Year 8 2023 Elective Structure

Year 8 students have the opportunity to choose an elective subject for one semester, with the aim of giving students a range of learning experiences across multiple subject areas. In the alternate semester, students will study Drama, or the Learning Edge course (by invitation only).

Students will choose from the following electives:

• Dance

• Fitness and Sports Performance

• French

• Multimedia

• Music Enrichment

Drama: Stage and Screen Stars

To be studied by students for one semester.

This subject allows all students to gain an understanding of how to work creatively and collaboratively through the medium of Drama. They will develop critical thinking and presentation skills as they create, perform and critique performances in class. No previous experience in Drama is required to excel in this class– only enthusiasm and a willingness to have fun!

This course will draw from the NESA Stage 4 Drama Syllabus and will specifically focus on developing improvisation, playbuilding and performance skills through the exploration of the popular styles of Musical Theatre and Gothic Theatre/ Horror.

Both styles will be workshopped through drama games, improvisation exercises, scripted and non-scripted scenes and film. During Musical Theatre we will deconstruct the features of Musical Theatre and recreate an original interpretation of a well-known Musical Theatre scene/song. During Gothic Theatre/Horror we will explore the elements of suspense, narrative and the production elements of theatrical make-up, and special effects in a Gothic/Horror short film.

All work will be ensemble centred to promote confidence, trust and group playbuilding skills with a focus on students having fun and challenging themselves to try new experiences. Assessment will be performance-based supported by continual in-class evaluation.

The nature and structure of the subject will facilitate extension and enrichment for Gifted and Talented students (GAT) and also lends itself to the possibility of Life Skills programming.

Learning Edge

To be studied by selected students for one semester.

The Learning Edge program is a Stage 4 Elective designed to engage students in learning that will help to increase their knowledge of literacy, numeracy, organisational and social skills. Students will be invited to participate in this course by the Learning Support staff.

Electives

Each student studies one elective for the alternate semester.

Dance

This subject will cater for male and female students with a curiosity about dance and an interest in continuing their dance training or to begin developing new movement skills in a variety of styles (e.g. jazz, lyrical and contemporary). This class promotes complete inclusivity, appealing to dancers of all levels and experience and fosters physical fitness and wellbeing.

This course draws from the NESA Stage 4 Dance Syllabus, which teaches performance, choreography and appreciation of dance. Students participate, cooperate, communicate, organise and work in groups to train and drill new dance skills and to plan, research, develop and perform dance products. For the Year 8 class, there are no individual performances or solo tasks in order to promote personal confidence, interactivity and teamwork: all practical and theoretical elements are experienced in a whole-group, small ensemble, quartet, trio or duo setting.

Fitness and Sports Performance

Fitness & Sports Performance comprises both practical and theoretical learning experiences (60% practical, 40% theoretical) to develop an understanding of factors that enhance sports performance. Students will learn fundamentals in developing physical fitness and participate in their application in a practical setting. Students will explore the role of strategies and tactics to enhance their skill execution and performance in a variety of games settings. The role of analysis and evaluation through the form of feedback, statistics and video analysis will be integral.

French

French is considered the international language of diplomacy, and knowledge and understanding of French is a useful tool for students when they travel, for job prospects and for increasing their understanding of the English language. Students benefit from a growing understanding of the world and their own place in it through a developing awareness of the culture and the language of French-speaking people. Students of Year 8 French benefit from an increased awareness of the nature of human language and society while developing greater precision in actual language use through increasing mastery of the language and its grammatical structures.

Throughout Year 8 students will develop and reinforce their skills of understanding spoken and written French as well as speaking and writing it themselves. Through practical activities and visits, students will enjoy situations, real or simulated, that involve communicating with each other and French speakers. French radio and television programs, films, newspapers and magazines, stories, poems and songs are used to assist the process of language acquisition. Students will experience French cuisine, and the study of French provides the opportunity for travel to such places as New Caledonia and/or France in their future study of the language.

Multimedia

Creative decision-making and digital development skills are behind every website, movie, advertisement, audio snippet and graphic we see in our day-to-day and professional lives. This elective subject provides students with the support and industry models to build skills in designing and building multimedia products using the Adobe CC suite whilst responsibly sourcing digital materials and content.

Students may choose to follow self-paced or directed step-by-step tutorials or elect to use the time to complete personal multimedia projects in digital domains of their choosing. Options include graphic design, typography, animation, motion graphics, video special effects, audio composition, game development, coding, digital illustration and photography. Either pathway will allow students to gain knowledge in digital asset management and an understanding of the fundamental concepts of digital data for colour, text and audio file formats and display.

No experience is necessary, just curiosity and enthusiasm. Students in the Multimedia elective have access to high-specification gaming laptops for hardware-intensive projects.

Music Enrichment

This class is for students who wish to extend their musical knowledge beyond the mandatory Year 8 Music course. Students will gain experience in composition while looking at a variety of musical styles. By the end of the unit, students will have composed an original piece using various musical software. Students will also focus on live performance techniques through completing workshops designed to improve their confidence, technical skill, and stylistic understanding.

It is highly recommended that students have a focus instrument for the duration of this course; however, students are still welcome to join the class if they are yet to choose an instrument. This class will be based around Project-Based Learning, and we will also utilise a number of visiting artists during the program.

It is envisaged that students involved in this program will continue on to Elective Music in Stage 5 and Stage 6.