Written by Assunta Di Gregorio, Deputy Head of High School

In schools, time can seem fluid; a term can just run away from you. For Weeks 1–5, it’s like we’re circling on the tarmac and by the time we hit Week 6 (now), it just takes off. The term flies away, and before you know it, the holidays have arrived.

Since the start of the year, in the junior years, we’ve seen Year 7 begin to settle into High School, Year 8 students are looking more confident as they are no longer the new kids, and Year 9 students are experiencing the taste of choice through their two Electives. On the other end, Year 11 is hearing a lot about how it is normal to feel a little overwhelmed by the onslaught of Stage 6, and our Year 12s have well and truly locked into HSC mode.

The academic year that is often the most misunderstood is the experience of Year 10. I often say “build a bridge and help them get there”, wherever ‘there’ is, relative to each child; and Year 10 is that bridge. The developmental milestones that occur in a child’s life from the age of 12 to 18 are huge, and so too are the changes in the capacity for a child to learn. As the academic nexus between the junior years and the rigours of Years 11 and 12, Year 10 provides students with the necessary experiences so they can be ready for the intellectual ascent that is the two-year journey of the HSC.

Today’s education system regards students at the top of the academic pyramid as co-designers of their own learning, but for that to occur, they need to exercise elements of their own agency, including the ability to:

• Comprehend information across different modes
• Understand and interpret what they have learned
• Apply what they have learned
• Re-create and transfer what they have learned to a different situation

The most successful learners do this independently, and with ease, as well as in collaboration with others when required. For some, however, these learning moments can generate a great source of angst, especially if the robust learning practices and habits required to be successful in Year 11 and 12 have not yet fully developed. Student accountability is high as they learn to meet the challenges set before them with a measure of courage and lots of hard work. Year 10 is the time to try and bridge the gap, and then make subject decisions accordingly.

The learning experiences in Year 10 are also marked by parallel moments leading up to the process of subject selection, and their immediate future world, the HSC.

Students need to have a sense of what compels them, as they thrive when motivation and engagement are high. Year 10 students began the term by completing a survey of their short, mid and long-term goals for this year and beyond. They know they will be making important, impactful decisions in Semester 2, and we will be looking at their demonstrated performance and work ethic. Schools are not in the business of looking into a crystal ball, and therefore, the students know that they will make subject selections based on the capacity they have demonstrated.

We know that many of our students thrive in rigorous, sometimes content-heavy, test-based learning situations, but an increasing number of our students are really showing an aptitude for and strength in competency-based TAFE courses, whether it be delivered at Moriah, off-campus at a local TAFE, or even online. These students are graduating with Certificate 111 Industry Level certificates in addition to their HSC certificate. We routinely have between 10 and 20 students squashing stereotypes and challenging myths by completing one or more TAFE courses, and many of these students choose to go on to university.

Ethics and integrity also mark the learning journey for Year 10. Whether it be officially through the compulsory NESA All My Own Work course, which outlines academic honesty and integrity and the role of good decision making; in the formal Year 10 Jewish Studies curriculum, learning about their past and researching widely for the Hans Kimmel project; or beyond the classroom through the wellbeing program and events like Purim and Counterpoint. Either way, the students encounter provocations or philosophical dilemmas that challenge them to evaluate their world and the disruptors in it, be they technological, social, cultural or spiritual.

So, in addition to the formal curriculum, with other exciting events like Work Experience, Music Camp, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (Silver), and a myriad of other sporting, co-curricular and community service opportunities, our Year 10s really do have quite a full and rich year of learning ahead, and most of that is just what they can expect to happen in Semester 1.

Year 10 is busy but there is time enough for our young peoples’ hearts and minds to grow and develop. If we give them opportunities to learn broadly and deeply, let them learn from their inevitable mistakes, with fair, firm and warm boundaries in place, they will continue to grow and develop into the best version of themselves.

Build a bridge and we’ll get them there. Wherever ‘there’ is, relative to each child.