Curriculum
ARTS
Performance & Production
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Kinross College offers opportunity and challenges for students to excel in whole school productions, integrating Drama, Visual Art, Music and Dance, from as young as Year 6 to Year 10. Whole school productions are a tradition at Kinross College, performing to the public and other schools on a yearly basis.
Visual Arts
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Kinross College provides a wide range of Visual Arts including digital photography, sculpture, textiles, painting and drawing. Our gifted students culminate their year with a public display at a community gallery. All Visual Art subjects provide learning pathways for both TEE and non-TEE courses.
ENGLISH
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At Kinross College we provide an English program of study that supports students with their learning, seeking continual improvement. As the English Faculty, we facilitate the implementation of a whole-of-school approach to literacy. This approach includes:
- Improvement targets for NAPLAN results
- A focus on the teaching of core literacy skills such as spelling, punctuation and grammar
- A case-management approach for students at risk of falling below national minimum standards.
In English lessons, students are exposed to a varied and rigorous curriculum through novel studies, analytical viewing tasks, poetry, drama study, debating, public speaking, creative and extended writing. Student interest and relevant social issues often underpin courses studied, providing a contemporary flavour whilst ensuring essential skills and processes are taught. Year 10 students will be provided opportunities to experience some pre-courses of study, in preparation for Years 11 and 12.
HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION
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All students at Kinross College engage in two sessions of general Physical Education and one session of Health Education, per week. Physical Education programs are designed to allow progressive physical, self-management and interpersonal skill development from Years 6 to 10. A diverse range of modified games and sports are also on offer, enabling students to participate in a variety of activities throughout their time at Kinross.
Health Education programs are also designed to facilitate age appropriate progression of knowledge and understanding of health related issues and concepts, as well as providing further opportunity for development of a range of interpersonal and self-management skills. Years 9 and 10 students are also offered a range of high quality elective programs within this Learning Area here at Kinross. Year 9 students are offered programs designed to develop ‘sport specific skills’, for a range of either individual or team sports, at a more advanced and competitive level than within general Physical Education classes.
These programs provide a good introduction to Physical Education Studies in Year 10. Students also have the opportunity to select Outdoor Recreation which combines a range of outdoor and water-based activities. This offers an excellent introduction into either Outdoor Education or Aquatic Physical Recreation in Year 10.
Year 10 students have four elective programs to choose from, all developing leadership and coaching skills through being involved in planning and implementing a series of coaching clinics for younger students from Kinross Primary. Physical Education Studies incorporates both theory sessions (fitness principles, basic biomechanics and physiology etc) and practical sessions (practical application of theory and developing sport specific skills). Both Sportsfun and Physical Education Studies are great introductions to the Physical Education Studies course in Year 11.
Aquatic Physical Recreation provides an opportunity for students to obtain their Bronze Medallion and participate in a surfing program and Outdoor Education exposes students to a range of outdoor activities. Both of these programs provide a good introduction to Outdoor Education in Year 11.School Carnivals and Interschool Sport: Kinross College offers students the opportunity to compete against each other in a variety of school carnivals including the Junior School Cross-country, the Whole School Athletics Carnival and the Senior School Beach Carnival. These are always fantastic days where community morale is high and student behaviour and participation is outstanding. As well as our school carnivals, students have a great range of opportunities to be involved in Interschool sports and events within both the Junior and Senior School.
LOTE
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The French program offers ‘les filles et les garçons de’ Kinross College a busy and eventful year. We have implemented cooperative learning strategies to develop cultural understandings of France. As a result, students complete some amazing pieces of work.
To further extend on your child’s cultural understandings, selected students will have the privilege of experiencing an exquisite sample of French cuisine in a restaurant setting. This will provide students with the opportunity to practice and refine their use of the French language in a real life environment. Students are also able to try their culinary skills at cooking some classic French dishes. We are enjoying developing our French speaking and listening skills through role-play, viewing of French films and covering a variety of diverse topics where students are producing some fantastic work.
The French program also includes a variety of excursions that will further help to enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of key aspects from within the LOTE learning area. In addition, Years 9 and 10 students will also participate in a French pen-pal program where they have the opportunity to communicate with students from various parts of France and French speaking communities. This program will be beneficial to students in terms of improving writing skills in French as well as adding a dimension of cross culture connection. Future plans for French at Kinross College will include student exchange programs.
MATHEMATICS
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The Mathematics Faculty philosophy is a simple one; we try to encourage engagement and participation of all students, all the time, and we extend our students to the limits of their potential. Wegroup our students into similarly able classes; this allows us to engage a whole class in tasks that encourage discussion and develop problem-solving skills at the appropriate level.
We endeavour to provide real learning, an opportunity to practice skills and give feedback in every session, whilst taking seriously the need to prepare students for future schooling. We also believe Maths should be fun.
SCIENCE
The Science Department at Kinross College provides a relevant, engaging curriculum that caters
to the individual needs of all students. The aim of the curriculum is to address science concepts in
the classroom and apply them to real life situations. Students from the Junior School and Years 8 to
10 will have access to four science laboratories by the middle of 2010. This will result in improved
access to Science facilities to all students at Kinross College.
A major focus of the Science Department, this year, is to improve scientific literacy, increase the
enthusiasm of students towards Science and increased academic rigour. We are also responding
to data that indicates improvement in the area of Investigating. New courses and assessments
have been designed to specifically target student interest and needs.
SOCIETY & THE ENVIRONMENT
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"Thomas Edison dreamed of a lamp that could be operated by electricity, began where he stood to
put his dream into action, and despite more than ten thousand failures, he stood by that dream until
he made it a physical reality. Practical dreamers do not quit." - Napoleon Hill
The Society and the Environment Team encourage students to aspire to the values demonstrated
by Thomas Edison - that is persistence and commitment. In doing so, learners are expected to
participate in reflective practice in order to improve outcomes.
We believe that Society and the Environment provides students with the opportunity to reflect upon
the past, investigate societal issues, conduct investigations and work with peers in a variety of
settings. Our challenge is to prepare students for their place in society as responsible and useful
citizens.
Students are encouraged to offer their opinions and ideas within a supportive learning environment.
Teachers use a range of strategies and techniques to support student learning and embed teaching
and learning adjustments into the program. A range of sources are used to help deepen student
understanding including texts, artefacts, visual aids and guest speakers. "Crime Stoppers" was
launched at Kinross College in Term 4, 2009. All students take part in this program as part of their
Political and Legal studies. We endeavour to relate learning to real life experiences and make it
as hands on as possible. 'The Real Game' for Year 9 students and 'The Be Real Game' for Year
10 students, not only encourages students to explore their career options, but allows them to learn
about economics.
Technology & Enterprises
Design and Technology
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Adapting to technology advancements and skill set changes, Kinross College offers a variety of modern courses whereby we pride ourselves on bringing new aspects into our courses on a constant basis. While providing skill sets, when working in the areas of Wood, Metal, Automotive, Construction and Technical Graphics, students are given relevant and challenging projects to complete.
Home Economics
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This offers students the opportunity to experience cooking with equipment which reflects both old and new technologies. Kinross College is one of only a few schools to have a Thermomix 31, which enables students to complete recipes traditionally made by long, slow processes. This allows completion of recipes to fit in well with our one hour lessons. All students experience cooking from the point of view of healthy nutritional approach. Home Economics offers semester courses including;
- Years 8 -10: Basic health, nutrition, safety, hygiene, and cooking skills, using a variety of methods. Ten weeks are spent on learning to sew, with students creating a number of mini projects.
- Year 9: Food for Health and Caring for Children.
- Year 10: International Foods and Child Development. A highlight of Child Development is visiting the local Day Care Centre.
- Year 10: A year long course in Food Production, for the more serious cook, especially for those who would like to enter hospitality as a career. Another highlight of the course during the semester is visiting the Pavilion Restaurant.
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