Catalyst • Junior Secondary Curriculum • Handbook 2021
Academic Talent Program
Our key goal for Catalyst is to enable our students
to harness and develop their special academic talents.
Our Academic Talent Program, aptly named STRIVE,
offers students with specific talents and strong
personal drive, the opportunities to be engaged in
coursework that seeks to develop their academic gifts.
Catalyst core subject areas
In the Catalyst core course areas our STRIVE
Advanced courses provide our most able students
with opportunities to develop their talents and pursue
personal excellence in the areas of Mathematics,
English, Science and Humanities and Social Sciences.
Each unit of work has been tailored specifically to
extend and challenge students’ thinking. Learning
activities, resources and assessment tasks are carefully
and deliberately selected to extend and develop
critical thinking and problem solving skills and expand
students’ general world knowledge.
Consideration has been given to providing
opportunities for students to draw on their individual
learning styles, and assessments have been structured
to allow them to demonstrate their outstanding
abilities and extend their repertoire of skills in each
STRIVE Advanced course.
Selection to one of the core STRIVE courses is based
on criteria including a proven record of high academic
performance and Head of Faculty recommendations.
Equally, STRIVE students are required to demonstrate
a strong desire to develop their academic talents.
Student performance in these STRIVE courses is
reviewed each semester.
STRIVE discovery course
opportunities
As part of our drive to encourage students to achieve
personal excellence, STRIVE Discovery courses are
offered by invitation each year. STRIVE Discovery
courses provide intellectual challenge and encourage
academic rigour within specific curriculum fields and
are taught by teachers with passion and expertise in
these areas of study.
Student selection for STRIVE Discovery courses is
based on appliciations submitted by students, Head
of Faculty recommendations and student attitude and
effort grades.
STRIVE Discovery courses previously offered to
students include:
• Nanotechnology
• Critical and creative writing
• Educational technology in practice
• The art of strategic and tactical thinking
• Epidemiology
• Making the most of your brain – Neuroscience
• Experimental archaeology and historical research
• Creative digital design
If you would require any further information
regarding the STRIVE and STRIVE Discovery courses,
please do not hesitate to contact Mr Andrew Bacon,
Head of Academic Talent Development at
[email protected] or 08 9377 8573.
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