CATALYST KEY LEARNING
THREADS
Core Subjects
Core subjects refer to subjects and classes that
all students will study for a whole a semester.
They include English, Mathematics, Science,
Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and
Physical Education and Religion, Philosophy
and Ethics. In Year 7 and 8, students will also
study core Arts and Technologies courses.
Foreign Language studies (or Academic
Intervention) is also a core component of each
student’s academic program in Year 7. Further
details relating to the Academic Intervention
Program are outlined in the following pages.
Personal Learning Program
The Personal Learning Program (PLP) is a
sequential learning development of individual
abilities and learning skills. With direct links to
the Western Australian Curriculum, the PLP
provides a dynamic, student-focussed learning
experience, connecting skills important to 21 St
Century learners to Service, Science, the
Humanities, Technology and the Arts.
The PLP consists of two key learning threads:
Action Projects and the wide range of
Discovery Courses. Throughout each term,
these provide learning experiences that help
students understand their learning preferences
and progressively develop a toolkit of skills and
strategies to serve them in senior years of study
and beyond.
Action Projects
Investigative, problem-based action projects
see students engage with the curriculum in
purposeful and meaningful ways. The
projects are designed around substantive
and relevant issues requiring research,
critical thinking, analysis and collaboration.
A dual emphasis on both process and
product ensures students develop skills that
transfer across their academic program as
well as informing their personal learning
preferences.
Discovery courses
These elective courses provide an enhanced
range of learning options, offering students
the opportunity to pursue academic studies in
areas of interest.
The design of the Discovery Learning
Banks emphasises opportunity, choice and
flexibility. A student may also undertake a full
semester of in-depth study with a single
course.
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Students traversing their middle years are regularly questioning who
they are as learners. Our Catalyst program is designed to help these
young learners come to understand their strengths, interests and
learning preferences in a way that will complement their future
studies. Most importantly our junior secondary curriculum has, at its
heart, the desire to see all our students love their learning and feel
confident and optimistic about what their future schooling and
beyond may hold for them.