Elev8 and Phoenix
Elev8
In 2023 we recognised the need to adapt teaching and learning practices to ensure we support the growth of engaged, connected and aspirational students. Thus, a student-centred, inquiry-style learning program was launched to enable Warrnambool College students to thrive. Elev8 is an integrated subject incorporating English, Humanities and Health. The extended learning time with a consistent core teacher allows for a deep exploration of topics that are responsive and relevant for our students.
Elev8 enables a concept-driven, inquiry-based classroom where we plan for purpose and possibilities. Elev8 is about preparing students for a lifetime of learning. As teachers, we facilitate and support the learning using explicit teaching and creative pedagogy to develop 21st Century skills that will translate into students’ lives beyond Warrnambool College.
We ask two basic questions: Who am I and how am I connected to my community? How can I actively participate in creating a better world? These are answered through our curriculum themes and big ideas:
- Place and Belonging
- Media, Power and Politics
- Conflict, Past and Present
- Relationships, Change and Identity
- Igniting Process: From Machinery to Modernity
- Imagine the Future
Maths and Science remain core subjects, and whilst referencing Elev8 themes when relevant, they run as separate subjects. Students continue to participate in the differentiated reading program, Fully Booked, as part of the English curriculum and complete a book-listed text study. In 2026 students will be reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare as part of their exploration of ‘Relationships, Change and Identity’.
What Will This Lead To?
The aim of the Year 8 curriculum is to continue to offer a broad range of subjects, allowing students the opportunity to experience all key learning areas. Students will build their skills into Year 9 with careful scope and sequence planning to enable them to develop their skill-set and make informed choices in later years.
Duration: 9 lessons per week – Year-long subject
PhoenIX
The PhoenIX Program began for Year 9 at Warrnambool College in 2008. It has been shaped by extensive research into the Middle Years of Learning and the evolving landscape of the knowledge of this age – in particular the need for life-long learning skills.
What is clear from this research is the unmistakable shift in focus from the teacher to the learner and the need to engage students in learning that links to real-life, hands-on experiences. As such, the Phoenix program offers students a range of opportunities to participate in excursions, workshops and inquiry-based projects in order to engage in multiple ways with the content.
The PhoenIX program provides a strong core of learning which takes into account the rapid personal growth that occurs during this year. This growth will include an increase in maturity and recognition of the student’s place in society, strong development in their social skills and the processes involved in forming relationships with other people; an increased curiosity in the future and the pathways that exist for students and an increase in self-esteem and confidence.
The curriculum covers core subjects including English, Humanities, Health and Careers. These learning areas are taught in an integrated way so students can see the interconnectedness of the topics. The program is designed around developing a sense of place for students and developing inquiry based skills.
Semester One Units
Global Conflicts
Discovering our Shared Stories
Industry Connection Program
Semester Two Units
Rich text study (currently The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-time)
The Power Connection
Sustainable Futures
A focus on student health and well-being underpins the program’s content with an emphasis on establishing close learning partnerships and relationships between students, parents and the local and broader community.