At Boronia K-12 College, we know our students as learners and look for ways to ensure they achieve the best possible educational outcome.
As students transition into secondary schooling at Boronia K-12 College, they experience an academically challenging differentiated curriculum designed to allow them to demonstrate their ability and progress in their learning.
Our Year 7 to 9 programs build strong foundations for future success. We emphasise the core literacy and numeracy skills across all subjects in the curriculum. As they progress through the College, students have increasing opportunities to refine their own pathways by selecting an increasing number of electives in Year 9 and beyond.
Year 7 | Year 8 |
English | English |
Mathematics | Mathematics |
Humanities | Humanities |
Science | Science |
The Arts (Semester Subjects) Music and Art |
Drama and Visual Communications and Design |
Technologies (Semester Subjects) Digital Media and Foods |
Robotics and Design Technology |
Health and PE | Health and PE |
Languages Spanish |
Languages Spanish (1 semester only in 2018) |
Generally, Year 9 is the year where the purpose of schooling is least clear to students and achieving engagement in learning is most challenging.
Attendance and engagement levels seem to be at their lowest in Year 9 (absences of on average 19 days per year).
Feelings of dissatisfaction and disengagement peak, and levels of resilience are at their lowest (our students attitude to school data evidences this).
Adolescents of this age often demonstrate a desire for greater independence and a shift from a parent dependent to a peer dependent world.
The goal of this program is to provide Year 9 students and staff at Boronia K-12 College with a unique teaching and learning opportunity, designed to enhance student engagement and maximise student educational outcomes. Boronia K-12 will provide a program and setting designed to maintain and heighten educational engagement while also nurturing the whole student. This program will be characterised by a variety of rich learning experiences, a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing, with a focus on inquiry based and beyond the classroom learning .
CORE SUBJECTS – 18 periods | YEAR 9 SPECIFIC SUBJECTS – 7 periods |
English | B Active |
Maths | B Creative |
Science | B Well |
Humanities | B Connected |
Choice of 1 elective form the Arts and Technologies |
‘B Active’ would occur one afternoon a week (Period 4, Lunch and Period 5). Students would choose a sport or recreational activity from a number of options, each term, to participate in. Some of these would be run at school, others may be held at community venues. The students attending off-site venues would need to travel independently to these locations. College staff will supervise two hours training, or activity, before dismissing students from the venue. Some activities would be staff facilitated, others would be supervised by a member of Boronia K-12 College staff but would be run by specialists.
Some examples of B Active programs that could be offered:
‘B Creative’ would be inquiry based and involve students identifying a problem or need and developing a solution to solve it.
Students would have a new project each term. Some projects would be group projects, and involve team work and collaboration, other projects would be individual and require independent working. Our suggestion is that, where possible, Homegroup teachers would take B Creative to further develop relationships with their students but also to act as facilitators.
Industry experts from the community could also be brought in to work with students. Projects would involve research, a design brief, planning, and building a model or proto type. An exhibition night would be held once a semester to showcase these projects.
As part of this subject, Year 9 students would undertake two weeks of City Experience around Melbourne. This would include some subject specific activities that subject teachers would be responsible for organising in the first half of the program, and the students completing an independent inquiry based project in the second half of the City Experience. As much as possible, core subject teachers would integrate aspects of this into their curriculum (e.g. tying homelessness in Melbourne to their study of the novel Stone Cold, etc.) This would encourage more active learning and greater connection to the curriculum content.
The use of Digital Technologies, Visual Arts and Performing Arts would be heavily incorporated into this subject. KIOSC would also be incorporated.
‘B Well’ would replace the current health program but would cover all aspects of mental, physical and sexual health. It would also look at developing resilience, include work on study skills, careers and pathways. It would be broken up into units of work which might include;
The year would culminate in each student attending a discovery camp (hopefully we could look at offering a variety of options.) These might include a drama camp, a leadership camp, a wilderness survival camp, a surfing camp, horse riding camp, music camp, cooking camp, etc. Students would investigate options based on their interests and plan and organise these camps over the year. Aspects of the existing Connect program could be integrated into this subject with some students given the opportunity to do their Duke of Edinburgh award.
Students would undertake a volunteer community placement one afternoon each week. They would ideally change each term. Term 1 would be spent sourcing their placement and readying them for this work. Students would once again independently travel to their placement over lunch and spend Period 5 (one hour) at their community placement. Teachers would oversee this process and make regular visits. Some examples of the kinds of volunteer work they could undertake are;