Curriculum
Supported by dedicated, passionate teachers, your child will flourish at St Columba’s College through the experience of an innovative, contemporary curriculum that allows for the exploration of individual passions while embracing rich learning opportunities that help build the ‘whole’ student.
In the early secondary school years, your child will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of core subjects, covering all major educational domains. From Year 9, your child may choose from a range of elective subjects, assisting in forging a personalised study pathway that will continue into further education or employment.
YEAR 7-9
The learning programs at Years 7 to 9 build on essential skills and dispositions across all domains and introduce some opportunities to explore individual talents, abilities and areas of interest. As well as core subjects in the Mathematics, Science, Humanities, English, Religious Education, Physical Education, Language and the Arts (access the full subject list here), your child will also be a part of:
Design, Code and Create
In Year 7, your child will participate in Design, Code and Create, a program that offers a variety of activities that develop digital literacy skills. Students will come to understand what it means to be an ethical user of digital technology.
Students also learn about Internet safety and create a presentation that serves as a public service announcement about the importance of Internet safety and computer security. Your child will begin to develop an awareness of coding and computer networks.
In the second part of the course, students will develop storyboards and scripts, and create short movies relating to a designated concept.
Fiontar
Fiontar is a Year 8 interdisciplinary program that aims to create learning opportunities for your child to develop future-focused skills (learning, communicating and thinking) and general capabilities through exposure to global contexts and problems. Your child will be challenged to become a resilient learner, as well as, demonstrate a love of learning, educational endeavour, a deepening of personal faith, and a commitment to justice.
To achieve these aims, Fiontar utilises and embeds into its programs:
- student choice
- student responsibility
- group work
- the design thinking process
- visible thinking strategies
- teacher facilitation and guidance (rather than teacher centred learning)
- use of student feedback
- a focus on contemporary issues.
Future Directions
The Year 9 Future Directions Program is a career-based program, which aims to provide your child with the ability to understand and manage influences relating to career planning and lifelong learning.
Students will develop skills, knowledge and capabilities to make effective career decisions and apply their learning to achieve educational and career aspirations.
A key component of the Future Directions program is the Mock Interview Program. Your child will participate in a number of activities to develop employability skills in preparation for the program. The Mock Interview Program is held over three nights with a panel of external interviewers from the College community.
Electives
Year 9 will give your child the chance to tailor some subject choices. As well as compulsory subjects across the various domains, your child can choose electives in English, Arts, Mathematics or Technologies. Access the list of subjects here.
In some circumstances, some Year 9 students will be invited to undertake a Unit 1/2 subject in Year 10. This is decided based on prior academic performance.
Urban Experience
The Urban Experience program takes Year 9 students out of the classroom and into the City of Melbourne for an immersive week of activities focused on St Columba’s College values, in partnership with students from St Bernard’s College.
The program is designed to build twenty-first century learning skills, resilience and independence, with an emphasis on respectful relationships.
Based out of the Catholic Theological Centre in East Melbourne, the week begins with an Amazing Race around Melbourne’s landmarks, allowing students to orient themselves within the city, while learning to negotiate with team members. After a day focussed on faith and self-reflection, students undertake a program of learning in areas of their choice, including sustainability, architecture, Indigenous issues, culture and history. The week culminates with students presenting their learning in digital format, shared with staff and families as a celebration of their urban experience.
YEAR 10-12
At these year levels, St Columba’s is committed to providing your child with flexible and tailored pathways as is evident in the variety of courses offered. For a list of subjects offered in Years 10 to 12, click here.
Year 10
The curriculum at Year 10 is designed to cater for the requirements of the Victorian Curriculum as well as allow for student choice across all Learning Areas and as such, your child’s program will consist of a mixture of compulsory and elective units. All units are a semester in length, and t some units are prerequisites for VCE study in that learning area.
Your child can undertake the Year 10 Vocational Pathway if they are interested in completing the VCE Vocational Major Senior Certificate in Year 11 and 12. They will be required to complete a Vocational Education and Training (VET) Certificate as part of their program. If your child selects the Year 10 Vocational Pathway they must choose 16 units across the year.
Learn more about our Senior Pathways here.
Exploring Pathways
This Year 10 program focuses on developing the knowledge, skills and understanding to recognise and manage what is often implicit thinking. Using Project Based Learning (PBL) your child will learn and apply techniques in communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. Through PBL your child will be challenged to be a big thinker, who able to strategise and self-reflect.
Senior Pathways - VCE
The College offers three Senior Certificates. The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) ATAR Major, VCE Major and the VCE Vocational Major. Your child can also include a VET (Vocational Education and Training) Course as part of the VCE program. Click here to access a list of subjects offered as part of the Senior Certificates. Form more information regarding our Senior Pathways, click here.
Art Acquisition Program
Each year the St Columba’s College’s Art Acquisition program recognises the outstanding talent of visual artists at the College from Years 7 to 12.
Six works of art are purchased, three from the junior years and three from the senior years. All works acquired are bought by the College directly from the student and the works become part of the St Columba’s College art collection.
View the St Columba’s Artwork collection at our online gallery here.