English
Debaters Association of Victoria (DAV) Interschool Debating
This year promises to be another exciting and eventful year for the Kilbreda Debating Team.
Each year, students from Years 7 to 12 are invited to join the Kilbreda Debating Team, to compete against other schools in our region in the Debaters Association of Victoria (DAV) Secondary Competition. Students in Years 9 to 12 compete during Semester 1 and 2, and those in Years 7 and 8 do so during Semester 2.
The first meeting with Year 9 and 10 students took place on Monday 8 February. Year 9 students who are new to debating learned about how debating works and the format of the competition. There was animated conversation amongst the students about the joys of arguing in a safe and structured way, using logic to defeat the opposition’s argument loopholes and the satisfaction of a formal conclusion in which one team is declared the ‘winner’.
In upcoming Debating meetings, students will prepare for the first debate which is scheduled for 23 February. Parents/carers and siblings are all welcome to attend.
You can contact me on kim.elliott@kilbreda.vic.edu.au for more information.
Writing Competitions and Opportunities
Throughout the course of the year, many writing competitions and opportunities are available for students to enter.
Creative Writing in both prose and poetry offers students a chance to write to a theme, word count and deadline, within the scope of healthy competition. Those with a passion for writing are encouraged to keep an eye on student noticeboards for news of information about competitions or speak to their English teacher to learn more.
Here is a snapshot of some of the opportunities on offer for your daughters:
Red Room Poetry: Students are invited to heal habitats by writing poems for POEM FOREST –a free nature poetry prize that breathes life back into the world that sustains us. Launching March 2021, in partnership with the Australian Botanic Gardens, every poem received will become a new tree planted in the Garden to support sustainability. Their goal is to plant 10,000 trees in 3 years!
The POEM FOREST prize will be judged by award-winning Dark Emu author, Bruce Pascoe and internationally bestselling author, Holly Ringland. Entries open in March through to September 2021.
The Future Leaders Writing Prize: this competition isdesigned to recognise and reward talented young writers. Year 11 and 12 students in Australian secondary schools are invited to submit a piece of writing (800 to 1,000 words), either fiction or non-fiction, on any topic. A prize of $1000 in on offer.
Submissions must be submitted electronically in a Word document by 31 May 2021 to helen@futureleaders.com.au. See the website for more information.
Teen Writing Workshops with State Library of Victoria: These workshops aredesigned for budding writers of all backgrounds and skill levels! These creative 'crash courses' will be hosted by accomplished and diverse authors throughout March, April and May, and explore a range of topics to hone writing skills, including fiction, personal voice, non-fiction, slam poetry, screen writing, and science writing.
All boot camps are open to teens aged 13 to 18 years old from all around Australia. They are free to attend, but require consent from a parent or guardian. Students can meet the boot camp authors through information sessions in February and get a taste for what they can learn and experience in each of the workshops. Then, once students have picked the boot camp for them, they can register using this link.
VATE: Stories That Change Writing Competition: The Victorian Association for Teachers of English invites short story entries of no more than 1000 words in length, addressing the theme 'Stories That Change'. There will be three student categories: Years 7 to 8 students, Years 9 to 10 students and Years 11 to 12 students. Entry will open on Friday 5 February 2021 and close 5pm on Friday 25 June.
They can be emailed to writingcompetition@vate.org.au and an application form to accompany each short story entry is available HERE.
Kim Elliott
Learning Leader: English