HSIE
The Asquith Girls High School Human Society and its Environment (HSIE) Faculty are committed to encourage the development of social justice, empathy and informed citizenship in each of our students through vibrant discussion and engagement with global issues. We look forward to working alongside each of our students to inspire them to excel and achieve their personal best via self-reflection to identify and refine their strengths and develop strategies to improve their skills in areas they feel less confident. Through the study of a diverse range of dynamic humanities subjects offered within the HSIE Faculty, students are inspired to become focussed and independent learners, utilising inquiry-based learning to enhance technological, communication, literacy and participatory skills. Moreover, the HSIE Faculty has embraced technology as a mode of enhancing learning and utilise a range of engaging activities in each of our lessons by embedding collaborative class activities, open-ended inquiry, problem based learning, interactive activities and web based learning into each of our programs. HSIE students are challenged to critically analyse their place in this world through a number of curriculum initiatives which encourage a focus on civics and citizenship and ecologically sustainable development. Members of the Asquith Girls High School HSIE Faculty are a passionate, dedicated, experienced and collaborative team of educators who take pride in ensuring each HSIE student has the opportunity to achieve positive outcomes by placing the welfare of the student at the forefront of each faculty decision and adopting a student centred approach to learning in all HSIE courses.
Stage 4
Stage 4 students study the mandatory courses of Geography and History. In Geography students study the topics Landscapes and Landforms, Water in the World, Place and Liveability and Interconnections as they develop skills in interpreting geographical tools and engage in Fieldwork activities.
In History, students develop their skills in source analysis and interpreting different perspectives as they study the ancient civilisations of Ancient Egypt and Ancient China and Medieval societies of Europe, the Aztecs and Japan.
Stage 5
Stage 5 students study the mandatory courses of Geography and History. They cover a range of topics in Geography including Sustainable Biomes, Environmental Change and Management, Changing Places and Human Wellbeing. In History students study the impacts of the Industrial Revolution and resultant Transatlantic Slave Trade, Australians in World War I and World War II, the Holocaust and Changing Rights and Freedoms comparing the Indigenous experience in Australia to the American Civil Rights Movement. Stage 5 students also have an opportunity to further develop their HSIE knowledge and skills through a diverse range of elective subjects including Commerce, International Studies, Big History: Global Thinking and VET Business Services (Accelerated).
Stage 6
There is an outstanding range of elective HSIE courses offered to students in Stage 6. These include Ancient History, Business Studies, Economics, Geography, History Extension, Legal Studies, Modern History, Society and Culture, Studies of Religion and VET Business Services. Each course is facilitated by a passionate expert teacher who provides an engaging range of authentic and theoretical activities and rigorous discussion of the content that challenges students to think critically and independently and devise their own strong arguments effectively supported by evidence. HSIE students become balanced and well-rounded members of the global community and are aware of the issues they will face as leaders in the future. For many students who have a strong interest in the humanities, deciding which HSIE courses to study becomes very difficult and therefore many students elect to study up to 5 HSIE courses for their pattern of HSC study.