Middle Years (Year 7-9)

Middle Years

Our Bayview Campus is a purpose-built Middle Years facility that is situated on the waterfront, adjacent to the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary. The spacious surroundings and proximity to the bay provides a special and unique home for our Year 7 to 9 students to experience an environmentally rich curriculum. We have a wonderful platform to provide the depth and breadth of learning opportunities for every student which results in strong student engagement in all learning journeys. We pride ourselves as an inclusive school community that recognises young people as individual learners and the need for an educational experience that empowers achievement, diversity and growth for all. We have a dynamic learning culture that is driven by dedicated and professional teachers who support and empower our students to become the best version of themselves. Our pastoral care framework is carefully designed to support the wellbeing of all students and to ensure an inclusive approach to the learning experience for every child. Our positive and supportive school culture is pivotal to our stimulating learning environment where each student develops a sense of their own abilities, achievements and self-worth. From the moment a student joins our school community they are supported with their seamless transition into secondary school.

Our Middle Years curriculum philosophy captivates young minds while optimising diversity and the skilled fundamentals essential for lifelong learning. The depth and breadth of our core curriculum is matched impeccably by our wide-ranging elective program at Years 8 and 9. Year 9 students partake in the Immersion Program which provides a student-centred, vibrant and innovative curriculum. Students are taught to be deep thinkers, they develop creative solutions to local and global issues, learn by experience and cultivate individual growth through exploration, collaboration and practical application.

Year 7

At Williamstown High School, we meet Year 7 students at their point of need. Our pastoral care framework is carefully designed to support the wellbeing of all students and to ensure an inclusive approach to the learning experience of every child. Our positive and supportive school culture is pivotal to our stimulating learning environment where each student develops a sense of their own abilities, achievements and self-worth. From the moment a student joins our school community they are connected to a homegroup and a number of Middle Years research principles are applied to support their seamless transition into secondary school.

• We provide an exciting and comprehensive Orientation Program for students including an event specifically designed for new families.
• We place great value on the strength of the home school partnership.
• Homegroup teachers teach their homegroup for two or more subjects in Year 7 ensuring familiarity and regular contact.
• Our Year 7 students begin the year with a transition program known as “Rolling Out the Red Carpet” which focuses on students spending time building relationships with classmates and teachers, becoming familiar with the campus and the routine of the secondary school experience.
• We have a wonderful camp early in term one at Kangaroobie, Port Campbell. This plays a key role in fostering healthy relationships, a sense of belonging and reinforcing the essential positive teacher-student relationships. This is enhanced by the Year 7 Family BBQ where we bring together and strengthen our home school partnerships.

Year 8

Year 8 is a year level at Williamstown High School in which we aim to increase our students’ learning choices by providing them with the chance to select elective subjects. These Year 8 elective subjects are outlined in the Bayview Year 8 Electives Handbook.

Bayview Year 8 Electives Handbook 2024

Best-practice Middle Years education endorses student participation in practical learning that results in a product, performance, or other rich task, and our electives greatly support this practice. Students undertake extended units of work in consolidated chunks of time, promoting deep immersion and engagement. Elective subjects at Year 8 level aim to develop skills and knowledge across multiple subject areas while especially focusing on tools to develop thinking processes. Learning and thinking is promoted through challenging units based on student interests.

Students will select one elective subject to occur in one semester in Year 8. The elective subject will be assessed and reported on in the same way as all other subjects.

Year 9

Students in Year 9 at Williamstown High School participate in a program that includes both core and elective studies. This curriculum program has been designed to meet the diverse educational needs of the students and to provide each student with stimulating and valuable learning experiences.

The program offers a breadth of study while allowing students to specialise in areas of interest. In this way a balance is achieved between the need for a broad general education and a more specific preparation for teaching and learning in the senior school campus in Year 10 and VCE/VET/VM studies.

Students will also be taking part in our Year 9 Immersion ‘MAD’ (Make A Difference) Program for one term. This program is a student-centred, vibrant and innovative curriculum where students are encouraged to be 21st Century thinkers, develop creative solutions to local and global issues, learn by experience and cultivate individual growth through engaging exploration, collaboration and practical application. It also incorporates Victorian Curriculum aspects of English, Humanities and Science.

In Year 9, all students are required to undertake subjects from each of the core areas of learning, and the elective offerings, as indicated in the table below:

Bayview Year 9 Electives Handbook 2024

Please click here to access more information on the Year 9 Immersion Program: Make a Difference (MAD)