Celebrating Literacy Week

Last week we celebrated Literacy Week at Doncaster Secondary College. It was a time for staff and students to reflect on reading practices at home and at school. Middle School students created reading goals for the rest of the year, and we encourage parents to talk to their students about these.

Those who are wanting advice to promote reading in their home can visit the following sites:

Regularly reading at home promotes/improves:

Mental Stimulation
Stress Reduction
Knowledge
Vocabulary Expansion
Memory Improvement
Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills
Improved Focus and Concentration
Better Writing Skills
Better Reading and Comprehension Skills
Tranquillity
Free Entertainment (Library)

Please feel free to contact your child’s English teacher or me (skennar.kristin.k@edumail.vic.gov.au), for advice or assistance with reading at home.

Kristin Skennar

Literacy Leader

Literacy Luncheon

Winners of the short story competition were announced last week at the Literacy Luncheon, which was held in the Library during lunchtime. Students, parents of students who received awards were invited to attend, English teachers, Ms Carrol and Ms McMaster were all in attendance. The winners were as follows;

Year 7 – Ash R. 7G

Year 7 SEAL – Gabriella H. 7E

Year 8 – Ava H. 8A

Year 8 SEAL – Nusaybah S. 8E

Year 8 EAL – Berry E. 8F

Year 9 – Angel W. 9J

Year 9 SEAL – Zoe T. 9E

Year 9 EAL – Helia M. 9D

Year 10 – James I-P. 10H

Year 11 – Jackson L. 11D

See the below excerpts from our year 7 and 8 students' stories and in the following newsletter, we will be publishing our year 9,10 and 11 students' stories.

Year 7 – Ash R. 7G

"Mind-Boggling" Event

I hurry into the bathroom, closed the door, leaned against it with my back and stood like that for a couple of long minutes with my eyes shut. What a day! What a strange accident in science how could my experiment have gone so wrong; I followed every step word for word. Surely, something has been tampered with. I filled the basin with soapy water. Slowly I started wiping the black residue off my face and trimming the singed ends from my hair. Aside from losing my sight for an hour, I was pretty lucky, I guess. Unfortunately, Principle Meaner doesn't see it that way detention for a week and on science lab clean-up for the rest of the term!

Read the rest of Ash's story in the attachment below.

Year 7 SEAL – Gabriella H. 7E

Sarah's Year on the Run

I am a mistake.

I was never meant to happen. I am the only one of my kind on planet Setora TY14. I am a girl, not a boy or a man like everyone else here. I am different. Pain kills me every day. I was made accidentally by my father, the head of science technology in creating babies. He was the one who invented how to make babies without any women. He spared my life and sold me to a poor man for one Utiops. While all the other babies were getting sold for more than 100 Utiops, to all the rich families. Anyway, I didn't care, I was grateful I had a family. He tried to make me blend in, but I had features on my body that none of the other boys had, it got me noticed but no one said anything until now.

Read the rest of Gabriella's story in the attachment below.

Year 8 – Ava H. 8A

The Wait for the Inevitable

The same routine every day.

The same boring lifestyle every day for 24 hours, seven days a week, thirty days a month, 365 days a

year, for the past eleven years.

Wake up

Eat

Schoolwork

Eat

Nap

Go to the shops

Shower

Sleep

Read the rest of Ava's story in the attachment below.

Year 8 SEAL – Nusaybah S. 8E

The Wait for the Inevitable

I cried the day you came into my life, a babbling bundle of squirming happiness. I cried when I first held you in my arms and you stared at me with your kaleidoscope eyes, cooing and curling your tiny, perfect fists. I cried when they took you away from me to clean you. I cried as we made our way back to the sea of white, grimy tents, an ocean of despair. I cried as I set you down on the straw mat that covered the cold floor and covered you in our only blanket, a threadbare, mangy affair. I cried because I knew, that despite all my efforts, I would not be able to give you the life you deserved. I cried because I knew I would not be able to protect you from the pain and suffering you would face for the rest of your life.

Read the rest of Nusaybah's's story in the attachment below.

Year 8 EAL – Berry E. 8F

Toughest Job in the Universe

I’m Clara McKenzie, a History teacher at the British School of Beijing. My husband, Kai is also a teacher at the British School of Beijing, but he teaches Mandarin. We’ve been married for a year already. Now, I’m carrying our child. It has been 2 weeks since we both got stable jobs. My husband is a lot happier than me at his new workplace where everything

is

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