As we bid farewell to another remarkable academic year, it is with immense pride and gratitude that we reflect on the accomplishments and milestones achieved by the HSIE faculty at DHSVAD during the past year. It has been a year filled with intellectual growth and a strong commitment to fostering a deep understanding of the past and present.

Student Achievements

Our students have continued to excel in their academic pursuits, consistently demonstrating their dedication and passion for history and the social sciences. Students across Year 7 to Year 12 have demonstrated some outstanding results in their assessment tasks, including Year 7 students who made insightful observations about their local suburbs and thoughtful solutions to the problems and challenges they see in their local communities.

- Isla 

- Edie 

These achievements are a testament to the hard work, critical thinking, and research skills our students have developed under the guidance of our dedicated faculty.

Our Year 12 Society and Culture students have completed some outstanding major works and you can find an extract from some of these below:

The ‘ugly duckling’ archetype is a narrative that has existed across many cultures for millennia, one of the earliest known examples being the Pygmalion myth, which was brought to relevance by its modernist reimagining by the same name. This play catalysed the adaptation, My Fair Lady (1964), which later inspired She’s All That (1999) and The Duff (2015). However, despite the cultural significance of makeover films, they have had a fall from prevalence post-2010, perhaps due to the rise of social media in dictating beauty trends and/or growing feminist attitudes in film.4 Despite this, the nature of the makeover, exclusively in reference to the narrative, has historically been used as a plot device to further the female protagonist's development in the aesthetic sense of her becoming more desirable to the romantic interest.5 Makeover films fulfil the female viewers’ desire to transform into a figure of beauty, and perversely the male viewers’ desire to obtain the unattainable, thus perpetuating the idea that anyone can be beautiful: an ideology inextricably linked to the consumption of cosmetic products. Furthermore, these narratives often reflect a narrow, Eurocentric, and elitist version of beauty, that typically feature an uncomfortable power imbalance between a rich person and a poor person, a man and/or women, both, or some variation. Although the makeover movie ‘enjoys a special relationship with female desire and its fulfillment,’ this relationship is ‘governed by strict cultural ideas about beauty, sexuality and appearance.’ From the perspective of the consumer, however, the reinforcement of misogynistic values within makeover media is not their defining asset, but is rather the physicality of the makeover itself.

- Holly

Despite the presence of climate change in the contemporary world- personally, politically and physically- the intersectional impacts of our deteriorating environment are yet to occupy their ‘share’ of the public consciousness, and more importantly, global policy. Intersectional climate analysis is an evidence-based assessment of climate risks, responses, consequences and their interactions with components like gender, ethnicity and race; and yet it seems often unjustly politicised as ‘leftwing’ and hence, unworthy of airtime by many. Yet based on all available evidence, it is clear that women are at an overwhelming risk of effects by climate change on mental and physical levels, and are specifically vulnerable to a significant number of long term consequences.2

Whilst there is an extensive list of problems posed by climate change, the increased threat of domestic violence following natural disasters remains one of the most significant for women. Such surges in violence also disprove the perception that gendered climate change is isolated to less economically developed nations, with examples of these violence spikes to be found in highly developed, industrialised countries like Australia and the USA3. It is also vital to consider the interactions between violence (whether physical, sexual, economic etc) and other issues that women already encounter in the face of crisis; such as economic inequality or inequitable division of domestic duties like child rearing.

- Jemima

This investigation of the skateboarding culture and the construction of socialisation, the environment and gender have revealed the varying perspectives and experiences surrounding the values and beliefs coinciding with the sport, particularly values of creativity, freedom, individualism, and prosocial behaviour. My study of skateboarding and these concepts and ideas have since expanded my knowledge and socio-cultural literacy surrounding the sport through the construction of a coherent and structured academic response.

Through my analysis of the role of socialisation within skateboarding and the differing views on skateboarding, this project has established ideas about how this ubiquitous aspect of skateboarding affects the majority of participants in a positive and impactful manner. This demonstrates how participation in socialisation amongst peers promotes prosocial behaviour, physical exercise, a creation upon individual identity and a rejection of norms, backed up by extensive primary and secondary research. Additionally, I argue against the notion of destructive views about skateboarding, including the common mythology around participants being obnoxious, drug takers and overall dangerous individuals, to have been skewed from the rebellious origins of skateboarding being that of counterculture origins. Continuity and change are addressed through the analysis of how counterculture has constructed skateboarding. Whilst many of these positive ideas and values present within skateboarding originates from the counterculture, the harmful and damaging perceptions and behaviours are assumed to as well, which I argue have since diminished through the development of skateboarding into a mainstream leisurely lifestyle sport.

- Dylan

Curriculum Updates

We remain committed to enhancing our curriculum to provide the best possible education for our students and reflect the curriculum reform agenda of the NSW Government. Over the past year and in the coming year, we introduced new courses and teaching methods to ensure that our students are well-prepared for the challenges of the future. Some of the exciting additions include:

• A new course in International Studies in Stage 5 to foster a deeper understanding of international issues and cultural literacy.
• A new NEO course looking at Media and Popular Culture Studies
• An updated senior Geography course to reflect the new syllabus released this year
• A focus on primary source analysis in history classes, encouraging critical thinking and research skills.
• A focus on developing geography skills to support our students in their ongoing geography studies

Looking Forward

As we conclude this year, we eagerly anticipate the possibilities and challenges of the year ahead. We express our heartfelt appreciation to all the students, parents, and faculty members who have contributed to our successful year. Together, we look forward to another great year in 2024.