In making your choice of Elective subjects you should consider the following:
- INTEREST - What you like, or are interested in studying
- SUCCESS - What will you be best at
It is important that you consider your performance and efforts in the Year 9 subjects you have completed this year. The academic results and subject teacher’s comments on your College Academic Reports should be used as a guide to help you determine your subject choices for Year 10.
At this stage in your secondary education, you should not be too concerned with prerequisite subjects for tertiary course entrance, as this over-emphasis on selection for a proposed career choice made now, could lead to a poor decision for the future. Many career-orientated courses in Years 11 and 12 can be chosen irrespective of the elective subjects studied previously. It is only in some cases, that certain senior subjects require pre-requisite study and a list of these subjects is provided in this handbook.
In conclusion, it is important that students and parents consider the following advice on choosing subjects:
There should be a balance in the type of Elective subjects chosen e.g. cultural and practical.
There is an opportunity for students to pursue their special interests or develop talents which they have e.g. Art, Drama, or to speak and write a foreign language fluently.
Choose Elective subjects that you know you will enjoy completing and can be successful at.
When choosing your Elective subjects for Year 10 do not let your choice of subjects be influenced by:
- Being told that a subject is easy. What is easy for some students may be quite difficult for others. A subject which is too easy for you may very soon become boring!
- Hearing that there is no homework in that subject. Beware this advice is misleading. Practical oriented subjects may not have regular homework, but assessment items throughout the semester will be due.
- Which teacher is taking the subject this year. There is no certainty that the same teacher will teach the subject next year. Many schools have significant re-allocations of staff each year.
Core Subjects
All students in Year 10 will complete all these subjects.
- Religious Education
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Humanities & Social Sciences
- Health and Physical Education
In Year 10, students will be placed into the appropriate level of English and Mathematics using evidence from NAPLAN, PAT-R, PAT-M and their previous results.
Elective Subjects
All students will initially choose three subjects from the group below. This information will then be used to formulate the lines for the Elective subjects. All students will then be able to choose two electives from the lines.
- Design Technology (Graphics)
- Design Technology (ICT)
- Design Technology (Materials & Technologies Specialisation)
- Certificate II Manufacturing Technology
- Food Specialisation and Hospitality Foundations
- Economics and Business
- History and Civics & Citizenship
- Health and Physical Education
- STEM (Science - Technology Mathematics)
- Visual & Media Arts
It is important to note that Elective Subjects will be arranged in groups or “lines” to allow timetabling. Students will be able to select only one subject from each line.
Lines will be drawn to:
- Allow students to choose an educationally sound and well-balanced course of academic and practically oriented subjects
- Cater for a range of student interests and needs
- Disadvantage as few students as possible.
‘Lines’ will be drawn up after student subject requests are submitted.
- Due to safety and legal requirements, some classes are limited in size e.g. Design and Technology, Food Technology
Should the number of students wanting to complete a subject exceed the capacity of College facilities, the Deputy Principal in consultation with teachers of the subject areas will reserve the right to admit students to these Elective subjects in accordance with student needs and interest displayed in the subject during Year 8.
Similarly, if insufficient students nominate to take a subject, the subject may not proceed.
Student selections will be confirmed in Term 4.
In selecting your Elective subjects, you may need to consider whether you will be eligible to enrol in the senior level of studies of the course. As all students will be completing a wide range of core subjects in Year 10, many of you will not need to consider pre-requisite studies as they will be covered by your core subjects.
Students, who may have an idea of wishing to proceed to tertiary institutions, will need to peruse this checklist to understand the process of subject selection for Senior Pre-Tertiary subjects.
As Year 10 subjects provide the building blocks for a successful senior secondary education, it is important that all students cultivate a more positive approach to these two years of schooling.
The successful student:
- Gains rewards from self-set goals
- Is an active learner and has commitment to his/her course of study
- Accepts responsibility for both successes and failures
- Accepts the challenge to overcome difficulties
To be a successful student you need to cultivate good study habits. You should consider the following hints for more effective study:
- Formulate a homework and study plan. It is recommended that students at this level should allocate 1 – 1½ hours per night to complete set homework, assignment preparation and study revision.
- Keep up to date in your College Student Diary with deadlines for all assessment items.
- Keep a balance between school and leisure/sporting team commitments and in some cases, part-time work.
- Regular physical exercise keeps you fit and helps to release tension.
- Make a list of things to do and indicate priorities.
- Ask for help from your teachers, parents and friends.
- Have a set-aside place for study with desk, comfortable chair and good lighting, where you can work without interruption from the television, family meals or other members of the family.
- Parents are encouraged to keep up to date with Subject Assessment Due Dates and Examination Schedules. The Compass App and Facebook will always advise of upcoming important events and your child's Assessment Schedule is available on line as well.
- Parents are required to check the College Student Diary weekly for regular subject teacher’s communication regarding your child’s progress in class and to monitor homework and assessment requirements.
- Parents are encouraged to help their children with their language development. Suggestions:
- By checking homework diaries for instructions parents can help children improve their organisational skills.
- Encourage neatness and thoroughness in all tasks through praise not criticism.
- Help children improve their spelling and punctuation by proof-reading their rough draft work.
