Caring for communities 

Live performance on zoom - A dramatic reading of a children's storybook

"How do you teach Drama online?" is a question I am regularly  asked. How do you play games and do performances?

After reading a story to my own children one night, my 8 year old daughter said, "Mum you should do this for a job!" Well I’m not about to give up my day job just yet, but it did get me thinking about creating an interesting unit of work for my Year 9 Drama students. They could perform a Dramatic Reading of a Children’s Storybook, and perform it live to the toughest critics they’ll ever perform in front of - Grade One and Two students. Those 7 and 8 year old recipients will be brutally honest with their feedback and you will soon know if it was a good reading or a boring one.

In this Voice Unit, students are to use voice, diction, tone, pitch, rhythm in a variety of ways using different text to communicate and change their meaning and use their voice with imagination and build confidence. The students are to 'get to know' their voices and what they can do with it.

This study unit provided students with the opportunity to  relive and read many of their old time favourite storybooks. The list was long, and I was pleasantly surprised at some of the stories they were mentioning were the same as those I read or had read to me as a child.

A Fish Out of Water

Harry By the Sea

Go Dog Go

Green Eggs and Ham (and all of Dr Seuss books)

The King, The Mouse, The Cheese

The Day the Crayons Quit

The Gruffalo

Hairy Maclary

After some amazing and engaging rehearsals, I invited my daughter’s Grade 2 teacher to our performance with her judging panel. Before I let them in, the first three groups to perform looked terrific. Some students painted their faces, and made paper character puppets to help with their stories. There was a sense of the nerves that actors get before they are about to go out on stage, and this was no different. 

The judges embraced our students' dramatic reading in all its guises, resulting in big smiles on their faces and with lots of clapping at the end of each story. The judges had spoken!

 Well Done Year 9s!!  

Julia Hodson 

Year 9 Drama Teacher

Letters Against Iso 

Letters Against Iso was started back in February 2020 to help bridge the gap between young people and the elderly, building connections via pen and paper. In March 2020, COVID-19 forced closures across the state and country. Aged care residents were no longer able to enjoy bus outings or performers. Already isolated from the outside world, they were suddenly being forced to eat alone at separate tables. Letters Against ISO quickly became a way for people of all ages to show their support to the elderly during this time. 

Our students are encouraged to register with the Letters Against Iso program! All you need is some pen, paper, and 5 minutes to write a letter which will be sent to an elderly person. It’s one small gesture which can make one huge difference to someone’s life! The sign-up sheet is:

https://forms.gle/UyfrhENKMwf6DwBv6Or

More information you can be accessed the program’s website on: www.lettersagainstiso.com

Peter Hodkinson

Director of Learning - Engagement and Leadership

Hi, it’s Tinka from Year nine

As an Australian, have you ever questioned the fact that you would have the opportunity to finish your high school education? 

Simply put, my answer is no. I never doubted the fact that there would be uniforms, books and all the resources that I need to learn, freely available to me. I’m 14, and so far have received 10 years of schooling. That’s a privilege that not every girl my age gets. 

Currently, there are an estimated 120 million girls around the world who don’t have the opportunity of a primary school education. This is because of poverty, lack of menstrual hygiene products and child marriage. Ending global poverty starts with educating girls. Did you know that for every year a girl stays in school, her potential income increases by 10-25%? 

This year I am an ambassador for OneGirl, a charity breaking down the barriers to an education that girls in poverty face. I empathise with those 120 million girls. It could have been me, or any of my friends, but I was lucky enough to be born into the family that I was.

As an Ambassador, our collective goal is to raise $100,000 by the end of the year. We’ve raised 25K already! This money will go to scholarships, uniforms, books and learning materials, and menstrual hygiene products. All of which will keep her in school so that she can reach her fullest potential!

You can help the cause by donating at 

https://www.onegirl.org.au/fundraisers/katinkaschmid/ambassadors-2020

Every dollar counts, $20 is enough for two re-usable pad kits, enough to last three years! 

Katinka Schmid (9D)