English News 

End Of Term 3 :

English Department  

What’s happening in English! 

Term 3 is always productive in the English faculty. Students have been busy learning new skills, engaging with a range of texts, and for our senior students, preparing for their final SACs. 

Our Year 7s have been reading Emily Rodda’s enchanting ‘His Name was Walter’, analysing characters, events and key concepts like courage, curiosity and the dangers of making assumptions. Our youngest students have also been learning how to structure and write analytical paragraphs.  

In Year 8 we attempted film analysis for the first time, watching Taika Waititi’s hilarious film ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ (if you’ve never watched this film, the Year 8s would highly recommend it!). Students impressed us with their audio/visual analysis and ability to communicate their ideas. Now we have started looking at the Dystopia genre of fiction in preparation for our next novel, ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry. 

Year 9s are also polishing their essay planning and writing skills whilst exploring Gary Paulsen’s Young Adult hero’s journey ‘Hatchet’. Students are considering the narrative techniques of the author and how the challenges of the young protagonist, Brian, can teach them important lessons about resilience, resourcefulness and survival.  

Our Year 10s are engaged in rich philosophical debates about fate, free will, love and hate in their discovery of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Despite some initial hesitation when approaching Shakespeare for the first time, students are pleasantly surprised at how relevant and universal the play’s dilemmas still are. Students have composed their own sonnets, written current day adaptations of scenes and explored the passionate feud between the Montagues and Capulets.  

Our Year 11s have completed their Analysing Argument unit and are now starting their analysis of Larry Watson’s ‘Montana 1948’. Students are excited to complete this final Area of Study before they head towards their Year 12 induction in Term 4.  

This has been the busiest term for our Year 12s who have recently completed their Analysing Argument unit exploring perspectives on the rise of AI use in society. They are currently working hard on their final Analytical Text Response on Jane Harrison’s play, ‘Rainbow’s End’, exploring themes of home, resilience and self-determination. 

We are immensely proud of the effort and determination this cohort is demonstrating this term, and the Year 12 English team are looking forward to working closely with them in their approach to the final exam in October. 

Kerryn Hoernel

VCE English teacher

Celebrating Success in ICAS English

We are delighted to celebrate the achievements of our students who participated in the 2026 ICAS English Competition. ICAS provides students with an opportunity to challenge themselves and apply their English skills to a range of challenging texts and questions.

We are incredibly proud of all students who took part and congratulate everyone on their achievements.

Year 7

· Distinction: Ben P, Jasmir S, Rishaan N

· Merit: Rikza R, William T

· Credit: Isla C, Victoria M, Alex O, Krishiv S

· Participation: Maya F, Ivy G, Harry G, Ellen H, Reyansh K, Isabel K, Oscar L, Zehna M, Jim M, Ryan P, Noah T, Anshi T, Ivana T, Spiros T, Matthew Y, Aman Z

Year 8

· Distinction: Kazuya B

· Merit: Ashane P

· Credit: Alexander A, Kintan C, Theodor I, Harry M, Rory M, Divyam S, Ethan T

· Participation: Carlos G, Jet N, Anastasia P, 

Ada W

Year 9

· High Distinction: Aathithya Tharmarajah

· Distinction: Rafael Coleman, Mars Cruickshank

· Merit: Semira P, Zachary T

· Credit: Marcus B, Jessie P, Ryder R, Hongyan S

· Participation: Ali C, Aletta K, Revan P, Lukas T, Aaliya V, Kyryl Y

Year 10

· Merit: Andrew M, Kirrily R

· Credit: Dhruvi C, Jacob O

· Participation: Kenji C, Inara L

Congratulations to all of our ICAS English participants! Your willingness to challenge yourselves and extend your learning is an achievement in itself. We look forward to celebrating even more student success throughout the year.

Victorian High Ability Program – Term 3

Congratulations to our students who completed the Victorian High-Ability Program (VHAP) in English during Term 3.

VHAP provides high-ability students with the opportunity to extend their learning through challenging and engaging online lessons delivered by Virtual School Victoria. Across the program, students worked collaboratively with other high-ability learners from schools across Victoria, developing their knowledge, skills and confidence beyond the regular classroom program.

We are incredibly proud of the commitment and enthusiasm demonstrated by our students throughout the program. Completing VHAP is a significant achievement and reflects their willingness to challenge themselves, embrace new learning opportunities and strive for excellence.

Congratulations to our Term 3 VHAP graduates:

· Rawya B

· Emma B

· Ivy G

· Theodore H

· Reyansh K

· Isabel K

· Oscar L

· Ethan L

· Victoria M

· Jim M

· Louis N

· Jasmir S

· Noah Rai T

· Anshi T

We congratulate all of our students on this wonderful achievement.

Amanda Tate 

ICAS Coordinator 

Wider Reading Festival – Year 7 English with Ms Hoernel

During Term 4, Ms Hoernel’s Year 7 English class embarked on a side-quest to complete a wider reading challenge. Students selected a book of their own choice and attempted a range of activities, earning stamps in their reading passport as they completed them.

During their last session, students chose one of their challenges to display at our Book Festival. Students presented video trailers, interactive character quizzes, Spotify playlists to match the moods of their book, Minecraft recreations of scenes, handmade dioramas of the setting, and digital art. 

The winning exhibit by Eva Mahajan was an intricate escape room, complete with invisible ink clues! It was wonderful to see our youngest students immersing themselves in their reading.

Kerryn Hoernel

VCE English Teacher