Year 7, Semester Two, 2013 This is the final edition of the Curriculum News for 2013. This year Lalor Secondary College celebrated its 50th Anniversary which commemorated all the achievements of our school community, both past and present. This is also a time to acknowledge the partnerships with parents in the education of their children to prepare them to be successful and responsible citizens. Without the support and contribution of parents the achievements of our school in so many areas would not be as outstanding. These items are from our Faculty Leaders and contain information about what our Year 7 students are doing in the many subject areas. This is provided to you as part of our ongoing commitment to enabling the proud partnership that we have with our parents. I would also like to wish all our Lalor families a very safe and enjoyable holiday break. Mrs. Kaylene Kubeil, College Curriculum Leader, Years 7‐10 ENGLISH – The focus of English in Year 7 is to engage students by studying a variety of texts for enjoyment. Students listen to, read, view, interpret and evaluate texts designed to inform and persuade. In Semester Two students expand their work on their Writing Folio with a creative focus, with a contribution in Term Three of a Film Review of a ‘ and in Term Four of a poetry piece. Students studied fairy tales and fantastic worlds in the first six weeks of Term Three. A number of students were given the opportunity to present their creative fairy tale to students at Lalor Primary School. Students also presented a film review of a movie focussed on a ‘fantastic world’. This is a particularly enjoyable part of the Year 7 English syllabus for our students. Classes also began reading the text ‘Holes’ and will conclude this in the first few weeks of Term Four. Term Four will also see the first of quite a number of Oral Presentations students at Lalor will be expected to completed in English from Years 7 to 12. The course for our Year 7 students will culminate in the creation of their own poetry which students have the possibility of submitting for publication in the school’s Milpera magazine. EAL (ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE) – The Year 7 EAL class have had a fun and challenging year. They have studied the film “Holes” and learnt about film techniques and production elements. Students also studied the novel “Blueback” and focused on plot and key characters. The EAL Multi‐cultural lunch day was one of the highlights of the year, where students were given the opportunity to experience the tastes of many different cuisines. The year 7 EAL class has been a pleasure to teach. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching, learning and discussing issues in class which have helped us to learn more about the world and each other. LITERACY SUPPORT – The school provides Literacy Support at Years 7, 8 and 9 for those students who, as a result of recommendation, AusVELS level and On Demand testing, are deemed to require support to improve their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Year 7 Literacy Support classes are smaller than the average class size, allowing the teacher to provide more direct support to the student. Students in Literacy Support classes are taught skills to equip them to comprehend a range of text types from across the curriculum. They are taught to compose texts, with a particular focus on the mechanics of language: vocabulary, spelling and grammatical structures and features. In Term Three students completed activities that were designed to increase their comprehension skills of the English language in context, and their ability to compose various text types. Term Four will continue to build on this understanding with further activities that support the core studies. ‘A Time to Change’
MATHS – Year 7 has focused their number skills on decimals and percentages and the use of these in everyday life include the use of money, sales in shops or measurements. The students then moved on the measurement including area and volume. These skills can be applied to any DIY projects being completed at home including calculating costs of projects by calculating the amount of a resource needed. The use of these ideas at home will also help the students when they are completing their inquiry project this semester which utilises their measurement skills but also being able to use these skills in real life situations. The students will turn their studies to Algebra including patterns and graphs. These skills can often be applied to many problem solving skills including calculating footy scores counting goals and behind of a particular team. Students will also study geometry and transformations including measuring and calculating angles. The reinforcement of the use of angles in real life situations, such as DIY projects like putting up shelves and the importance of right angles for a successful outcome are some way their skills can be discussed and used at home. The students end the year focusing on Probability and Statistics. The use of statistics and probability in the media such as footy scores, political party preferences or horse racing are just a few ways that students can use the skills they have learnt in class with real life situations. The students all have access to a range of different Mathletics activities which support the learning being completed in class and can be used to develop their understanding at home. NUMERACY SUPPORT – Year 7 Numeracy support started the semester focusing on time including the use of the 24hour clock and timetables ensuring they can plan a journey using public transport timetables. The students then look at probability including different situations of an event occurring. These skills can be used to decide the chance of any outcome happening whether it is a sports team winning to number being thrown on a die. The students then move on to looking at data looking at collecting, presenting and explaining the patterns seen in the data. These skills are important not only in Maths but are also an integral part of many other subjects such as Science or Geography where they have to be able to graph and explain data. The use of data in the media is wide spread whether it is footy data or environmental statistics and these can all be used to start conversations with students or even get them to explain the patterns and trends seen in a particular graph and what it might actually mean. The students end the year by focusing on fractions taking a very hands on approach using the skills they have developed from probability of the chance of throwing a number on a die and how his is actually a fraction. The use of fractions in real life situations is wide spread including recopies, media reports or half price sales. All these examples can be used to develop the students understanding of how they may use their knowledge of fractions after school. The students all have access to a range of different Mathletics activities which support the learning being completed in class and can be used to develop their understanding at home. HUMANITIES ‐ Geography – Students have been learning about mapping skills so far this term. Students have learnt to read and understand different types of maps as well as understanding different methods of determining geographic locations. In addition to this, students have learnt how to read scale on a map, how to construct their own maps using BOLTS and also how to construct information in graphical form. At the moment, students are learning about Antarctica. They’re studying the climate, weather conditions, habitats of animals and plants as well as conservation issues on resources and the effects of climate change. Our students are working on their assessment task on Antarctica which provides a range learning tasks, allowing students to choose tasks that match their interests and challenge them. Next term, we will be studying rainforests and this includes our students going on a fieldtrip to Dandenong Ranges National Park. ‘A Time to Change’
HUMANITIES ‐ History – Semester Two in History has been one in which the students have obtained new skills and knowledge which has helped them better understand the past but just as importantly, the present. The students have looked at Ancient Greece, in particular the ideas of democracy. This was especially useful this year as students could draw parallels with modern Australia, as the federal election was also taking place. Students have developed their basic historical and inquiry skills, investigating certain aspects of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Students are beginning their in‐depth studies of Ancient Egypt and Ancient China, hopefully there will be some volunteers to be mummified! SCIENCE – This semester year seven science classes attended a day at the museum to begin their inquiry task on “what are we doing to our planet”. Students also attended the IMAX theatre and watched the documentary “Born to be Wild” which exposed the consequences of deforestation in Borneo, and the illegal poaching of elephants in Africa. All year seven science students have completed a ‘petite’ task on an environmental issue where they created a ICT story book to tell a story about the impact of their issue on the environment and how science has been used to lessen or find an alternative. Most students have now begun the ‘rich’ inquiry that involves how they can make a difference to an environmental issue. Students also completed a practical inquiry on producing a ‘mini forest’ where they constructed a closed environment to see how water cycles through the ecosystem. In term four students will continue with the study of classification and machines, completing another inquiry on producing a simple machine that makes our lives easier. HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION – This semester has seen the Year 7’s become actively involved in practical activities including Table Tennis, Volleyball and various Football Codes. Table Tennis requires students to use their hand‐eye co‐ordination in order to effectively play a shot. Volleyball also requires hand‐eye co‐ordination, as well as working as a team to ensure three shots are used. The Football Codes include a choice from AFL Football, Rugby, Gaelic and Soccer, to give the students a taste of the various Football Codes played around the world. The students will also take part in the following sports later in the semester; Sofcrosse, Cricket and Bike Education. During theory lessons students have focussed on ‘Body Image’ and ‘Self Esteem’ which aims to encourage students to feel positive and confident about themselves. ‘Bullying’ and ‘Smoking’ will also be covered throughout the semester, where students will learn about what bullying is and the affects it has on the victims, as well as the short term and long term implications smoking has on individuals. Later during the semester, students will focus on the importance of being sun smart and the harsh affects the sun has on our skin. They will also be educated on the significance of living physically active lifestyles and the physical, social and mental benefits that come with it. SPORT – In Year 7 Sport, the students have participated in their chosen sport for the whole term. In term three, the students were given a choice between Hockey, Basketball and Table Tennis. During these classes students learnt skill based activities, knowledge of the game as well as the further development of team work, game strategies and tactics. In term 4, all students will participate in the Home Group Challenge where they will compete against other Year 7 classes in a variety of sports. This promotes class pride and unity among their peers. Overall, it has been an action packed year of Sport for all year 7 students. We have had many students represent the school in a many different sports and would like to congratulate all students for their participation. ART – In Year 7 Art, students worked hard to complete their Monochromatic still life paintings. They have worked on their drawing skills to show shapes in 3‐dimensional forms and have learnt how to control their brushes and blend tones of colour using acrylic paint. Recently, students began their observational drawings of nature around the school. They investigated various forms of nature using the techniques of water colour and water soluble pastels to create an abstract composition using the art principle of cropping. In early term 4, students will be completing their Art Appreciation assignment which forms the second part of their assessment for Art. ‘A Time to Change’
MUSIC – In Music, students learn how to play the keyboard. They cover basic keyboard skills and learn songs using their right and left hand. Throughout the semester, students cover the topic of Instruments of the Orchestra which ties into their assignment. The Year 7 assignment is ‘Making an Instrument’ which is creative and practical. In theory classes students learn basic theory which enables them to read music. FOOD TECHNOLOGY – Our classes have been developing their technical skills as well as understanding how to cook foods utilising the three different parts of the stove. The first production, involved slicing and dicing vegetables with the main focus on knife handling skills and demonstrating safety and hygiene practices in the kitchen. Students have been developing their mise en place or basic set up and are becoming very experienced at collecting the correct pieces of equipment for the task and measuring their ingredients with accuracy. Students will finish this term being able to produce family dishes such as fried rice, chicken kebabs and souvlaki. In term four students will test both their theory and practical knowledge and learn about the design process. DESIGN TECHNOLOGY – The students in our Design and Technology classes have been developing their thinking and reasoning skills by constructing a range of projects from a variety of materials. They have made a sugar scoop from acrylic plastic using thermo forming techniques. They made a pen holder from tinplate requiring skills in measuring, folding, metal punching and soft soldering. They are in the process of constructing a spice rack from pine timber requiring skills in measuring, cutting with a coping saw, filing, assembling using glue and nails, sanding and varnishing. Workshop safety is emphasised during all of the production activities. They have recorded all of the production details in their log books and have evaluated each of the completed projects. The students were given a research project on Pine Timber and most of them have completed this task by the due date. Many of the projects are of an excellent standard. LIBRARY RESOURCE CENTRE ‐ The Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge which began last February has ended recently. We were pleased that 31 Year 7 students met the challenge of reading 15 or more books in 2013! Their achievements were celebrated at a special lunch party held in the last week of Term Two. In the meantime, most English classes are continuing to come to the library on a regular basis as part of the reading program. As Semester Two is well underway, this means our students will be working and completing their assessment tasks. The Teacher Librarians continue to support students with their research skills: locating and selecting appropriate resources as well as assisting students to produce a correctly formatted bibliography. Please encourage your child to make full use of a subscribed access to Online Referencing Generator website. Instructional handouts are available from the Library. LANGUAGES FRENCH– The Year 7 French class began Semester Two with oral presentations on France. Students spoke on various topics, including the geography, sport, art, fashion, technology, history and music of France. They then studied a French dialogue which took place in a school classroom. Students learnt the grammar and vocabulary associated with this area of study and completed a written test on the unit. The Year 7’s also learnt regular verb endings using “er”, “re” and “ir” in the present tense and were assessed on these. The students focussed on their pronunciation skills, via role plays and four students participated in the school’s Cultural Concert, performing a short play in French. ‘A Time to Change’
GREEEK – Studen
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A Time to
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body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development. The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant (such as a car crash), or it can harm you over time. For example, ongoing sleep deficiency can raise your risk for some chronic health problems. It also can affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others. Sleep helps your brain work properly. While you're sleeping, your brain is preparing for the next day. It's forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information. Studies show that a good night's sleep improves learning. Whether you're learning math, how to play the piano, how to perfect your golf swing, or how to drive a car, sleep helps enhance your learning and problem‐solving skills. Sleep also helps you pay attention, make decisions, and be creative. Studies also show that sleep deficiency alters activity in some parts of the brain. If you're sleep deficient, you may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions and behaviour, and coping with change. Sleep deficiency also has been linked to depression, suicide, and risk‐taking behaviour. Children and teens that are sleep deficient may have problems getting along with others. They may feel angry and impulsive, have mood swings, feel sad or depressed, or lack motivation. They also may have problems paying attention, and they may get lower results and feel stressed. Article adapted from http://www.education.vic.gov.au Key Learning Area Leaders: English – S. Sena and P. James, EAL – R. Medcalf, Humanities – C. Miller, Maths – M. Brennan, Science – S. Russo, Arts – C. Koronowicz, HPE – N. Salerno, Sport – M. Magnano, Technologies – S. Matzke, Languages – V. Sofo & Library Resource Centre – S. Graetsch ‘A Time to Change’