Society and Environment Academic
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n this most productive and successful year in Society & Environment, a particular focus has been on developing literacy skills. In a world where it is so convenient to communicate informally via email or mobile phone text, and more than ever before employers are Mr Chris Allanson placing emphasis on written Head of Society & Environment communication skills, we must ensure that we facilitate opportunities for our boys to improve their written language. Across all Year levels, with a refocus on basic spelling, grammar and punctuation, we have been modelling effective note taking, paragraph structure and essay writing, and all students in Years 8 to 10 have been assessed against ‘Investigation, Communication and Participation’ (ICP); the Society & Environment literacy Outcome that, rather than just assessing content, facilitates feedback to students on how well they are communicating their ideas. Our academic program has included numerous guest speakers, field trips, camps and other special events, demonstrating that not all learning takes place in the classroom, especially in the areas of Political & Legal Studies, Geography, History, Accounting and
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Economics. Guest speakers have included Indigenous youth advocate and 2007 Young Australian of the Year Tania Major, talkback radio host Howard Sattler and Trinity Old Boys: the Federal Member for Stirling, The Hon Michael Keenan (1989); and State Prosecutor, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Western Australia, Mr Seamus Rafferty (1991). Other activities included the Year 9 students attending a drama production on the horrors of war, with particular reference to the Vietnam War, and the Year 12 Geography students attending an intense Geography Camp to New Norcia and Northam, where numerous assessment requirements were addressed. One of the highlights of the camp was the visit to Catholic Agricultural College Bindoon, where the boys got a good taste of life on the farm. In Perth, our students also visited Parliament House, the Supreme Court, District Court, Magistrates Court of WA, the Francis Burt Law Education Centre and Museum, the Hills Discovery Centre, Point Perron, the Holocaust Institute of WA and Fremantle Prison. Students attended conferences at the The Constitutional Centre of Western Australia, the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Western Australia and the United Nations Youth Association (UNYA) State Conference. Our students also competed in the UNYA Hammarskjöld Trophy Competition, the
