English
Drop Everything and Read
Ashleigh M Year 12 D9 and Sophie K Year 8 HB
Since my 1st year at school, I have really enjoyed reading. My interest dropped off a little in years 7 and 8 but has come back at the end of year 9.
I don't remember the first book I read, but I really enjoyed Billy B. Brown and various stories about animals. Normally I read about 1 book a week. Occasionally, 2 if they're short and I don't have much homework or too many SACS.
If I had to pick 3 favourite books?
They would be -
'The Priory of the Orange Tree' - by Samantha Shannon,
'Legends and Lattes' - by Travis Baldree, and
'The Final Empire' - by Brandon Sanderson
By Ashleigh Milner
Sophie loves reading, and her first memory of reading is at the age of 4 on the couch. Since then, she has a strong love of reading and reads between one to two books a week. Her library at home contains a huge collection of young adults' fiction, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy books.
By Sophie K - Year 8
Blackburn High School would like to welcome Ms Wei Wei who is teaching both Year 11 and 12 English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Mr Harsh Beniwal who is teaching Year 9 EAL Support. Ms Kourelis is teaching Year 10 EAL (Core)
Our EAL students are a diverse and dynamic group of students who originate from China, Iran, Vietnam, and Italy. This year they are studying a range of print and non-print texts and practising their oral skills by engaging in formal and non-formal presentations and discussions.
We would also like to acknowledge the work done by Ms Isabel Zhou who is instrumental in looking after the educational needs of our International students along with our Educational Multicultural Aides, Ms Huigin Gan, Ms May Kher, and Ms Sally Tang who support students in class.
Finally, we would also like to thank the work and support provided by our English/EAL Co-ordinator Ms Narelle McNeill
Thank you to all.
Ms Marina Kourelis
This term, Year 11 English Language students are discovering how the English language came to be, from its origins to Beowulf's Old English, Shakespeare's use and contributions to Middle English, to Modern English in contemporary times. To start, students investigated languages that exist in the world, how they all relate to each other through the Indo-European Tree, and how these languages influence one another. Students spent two lessons constructing their own language tree to demonstrate their knowledge of how languages are related. It was a team effort, and all contributed to the display for all to see.
Year 12 English
This year has been a pivotal year in the English Department as we welcomed Ms Narelle McNeill as English Co-ordinator. Narelle has been working with an amazing Year 12 team and she is so proud to be collaborating with such a dedicated group of teachers. She greatly appreciates the work done by Mr Harsh Beniwal, Ms. Tamara Brown, Ms. Anne Huong and Mr. Anthony Carrubba.
Narelle McNeill has been teaching English and Humanities for the last two decades. She has been leading departments for the last eight years.
Narelle has loved teaching her Year 12 students. She has built a wonderful relationship with them that values open communication, and mutual respect and has nurtured their academic and personal development.
She wishes all year twelve students all the best for their last couple of SACs and their upcoming exams.
Goodbye and good luck Year 12s
Year 9 English with Mr Beniwal
This term Mr Beniwal's Year 9 class has been studying William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The play has inspired countless films including Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 version and Baz Luhrmann's 1996 version.
However, Mr. Beniwal's Year 9 students have designed games that bring the warring families to life on a chessboard. They wanted to capture the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. The pawns represent the different members of the families.
Ms Marina Kourelis