City Cite

Melbourne - A three-week experience, living and studying in Melbourne, is taken during second semester.

Students learn how to navigate and live in the city as well as observing and absorbing the rich tapestry of life and work in the CBD.

Students are involved in a wide variety of cultural, social and economic events as they occur.

Accommodation in the City is usually in the form of billeting with relatives or friends of the student's family or other school families.

Year 9

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Why is Year 9 Special?

Ballarat Grammar recognized that there was a significant opportunity to provide for our Year 9 students a vibrant year of fresh experiences in a vigorous, academic environment.

Experience has shown that some Year 9 students exhibit symptoms of boredom and disengagement with learning. Students at this level often feel very much like the "middle child", ready to accept greater responsibilities and challenges but unable to do so in a traditional school structure.

Therefore, following the latest educational research, and after consultation with staff, parents and the Board of Directors, Grammar has developed an innovative program designed to cater for individual abilities and learning styles and which will provide Year 9 students with the skills, not only to tackle VCE studies resourcefully, but also to prepare them for life-long learning. This program has similarities with those recently developed in some of the most successful schools in Melbourne and elsewhere.

Aims and Processes

The Program:

• develops the ability of individuals to manage their own learning and to set realistic and challenging learning goals.
• develops a commitment to the community and a sense of responsibility for the welfare of others.
• provide opportunities for a sense of ownership, leadership and responsibility exclusive to Year 9.

This is achieved through:

• a course of study distinctly different from previous years.
• an environment which allows students to develop self-esteem and confidence.
• learning experiences that are demanding, relevant and attractive.

Features of the Year 9 Program

An Integrated Curriculum - The many small fragments that often comprise a curriculum are woven together and centred around single themes. Many skills previously used repetitively make way for those which develop higher order thinking. The key skills developed are:

• Writing - e.g. a piece of personal or reflective writing.
• Oral/Visual Presentation - e.g. oral presentations, dramatic presentations & production of films/videos.
• Critical Thought - e.g. analysis, lateral thinking, problem solving.
• Design - e.g. experiments, investigations, fieldwork, peer teaching.
• Data Collection - e.g. interviewing, note taking, referencing, drawing inferences & scientific investigations.
• Data Handling & Interpretation - e.g. calculations, graphs, spreadsheets and computer presentations, and drawing inferences
• Intra/Inter Personal - e.g. co-operation, personal/moral values, social skills, communication.
• Physical - e.g. fitness, co-ordination, rhythm & movement.

Negotiation, collaborative learning and partnerships, goal setting and the development of skills for life-long learning are characteristics of the integrated program.

A Balanced Curriculum - Key units that require some specialisation are retained as discrete subjects but are also included within the Integrated Units. These discrete subjects are Mathematics, LOTE, Art, Physical Education and Beliefs & Values. Elective units are also offered to provide variety, interest and extension.

Strengths Retained - The strengths of our current Pastoral Care system are recognised and all students remain active members of House and Tutorial groups. Worship in the Chapel will continue. Students also remain firmly in touch with the rest of the School through their participation in School Assemblies and all co-curricular activities (sport, music etc.). The House Tutor remains the first point of contact for parents.

Outdoor Education - A three-day climbing/abseiling trip to the Grampians present students with enormous challenges, physically and mentally.

Sense of Ownership and Community - Students develop a sense of belonging and ownership fostered through their responsibility for their own purpose-built environmentally sensitive building (called The Heinz Centre) which has rammed-earth walls for thermal efficiency, a closed waste water system and solar power for lighting and hot water.