Dear Parents/Carers,

As part of Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs’ focus on academic rigor and improving student outcomes, the College is continually exploring means of improving our Learning and Teaching program. In 2022, the College’s current timetable structure will change from six 50-minute periods per day, to five 60-minute periods per day. The College anticipates that this timetable change will result in increased levels of student engagement and focus, improve student outcomes, minimise interruptions to curriculum delivery and provide an opportunity for increased frequency of contact between students and teachers in each subject each cycle. Furthermore, the College will have the flexibility to adjust the delivery of the Year 10 Elective Program, across the ten-day cycle, rather than needing to maintain the current model of having three periods in a row of the subject each Wednesday.

As part of this change, there are a several changes to the structure of the day which will occur. Firstly, Homeroom will commence at 8:42am and conclude at 9:00am, providing Homeroom Teachers with additional time each day to cater for the pastoral needs of their students. Secondly, the timing of the day will change with students completing the majority of their learning prior to lunch each day, as outlined below.

In addition to the timetable change the College is implementing new Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) subjects at Year 7 and Year 8, and a Digital Technology subject at Year 8 to coincide with the changing skill demands required by industry. Subsequently, students in Year 8 will now have greater choice in the subjects they choose to study, as outlined below:

Compulsory Subjects (3 Total):

• Materials Technology

• A Language: Italian or Japanese (year-long)

• An Arts Subject (Drama, Music, Visual Art, VCD)

Optional Subjects (4 Total):

• A second Language: Italian or Japanese (year-long)

• A second, third and/or fourth Arts Subject (Drama, Music, Visual Art, VCD)

• A second and/or third Technology Subject (Food Technology or Digital Technology)

• STEM

Some example subject selection options for Year 8 students in 2022 is provided in the table below:

Our 2022 Year 8 students will have these subject choices explained to them in more detail as part of the College’s subject selection process in Term 3.

The tables below summaries the subjects completed at each year level and the number of periods per fortnight students will spend in each subject in the College’s new 60-minute period structure.

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

* A Semester-based Subject

Further information about the implementation of the timetable change for 2022 will be communicated to parents/carers throughout the year. If you have any questions around this change, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the College’s Leadership or Learning & Teaching Teams.

We are excited about the opportunities that this timetable change will bring for our students in 2022 and thank you for your ongoing support.