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Our year 9 DaVinci program is inspired by Leonardo DaVinci who lived his life as a scientist, artist and inventor. Year 9 students undertake an inquiry learning project across two subjects: Environmental Inquiry and Creative Endeavour. The inquiry learning project provides an opportunity for students to investigate issues deeply that they are passionate about through a structured approach to learning that allows students to define, discover, hypothesize, design, create and evaluate.

In the integrated subject of Environmental Inquiry students explore environmental issues from a humanities and scientific perspective. Students use their research and investigation from Environmental Inquiry to design and create an Artistic Response in Creative Endeavour using various art forms as a medium to raise awareness, communicate their message, and provoke a response from the viewer. Every student's Artistic Response is featured each semester in our DaVinci Exhibition evening. The DaVinci program is enriched through their creative electives, where students pursue a study of the arts including the performing, visual and liberal arts.

In semester 1, students are asked to take on the role of an entrepreneur. They investigate a product, exploring its life cycle from resource to product and then finally as waste or recycled materials. They explore environmental issues along the way and come up with a solution, developing a business model and delivering a ‘pitch' for a future more sustainable version of this product.

In semester 2, students explore important environmental issues of our time and generate a series of questions to explore the issue from different angles. Additionally, students analyse what action is possible to support change and how to make a positive contribution. Students are encouraged to examine how their expedition can support their exploration of their environmental issue.

Throughout the program students are immersed in nature through expeditions and involved in action-based learning tasks such as data collection, fieldwork and community action projects both locally and globally.

In addition to the Da Vinci Project subjects of Environmental Inquiry and Creative Endeavour, students will continue their learning in Mathematics, English, Science, History, Sport, Positive Education and two electives each semester. Our teachers deliver a rigorous and high challenge curriculum and students achieve outstanding results. Year 9 is a building block for preparing our students for the Senior Years and they leave 40 Bay Street ready to take on that challenge.