Learning Areas

The College provides students with the opportunity to engage with a diverse number of subjects during their years at the College. There are a variety of Learning Areas which have responsibility for the provision of high quality and engaging curriculum across all levels.

The learning areas are:

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Religious Education

The Religious Education program at the College is robust, engaging and designed to provide students with broad perspectives on world issues, in particular, by focusing on the Catholic perspective. Students are engaged in Religious Education at each year of their learning.  The program is intertwined with our Faith program, with learning supported through extra-curricular offerings as well as retreat programs.

 

Arts and Engagement

St John’s offers total immersion in both the Visual and Performing Arts. This begins with immersion in Years 7 and 8 in all six disciplines of Visual Art, Drama, Dance, Music, Media Arts and Visual Communication Design.  Students are provided with clear knowledge of how the disciplines of the arts complement and intersect with each other.  In Years 9 and 10, students are provided with an extensive elective program, with these classroom programs preparing students for the rigour required to study Performing or Visual Arts during Years 11 and 12.

 

Communication

The Communication Learning Area is responsible for the delivery of contemporary learning programs in the subjects of English, Languages, History, Geography and Commerce.

As the compulsory study throughout secondary school, the teaching of English is highly skills-based.  With equal emphasis on reading, writing, speaking and listening, students are provided with the opportunity to engage with a variety of modern and historical texts which are in both written and visual form.  From Year 9, elective learning programs are also introduced to run alongside English.  Students are able to select Writer’s Workshop in Year 9 and Literature is available as a subject from Year 10 onwards.

The Communication Learning Area offers the opportunity to study the additional language of Italian. This program provides students with immersion in both the culture of Italy as well as the spoken and written word of the language. At Year 9, the study of the language is part of the elective program at the College. The College also holds a bi-annual study trip to Italy.

The study of Humanities is combined with English in the Year 7 STEP program.  This enables links to cross-curricular links to be made, assisting students with their learning of required skills.

The Communication Learning Area offers an extensive list of subject offerings in VCE including English, Literature, Italian, Economics, Legal Studies, Business Management, Accounting, Global Politics, History, Politics and Geography.  The Years 9 and 10 programs offer a diverse range of subjects, which enable students to explore various topics and content, whilst establishing research and writing skills.

In recognising the individuality of each of our students, we are mindful that some students require targeted support in order to succeed. For students with literacy needs, such as those for whom English is an additional language, we offer the LINKS program. Students who take part in this program do not undertake the foreign language study. Rather, they are engaged in additional activities to support learning in writing skills and reading accuracy.

 

Personal and Social Wellbeing

Health and Physical Education is a core subject from Year 7 to Year 10. Students undertake both an active program as well as studying relevant theory.  Many of the areas studied as part of the Health program are also linked into both our Wellbeing program and Pastoral program.  Health and Physical Education is also supported at the College through the Southern Independent Schools (SIS) Competitive sports competition.

STEM

The STEM Learning Area works extensively to align the learning of skills and knowledge across the subjects of Mathematics, Technology, Engineering and Science.  While delivering explicit learning in each subject area, St John’s is committed to implementing more integrated learning programs that will establish alignment of learning, especially through project-based learning opportunities.

The Mathematics program at St John’s provides for differentiated learning opportunities in junior year levels. At Years 7 and 8, students requiring targeted support in their attainment of skills are selected for the Numeracy Program.  From Years 9 and 10, student have the opportunity to select an elective subject which provides for extension and application of various elements of Mathematics.

All disciplines of science be it Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Psychology or Physics are offered throughout the entire learning program. Science is a compulsory study from Years 7 to 10. Students are required to undertake a pre-requisite elective at Year 10 if they intend to study any science subject at the VCE level. Science is an engaging program at the College, with hand-on practical activities being central to study in each year level.

The College has a vibrant Technology area as part of our STEM offerings.  Students are provided with introductory courses from Year 7.  With Textiles, Woodwork, Metalwork, Information Technology, Electronics and Systems Engineering on offer, students are able to develop their own personal designs prior to producing their final products.

The College recognises the interdisciplinary links between the STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and the integration of these areas within the extra-curricular activities at the College is a priority as we move forward.

 

 

 

 

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The vast learning experiences offered at St John’s ensures that no matter their area of interest, our students are able to undertake an engaging learning program which provides options for their future beyond school.