Exploration Phase (Years 9 and 10)
At Faith Lutheran College, we are moving towards a truly exciting new era with our Years 9 and 10 program in the Exploration Phase with the introduction of the highly anticipated cross-curricular subjects and enhanced core subjects.
Freedom of Choice
At Faith, Years 9 and 10 merge to provide students with freedom of choice in the subjects they choose to study.
The Teaching and Learning team at Faith Lutheran College has meticulously mapped the learning that will take place in these important years by mapping the Exploration Phase units to the Australian Curriculum to ensure our students are meeting the educational requirements.
English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Christian Studies are the only compulsory subjects that students must learn during these years. We have developed a series of stimulating courses that deliver essential content learning in these areas for students to choose from.
For example, Exploration Phase students may choose to study standard Year 9 and 10 Science classes, or they may choose to study a combination of the following subjects:
- Powering the Future
- Dinosaurs and Megafauna
- Marine Science
- Crash Course
- Science of Warfare
- Rocket Science
- Freshwater Systems
- Arid Zone Science
- Medical Science
Cross-Curricular Subjects
Exploration Phase students will have the opportunity to select from a range of cross-curricular courses, providing them with the ability to study topics that interest them.
The courses on offer in the Exploration Phase have been selected by a Student Committee. By seeking student input into the units on offer, we know our students will feel a genuine excitement and connection with the courses they study.
Examples of cross-curricular subjects include:
- CO2 Drag Car Racing
- Community Agriculture
- Community Theatre
- Conspiracy Theories
- Craftsmanship with Timber
- Dance Anatomy Course
- Detective Investigations
- ESports
- Exploring the Skies
- Fuel for Sport
- Game of Life
- Inland Waterways
- MindFIT - Healthy Advocacy
- Photography
- Preparing for a Trade
- Real Estate Matters
- Robot Revolution
- Send in the Drones
- Show Me the Money
- War! What is it good for?
Wednesday Program: Impact Projects
Students in the Exploration Phase gain further independence through their Wednesday Projects with the opportunity to select from Impact Projects and Passion Projects.
Impact Projects provide our learners with the ability to choose projects that will have a positive impact on communities beyond Faith in the greater Lockyer Valley region.
While students have more autonomy and greater choice in projects they choose in this phase, they are still provided with support from our educators to help deepen their learning and to stretch as learners.
Examples of Impact Projects include finding ways to clean our waterways, creating sustainable outdoor playground equipment for a local primary school and educating the community about social issues and promoting positive change through The Arts.
Opportunities to Advance
Students in this phase will also have the freedom to study Graduate Phase (Years 11 and 12) courses while they are learning in this phase, if they are already demonstrating a readiness to do so.
Students who complete a Graduate Phase subject before Year 12 will have more time to focus on other subjects in this final stage of schooling.
This will likely lead to a reduction in pressure and workload in Year 12 while potentially fostering better results due to having more time to focus on fewer subjects, as well as sitting fewer external exams at the end of Year 12.