are those undertaken from the possibilities in the year above (Year 10 or 11) and can only be taken following an Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) application.
To be accepted into the ALP, you must:
- Maintain a 90%+ attendance at school
- Achieve an aggregate score of 80%+ in their chosen subject area
- Submit all tasks for all subjects
- Have a teacher who has taught you in a relevant learning area endorse your application
ALP Review: All students in the ALP will have their performance reviewed on a semester-basis against the same criteria above. Should you not maintain the standards, you will be removed from the program and assigned to a subject from your year level. The reason for this is because the ALP is about students excelling and if you are not, you are best to try it again in the following year or choose a different subject that might suit you better.
Advanced subjects
Are those taken at the current Year 9 level. Student can self-elect into Advanced English and/or Maths but should only do so if they are achieving highly in that subject in Year 8. You should ask your current teacher if they think you will be suited to an Advanced study. However, if you have been underperforming in Year 8 and this is because you have not worked hard, you have second semester to do better and make Advanced studies appropriate for yourself.
Foundation subjects are designed for students who experience considerable difficulty in the mainstream course of study in Maths or English. Students in Foundation English will be undertaking PreVOC in Year 10. Students in Foundation Mathematics will be undertaking Skills Maths in Year 10. If you have plans to do VCE English, you must be in a mainstream English class in Year 9. If you have plans to do VCE Mathematics, you must be in a mainstream Mathematics class in Year 9.
Science for Life: Students can apply to take this course subject to teacher and parent approval. Students taking this course will not be eligible to take VCE Biology, VCE Chemistry or VCE Physics but can follow a pathway to VCE Environmental Science or VCE Psychology.
Students completing Year 9 Science for Life must complete one Semester of Science in Year 10 from:
- General Science
- Science in our World
- Creative Solutions
- Psychology
- Enviro Science
Students may also choose to do more than one of these electives.
Note: Please be aware that subjects are run depending on many factors – but in particular student numbers. Should you choose a subject that falls below a school-determined threshold, it will not run and you will be asked to select another subject from the list of subjects that are available. You will be contacted if this is the case for you.
Course Structure
Students studying a language ONLY are not required to choose a second Humanities or Art subject. However, you may opt to choose one of these as your elective.
Suggested pathways into VCE Food Studies
Elective Options
Languages
All students must continue a language in Year 9. We strongly encourage students to maintain their language. There are several advantages in doing so. Please discuss this with your language teacher prior to making your decision. Students studying a language still have one elective option from the table below, and not doing one of these electives will not affect your capacity to take subjects at Year 10.
Students in ongoing French or Indonesian will take 10 periods per cycle for the year. It is possible to make a mid-year decision not to continue and move into a different elective if there is room available in the class.
However, we also realise that some students will not continue a language into their senior years. Students wanting to terminate their study of a language at Year 9 must take one semester of an Introductory course in one of the following languages:
- French
- Indonesian
- Spanish
- Arabic
This language course structure is the same for all the four languages, focusing on language for connection and conversation.
Therefore, a student cannot take this introductory course in the same language they have been studying because they will be too advanced for this study.
Instead, they choose another language.
Students who have been in Literacy support for Year 8 do not have to take a language but they are most welcome to, and we would encourage them to do so.
Students not studying a language at Year 9 will have three elective choices.
Students who are not wanting to continue with language, will engage in a stand-alone language semester for Year 9. This course enables you to grow in your learning by exploring a new language as an introduction.
We are offering four languages in this course: Arabic, French, Indonesian and Spanish with a common learning design. That learning design is an introduction to the language from a ‘visitor to the country’ perspective, focusing on conversational language and being able to navigate around that country.
Because the learning design is an introduction, you have to choose a different language to the one you have been studying in Year 7 and 8 because you would already know the language basics covered in this course. We hope you are excited by the possibility of studying a language that is very different to the one you have been doing for two years.
Yellow Arrow leadership program
Students participate in an immersive program focusing on building leadership skills and project design skills. Students undertake a variety of activities to build their confidence and learn what type of leader they want to be. This unit gives student’s practical leadership skills that will benefit their school community and beyond.
The second unit in this course is Design Thinking for Social Change. Students will explore design thinking and work towards solving a global or local problem. These skills gained will equip students in design thinking and lead towards positive change.
Please note that you cannot take a subject twice so if you have chosen one of these as part of your core program, you cannot choose it again as an elective.
Contact
If I need to know more, who should I ask?
If you have questions about specific subjects:
Ask the relevant Learning Leader who will either answer the question or direct you to someone who can:
- RE: Ms Liz Sullivan
- English / Literature / Creative Writing: Ms Lisa Bolitho
- Science: Ms Sarah Normington
- LOTE / Technology: Mr Eoghan Brownen
- The Arts: Ms Jo Wiltshire
- Humanities: Mr Luke Keane
- Mathematics: Mr Ned Holland
- Health & PE/Outdoor Education: Ms Meg Poirier
If you have questions about Pathways:
- VCE: Ms Lisa Bolitho
- Applied Learning Leader: Mrs Sarah Clark
- VET: Ms Maggie Smith
- Careers Practitioner: Ms Steph Baulch
If you have questions about subject selection processes:
Ms Jo Ryan Assistant Principal (Learning and Wellbeing)
