Year 8 Humanities – student works

Children’s Story

During Term 4, our Year 8 Humanities students explored Polynesia and through this they learnt about the different ways that communities use forgiveness to help them heal. The students learnt about the Catholic Sacraments of Healing and discussed the similarities and differences between these and some of the ceremonies of forgiveness practiced in Polynesian cultures. This led to the students developing short stories for children, with plots demonstrating the themes of forgiveness and healing.

Take a look at Arabella reading her creation.

Polynesian Canoes

Year 8 students investigated the history of Polynesia with the following question in mind – ‘how have the beliefs, values, motives and actions of people influenced a society?’ During this inquiry, the students discovered the unique Polynesian voyaging vessels including the double-hulled canoe. The two hulls increased the vessel’s stability and capacity for carrying heavy loads of migrating families. Polynesian navigation of the Pacific Ocean and its settlement began thousands of years ago. The inhabitants of the Pacific islands had been voyaging across vast expanses of ocean water using nothing more than their knowledge of the stars and observations of sea and wind patterns to guide them. At the conclusion of the unit, students engaged in the construction of single and double-hulled canoes. Check out some of the amazing creations below!