Year 9
Pastoral Care: Mrs Margarita Pérez García, Mr Greg Cotterell, Mr Matthew Minter
We are delighted to welcome you into Year 9 at PLC Armidale! Year 9 is full of exciting opportunities inside and outside the curriculum, and we expect you to take full advantage of them, challenging and enjoying yourself with new skills and experiences. One highlight is the start of your individualised learning journey, where you can pursue areas of interest and develop a deeper understanding of your elective subjects. Your pastoral care team comprises Mrs Margarita Pérez García (Patron), Mr Greg Cotterell and Mr Matthew Minter. We are here to help and are excited to see you flourish this year! We are looking forward to working with you all, and we wish every student well for a rewarding and enjoyable year ahead.
English: Ms Julie Flanagan, Ms Sophie Westermarck
Ms Flanagan and Ms Westermarck will be teaching Year 9 English this year. We look forward to taking students on an exploration of change and conflict through studies of fascinating, engaging texts including 'Across the Barricades', a novel exploring 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland; Australian poets Steven Herrick and Oodgeroo Noonuccal; and Shakespeare's ever popular 'Romeo and Juliet'. Students will discover how composers through the ages have held a mirror up to their respective societies, reflecting attitudes and values that have their basis in recognisable changes and conflicts. Students will read, view, analyse and evaluate texts, as well as compose their own critical and creative texts that reveal their understanding of the world around them.
Science: Mrs Kate Fittler
This year Mrs Fittler will have the privilege of guiding Year 9 through the wonders of science! We will start off the year with a topic of ecosystems, with a focus on how we can sustainably live in our environment. We will also take a closer look at some of our beetle helpers that help to keep our environment sustainable. Next we will learn more about ourselves as we learn about our own bodies and how we function as a coordinated organism. Then we will have an energetic peruse of the wonders of light, sound and waves before exploring the beautiful world of chemistry. We will finish the year delving into the wonders underneath us as we explore tectonic plates and study earthquakes and volcanoes.
PDHPE: Mrs Lucy Donaldson
PDHPE Term 1 will commence with a unit exploring relationships and sexual health. Adolescence is a time where there are many physical, social and emotional changes occurring. It is a time when young people need to work together in all aspects of one's life to strengthen those relationships around them. Throughout this unit we will focus on rights and responsibilities, inclusive and equal relationships, one's ability to maintain respectful relationships, consent and sexual health. In our practical side of the unit, we will focus on striking games where students will be assessed using a strength-based approach later in the term. During this year, 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.
Mathematics 5.2: Mr Sam Azon-Jacometti
As a collective, the Mathematics faculty have a focus on enhancing each and every student's experience in the Mathematics classroom. We are creating an environment that enhances students' interests, provides high quality education and explores concepts and ideas through problem based learning. Rigorous practice and consolidation is an expectation and students are encouraged to take ownership of their own learning journey. During Year 9, students explore a variety of topics that build on from what they have learnt in Stage 4. We begin the year consolidating computations with integers, decimals, fractions ratios and rates. As we progress through the year the topics explored are as follows: Financial Mathematics, Algebraic Expressions and Equations, Measurement and Geometry, Trigonometry, Linear and Non-linear Relationships and Probability and Statistical Analysis.
Mathematics 5.3: Mrs Marilyn Faithfull
In Mathematics 5.3, students develop their ability to work mathematically, examining general cases and building techniques for analysing and solving problems efficiently. By the end of the year, their expanded algebraic skills will allow them to work with both linear and quadratic functions. Students will learn to find both surface area and volume of prisms and pyramids and use trigonometry to find unknown sides and angles. They will also build skills in analysing single variable data. Working collaboratively and embracing errors as indicators of where to focus are key attitudes that will continue to underpin good progress in Mathematics at PLC Armidale.
History: Mr Andrew Patrick
The thrust of the Year 9 History course focuses on the historical movement towards and into the Modern Age. As such there will be a study of the development and impact of the Industrial Revolution, the two World Wars as a consequence of the formation of Australia as a nation. The students will also consider the impact of The Industrial Revolution and Imperialism on the global movement of peoples through the study of Slavery, Convicts or Settlers in the Nineteenth Century. The role these played in the contemporary story of Australia will also be a core concern.
Geography: Mr Andrew Patrick
Year 9 Geography is kicking off with looking at biomes and engaging closely with the characteristics which differentiate the world's biomes. We will then move on to how people use and change biomes for food production before interrogating issues of food sustainability and global food security. Semester 2 will have students move to the human dimension of geography in looking at 'Changing Places' with a focus on the rise of cities. Students investigate urbanisation through the movement of people and question why the world is as it is and what are the opportunities and consequences for us now and in the future. Geography in Year 9 will include self-directed research and analysis as well as scaffolded inquiry-based learning in class using textbooks and online learning platforms as well as field trips for authentic learning experiences.
Stage 5 Agriculture: Mrs Yvette Ballard
Agriculture will start with an overview of the place of Australian agriculture in the wider economic environment. We will cover a plant enterprise and an animal enterprise over the course of the year. This will include direct contact with both plants and animals. We will carry out growth trials and study the relationships between production, processing and consumption. There will be a paddock to plate component to the course which will allow students to further experience the roles associated within Agriculture and related service industries. There will also be some relevant field studies carried out outside of the school environment.
Stage 5 Commerce: Mr Sam Azon-Jacometti
Commerce is a fantastic course which guides students through how business life works. What is a tax return? How do you run a business? Has covid changed the way that workers engage with employment? So many fun and interesting ideas will be presented in this course and students will have the opportunity to ask plenty of questions along the way. Our topics for the year will be Employment and Work Futures, Promoting and Selling, Running A Business and Law and Society. We hope to have a number of guests in the classroom as well as activities that get students asking questions about the world around them.
Stage 5 French: Mrs Margarita Pérez García
Year 9 French is a fully immersive course taught by Madame Pérez García. The girls learn French in French! In the first term, the girls will improve their skills in pronouncing the sounds of the language, decoding its characters and reading fluency with the aim of reading independently and beginning a free voluntary reading programme. The rest of the year is dedicated to developing their ability to tell stories in the past tense through active use of the language: speaking, interacting with others, reading and writing. We will work with twelve different stories throughout the year. The stories will provide an opportunity to learn about familiar vocabulary themes. Within each story, we will interact orally in French, the girls will listen to the teacher and each other as they create a story, they will read different versions of the story, they will create their own in a role play, and they will finish the story with a writing task.
Stage 5 Food Technology: Mrs Melissa Hobbs
Mrs Hobbs will be teaching the Food Technology course in Term 1. Students will learn skills and techniques of food preparation with particular emphasis on safety and hygiene. The focus areas will be studied through the core units, "Food preparation and processing and Nutrition and consumption". The first focus area is Food in Australia. Through a range of practical applications, students will be able to learn about nutritional consideration when selecting and preparing menus. Students will be assessed on both practical and theoretical components of the course.
Stage 5 Design and Technology: Ms Paula Cowley
Design and Technology is an elective subject for Stage 5. Students will build on subject specific terminology, design concepts and processes with a focus on innovation, previously studied in the mandatory Stage 4 Technology. The practical project for Semester 1 will endeavour to enhance textile embellishment and construction skills while investigating historical, cultural and innovative aspects of textile products. In Semester 2, students will have the opportunity to design and make a product of their choice, in the unit, 'Passion Project'. This unit of work enables the students to concentrate on their specific interests within the diverse options available in Design and Technology.
Stage 5 PASS: Mr Andrew Patrick
Learning collaboratively through movement, this course represents a broad view of physical activity and the many possible contexts in which individuals can build activity into their lifestyle. It incorporates a wide range of lifelong skills including; physical fitness, social skills, communication, organisation and leadership. This year, we will explore four units including; Fundamental movement skills, Physical Fitness, Body Systems and Technology in Sport. Throughout the units, we will utilise our diverse community resources, to learn about recreation, physical activity, sport and related health fields and individual community access to health and wellbeing.
Stage 5 Drama: Mrs Joanne Wysel
We have an exciting year ahead in Stage 5 Drama looking firstly at an essential course component - Dramatic From - working with scripts. We delve into Hitler's Daughter, a play adapted from the novel by Jackie French. Skills learnt in Drama are skills for life - collaboration, team building, and problem solving. Term 2 will see us looking at the history of theatre and specifically delve into the Bard himself where students will have an opportunity to create a performance piece in the Shakespeare Carnival in June this year. In term 3, we delve into Commedia del-arte and explore the use of mask and physical comedy through stock characters popular in 1600. We move on to Monologues and Method Acting in Term 4. We are set for an exciting year in Drama.
Stage 5 Psychology: Ms Jennifer Leahy
Ms Leahy will be teaching 'Psychology' this year. Over the year Stage 5 will cover Social Influence, Language, Thought and Communication, Abnormal Psychology, Personality Psychology and Forensic Psychology. This is a course that looks at both significant case studies, different theories and some practical tasks. Over the year, students will gain a better understanding of themselves and the world around them.
Stage 5 Critical and Creative Composers: Ms Julie Flanagan
Stage 5 CCC continues to provide students with opportunities to explore and analyse engaging texts and experiences. We will start the year by examining a number of creation stories and ancient Greek myths, discussing and assessing their impact on modern literature through the study of various appropriations. We then move to a study of the impact of Jane Austen on contemporary texts, an exploration of the poetry from 'Dead Poets Society' and finish the year by conducting an auteur study of the films of Tim Burton. This course offers ample opportunities for a range of creative and critical composition.
Stage 5 Music: Mr Matthew Minter
Stage 5 Music is such an exciting course. The first unit explores the elements of music such as rhythm, harmony and melody in more detail. Students deconstruct, analysis, query and explore various repertoire, to discover how the music achieves its expressive potential. Guided by these discoveries students work through the process of creating an original composition. Into term 2 we have a major focus on performing in groups, continuing to develop skills in arranging and improvising to develop skills in ensemble performance. In Term Three the focus is on Music from the Romantic Period, exploring the great masters of the 19th Century before looking at contemporary Australian music in Term 4. The course is designed to inspire students through providing them with the tools and techniques to compose and analyse music and the opportunity to work together collaboratively in performance.
Stage 5 Visual Arts: Mrs Emma Schaeffer
Stage 5 Visual Arts provides the opportunity for students to explore artistic traditions, build their technical skills and discover their creative ability through the exploration of different media and ideas. In conjunction with making art, students will examine the practice of artists from a range of cultures, genres and forms of artmaking that can inspire and inform their own practice.
Christian Studies: Ms Jennifer Leahy
To begin the year, Year 9 will be looking at Luke's gospel and seeing the different people who come face to face with Jesus and their responses to Him. We will also be looking at how the events recorded in this book help us to answer some big questions of life.