Middle School
Year 7 - Year 9
In Middle School students are beginning to develop a strong sense of their own identity and learning how to establish personal and working relationships with others. They are becoming more aware of wider, contemporary issues and are trying to make sense of the social and political world beyond their own communities, especially in terms of how it affects them.
As learners, they are at once listless and energetic, curious and bored, maddeningly obtuse and refreshingly insightful. They are keen to get out in the real world and want to learn in different ways.
Innovative Teaching
Innovative teaching in Middle School allows GCC students to develop skills that allow them to build confidence and willingness to innovate and create their own opportunities.
The following collaborative, integrated subject programs are taught:
- Year 7 FUSE - an integrated English and Understanding Society (History and Geography) aligned with Foundations.
- Year 7 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
Teachers work as collaborative teams, teaching the curriculum to the whole cohort at the same time in a flexible learning space. Students have access to different activities and support options. The learning space is organised so that students can work in their timetabled class groups with their allocated teacher and at other times work in groups as designed by the teaching team. This maximises the learning experiences and opportunities for students of all abilities, levels and particular interests.
Pastoral Care
For Middle School students, this is a bridging time between Primary and mainstream Secondary School. This is achieved with an intentional and strong pastoral care approach.
Teachers support the role of parents and do so by being aware of each student’s successes, failures and social relationships in relation to their natural abilities, gifts and level of maturity. A key role of the Pastoral Care teacher is to provide a setting where relationship and trust can be built.
There are new challenges of discipline-based learning, which come with secondary schooling. It is a foundational time where students trial many skill-based subjects and get to experience the smorgasbord of subjects on offer.
The Pastoral Care program includes a week camp for each year level and a ‘healthy relationships’ component as well as regular class devotions.
