PDHPE

Mr Daniel DePasquale – Acting Leader of Learning

This year students have engaged in a variety of units across 7-12 PDHPE, Year 9-10 PASS electives, and Stage 6 courses HMS and SLR.

As an introduction to Year 7, students began Term 1 with ‘Transition and Personal Identity’ as they navigated a new experience by commencing high school. Term 2 saw progression into the practical space for the first time with engagement in a variety of ‘Striking Games’ which enabled learning and assessing movement skills as well as working together in teams.

Year 8 students began the year by learning about ‘Risk Taking’ with an emphasis on exploring first aid treatment and developing skills in performing CPR. This followed with learning about ‘Relationships’ in Term 2, where students investigated the necessary skills to communicate effectively with others and overcoming negative influences.

Year 9 PDHPE commenced the year with ‘Mental Health’ with students asked to consider their own mental health and strategies they could implement to ensure both themselves and the community can seek help. Term 2 saw the infamous ‘Nutrition’ assessment take place where students assisted cooking a family meal at home whilst considering nutritional information.

Students that chose PASS as an elective subject in Year 9 were introduced to ‘Sports for specific population groups’, such as learning about individuals living with disability. PASS students were able to then experience ‘wheelchair basketball’ during a Term 1 incursion. Following this, Term 2 saw ‘World Games’ practical unit become the focus with an emphasis on learning skills and playing modified games such as Australian Rules Football.

Year 10 began their learning adventure by engaging in the unit ‘The Party’ which focused on safe decision making in risk situations, such as drinking and drug use, as well as looking at the importance of road safety. This was then further linked to the Term 2 unit on ‘Healthy Relationships’ which addressed various types of relationships whilst emphasising the importance of sexual health and consent, whilst acknowledging the Catholic perspective.

PASS students within Year 10 commenced their learning journey through the unit ‘Body Systems’ which explored the musculoskeletal system, energy systems and efficient movement. In Term 2, this then progressed into ‘Issues in Physical Activity and Sport’ which investigated contemporary issues in sport, namely the use of performance enhancing drugs.

Stage 6 saw the introduction of a new course ‘Health and Movement Science’ (HMS) which is the rebranded PDHPE with students exploring the ‘Body and Mind in Motion’ and attending an excursion to the PhysXrehab facility which enabled investigation and analysis into Biomechanics. Term 2 then enabled students to experience a ‘Collaborative Investigation’ which provided a platform to positively interact and work with others on a common research question.

Year 12 PDHPE students enter their final year with the current syllabus, demonstrating continued strong results in formal assessment tasks that addressed ‘Factors Affecting Performance’ and ‘Sports Medicine’. These PDHPE scholars will begin preparing for their Trial HSC exams in Term 3.

Finally, Sports Lifestyle and Recreation (SLR) saw both 1 and 2 Unit classes in Year 11 begin the year with ‘Resistance Training’ where students created a gym program and implemented this within the College gym. Term 2 saw the introduction of ‘Coaching’ where tasks to work in groups and create a training session for a specific sport that included a warm-up, set drills and modified games for their peers to participate in. Similarly, Year 12 students furthered their studies by engaging in ‘Powerlifting’ during Term 1 and ‘Athletics’ in Term 2 – with pre-testing providing a platform to set personal goals and work towards them both in a theoretical and practical setting.