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Orange High School

Orange High School

Honour the Past; Create the Future

Telephone02 6362 3444

Emailorange-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

HSIE

"The future well-being of human society and its environment depends upon the quality of people's interactions with each other and with their cultural, social and physical environments as they strive to meet each other's needs." - Human Society and its Environment K-6 Syllabus (1998)

 

Orange High School HSIE department provides all students with opportunities to better understand, examine, analyse and evaluate communities, cultures and contemporary issues that exist within the local, national and global environment.

HSIE is about understanding the world around us. We ask questions of how the past impacts us today, how we interact with our environment and how we as individuals can make a difference in the world in which we live. HSIE teachers at Orange High School extensively use Quality Teaching Framework activities including ICT research and practical lessons to assist students in creating connections with their prior knowledge and to manipulate information to create new meanings and understanding. Students can engage in geographical fieldwork and historical enquiry including archaeological digs and site studies.

Orange High School HSIE enthusiastically offers a large selection of subjects to Stage 6 students, including Ancient History, Modern History, Extension History, Society and Culture, Business Studies, Legal Studies and Geography.

Main Areas of Study

Stage 4 (Years 7 and 8)

History

All students undertake a mandatory course in World History. Students have an opportunity to explore the Ancient World through a variety of case studies including Ancient Egypt and Asia. Students are given the opportunity to explore the Medieval World and the History of Indigenous people and are introduced to the concepts of colonisation and contact History.

Geography

All students undertake a mandatory course in Australian Geography. Students explore Environments and Communities, human impact on the environment, and Global Citizenship.

 

Stage 5 (Years 9 and 10)

History

All students undertake a mandatory course in Australian History. Students explore Federation, World Wars, and Major events that have impacted on each of our lives.

Geography

All students undertake a mandatory course in Australian Geography. Students explore different cultures and environments and the way that humans interact with the environments around them.

 

Stage 6 (Years 11 and 12)

Ancient History

The study of history is an inquiry into past experience that helps make the present more intelligible. A study of the past is invaluable, for to be unaware of history is to be ignorant of those forces that have shaped our social and physical worlds. Through the study of ancient history, students learn both about the interaction of societies and the impact of individuals and groups on ancient events and ways of life. The study of ancient history gives students an understanding of the possibilities and limitations of comparing past to present and present to past by exposing them to a variety of perspectives on key events and issues. It also gives them opportunities to develop their own perspectives on the origins and influence of ideas, values and behaviours that are still relevant in the modern world.

Business Studies

Business activity is a feature of everyone's life. Throughout the world people engage in a web of business activities to design, produce, market, deliver and support a range of goods and services. In addition, investors, consumers and employees depend on the business sector for much of their quality of life.

Work Studies

The Work Studies CEC syllabus is designed to assist students in their transition from school to work. It develops knowledge and understanding of the issues faced by students in the transition to work and the skills needed for effective career planning and performance of tasks in the work environment. Integral to the Work Studies syllabus is a focus on the development of essential workplace skills. They are central to the core module and each of the elective modules. Students have an opportunity to practise these skills in appropriate work contexts.

Extension History

The purpose of HSC History Extension is to enable students to build on the outcomes of the Stage 6 Ancient History and Modern History courses in relation to historiography and historical enquiry and communication. The course further develops students' understanding of how historians work. The focus of the course is not on content alone, although an understanding of content is important. Rather than simply extending students' knowledge of a particular period or event in history, the course is aimed at using specific historical investigations to reflect on the nature of history and how and why approaches and interpretations change over time.

Geography

Geography is an investigation of the world which provides an accurate description and interpretation of the varied character of the earth and its people. It is a key discipline through which students develop the ability to recognise and understand environmental change and the interactions which take place in our world.

Legal Studies

Our society is regulated by a complex set of rules and regulations which both guide and protect individual and community rights. Being well informed about legal issues, including the rights and responsibilities integral to our society, is part of being an active and informed citizen. Students of Legal Studies Stage 6 will develop an understanding of legal concepts and the way the law functions in our society.

Modern History

The study of history is an inquiry into past human experience that helps make the present more intelligible.History has been described as a contested dialogue between past and present, where the concerns of the present illuminate a consideration of the past, while the experiences of the past contribute to an understanding of the present. The study of history allows students to perceive the world in a variety of ways as they develop powers of deduction and reasoning and learn to make sense of an increasingly complex global society.

Society and Culture

The central concern of Society and Culture is the interaction of persons, societies, cultures, environments and time.

Society and Culture draws on cross-disciplinary concepts and social research methodologies from anthropology, communication, cultural studies, media studies, philosophy, psychology, social ecology and sociology.

OHS Sustainability Task Force

Learn about how we as individuals and as a school can lessen our ‘footprint' on the environment, and be part of a sustainable solution. Students are given opportunities to attend Sustainability Forums in Orange and Sydney, develop skills in organising activities and will make a lasting impact on Orange High School and the wider community.

OHS War Commemoration Activities

Take a role in Orange High School's recognition of Australia's Servicemen and Service Women who sacrificed so much to make our country what it is today. We commemorate ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day and Vietnam Veteran's Day. Students have opportunities to lead services and take part in community commemoration activities.

Excursions

Students are often given the opportunity to participate in learning off school grounds. These include educational excursions to Sydney, Canberra and around our district. Academic excursions always relate back to the curriculum.

Ian Paine
Head Teacher

HSIE

 

Phillip Brown

HSIE

 

Kieran Bonin
HSIE

Erin Green

HSIE

Steph King

HSIE

 

Erin Green

HSIE 

 

Emily Wright

HSIE 

 

Phillipa Walker

HSIE

Noah Sutherland

HSIE 

 

Kyle Nonnenmacher
HSIE