Year 8

Pastoral Care: Mrs Roxanne Shumack, Ms Amanda Burney, Miss Grace Welch

Welcome to your second year here at PLC Armidale! It is an exciting time for you, and also a time where there are many different things happening for your year group. To help you this year your Pastoral Care team comprises Ms Amanda Burney, Mrs Roxanne Shumack and Miss Welch. These are key staff members who will work closely with you over the course of this year. Miss Welch is a new face to Year 8, and can be found in the Humanities staff room. We are all excited to support you through the year and are looking forward to working with you through 2023.

Mathematics: Mr Greg Cotterell

We will continue our exploration of Mathematical topics that students will find useful and relevant no matter their occupation. Students will be issued a textbook and we will look to integrate the exercises contained within them alongside practical applications found in the real world. Using the strength of our teaching team, we will also look to offer students two different streams: one offering students the time and space to consolidate their learning and solidify mathematical concepts with multiple exercises; the second stream offering students additional challenge and new ways of applying these concepts, stretching their thinking. Most importantly, students will have the option to self-select which stream they feel most comfortable with for the following week.

Science: Mr Jonathon Shumack, Mr Greg Cotterell

We will begin by exploring organisation within biological systems, starting at cells and building up to organ systems within plants and animals in the topic 'From Little Things'. Next, we will explore the world of Chemistry by observing chemical patterns and familiarising ourselves with word equations and the Periodic Table. Year 8 will also explore the physics of energy transfers and transformations, considering the efficiency of devices involving these. The year will finish with consideration of the physical resources available in the lithosphere and how geological observations can provide important indicators of the past and future. Year 8 study in Science will also involve students undertaking a Scientific Research Project, providing an opportunity for deeper exploration and investigation within an area of interest.

English: Mrs Roxanne Shumack

Mrs Shumack is the teacher for Year 8 English this year. We will begin the year with an exploration of the power of spoken monologues to represent the teenage experience in all its complexity in the 21st century. Students respond to and analyse a range of powerful and contemporary monologues, leading to the composition and delivery of their own monologue. In addition, students are provided with the opportunity to explore issues relating to social expectations and identity in a way that questions cultural assumptions. This will be supported by their novel study of Tomorrow When The War Began. Other modules studied during the year include a focus on Memory, Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream and Poetry composition and analysis.

Technology: Ms Paula Cowley

Throughout the year, we continue exploring different technologies, allowing for Student Directed Learning and the use of critical thinking skills. In Semester 1, we look at Industrial Technology, specifically lighting design. Students have the opportunity to design and manufacture their own functional light. Semester 2 allows for exploration of Wood Technology - designing and building a simple timber product. During the two year mandatory Technology program, students explore different technologies catering for all interests and creative thinkers. Each unit has a portfolio component that is structured and scaffolded for students to individually document their ideas and design process, and to critically evaluate the project's management of finished products.

Visual Arts: Mrs Emma Schaeffer

Visual Arts in Year 8 provides the opportunity for students to explore artistic traditions, develop their skills and discover their creative ability through the exploration of different materials and ideas. In conjunction with making art, the course allows students to examine the practice of artists from a range of cultures, genres and forms of artmaking that can inspire and inform their own practice. The first unit this year will focus on the built environment making drawings and paintings of interiors and exteriors and learning about a variety of iconic buildings. Students will learn a variety of techniques and methods for making creative imagery of the built environment and then will make sculptures of fantasy buildings.

Music: Mr Sam Azon-Jacometti

This semester, we start our musical journey by tackling the roots of rock and roll! Hold onto your hats folks! Our students will start in the 1950s before moving through each decade, looking at the defining hits and artists. There will be music making in class and students will try their hand at playing some rock music. Come to class ready to sing, play and contribute. We will look to mesh theoretical elements into practical activities to get the most out of our time together. All students in Year 8 are encouraged to explore music, try new things and begin considering the Stage 5 course.

PDHPE: Mrs Lucy Donaldson

Mrs Donaldson will be teaching Year 8 PDHPE this year and we will commence with a unit called 'Celebrating Diversity'. This unit will explore the meaning of kinship and family structures, promoting respectful relationships and inclusivity in communities. Theory work will also be completed in work booklets with a focus on literacy skills, visible thinking routines and critical inquiry approach to further develop students' understanding of class content. Our practical unit will focus on fundamental movement skills and linking these to athletics skills and events. These skills will be developed through game-based activities allowing for more time of the lesson spent in moderate to vigorous activity level. Students will additionally develop specialised movement skills and understanding in a range of physical activity settings including Indigenous Games and world dances. I look forward to a really great year of PDHPE lessons with Year 8.

History: Mrs Roxanne Shumack

Mrs Shumack will be teaching Year 8 History this year, and will build on the foundations of last year's study of the ancient past. This year the girls will move on to the Medieval world and will focus on Medieval Europe along with castles, damsels in distress and knights in shining armour as well as strong and influential individuals from the time. We then compare this with the Asian experience during the same time in Japan with life under the Shogunate. We will finish the year by examining the effects of expanding contacts, and a study of Aztec Society and Spanish contact experiences. Get ready for all the 'fun stuff' that comes with a study of different cultures in the medieval world, and the sometimes gruesome realities of history!

Geography: Mr Andrew Patrick, Mr Greg Cotterell

The course builds upon the skills acquired in Year 7 such as the study of topographic maps and fieldwork. This semester students will participate in an exploration and analysis of water in the world, focusing on key inquiry questions to better understand the physical processes of our water cycle as well as the interaction and impacts that humans have on the availability of this precious resource. Students will develop critical thinking skills to evaluate current water usage and management strategies, as well as develop Geographical skills of reading synoptic and choropleth charts. In Semester two students learn about the ever-increasing interconnections of our world. Students consider both personal and societal connections made possible through technology in the realms of trade, travel, recreation and reflect on the opportunities and consequences of a globalised society.

French: Mrs Margarita Pérez García

Year 8 French is a beginners course and a very special total immersion course taught by Mrs Pérez García. The girls will learn French in French! They will learn how to pronounce the sounds, rhythms and intonation patterns of French and decode its writing system. They will learn the heart of a language - what gives it its central character and enables it to function - through meaningful contexts, experimentation and play. The girls will learn primarily through active use of the language: speaking, interacting with others, writing and reading, with a focus on mastering the most frequent structures and vocabulary of the language.

Christian Studies: Mrs Jennifer Leahy

During the beginning of Year 8, students will be working through key events and people in the Old Testament focusing on promises and their fulfilment. They will also be looking at different big questions that arise from the Bible text and seeking answers to these questions.

Drama: Mrs Joanne Wysel

Mrs Wysel is excited to be offering drama to our Year 8 students again this year. With our knowledge of the elements of Drama from Year 7, we kick start the year in playbuilding learning skills for life: collaboration, team building, and problem solving. We discover scripts looking at Ernie's Incredible Illucinations by Ayckbourn building confidence, social and emotional wellbeing and teamwork. In Semester 2, we delve into the history of theatre and finish off a fun year by playing with physical comedy learning from the greats - Monty Python and Mr Bean. Students will have lots of fun in this class whilst learning more about themselves, increasing in confidence, social awareness and empathy.