[mumto3princesses]

DD#1 will be in Year 9 next year. She chose her electives for Years 9/10 but was told she didn't get her first choice. I have rung the school asking about how it will effect her and to check there is definately nothing we can do and waiting for a call back. But as she is my first to go through High School we are unsure how it all works. I was told it wouldn't matter too much though but they will see what happened and see if there is anything they can do about it. Will that matter that she doesn't get what she thought she needed? Or will she be basically 2 years behind everyone else?

DD#1 has me looking into what she can do outside of school to get her goals and I have thought of a few things so far. Her coach thought of a couple of things and we have found an online course she can do and we will look into a first aid course too. We even contemplated another school if that was even possible but she is torn there as she is happy with her friends. But I have rung them to see if its even a possibility before she starts considering it.

The subject she wanted was PASS (Physical Activity Sports Studies) as she wants to be a gymnastics coach. (She's not sure what else she wants to do at this point but whatever she does she wants to do this as well) She has been assisting her Coach all this year with the younger kids and she has been showing her how to help them etc and her coach is going to try and get her into a conference and leadership camp next year. (I say try because they are meant to be 14 and she wont turn 14 until afterwards so they may say she has to wait until 2014) I guess on the upside she will still be doing the compulsory PDHPE at school.

She goes onto a bigger campus in Year 11 & 12 and I have been assured that her choices wont be a problem then. I hope thats true.

So, I guess I'm just after advise from people who know more about how the High School electives work and if that really is true that it wont matter too much that she didn't get the main subject she was after?

[gadfly271]

I'm not sure what it will mean for her subject selection in Yrs 11 & 12, but I'm pretty sure there are no high school subject prerequisites required to become a gymnastics coach.

The main thing would be that she continues to train at her club and completes any training courses required by Gymnastics Australia, gets first aid etc. If you get in touch with Gymnastics Australia they should be able to tell you the exact qualifications required.

Not quite the same, but my sister is a horse riding instructor. All Equestrian Australia needed was for her to complete their training course, not any school subjects. Also, I'm a music teacher and didn't do music in high school (studied in my own time), so your school subjects aren't the be all and end all.

Good luck to your daughter.

[SarahBelle48]

Her electives for years 9/10 probably won't matter that much in the long-term, it's more about the year 11-12 subjects. Especially since she will still be doing some form of PE. Are you asking in terms of her being able to get into a tertiary course? If so, just look up the prerequisites for that course. But again, they're more concerned about the HSC/VCE(not sure what state you're in) subjects. My understanding of year 9/10 electives is that it's the first opportunity for the students to have a choice and to expose them to subjects outside the core subjects such as maths, English, science etc.

By all means, try and get her into the class she wants but don't stress if it doesn't pan out and don't turn it into a huge drama. I certainly wouldn't suggest changing schools just for that. What electives did she get instead of the sports studies? Can she do dance as an alternative?

[lilybet]

...

This post has been edited by 20%Cooler: 09/12/2012, 03:41 PM

[mumto3princesses]

Thanks Good to know it shouldn't matter for Year 11 & 12.

Yes, I have spoken to her Year Advisor and she said she will find out for us. She tried to see what she could find out yesterday for me but was unable to. She told me yesterday that she was going to have a meeting with the Deputy Principal today and will discuss it with him and see whether anything can be done. (Told her how dedicated she is etc)

They were told to choose carefully and what they get is what they have to do for 2 years (or 1 year for the 1 year one). They will do 2 x 2 year electives and 1x 1 year one. So, unless someone actually leaves the school I doubt she will get it later.

DD#1 is happy with what she ended up with in terms of the fact that they are all things she likes but just really disappointed not to get PASS. She even said she would swap Food Tech (as she knows Food Tech is one a lot of them wanted) with someone for PASS so thats saying a lot because she loves Food Tech. (PASS was her 1st choice and Food Tech was her 2nd.) She ended up with Art which was her 3rd choice and she enjoys Art. She also got Design tech for her 1 year one.

In terms of what she actually needs to do for Gym Coaching I don't think that matters there but its more if she desides she wants to do something along the fitness lines as well as her main job then she was worried about not getting PASS.

I will tell her not to stress about it. One of her good friends ended up worse off than her though. She knows she definately wants to be a Kindergarten/Child Care teacher or a music teacher or both. Didn't get into Music or Child Studies!

[lilybet]

.....

This post has been edited by 20%Cooler: 09/12/2012, 03:42 PM

[mindy05]

My DD was constantly messed around with her electives but has still managed to get most of the subjects she wanted in Years 11 and 12. She couldn't get into a maths class next year without going to the nearby boys' school, so has picked up history instead. The issue probably isn't so much the number of students trying for each class, as rather the way the classes are blocked. With DD it's always come down to timetabling.

[mumto3princesses]

Hi OP

Just wondering if you got this right?

As far as I'm aware for yrs 9-10, the BOS allows only two 2yr electives, or in smaller high schools one 2yr elective and two 1 yr electives (even up to four 1 yr electives). Basically they do 200 hrs a year of electives (100 hrs for 1 yr elective, 200 hrs for a 2 yr elective).

Hi, thanks for checking but yes it's right. They will do 2x 200 hour electives (in year 9 & 10) and 1x 100 hour elective (in year 9).

I know someone who's daughter goes to another local school and she is in Year 9 doing 2x 200 hour electives for year 9 & 10 but did 1x 100 hour elective last year in Year 8. (which DD#1 didn't do)


Thanks mindy. That makes sense.

Still waiting to hear back. I was told by the end of the week so hopefully I will get a call back sometime this afternoon. Since she rang me back when she said she would on Tuesday even though she had no information for me yet I'm thinking she should call.