Year 10 Course Information

There will be five program options available to Year 10 students:

Program 1: Year 10 Standard Program

Program 2: Year 10 Vocational Preparation Program

Program 3: Year 10 Languages Program

Program 4: Year 10 Accelerated Program

Program 5: Year 10 Languages/Accelerated Program

All Year 10 Programs run for the entire year. Once enrolled in their program of choice, students remain in that program for the entire year.

The College Timetable

The timetable will consist of 5 lessons per day in a 10 day cycle. Each lesson will be 60 minutes.

Subject Availability

Every effort will be made to place students into their subject choices. However, the availability of subjects offered in the Course Guide will depend on the number of students selecting the subject and staff availability. Subject lines may also impact a students’ elective choices. In these instances, students will be supported in selecting an alternate subject if needed.

Year 10 Programs

The following Tables shows the allocation of the 50 lessons available per cycle for each Year 10 Level Program.

Year 10 Prescribed Studies

Religious Education: Standard

(Programs 1, 3, 4 or 5)

Marist-Sion College is inspired by the traditions of the Marist Brothers and the Sisters of Sion in its commitment to providing an education which integrates faith, learning and life in a welcoming community. The College affirms and promotes a Christian philosophy which values a faith-centred approach to life and upholds the uniqueness, integrity and dignity of all those involved in its community life. The Religious Education program is the formal and most obvious means by which this philosophy is passed on to our students and is an integral part of the College curriculum. Our students are invited to put faith into action, value learning for life and flourish as people.

Religious Education at Year 10 level is studied in accordance with the Curriculum of the Diocese of Sale, by focusing on four content strands: Triune God, Life and Mission of Jesus, A Sacramental Church, and Christian Life and Catholic Social Teaching. Alongside the academic content, students are also given opportunities to broaden their own faith experience and to experience prayer, liturgy and reflective activities.

Religious Education: Youth Ministry

(Programs 1, 3, 4 or 5)

Youth Ministry is an alternative to the prescribed Religious Education course in Year 10. Students will complete parts of the Core Study listed above as well as developing an understanding of the principles of Youth Ministry. Students learn leadership and presentation skills and build knowledge and skills in expression of the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. The main actions in this course are the facilitation of Sacrament workshops for the local parish primary schools and planning and preparing the Year 8 Retreat. It supports the students in the expression of faith through action.

Religious Education: Music Ministry

(Program 1, 3, 4 or 5)

Music Ministry is a new option for Religious Education in Year 10. It is an alternative to the prescribed Religious Education course and is a non-auditioned Choir/Band. This study in music ministry offers students the opportunity to complete the Curriculum of the Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Ltd in a practical/experiential model. Students will be involved in the planning and preparation of music for Masses, Liturgical celebrations, social justice activities and other College events that are held throughout the year. Through this, students will develop an understanding of sacrament and how this is experienced through the lenses of: scripture, tradition, Christian prayer and liturgy, and religion and society. Students need an openness to faith expression through song and instruments.

English

(Programs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)

The study of English is central to the learning and development of all young Australians. It helps create confident communicators, imaginative thinkers and informed citizens. It is through the study of English that individuals learn to analyse, understand, communicate and build relationships with others and with the world around them. It helps them become ethical, thoughtful, informed and active members of society. Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They interpret, create, evaluate, discuss and perform a wide range of literary texts with themes and issues involving levels of abstraction, higher order reasoning and intertextual references. Students develop critical understanding of the contemporary media and the differences between media texts. Students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts including narratives, procedures, performances, reports, discussions, literary analyses, transformations of texts and reviews.

Health and Physical Education

(Programs 1, 3, 4, and 5)

Health and Physical Education focuses on students enhancing their own and others’ health, safety, wellbeing and physical activity participation in varied and changing contexts. In Physical Education, students participate in SEPEP (Sport Education in Physical Education Program), which is a student centred approach to Physical Education in which the students take responsibility for their own active learning. Research in fields such as nutrition and health promotion informs what we understand about healthy, safe and active choices. Health and Physical Education offers students an experiential curriculum that is contemporary, relevant, challenging, enjoyable and physically active.

Humanities

Students will have the opportunity to select one core Humanities option. Further Humanities options can be selected as as an elective.

(Program 1)

History and Civics - The Modern World and Australia

This course provides an overview of significant events in the decades since 1919. The topics studied include:

1. World War Two with a focus on Australia’s role and the experiences of Australian men and women.

2. Rights and Freedoms: 1945 to the Present - review of the civil rights campaigns of African Americans and Aborigines within their own countries and the ongoing work of the United Nations in the pursuit of human rights.

3. The Globalising World – global influences that have shaped Australian society in depth since World War Two, e.g. the Vietnam War, new waves of immigration and a progression of changing media (film, the introduction of television and new forms of music).

4. For Civics and Citizenship, students study how the legal system of Victoria currently operates, especially in how it affects younger Australians.

Commerce

The Commerce curriculum explores the ways in which individuals, families, the community, workers, businesses and governments make decisions in relation to the allocation of resources. It enables students to understand the process of economic and business decision-making at the personal, local, national, regional and global levels and the effects of these decisions on themselves and others, now and in the future. Students learn to appreciate the interdependence of decisions made and develop the knowledge, understanding and skills that will inform and encourage them to participate in, and contribute to, the economy.

Geography

With a focus on human-induced environmental changes and variations in human wellbeing across a range of locations, this exciting course aims to engender a sense of wonder, curiosity and respect about places, people, cultures and environments throughout the world. Students will have the opportunity to deepen their geographical knowledge, inquiry and skills which will, in turn, better equip them to be informed, responsible and active citizens who can contribute to the development of an environmentally and economically sustainable and socially just world.

Mathematics

(Programs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5)

Students will have the opportunity to select one of two core Year 10 Mathematics options:

10A - Advanced Mathematics

(Pre-approval required from the Mathematics Learning Leader)

Students work through the proficiency of understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning and apply them across all three strands of number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. The topics that the students look at include linear and quadratic graphs and equations, indices, trigonometry, logarithms and probability. This advanced level of Mathematics works to prepare students for studying Mathematical Methods in Year 11 and Year 12. This subject is a prerequisite for study at University level for a variety of areas including Engineering, Mathematics and Sciences.

10S - Standard Mathematics

Students work through the proficiency of understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning and apply them across all three strands of number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. The topics that the students look at include univariate data, trigonometry and shape and measurement. Area and volume for a range of prisms, cylinders and composite solids are explored. This subject provides students with access to important mathematical ideas, knowledge and skills that have many useful applications.

Science

(Programs 1, 3, 4 and 5)

The Science curriculum provides opportunities for students to develop an understanding of important scientific concepts and processes, the practices used to develop scientific knowledge, the contribution of science to our culture and society, and its applications in our lives.

During Year 10, students study Science as a core subject over both Semesters. Students may select two Science studies from the options below, as their focus, one for each Semester.

Options: Specialised Science Studies

This option is recommended for students who have a keen interest in a specific area of science or who have understanding of subject requirements for their preferred career pathway. Students will select two of the specialised studies listed below. Each study is a Semester Unit that will explore recent developments and application of the scientific method.

Specialised Science - Biology: Developments in genetics and our understanding of evolution.

Specialised Science - Chemistry: Bonding and the importance of key chemical reactions in society.

Specialised Science - Environmental Science: Interactions and interconnectedness between humans and their environments, including functions of both living and non-living elements that sustain Earth systems.

Specialised Science - Physics: Energy transformations that facilitate motion.

Specialised Science - Psychology: Ethics of research methods used to understand human behaviour.