May is History Month
May is History Month!
May is History Month, however students and teachers don’t need an excuse to indulge in their passion for history. Being part of the rich heritage of a college established in 1880, history at SAC is ever-present and very much part of the curriculum.
History is alive and well in the classroom! Currently students are studying ancient cultures at Yr 7, Medieval societies at Yr 8, WW1 at Yr 9, a history of Civil Rights in Yr 10, Ancient Rome at Yr 11 with our senior students covering the Cold War and Greek Religion; so we have the world covered.
Developing important skills in historical perspective, analysis of sources, historical empathy, essay writing and indulging their imaginations, to name a few, history is an invaluable subject for any aspiring citizen of the world. After all, as George Santayana, in the 1905 The Life of Reason, said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Student reflections:
“In History this term we are focusing on Word War 1. We are now writing an essay about the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the impacts it had on the war. The question we have to consider is whether World War 1 would have still occurred if he wasn’t assassinated. We have been having many lively, but healthy discussions and have had the chance to gain many important skills such as implementing primary sources into our work and learning how to write proper essays to be prepared for the many essays to come. It has been vital to our ability to express our opinions with proper examples, evidence and articulated language.” Balsar Mosleh 9JV
“Ancient Studies is helping me see the great Greek thinkers, such as Aristotle and Plato, in a different light. By delving deeper into the source material, it is clear that their writings reflect the patriarchal society of the time – that level of bias hadn’t occurred to me before!” Amelia Milburn 12CE
Ms Carolyne Williams
HASS Coordinator
Congratulations to our awarded ‘Young Historians’
The National History Challenge
The National History Challenge is a research-based competition for Australian students from Year 1 right up to Year 12. It gives students a chance to be historians, researching world history, examining Australia’s past, investigating their community or exploring their own roots. Each year there is a different theme for the competition; last year was Significance: History Matters, and we had three students from SAC who entered the competition and were awarded prizes.
Students can address the topic in a broad range of ways according to their own interests, or address a specific category that could include Australian Wartime Experiences, Democracy, History of Sport, Indigenous History, Australian Woman’s History, Asia and Australia, and Using Primary Sources.
Crystal and Isabella should be congratulated in achieving a Silver Award for their participation in the National History Challenge, which means that they were selected as finalists to proceed to National Judging.
With an essay examining Rosie the Riveter – the “We Can Do It” woman – and her ability to increase female workplace participation, challenge traditional gender roles, and influence future generations, Charlotte won the Year 10 category for the whole of South Australia! Charlotte says, “Participating in the competition was such a great experience and I highly recommend it to any students who have an interest in history or academic writing to enter the competition this year. The process of researching, source analysis, and writing this essay has helped me develop skills and knowledge that I have used in my Year 11 Research Project.”
Any students who wish to enter the 2022 competition, with the theme of “Causes and Consequences”, should speak with their History teacher.
