Secondary Snapshot

Year 7 English

Well, hasn’t it been wonderful to return to school this term? I think many of us have realised that routine is our friend. It gives us structure. It gives us purpose. We have to follow the same steps each day to get where we’re going. 

Indeed, that’s how we try to run our English classes. Each lesson is designed to give students a process to follow that will teach the kids how to think deeply and communicate clearly. This term in Year 7 English we have studied film as text and how directors make meaning for audiences. ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’ is a great vehicle for teaching students how to analyse film narratives and the important lessons they convey.

Year 8 English

Throughout the course of this Term, we have been studying a film called ‘Freedom Writers’, which is based on a true story about high school teacher at a school in Los Angeles who has a class of at-risk teenagers, who are divided by race, that the school has deemed incapable of learning. It’s an interesting film about perseverance, the power of tolerance, empathy and changing your future through education. It has given the Year 8s the opportunity to research significant historical events such as the Holocaust and the Freedom Riders from the US Civil Rights Movement. Through this research they have been able to develop an understanding of the motivations and perspectives that characters within the film express. They have also developed technical knowledge of mise en scene which focuses on the analysis of the way the set is arranged to create meaning and influence the audience. They have applied their technical knowledge of mise en scene in their oral presentations in which they broke down a scene of their choosing and analysed the intended effect on the audience, the decisions of the director and the actions on the screen. They will be finishing the term with an essay designed to hone their analytical skills in which they can apply their technical knowledge and understanding of the characters and theme.

Year 9 English

In Term 4 the students studied Rabbit Proof Fence, a moving Australian film focusing on the gruelling ordeal of three First Nations girls and the stolen generation. The students engaged with a greater level of film as text analysis than previous years, focusing on concepts such as mise en scene and how information is communicated visually. The cohort researched background knowledge and context of the film, which they presented to their peers. They also practiced scene breakdowns and how many different elements are combined to communicate meaning to an audience. The students have taken on these new concepts quite well and have often demonstrated considerable growth in their mastery of language.

Year 10 English

Our Year 10 English students have had a challenging semester working remotely and returning to the classroom, displaying determination and commitment. A great deal of emphasis has been placed on preparing for VCE in 2022, with assessment tasks reflecting key requirements and skills. Students have studied a variety of texts and completed comparative essays, creative writing tasks and persuasive language analysis. They completed oral presentations remotely, which was commendable. We wish all our Year 10 English students the very best for next year as they undertake individual learning pathways and move into areas of study that will assist them in their future endeavours.

Year 10 PreCAL

In Year 10 PreCAL Literacy students have undertaken a Criminology Unit as per their request. They have been learning about the Genetic, Learning, Cognitive and Personality based theories about becoming a criminal and have been expressing their opinions about the relevance of these theories. They have defined and used some technical scientific terminology and investigated one of the theories further to produce a report.

Year 11 English

Our Year 11 VCE English students have made an outstanding effort this semester in terms of attendance, work submission and commitment. In having to move to remote learning quickly this semester, our students have undertaken remote learning and SACs and taken this in their stride in order to complete all set tasks. They even combined, as two Year 11 English classes, and read a play remotely with students reading character parts aloud to the classes. There has been a focus this semester on the use and analysis of persuasive language and students undertook their first VCE English Exams in preparation for their end-of-secondary-school exam at the end of 2022. We wish all our VCE English students the very best for Year 12. It’s been a pleasure to work with such a lovely, respectful group of young adults this year.

Thanks for a great year. Please have a merry Christmas and we look forward to teaching our wonderful students in a hopefully COVID-free new year!