English

Students will continue to hone their written skills during term 4, as English staff look to specifically isolate elements of the writing process. This will be completed on an ongoing basis in order to give students the chance to build the many and complex components of writing in a manageable way. 

Years 7 and 9 students will continue to work on their analytical writing in the lead up to their examination style assessment tasks, with much of the focus consolidating work that has previously been completed during the year such as building topic sentences, embedding evidence and structuring analytical sentences.

Year 10 will follow the numerous elements of creative writing, drawing on concepts and language devices from the poetry of Bruce Dawe. Students will be able to explain their thematic choices when developing their writing in a reflection that is part of the task.

Students in Year 8 will be learning about the life, times and work of William Shakespeare as an introduction to Shakespearean texts, which they will study in both year 9 and 10. Their formal assessment task involves the students annotating a Shakespearean soliloquy and performing it in front of their peers. Every year, students find this task confronting and challenging and it is important to stress that this makes up much of the point in continuing to have students complete the performance. Students who demonstrate courage in what is an often uncomfortable setting are rewarded most by this task.

Our year 12 2027 students have set about work for their HSC in English Studies, English Standard, English Advanced and English Extension. We wish them all the best as they embark on their final year of study and remind them to keep working at identified areas for improvement.

Finally, congratulations to our HSC class of 2026 on completing their examinations for English. On behalf of everyone at the College, I wish all of them the best in both the short and long term.

Mr Michael Ryan | English KLA Leader