English News
OutLoud Youth Poetry Slam
On 4 September, six Nossal High School students participated in the OutLoud Slam Poetry Competition. This event took place at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne's CBD. The competition featured two categories: one for students in Years 7-9 and another for those in Years 10-12. The challenge for students was to craft, practise, memorise, and then passionately perform a poem within a strict three-minute time frame.
Representing Nossal High, three teams took the stage: Team 1, consisting of Neriah Morales, Ket Win, and Lavanya Jyothis; Team 2, with Pahal Dandiya, Anhad Arora, and Jashan Suran; and an impressive individual performance by Jashan as well.
While Nossal did not claim the ultimate victory, every performer showcased their hard work and effort and left a lasting impression. A special congratulations to Team 1, who advanced to the finals and were only narrowly outperformed by two outstanding individual poems from Carey Grammar.
The day was an overwhelming success, filled with creativity. It was truly inspiring to witness the diverse and imaginative poems presented by students from all over Victoria, brought to life through their engaging performances. This event fostered new friendships, highlighting the strong support network within the poetry community. It was a day we all greatly enjoyed!
Pahal Dandiya - Year 10
Back in 2022, I eagerly binged clips of the previous Slam winners with awe, admiring the 2019 winning Nossal team’s performance. I knew I wanted to be on that stage expressing words I wanted heard.
On the count of “3, 2, 1, SLAM!”, the ardent tension dissipated, and our roaring voices engulfed the hall. Eyes widened, stares intensified and most importantly, we were set free.
With carefully selected verses, the three Nossal teams shared our stories and spoke our truths and passions. Our works were diverse but eloquently put together. We yelled, we cried, and we exposed our vulnerabilities and immersed the audience with words. My group fervently emphasised that family is a “cohesive and devoted connection”, more than just biology – a powerful message we hope touched the hearts of many.
Sure, we didn’t win, but that wasn’t our goal. We wanted to feel liberated with our voices and share our views with the world. Still writing on the train and frantically practising in the Melbourne Central bathrooms beforehand, we knew our words were raw.
“We thank you, Family.”
Ket Win - Year 9
Trial Exams
Prior to our trial exam, English students had been given special access to an extremely helpful resource - an English Revision lecture by the Chief English Assessor herself - Karen Graham.
When we think of English we usually think of - themes, quotes, and characters. However, Karen’s revision lecture brought attention to the depths and nuances of the subject. Karen talked about the misconceptions of each section and explored top-scoring sample responses, illuminating their strengths. Karen taught me invaluable information regarding text construction, deconstructing different prompts and what assessors are seeking in responses - enhancing my knowledge of each set criteria.
I undertook both the Literature and English Mainstream Trial exams which the English Domain worked hard to organize, and found that they effectively replicated the strict exam conditions that are present at the end of year exams. Through my trial exams, I was able to test out various exam strategies to see what worked well for me regarding time allocation and planning to optimize my performance.
All the English, English Language and Literature trial exams were marked by experienced external assessors - helping us to understand our performances compared to other students in the state. For both my trial exams, I received clear and comprehensive feedback on my areas of strengths and weaknesses, clarifying areas that I should revise. And, I have found that applying these suggestions have gradually improved the quality of my pieces.
After watching the revision lecture and experiencing the realistic conditions of both trial exams, I’ve gained much perceptive and enriched insight and now feel considerably more positive and confident about the upcoming English and Lit exams and what I can achieve with hard work and the help of these resources.
Claire Nguyen - Class of 2023
The trial exams for VCE English, English Language and Literature are externally assessed as part of the revision process. This financial commitment, made possible by parent payment contributions, is an important part of our students’ preparation for the VCAA exams.