9 Subject Selection - Clonard College Geelong

Subject Selections - Year 9

At Year 9 students undertake a broad course including subjects from all Learning Areas. Within those Learning Areas students have some choices. Students who are not undertaking ongoing Language (see below) have two free electives from any Learning Area and students undertaking ongoing Language have one free elective from any Learning Area. Students should use the Student Reflection form to assess their current performance in advance of choosing their pathway and subjects (where relevant) for the following year. Student Reflection form link

Program choices

There are three program choices for Year 9 students:

Program 1: mainstream Year 9 leading to VCE or VCE (Vocational Major)

This is the program most students will take. In this program students undertake the core program with some choices within subjects and 1 or 2 subjects as electives from any Learning Area. All these students also take a Language (except those in Literacy support in Year 8. They can choose not to do a Language but are welcome to). That can be either ongoing from Year 8 and is a full subject at Year 9 (10 periods per cycle) with the intention of taking language beyond Year 9 OR a single semester of an Introduction to Spanish, Indonesian or Arabic (5 periods per cycle).

Program 2: mainstream Year 9 with Foundation English leading directly to VCE (Vocational Major)

This is the program for students who require Foundation English. Students undertake the same Year 9 core program with some choices within subjects and 1 or 2 electives from any Learning Area. Instead of General English they choose Foundation English which is a literacy-based subject. This leads directly to Literacy in the Year 10 PreVOC program and then to the VCE (Vocational Major). It does not lead to a mainstream VCE program.

Program 3: Big Picture Learning Australia leading directly to the International Big Picture Learning Credential (and VCE VM certification)

Students in Big Picture Learning do not undertake a mainstream Year 9 course. They move into the Big Picture Learning Academy which continues to Year 12. The Big Picture Learning program will be aligned with the VCE (Vocational Major) and students should be able to achieve both the VCE (VM) and be awarded the Big Picture Learning Credential. Find more information below.

The table below will show you how the course works.

Advanced Studies

Languages

Students can self-elect into advanced Mathematics and English at Year 9 but should consider carefully their performance in Year 8 to determine if they are an appropriate candidate for an advanced subject. 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.

Students will be invited to join Advanced Science.

Foundation Studies

We offer three Foundation subject: Mathematics, English and Science for Life. Foundation Studies 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 and will be invited 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

· Psychology

· Enviro Science

Students may also choose to do more than one of these electives.

Languages

All students except those in Foundation English or who were in Literacy Support in Year 8 must continue a language in Year 9. We strongly encourage students to maintain their language through to VCE and there are several advantages in doing so. Students who continue their language into Year 9 will be exempt from the requirement to take a second Humanities subject to enable them to access an elective of their choice. Students taking the introductory course have two electives.

Students intending to take a language in VCE:

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.

Students who do not intend to 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:

· 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. Please discuss this with your language teacher prior to making your decision.

Accelerated Learning Program

The Accelerated Learning Program is open to all Year 9 students wishing to take a subject from the year level above. It is important to note that acceleration in Year 9 is rare because all Year 10 subjects are 10 periods per cycle and most Year 9 choices are 5 periods per cycle so it is more impactful on your program. There are some subjects that are not considered appropriate to accelerate except in very exceptional circumstances:

· Languages

· Biology, Chemistry and Physics

· Pre-Methods/Methods/Specialist Mathematics

Students wishing to accelerate need to meet the following requirements to be accepted into, and maintain their place, in the ALP.

· Minimum 90% attendance

· Achieve an aggregate score of 80%+ in their chosen subject area

· Submit all tasks in all subjects

· Teacher endorsement from a teacher who has taught you in a relevant subject area

· Level 3+ in Agency in Learning Competency – the ‘self-regulated learner’.

Review

All students in the ALP will have their performance reviewed on a semester basis against the same criteria above. Should you no longer meet these requirements, you will be removed from the program at the end of the semester 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 again in the following year or choose a different subject that might suit you better.

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.

Program 3: Big Picture Learning Australia leading directly to the International Big Picture Learning Credential and the VCE VM certification)

From 2026, Clonard College will offer 17 Year 10 students the opportunity to join a very different way of ‘doing’ school called Big Picture. This is an alternate learning design and experience. Big Picture video link