Pinjarra Senior High School offers the following school based special programs to provide extension, enrichment and additional opportunities for our students.
School Based Special Programs
Students are invited to join the Academic Extension Program in Years 8 to 10 based on the quality of their engagement with the Pinjarra SHS learning environment. The Academic Extension Program has been introduced to offer these students the opportunity to apply their talents in a broad and comprehensive fashion, with an emphasis on project-based learning.
The program is for students who are keen to be challenged, committed to achievement, and who aspire to study at high levels in their senior years of schooling and beyond. Students who are identified as potential candidates for this program will have demonstrated their ability through state and national testing and other school achievements, as well as their approach to learning. Students may be transferred into or out of this program according to how effectively they respond to the expectations and opportunities available through the program during any semester.
The Pinjarra Football and Netball Academy (PFNA) has been a part of Pinjarra Senior High School since 2008. The program is delivered over 3 years, from Year 8 to Year 10, and is committed to shaping our students into self-motivated, disciplined individuals who develop into leaders within the school, and in the football and netball clubs in the community.
Students in the PFNA have the opportunity to proudly represent the school through various activities, including:
- Interschool football and netball competitions to develop specialist skills
- South West Camp (Years 8&9)
- Melbourne Tour (Year 10)
- Annual Triathlon Day
- PFNA Awards Day
- Coaching clinics
Academically, PFNA students complete all MESH subjects – Maths, English, Science, HASS – within their regular school timetable. PFNA students in Year 8 will receive 2 periods per week of PFNA on their timetable for a full year. This will increase to 4 periods per week for Year 9 and 10 students – equivalent to a full elective subject. This structured approach ensures students can balance their academic studies while developing their sporting abilities.
Applications for the Pinjarra Football Netball Academy
At the end of Year 7, students have the option to express their interest to join the PFNA and showcase their skills at the Pinjarra Football and Netball Academy Draft Day. Students are assessed based on a variety of skills, including technical ability, fitness levels, teamwork and attitude.
The Pinjarra Music Program offers students from Years 7 to 12 a range of opportunities. Students in Lower School (Year 7 to 9) continue their lessons with their instrumental teachers and round-out their musical training within the Classroom Music Program (studying how to analyse and understand music, read and write both traditional notation and tablature, and use musical software to generate, record and produce music). Students in Year 10 further these skills in preparation for their study of a Certificate II in Music in Years 11 & 12. This equips students for a career in the Music Industry or further study at TAFE (higher Certificates and Diploma), or University (e.g. Murdoch’s Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Sound, Radio, Gaming etc.)
Music students in the Instrumental Program will be required to join one of our bands or ensembles where attendance at weekly rehearsals are expected. Other exciting opportunities for music students include music tours, camps, incursions (e.g. song writing) and excursions (e.g. recording studio), school assembly performances (and experience with sound gear), community concerts and festival performances.
NB: Our focus in the Music Department is not just on Music as an “end” (i.e. making musicians of young people), although quite a few of our ex-students now hold creditable jobs in the Music Industry as Performers, Sound Engineers, Event Coordinators, CCO’s etc. We also use music as a “means to and end”, in developing students into mentally and emotionally healthy, community-minded citizens. For example, the ethos presented with performing for others in the community isn’t about “showing off’, but ‘sharing’ with others… a giving to society. Music is also a way of fostering mental and emotional rigour in students, equipping them with success and strategies to cope with the stress of living in our modern society.
