Year 8 Curriculum

The Year 8 Curriculum is designed to enable student learning across a broad range of general subject matter in a supportive Catholic school environment.

Curriculum and Classes

Year 8 builds on the literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge developed in Year 7. Students also study 4 electives across 3 distinct learning streams: Arts; Design Technology; and Digital Technologies. Every student at our junior Catholic secondary school campuses will choose 1 elective from each of these streams, and then 1 extra elective from a stream of their choice.

In Year 8, students continue to study languages. These are designed to develop and build upon knowledge gained in Year 7.

Our Religious Education learning program follows the Catholic school curriculum structure set by the Diocese of Sale. The curriculum is well supported by over 40 Catholic schools in Melbourne and has a main goal of pointing students towards Christ.

Similarly, the main goal of our Religious Education learning program is to provide students with an opportunity to mature in their faith and develop a greater love for God.

To ensure we provide the best Catholic school experience, and increase subject availability for students, subjects in the Religious Education, Arts, Technology, and Extension Academy streams are run with both Year 8 and Year 9 students included. This is designed to ensure that more subjects run each semester and can be chosen by students.

Extension Academies

Year 8 introduces Extension Academy subjects. These are semester elective subjects for students who are performing above standard and have a high level of interest in a particular area. These elective subjects are offered at both our Officer and Berwick Catholic school campuses and require an application process prior to admission. Our Extension Academies are:

• Basketball
• Health Sciences
• Literature
• Performing Arts
• Philosophy
• STEM (Science, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics)
• Sport
• Visual Arts

Students who successfully enrol in an Extension Academy may negotiate to not study a compulsory subject.

Programs

Towards the end of Term 4, students will participate in a five-day city experience program. This is one of the many programs we offer to help students develop skills that will aid them beyond their schooling career.

Both our Officer and Berwick school campuses offer ‘Hands-on Learning’, a popular program which is provided by many other Catholic Schools in Melbourne. The program is aimed at engaging students to help them discover their talents and find success in their schooling career and later in life. This supportive program helps students build confidence and connect with the school.

Additionally, our Individual Support Program (ISP) is available for students who require personalised adjustments to their learning program. This can include support with literacy intervention, social skills or general program support. Numeracy intervention is offered through the mathematics learning program.

The ISP subjects are studied as an alternative to another subject in consultation with the Learning Adjustment Team. The subjects on offer are:

• Literacy Skills (Years 8/9)
• Literacy Program (Years 8/9)
• Life Skills (Years 8/9)
• Adjusted Humanities (Years 8/9)
• Brick Social Skills Therapy (Years 8/9)
• Program Support (Years 7/8/9)
• Numeracy (through mathematics program)

Care Group

Students attending our Melbourne Catholic high school campuses begin their experience of the Care Group program in Year 7. The program focuses on student’s personal development, understanding learning needs and progress, and fostering a sense of connection to the College and other students. This program includes in-class learning of wellbeing skills.

Subjects

The majority of subjects are repeated across Semesters 1 and 2. These include:

• Religious Education
• English
• Mathematics OR Advanced Mathematics (by invitation)
• Science
• Health and Physical Education
• Humanities
• Care Group

Religious Education includes 5 subject options: God, Are You There?; We Could Be Heroes; Creating God’s Image; Faith in Action; and Junior Cantabile.

Elective Streams

Students complete 4 elective subjects across the year. Students must complete at least 1 elective from each of the available streams, with their final subject able to be chosen from any stream.

Arts Subjects:

• Dance
• Drama
• Media Arts
• Media Arts — 3D Modelling and Animation
• Music (can be studied both semesters)
• Visual Art
• Visual Communication Design

Design Technology Subjects:

• Electronics
• Food
• Horticulture
• Textiles
• Wood

Digital Technologies Subjects:

• Creative Digital Solutions
• Digital Systems and Networks
• Robotics