Term 1

What's Happening in our Classrooms in Term 1

Prep

Sounds-Write Students are learning the sounds in each of the units listed. Unit 1 <a, i, m, s, t>, Unit 2 <n, o, p>, Unit 3 <b, c, g, h>, Unit 4 <d, e, f, v>

Fluency Reading Students say each sound and blend them together to read Consonant Vowel Consonant (CVC) words with sounds from the above units

Language Conventions: Concepts of a sentence. Nouns (Person/Animal, Place or Thing), Verbs (doing words). Generate simple sentences including who, what, doing, where, and when.

Mentor Text:

Where is the Green Sheep? (Mem Fox) Identifying and producing rhyme.

Giraffe’s Can’t Dance (Giles Andreae) Beginning and End Punctuation

Prep

Place Value Patterns with objects, Counting to 6 then 10, Subitising (recognising how many objects without counting them), Writing digits, Comparing numbers

Location Positional language (behind, in front, next to, etc)

Graphing, Collect, sort, and compare data using objects

Prep

Me, My family and growing up.

Personal timelines, family structures, and how they have changed over time, family trees.

Activities including craft on our classroom theme of Farming to develop fine motor skills.

Prep

Students are learning about a range of important safety topics. This includes water and sun safety, identifying hazards in the home, recognising safe adults, and learning what to do in an emergency, including how to call 000.

Students are also joining the Year ½ students, engaging in the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships and Building Respectful Relationships (RRRR). Once a week, students come together to explore different emotions, what they might look and feel like, and how actions and events in our lives can influence how we feel.

Prep

Students are learning about Rhythm Notation and exploring different percussion instruments. Students will learn the names of different percussion instruments and be able to read and clap/play along to Kodaly signs in small groups and independently.

Prep

Students are learning the ropes of the art room. They are learning how to use art-specific materials, cleaning up after themselves and creating exciting artworks along the way.

Prep

Students are learning to explore living and non-living things and learn about different animal features. They investigate how features like wings, fins, legs, or tails help animals move and survive in their environments. Students then use craft materials to design and build their own animal, explaining how it moves and where it might live.

Prep

Build water confidence and identify how they can make their body move in the water. Introduction to the athletic events of target throw, long throw, long jump, high jump and running.

Prep

Students are studying Biological Science around the following: What basic needs do all living things have in common? What do humans need? What do other animals need? What do plants need? What happens if humans, animals, and plants' needs are not met?

Students are to create a home for a parrot out of recycled materials, ensuring they provide for all of the parrot's needs.

Prep

Students are learning that Auslan is the language of the Deaf and it uses expressions, handshapes, and body movements. Students are learning that people communicate in different ways, and that Auslan is a language we can use with our hands. Students have been learning vocabulary for greetings, colours, and feelings.

Year 1/2

Sounds-Write

Students are learning to recognise and use the following sounds:

Group 1 - /ae/ /ee/ /oe/ /er/

Group 2 - /ie/ /oo/ /u/ /s/ /l/ /or/

Fluency Reading

Whole class and partner reading with a focus on accurate decoding.

Shared Writing

Students are focusing on sentence-level writing, which includes nouns, verbs, pronouns, statements, questions, capital letters, and end punctuation.

Mentor Text

Using the children’s book “The Imagineer”, to retell and respond to the narrative text type. Identifying and using alliteration and using “If” and ‘When” sentences. Discussion and links to past inventions referenced in the text.

Decoding and Reading

The teacher modelled the reading of “The BFG” and accompanying comprehension activities.

Reading triangles with a focus on elements of narratives.

Handwriting

Teacher modelling and independent practising of lowercase and uppercase letters.

Year 1/2

Students are learning to recognise, represent and order numbers to at least 1000 using physical and virtual materials, numerals and number lines. They are doing this by re-naming, working with place value, rounding and estimating.

Year 1/2

Students are learning about the past and present by examining how everyday life has changed over time. Through discussions, stories, images and hands-on activities, students learn that people lived differently in the past and that many things have changed.

Year 1/2

Students are learning about Primary and Secondary colours, as well as contrasting colours. Students are creating artworks to display around the school, using colour mixing techniques.

Year 1/2

Students are learning to explore the features and needs of living things, focusing on plants and animals. Students will use their senses to observe, ask questions and investigate the natural world around them. They will learn about seeds, leaves, flowers, and plants that people can eat, and identify different animal features.

Year 1/2

Learning how they can make their body move in the water and starting to try and swim recognised strokes - freestyle and backstroke. Revise athletic events of target throw, long throw, long jump, high jump and running.

Year 1/2

Students are studying mass, eg: what sinks or floats, measuring volume. The second part of the term is Computer technology. Students are learning how to log onto a laptop and perform basic computing tasks.

Year 1/2

Students are continuing to develop their interaction and communication skills for participation in regular class routines and activities. Students will be working towards understanding that when planning stories, they use visual thinking and show through actions.

Year 3/4

Sounds Write (Grade 3) Students are working across the following sounds this term /oo/, /j/, /g/, /f/ and /m/.

PhOrmes (Grade 4) Students are working on the Silent Final E (SFE) and learning when to use the ‘ar’ spelling in a word versus when to just use an ‘a’ that makes the /ar/ sound (e.g. car or last). They continue to be tested on their spelling words every Friday that they are exposed to during spelling and are sent home via homework.

Fluency Reading: Students are learning to read with intonation and expression each day. They will work to identify where to stop and pause as well as when to read with light and shade. Students are tested on their ORF DIBELS 3 times a year.

Handwriting: Grade 3 students are learning joins this term, they will learn to join their letters using diagonal joins.

Grade 4 students are continuing to refine their joining practice by learning about speed looping.

Students will be given a handwriting assessment at the end of term by copying a passage of text from afar and converting it into joins.

Mentor Text: Students are learning about the novel ‘Nim’s Island’ this term, they are responding to the novel with a series of comprehension questions and learning to structure a narrative text starting with sentence level writing. Students will be assessed on a final narrative story.

Year 3/4

Place Value: Students are learning to construct, round and rename place value. They are building numbers using MAB blocks and recording them in their books. Students have been assessed on this throughout the unit and can show they are able to identify the place value in numbers starting at 2 digits and building to 3 and 4 digits.

Decimals: Students will be introduced to tenths and hundredths, they will be assessed on breaking a whole into ten parts and being able to write this in both fraction and decimal form.

Metric Units:Students will estimate, measure and compare in metric units using both digital and scaled instruments.

Year 3/4

Students are learning about their own story and about life in the early 1900s. They compare the past and present to understand what has changed over time. Students also listen to a person’s story and share their learning through a presentation.

Year 3/4

Students are learning about safety and the choices we need to make when around water and in the sun. They are also learning what to do in an emergency and who they can turn to for help. This includes understanding when to call 000 and being able to say their home address if needed.

Students are engaging in the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships and Building Respectful Relationships (RRRR) program. Students are unpacking emotions, exploring what triggers our emotions and what they may look like to ourselves and others. Students will also explore their personal and cultural strengths.

Year 3/4

Students are learning Recorder this term in music. Students will learn to hold the recorder correctly, collaborate with other students to practice skills and play ‘Hot Cross Buns’ and ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ independently.

Year 3/4

Students are diving deeper into the world of colour. They are learning about ‘brights and pastels’, ‘warm and cool colours’ and using colour to create texture. Students are creating artworks to display around the school that showcase their learning around these ideas.

Year 3/4

Students are learning to explore heat and how it moves, investigate which materials and shade reduce heat, and use their findings to design, prototype, and share a safer playground.

Year 3/4

Progressing through the recognised swimming strokes in preparation for the House and Kowree swimming sports. Introduce new athletic events - triple jump, discus and shot putt in preparation for the House athletics sports in week 1 of Term 2.

Year 3/4

Computer technology. Students are learning how to log into a laptop and perform basic computing tasks.

Year 3/4

Students are participating in shared learning activities that involve planning, transacting and problem-solving, using simple signed statements, questions and directions. Through planning and sharing their own signed stories, students will demonstrate their learning of key skills.

Year 5/6

Spelling: Students are learning the foundations and conventions of the following sounds: b/bb, a(apple), k/c/q/ck/x/ch, e/ea(egg/head), d/dd, i(igloo), f/ff/ph, o/a(orange/watch), g/gg, u/o(umbrella/monkey). Students are given differentiated spelling lists that show these words in context and various use-cases and they are assessed on these words and rules weekly.

Text: Mentor text: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Students are using this text, students will explore: identifying the themes within text and discussing, responding to texts, paragraphing structure, simple/compund/complex sentence structures, creating and reciting texts, locating and using evidence from text to support writing and opinion, relating written to film as text, exploring and unpacking characters and traits and various other text-specific endeavours. Students are to be assessed with a culminating project associated with the world at the time the text is set and using evidence from the test to explore and explain character decisions. They are also routinely assessed throughout the unit utilising various tasks to address the goals mentioned.

Writing: Students are focusing on handwriting to form letters correctly, legibly and within the parameters of the lines. They will be using 7 steps to develop narrative and persuasive writing tasks. These tasks will have an element allowing students to self edit and assess focusing on figurative language, sentence types and punctuation use.

Year 5/6

Students will be learning about the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) using whole numbers and fractions as well as in the context of money. They are assessed with pre and post, subject specific assessments via Essential Assessment, as well as frequent informal assessments based on class work and designated assessment sessions and check ins (utilising quizzes,

Year 5/6

Students are learning to create personal timelines, explore how their town has changed over time, and investigate a piece of local history to understand how Goroke has changed, and the significance of the past.

Year 5/6

Students are learning about safety and the consequences of our choices. Students will identify what to do in an emergency and practice calling emergency services. Students will develop their knowledge of sun safety, including UV rays.

Students are engaging in the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships and Building Respectful Relationships (RRRR) program. Students are unpacking emotions, what they may look like (including body language), how to deal with mixed emotions and how to deal with intense emotions as our bodies change. Students will identify their personal and cultural strengths.

Year 5/6

Students are learning to play the Ukulele this term in music. Students will learn to hold and strum the instrument correctly. Students will learn to play a series of chords to be able to demonstrate this for assessment as they play along with me or tab prompts.

Year 5/6

Students are learning about the Art Principles (contrast, pattern, focal point, balance, movement and unity). In year 5/6 students begin to work in a visual diary, trialling different techniques keeping all their work together, in preparation for secondary art. Students will use their learnings around the Art Principles to create a final artwork towards the end of the term.

Year 5/6

Students are learning to explore how matter changes state and investigate reversible changes, like melting, and irreversible changes, like burning, recording and explaining their observations.

Year 5/6

Building on improving their technique in recognised swimming strokes in preparation for the House and Kowree swimming sports. Revising the athletic events in preparation for House athletics week 1 of Term 2.

Year 5/6

For the first half of the term, students are studying ecosystems eg: Boreal, Temperate and Tropical forests.

In the second part, they are learning about computer technology. Students are learning how to log onto a laptop and perform basic computing tasks.

Year 5/6

Students are learning to create or reinterpret simple imaginative texts that involve characters or different situations, using a range of signs and gestures to convey events, characters or settings. Through planning and sharing their own signed stories, students will demonstrate their learning of key skills.

Year 7/8

Heroes, Villains and Relationships in Film

In this unit, students explore how films tell stories through characters, dialogue and important events. Using The Princess Bride, students examine how heroes, villains and relationships are represented in a narrative. They will learn how dialogue, character actions and key scenes help the audience understand personalities and motivations.

Students will also develop basic film vocabulary (such as scene, dialogue and character) and practise explaining ideas about a film using examples from the text.

A key focus of the unit is learning to write a short analytical paragraph using the PEEL structure (Point, Evidence, Explain, Link).

For the assessment task, students will write a short paragraph response explaining a character from the film using one example from a scene.

Year 7/8

This term students are building their number skills through dedicated application of the four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using positive and negative whole numbers, fractions, decimals and rational and irrational numbers. They are learning to identify rational and irrational numbers and solve problems with these. They have begun to use index notation and some Index Laws as a compact way of representing repeated multiplication. Students are to begin to explore algebra through specific language and the purpose of algebra within Mathematics. They will consolidate their understanding of time and extend this into world time zones.

Students will be assessed through daily numeracy fluency tasks, their workbooks and class tasks, weekly homework tasks with targeted support for skill development as needed and topic tests and/or assignments.

Year 7/8

Geography Skills – Understanding Places and Environments

This unit develops foundational geographical knowledge and skills in line with the Victorian Curriculum Humanities 2.0. Students investigate the characteristics of places and environments, explore human and natural features, and develop skills in interpreting maps and geographical data.

Through the analysis of maps, images, graphs and case studies, students learn how spatial patterns occur and how people interact with environments. The unit builds students’ ability to recognise geographical interconnections and understand how places change over time.

Students apply their learning in a Place Investigation assessment task, where they analyse a real place using geographical language and data.

Year 7/8

This term students explore the following elements of music (duration, pitch and dynamics) through a contemporary music lens.They will explore how contemporary Australian artists, including First Nations’ artists manipulate these musical elements to create mood and emotional intent. Students’ progress will be assessed by weekly ‘check in’ activities, their performance at the ‘Taste of harmony’ concert and by an analysis of three contemporary Australian music performances

Year 7/8

Term 1 will consist of Design Principles, Rendering and Colour, Modeling and the design process. Practical will consist of small table design and manufacture.

Year 7/8

During the Art elective, students will explore the theme of Place, Country, and Environment. Through a series of guided learning tasks, students will be introduced to a range of methods and techniques designed to inspire creative exploration and skill development.

Students will study the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, including Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Bronwyn Bancroft, and Rover Thomas, gaining insight into the ways artists express connections to Country and environment. They will also research international artists such as David Hockney, Olafur Eliasson, and Yayoi Kusama to broaden their understanding of contemporary artistic practices and perspectives.

Students will apply this knowledge and the skills they develop throughout the unit to complete their assessment task. This will include a range of visual diary entries documenting their ideas and processes, the creation of a final artwork, and a written artist statement.

Year 7/8

Students are developing their own presentation on a specific breed of sheep. Practical will consist of building a stock and fodder shelter.

Year 9/10

Perspective, Place and Identity

In this unit, students read Soldier Boy by Anthony Hill as a historical novel that shows how war shapes identity, courage and relationships. Students build reading stamina and comprehension by tracking Jim’s choices, feelings and changes across key events, such as home, under-age enlistment and his Gallipoli experience.

They learn to discuss and write about big ideas (loss, mateship, bravery, fear, duty, memory) and to explain how the author positions the reader through character viewpoint, setting detail and emotional tone. Across the unit, students practise using evidence (short quotes/scene details) to create clear, structured paragraphs.

The final assessment will be a student choice submission.

Year 9/10

This term students have been extending their knowledge of number skills into the areas of Algebraic Fractions (fractions that incorporate the use of pronumerals as well as numbers). They have been identifying what constitutes a rational and an irrational number and using the four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve problems. Students are learning about Indices and the Index Laws and how we can use Indices as a compact way of representing repeated multiplication. They are learning to substitute values for pronumerals and to solve unknown side lengths in right-angled triangles using Pythagoras’ Theorem.

Students will be assessed through daily numeracy fluency tasks, their workbook and class tasks, weekly homework tasks with targeted support for skill development as needed and topic tests and/or assignments.

Year 9/10

Students will be studying World War I (WWI) with the focus being on Australia's involvement and key campaigns such as Gallipoli. They will be investigating the main causes (m.a.i.n) of the war and the initial instigation of the conflict. This will be timelined and follow the path of Australian involvement regarding engagement, enlistment, the conscription debate, and their return to ‘normal life’. They will be assessed via a pretest of knowledge prior to the unit to then be retested at the culmination to provide insights into their learning successes. Students are also to be routinely assessed throughout through designated presentation, research, timeline, and oral projects to ensure academic rigour.

Year 9/10

Students are learning about safety this term. They will identify the risks around social gatherings around water, and the choices that are made as they move through their later adolescence. Students will develop their knowledge of DRS ABCD through role-play scenarios. Students will learn about concussion, shock, and anaphylaxis, and how they should treat each emergency.

Students are engaging in the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships and Building Respectful Relationships (RRRR) program. Students will unpack emotions, identify hidden emotions and explore their personal and cultural strengths by identifying their values.

Year 9/10

In Term 1, Year 9/10 Science students explore how the human body maintains balance and protects itself from disease. Across two connected units, students investigate body systems, responses to stimuli and how the immune system protects individuals and communities from infectious diseases.

Unit 1: Homeostasis

Students investigate how the body maintains a stable internal environment through a process called homeostasis. They explore the roles of the nervous and endocrine systems in detecting changes in the body and responding through negative feedback mechanisms. Students examine examples such as body temperature regulation and blood glucose control and model how receptors, control centres and effectors work together to maintain balance. Learning activities include hands-on demonstrations, role-plays, model building and group investigations that help students understand how messages travel through nerves and hormones to coordinate body responses. Students demonstrate their understanding through diagrams, explanations and a final assessment task where they explain how the nervous and endocrine systems work together to maintain homeostasis and an end of unit test. This unit addresses the Victorian Curriculum achievement standard where students explain how the nervous and endocrine systems use negative feedback to support homeostasis in the body’s internal environment, linked to content description VC2S10U02.

Unit 2: Immune System and Disease

Students explore how diseases affect the body and how the immune system protects against infection. They investigate pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, and learn how diseases are transmitted and controlled. Students examine the body’s first, second and third lines of defence, and explore how vaccination and herd immunity help reduce the spread of disease within communities. Through simulations, modelling activities and case studies, students analyse real-world examples of disease transmission and evaluate prevention strategies such as hygiene, quarantine and public health education. Assessment tasks allow students to demonstrate their understanding by identifying disease causes, explaining immune responses and evaluating disease control strategies using scientific evidence. This unit aligns with the Victorian Curriculum achievement standard where students distinguish between infectious and non-infectious diseases and compare different infectious disease control measures, linked to content description VC2S10U03

Across both units, students develop skills in scientific inquiry, modelling biological systems, analysing cause-and-effect relationships and communicating scientific explanations through diagrams, models and presentations.

Year 9/10

Term 1 will consist of Design Principles, Rendering and Colour, Modeling and the design process. Practical will consist of small table design and manufacture.

Year 9/10

Students are developing their own presentation on a specific breed of sheep. Practical will consist of building a stock and fodder shelter.

VM/VPC

Students are performing various maintenance tasks in a team environment, along with design and implementation of school grounds projects.

Year 11

In VCE English Unit 1 students build the foundational skills for VCE success. They study a selected text, excerpts from The Help by Kathryn Stockett (novel) and scenes from the film (2011) learning to analyse characters, themes and authorial choices, and practise writing clear, evidence-based responses. The assessment task will focus on how voice and identity influence the way writing is created.

The unit focuses on developing confident reading, structured writing, and effective communication to prepare students for Units 2, 3 and 4.

Year 11

VCE Biology – Unit 1 (Term 1)

How do organisms regulate their functions?

In Term 1, VCE Biology students study Unit 1: How do organisms regulate their functions?, which focuses on the cell as the structural and functional unit of life and how cells and systems maintain stable internal conditions in living organisms. Students investigate the structure and function of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, the role of cell membranes in regulating the movement of substances, and the importance of surface area to volume ratio in determining cell size and function. They examine how specialised organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts support cellular processes, and how cells grow, divide and are replaced through the cell cycle and mitosis. Students also explore programmed cell death (apoptosis), how disruptions to the cell cycle can lead to cancer, and the role of stem cells in cell differentiation, specialisation and tissue repair.

Throughout the unit, students apply key scientific skills by analysing biological processes, interpreting models and diagrams, and investigating how cells function within multicellular organisms. Learning activities include microscopy observations, modelling of cellular structures and processes, simulations of membrane transport and cell division, and problem-solving tasks that apply biological concepts. Students also explore how specialised cells support the functioning of systems in plants and animals and how biological regulation contributes to maintaining internal balance.

Assessment for this unit includes a range of tasks aligned with Outcome 1, where students explain and compare cellular structure and function and analyse the cell cycle and processes of cell growth, death and differentiation. Assessment tasks may include a modelling or simulation activity, problem-solving tasks involving biological concepts and skills, and a report of a laboratory investigation involving the generation and analysis of primary data. Students also undertake a student-designed or student-adapted scientific investigation, where they collect and analyse primary data related to the function or regulation of cells or biological systems, applying the key science skills outlined in the VCE Biology Study Design.

Year 11

Unit 1, Area of Study 1, students explore how artists use different art forms, materials and techniques to create artworks and communicate ideas. Throughout the term, students investigate the art forms of printmaking, painting and photography, while analysing artworks created by a range of artists. Students examine how artists use visual conventions such as colour, composition, line, texture, tone, light and perspective to influence the appearance and meaning of artworks.

Students experiment with a range of materials and processes within these art forms, including printmaking techniques such as block printing, painting mediums such as water colour and acrylic, and photographic techniques such as composition and lighting. All experiments, ideas and reflections are recorded in a visual diary, where students annotate their work to explain the materials, techniques and processes they have used. Students visual diaries will be due Week 1, Term 2.

Students will also begin Area of Study 3, which includes visiting an art gallery to investigate how artworks are presented and curated. Following this visit, students will begin planning and developing ideas for their exhibition presentation during Term 2.

Year 11

VCE Agricultural and Horticultural Studies – Unit 1 (Term 1)

Change and Opportunity: Food and Fibre Industries

In Term 1, students studying VCE Agricultural and Horticultural Studies Unit 1: Change and Opportunity investigate the structure, development and future direction of Australia’s food and fibre industries. Students explore how land is used to produce food and fibre and examine the key sectors within agriculture and horticulture, including livestock production, broadacre cropping, horticulture and forestry. They analyse how environmental factors such as climate zones, soil properties and water availability influence where particular industries are located across Australia and Victoria. Students also investigate the historical development of agriculture, including the sustainable land management practices of Victoria’s First Peoples and the changes that occurred following European settlement.

Throughout the unit, students examine the social, cultural, environmental and economic roles of agriculture and horticulture in Australia. They explore the factors that influence the establishment and location of industries, including climate, soil quality, labour availability, infrastructure, community influences and economic considerations. Students also investigate how modern food and fibre industries are changing due to innovation and technology, consumer demand, retailer influence, global markets, labour availability and climate variability. Emerging trends such as automation, precision agriculture, intensive production systems, sustainable land management, agroecology, farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture are explored to understand how industries continue to adapt and evolve.

A major component of the unit is a student investigation into a Victorian food or fibre enterprise. Students select an industry such as dairy, grains, wool, viticulture or horticulture and develop a research portfolio examining where the enterprise is located, why it occurs in that region and how it has changed over time. Students analyse factors including climate, soil conditions, economic drivers and community influences, and investigate future trends affecting the industry. The portfolio includes a range of evidence such as annotated maps, data tables and graphs, short reports, glossary terms and reflections, and is supported by a practical investigation where students collect and analyse primary data related to plant growth or soil conditions.

Through this unit, students develop skills in data collection, analysis and interpretation, systems thinking and evidence-based decision-making while gaining an understanding of the complex factors that shape modern agricultural and horticultural industries.

Year 12

In Unit 3 English, students refine the skills needed for success in their final VCE assessment. They closely study a set text, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, developing detailed analytical responses that explore themes, ideas and authorial choices. Students will build confidence in planning and expressing ideas under timed conditions.

The unit focuses on advanced analysis, clear argument, and exam preparation in readiness for Unit 4 and the end-of-year exam.

Year 12

VCE General Mathematics – Unit 3 (Term 1)

Data Analysis, Probability and Statistics

In Term 1, students studying VCE General Mathematics Unit 3 focus on how mathematics can be used to analyse and interpret real-world data. This unit helps students develop practical statistical skills that are widely used in fields such as business, science, health, sport and economics. Students learn how to collect, represent and interpret different types of data, and how to use mathematical tools to identify patterns, relationships and trends. Topics include the use of graphs and data displays such as histograms, boxplots and scatterplots, and the calculation of measures such as mean, median, standard deviation and z-scores to describe and compare data sets.

Students also investigate how two variables may be related. They explore association, correlation and causation, learning how to determine whether changes in one variable are linked to changes in another. Using scatterplots and the least squares regression line, students model linear relationships between variables and use these models to make predictions while recognising the limitations of extrapolation. They also examine the strength of relationships using the correlation coefficient (r) and the coefficient of determination (r²).

Another major focus of the unit is time series analysis, where students analyse data that changes over time. They learn to recognise patterns such as trends, seasonal variation and irregular fluctuations, and apply mathematical techniques such as moving means and seasonal indices to smooth data and identify long-term patterns. Students then use mathematical models to make predictions about future values while considering the reliability and limitations of these forecasts.

Throughout the unit, students regularly use technology such as CAS calculators and statistical software to analyse data, create graphs and test mathematical models. Learning activities include analysing real-world data sets, interpreting graphs and statistics, solving applied problems and investigating patterns in data. Assessment for this unit involves an application-based task covering the three outcomes of the course, where students demonstrate their ability to explain key statistical concepts, apply mathematical techniques to solve real-world problems and use technology to analyse and interpret data.

Year 12

VCE Biology – Unit 3 (Term 1)

What is the role of nucleic acids and proteins in maintaining life?

In Term 1, VCE Biology students study Unit 3: How do cells maintain life?, with a focus on Area of Study 1 – What is the role of nucleic acids and proteins in maintaining life?. In this unit students investigate how genetic information stored in DNA is expressed to produce proteins, which are essential for the structure and functioning of living organisms. Students explore the structure of DNA and RNA, the nature of the genetic code, and the processes of gene expression, including transcription, RNA processing and translation. They examine how genes are structured and regulated, including simplified models of gene regulation such as the trp operon, and how proteins form from amino acids to create the diverse proteome that supports cellular processes. Students also investigate how proteins are produced and transported through the protein secretory pathway, involving the rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and vesicles.

Students apply this knowledge to modern biotechnology and gene technologies, examining how DNA can be manipulated using molecular tools such as DNA polymerase, ligase and restriction enzymes, as well as techniques including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis for DNA analysis and profiling. They also explore the role of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, the use of recombinant plasmids to produce human insulin, and the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture. Students evaluate the benefits, risks and ethical implications associated with these technologies.

The unit also introduces how biochemical pathways are regulated, focusing on the role of enzymes and coenzymes in cellular processes such as photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Students investigate how factors including temperature, pH, substrate concentration and enzyme inhibitors influence enzyme activity and therefore regulate biochemical reactions within cells.

Learning activities include analysis of molecular models, interpretation of genetic and biochemical diagrams, laboratory-style investigations, and structured problem-solving tasks that apply biological concepts to real-world scenarios. Assessment in Term 1 includes weekly homework and structured chapter questions, along with the first School Assessed Coursework (SAC), where students analyse and evaluate a contemporary bioethical issue related to gene technologies, demonstrating their understanding of the relationship between nucleic acids, proteins and modern biotechnology.

Year 12

This term, students perform regularly in a variety of contexts and use these performances to explore and build on ways of developing technical skills and skills in interpreting music to create a mood or effect. They explore the use of musical elements, concepts, and compositional devices in selected works and consider the ways a performer’s interpretation can be shaped by this knowledge. Students’ progress will be assessed by weekly homework questions, listening journal entries, and one SAC. The first part of the SAC is an ungraded task in which they perform a selection of their final program, including the performance of a reimagined work. The second part of the SAC is a graded task in which students explain their choice of the proposed program of work to be performed.

Year 12

This term students explore the role of different branches of the nervous system, apply their understanding of neurotransmitters and explore the effect that neuromodulators have on brain activity. The interaction between gut microbiota, the nervous system and the brain is explored, including the link between diet and anxiety/depression.Students evaluate the ways in which stress can affect mental wellbeing and compare different models that explain stress. Strategies for coping with stress and improving mental wellbeing are also investigated. Students’ progress will be assessed by weekly homework questions, two ‘hurdle’ tasks and one SAC, an analysis and evaluation of an experiment.

Year 12

How are movement skills improved? Via participation, your sociocultural environment, practice and feedback are aligned to the stages of learning, development of psychological skills, correct application of biomechanical principles and qualitative movement analysis.

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