English

Term 2 Review

This Term has been busy with Year 10 students experiencing a week out in the work force and lots of public speaking and presenting in front of live audiences. Often students (and most adults) are nervous public speakers. Teachers always encourage students to put that energy into preparation as when they are the expert in the topic – the task is less daunting. Year 10 students investigated Australian charities and presented engaging presentations which encouraged the audience to consider donating to the cause.

Here is a snippet of some of the feedback shared from students to their classmates:

• I thought everybody’s presentations were impressive. They picked very different organisations/charities that I haven't heard of before, making it feel interesting. Everyone explained the aims of the organisation. They spoke clearly and I love how they were all confident to get up in front of the class and speak.
• I liked Amelie's story about why she connects to breast cancer research. I hope that treatments/technology for breast cancer and all types of cancer improve. We need a cure.
• All of the power points were structured and presented well. However, I think that Daymon did a particularly good job presenting, structuring and keeping engaged throughout the presentation.
• Everyone chose amazing charities. Many showed how the charity helped their specific group and how effective it is at supporting people who are impacted.
• A charity which I felt I would donate to would be the RSL. I have great sympathy for those who fought and developed PTSD and trauma from the wars they fought in. Lots of veterans in Australia are abandoned after their service. I feel that the RSL was a good charity and something to donate to.
• I really enjoyed listening to the NBCF and The Lost Dogs home charity.
• Everyone was great at presenting but Daymon projected his voice really well and sounded confident.
• I really appreciated ‘The Lost Dogs Home’ charity as they not only provide a temporary home for pets but extra care for those that have had more of a rough time.
• I think Amelie’s presentation was really moving and had a lot of important information. It was really brave to share a personal story about her family’s history.

The comments above demonstrate how students were attentive listeners as audience members, supporting their classmates.

Some of our writers have enjoyed the marvellous May weather.

Student Work - Character Profile Olivia 8E

Name: Grace

Nicknames: Little Red Riding Hood / Red

Book: All The Better To See You

Age: 15 ½

Friends: No one but her grandmother, until Elis broke his arm and became an outcast.

Family: Her mom is really a kind and nice person, but she barely smiles now after Red turned 15 she doesn’t smile she yells at Red to behave and to make sure she doesn't loose her 5th job (at the bakery) and her father had died at his job as a cargo ship skipper, so he was barely home anyway, but it left her mom in pieces and her grandmother sad. Her grandmother was a kind woman and was a back in her day a midwife and she taught red all she needs to know about helping and healing someone and they are a lot closer than you know.

Favourite place: The forest around the town where her grandmother lives.

Looks: Black messy tangled hair, hazel eyes with a tint of red in them, always wears a red cape, always has dough under her fingernails due to her job.

Personality: Weird, kind, flinches at small movement, hardworking but clumsy and can't do things right, thinks everyone is better off without her, adventurous and she’s very loyal to the people she cares about, gullible, feeling like a disappointment to her mother shy.

Job: She works at a bakery with other girls her age.

Dream: To move to a place with her grandma where more animals roam forests grow unlike the forest in Amor (the small town she lives) with barely any life anymore.

What people think of her: Weird, strange, ugly, shy, don’t talk to her, gullible, lazy, unreliable, mysterious, confusing, different, let down and interesting.

Who she likes: Elis, the perfect person and can do everything right

What she thinks about the phantom wolf legend: It's nothing and if it did happen and the wolf killed all of the people 50-65 people that was five years ago and we haven’t seen it since so she shouldn’t be worried when Elis had a wolf like cut and a broken arm, or when Marther had her face half eaten of by a wolf like creature and that one drunk dude that had his stomach cut open by a wolf like claw… she shouldn’t be afraid right? It’s just a wolf?

Secret: One night Red may wake up covered in scratches and wolf hair? Yes you guessed it she’s the big bad wolf, she broke Elis arm, she ripped Marther's face off and yes she scratched up that one drunk dude to close to the forest, but she wasn’t alone you know that wolf from five winters ago? It was her grandmother and her grandmother taught her all she needs to know about hunting for food since the forests animals are all gone she and her grandmother went to find other food hence the chickens in Elis backyard but when she was grabbing some chickens for her grandma Elis appeared and she had no choice but to attack him and she did but as soon as she realized who she attacked she grabbed some chickens and ran away and her grandmother said it was bad that she left him alive and told her she shouldn’t ever do that again.

 As for Marther, Red saw two girls at the edge of the forest and thought she could bring one to eat so she pounced up on the person from behind, the one that was in the cart, starting to scratch and claw her then she turned her over to bite her face and after she did… she saw whose face she bit off and it was Marther’s and she ran away back to the forest her grandmother saying good try and went back to the cottage in the forest.