Electives S1 and S2

 

As part of the first and second year Curriculum for Excellence, pupils participate in courses (called Electives) which last for a double period. The purpose of the electives is to incorporate greater challenge, variety and choice in pupils’ learning. Pupils’ feedback shows that they are enjoying the opportunities that the electives provide them with to develop new skills, pursue personal interests and experience new opportunities in their learning.

 

Below are details of this sessions Elective courses.

ELECTIVES

S1 ELECTIVES DESCRIPTION

 

A. CITIZENSHIP

 

Be a Superhero

Have you ever wanted to save or change the world but weren’t sure where to start? Now you no longer need the strength of Superman, the hand-to-hand combat skills of Wonder Woman or the wealth of Bruce Wayne. Join forces with your fellow students to help improve your local community or help fight to eradicate poverty, climate change or human rights abuses. Whether you decide to focus on local, national or international issues, this is your chance to make the world a better place. Plus, you’ll receive national recognition for your efforts from the Dynamic Youth Awards programme!

 

B. ENTERPRISE

 

Enterprise

This elective will give you the opportunity to work with a small group of other pupils and learn about business enterprise. You will be given the chance to get involved in business activities such as:

  • Leading and working as part of a team
  • Coming up with a business idea
  • Designing your product
  • Promoting and advertising it in the school and local community
  • Selling your product and hopefully
  • Making Money!

 

C. HEALTH AND WELLBEING

 

Sports

a. Mountain Biking

This elective will give you the opportunity to learn the basic skills of mountain biking on appropriate trails, suitable to the ability of the group. Numbers are restricted to a maximum of 12. Mountain bikes and helmets will be supplied. This elective will initially take place on the school grounds, then transport to local venues (ie Heathhall Woods/ Mabie Forest) will be provided.

During the sessions you will:

  • Learn how to be safe in a group. You will learn how to check over the bike before you ride
  • Learn the fundamental basic skills of balance, braking and control.
  • Improve self confidence
  • Improve personal fitness        

b. Golf

This elective will give you the opportunity to learn or improve your golfing skills within our local community. There will be various venues during this unit (see below)

During the eight sessions you will:

  • Learn the etiquette of the sport of golf.
  • Learn the basic grip, golf swing and putting technique (on the school campus)
  • Practice your golf techniques, including driving, chipping and putting at The Crichton Golf Course (we will walk as a group to and from the course)
  • Play part of a round at The Crichton Golf Course

 

c. Table Tennis

This elective will give you the opportunity to learn or improve the skills of table tennis within our local community. All sessions will take please at Dumfries Table Tennis Club (we will walk as a group to and from this venue)

During the eight sessions you will:

  • Learn the rules of the sport of table tennis.
  • Learn the basic grip, and the various skills and techniques
  • Play games of table tennis

 

OR

 

Health and Fitness

This elective will give you the opportunity to consider what Health and Well Being means.

Not only will you experience different types of physical activity from walking to Tai Chi, but you will also learn about different types of fitness and the factors that can affect how fit you are. You will try out a variety of ways of testing your fitness and assessing how active you are and you will be encouraged to monitor your own levels of fitness.

In this elective you will hopefully get fitter at the same time as having lots of fun.

S2 ELECTIVES DESCRIPTION  

 

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARDS SCHEME: INTRODUCTION

 

Like adventure?

Good at teamwork?

Think you could survive out in the wild for a whole day?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes then ‘An Introduction to DofE’ is for you! You’ll get a taste of first aid, map reading & survival skills: all of which will prepare you for your day in the wild!   Also, if you complete all of the sessions you will receive a Dynamic Youth Award and have a head start when it comes to completing your Bronze DofE Award in S3 or S4.

 

DUMFRIES AND ITS HISTORY

 

This 12 week course will introduce you to some of the significant events in the history of Dumfries with special lessons on the history of St Joseph’s College. It will include investigations, team challenges, videos and visits to places of interest. Come and see what made Dumfries so important in history. No previous knowledge required. Visits will require walking to and from the site of interest and will require outdoor clothing.

This course overlaps with the S2 Non Paris trip work so pupils who do NOT go to Paris cannot take this course.

 

GAME DESIGN

 

This course is designed to introduce pupils to the concepts of games design. In this course pupils will utilise a visual programming language specifically designed to create games for the PC and Xbox360. Pupils will have the opportunity to work on individual games as well as group collaboration.

Kodu Highlights:

  • Kodu provides easy tools to create elaborate 3D landscapes, and control the lighting and camera
  • Kodu provides easy tools to control your games using keyboard and Xbox360 Control Pad
  • Pupils can download Kodu to their Xbox360 consoles and create and share games at home.

SPORTS LEADERSHIP: LEVEL 1 AWARD

 

The Level 1 Award in Sports Leadership provides the ideal starting point for candidates aged 13 years and over who wish to develop their leadership skills, confidence and ability to take responsibility through the medium of various physical activities. The syllabus is designed to develop leadership skills that can be applied to a variety of sports and/or recreational situations as well as contributing to the personal development of the candidate. The Level 1 Award in Sports Leadership is a practical qualification in which candidates must demonstrate their ability to lead others in simple sport/activity.

 

SUPERMARKET SWEEP


"Are you a savvy shopper?
By choosing this elective we hope you will start thinking about your ideas about shopping. Do you always look for the best deal or do you simply follow the crowd?
You will learn about the strategies used by traders to get you to part with your cash and will learn how the media can influence our choices and decisions.
You will visit a local supermarket and see their marketing strategies in action.
You will also look at internet shopping and the benefits of comparison websites and will find out about your rights when things go wrong."

 

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

‘Sapere Aude’ – ‘Dare to think’’

Promoting thinking, enquiry and dialogue

This class aims to create a community of enquiry where you will learn to improve your thinking skills, learn to think before you speak and give reasons for what you say. Value the views of others. Not take things personally. Improve your ability to respect and negotiate. Gain confidence to ask questions and learn through discussion; learn not to be fearful about giving your opinion even if it is different from others.

In Thinking Outside the Box classes, you can learn to think more thoroughly about important questions and engage in dialogues like the Greek philosopher Socrates. These sessions offer the exciting possibility of your own ideas and views changing.