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Middle Years

THE MIDDLE YEARS (Year 7 to Year 9)

"The future is so exciting! There's so much I want to learn about and so many new ideas to explore"

In developing a more innovative and dynamic curriculum for students entering Secondary School, Rivermount College has introduced the Middle Years of Schooling for students in Years 7, 8 and 9. The Middle Years is a phase of the educational journey that provides a stimulating learning environment, a smooth transition for students from Primary to Secondary schooling and paves the way for successful integration into the Senior Years program.

In continuing the strong pattern of teacher-student relationships from Primary School, Rivermount College places considerable emphasis on rewarding teacher-student relationships. A more student-centred classroom and learning experiences, ideally involving fewer teachers than in the traditional Secondary School are key strategies in our approach. A team of teaching staff within the Middle Years share responsibilities across the key learning areas with the added expertise of key staff in specialist areas. Stronger student-teacher relationships foster a more productive working environment enabling staff to identify and cater for individual student strengths and weaknesses.

The curriculum provides a very active and dynamic learning environment designed to foster high levels of student involvement and interest. A broad range of experiences and opportunities ensure students can enjoy and learn from these important years of schooling. Learning in the Middle Years focuses on the use of goal-oriented teaching; support for student autonomy and choice in lesson design. The student-centred and inter-disciplinary characteristics of the curriculum provide the opportunity for students to develop and reinforce their skills in problem-solving, decision-making, information processing and critical thinking. This is reinforced through the College’s Outdoor Education Program and evidenced in student completion of tasks that embed the Twenty-first Century Skills.

The Pastoral Care program offered across the Middle Years provides a safe and supportive environment with a strong focus on values, ethics and personal development. To better prepare students for the impact of social pressures, they are given the tools to assist them with issues relating to self-confidence; relationships; peer-pressure; drugs and alcohol. In this important stage of growth and change, students are able to benefit from a program that understands their particular intellectual, social, emotional and physical needs.

The key learning areas (English, Mathematics, Science, Health and Physical Education, Humanities, Japanese, the Arts and Technology) form the foundation of the Middle Years curriculum. Students in Years 7 study a core program based on these key learning areas. The program for Year 8 and 9 students is comprised of subjects based on the key learning areas with elective subjects to reflect the interests of individual students.

The Co-curricular Activities Program offered by the College complements the academic curriculum of the Middle Years by providing students with the opportunity to learn and express themselves through a wide variety of sporting and cultural activities. Students are able to realise their full potential through active participation in the many student-based activities offered.

YEAR 7 SUBJECTS:

  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Humanities
  • Business
  • Christian Studies
  • Technology (Home Economics, Digital Solutions, Design & Engineering)
  • Health and Physical Education
  • Japanese
  • The Arts (Visual Art, Music, Dance and Drama)

YEAR 8 and 9 SUBJECTS

To ensure that all students will not disadvantage themselves in later years the following subjects are compulsory for Year 8 and 9 students.

Core Subjects

  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Christian Studies
  • Humanities
  • Health and Physical Education

In addition to these subjects, students are asked to choose three (3) elective subjects:

Elective Subjects

  • Business
  • Digital Solutions
  • Home Economics
  • Japanese
  • Music
  • Dance
  • Drama
  • Visual
  • Art
  • Engineering
  • Design