English

Year 10 Excursion - Moonrise Kingdom

For years we have watched films on our screens, our tiny little hand held devices on our way to school, or on the tram.  We can’t get off them. These films aren’t always amazing, they’re just made by someone with a camera and a funny voice or cat.  We scroll through them wherever we go. 

But on Wednesday 13 August we got to see a film on a big, BIG screen.  All of us in Year 10 gathered at salty the seal, waiting to be marked off.  Then a beautiful walk, by the rushing Yarra to the cinema at Vic Gardens.  We got our popcorn, sat in the big cinema, our eyes adjusting to the black darkness and waited.  Stealing lollies from each other and sipping our drinks.

The lights went down and the music came up, the blue and black swirly ads were replaced by the sound of rain (in the film) and a film that looked like it was yellow and red.  The camera swooped, the sound changed, from diegetic to non-diegetic.  The actors stood there, big and tall on the screen, even the youngest kids felt at least three metres tall. 

It told the story of a boy and girl in love with each other, but who couldn’t be together.  They ran away and were chased by their family and scout troop, yes, their scout troop.  But the adults weren’t any better than the noisy and rushing kids.  They had their own problems, secret affairs, sad husbands and wives, and a scout master who kept losing his troop!

It all came together in a final dark, noisy, wet denoument.  The rain lashing against everyone’s face on the top of a bell tower struck by lightning.  What a rush!  You could hear everyone crying throughout the last scene over the sound of crinkling chip and lolly packets.  The two lovers together, but for how long?

Walking out of the cinema the sun seemed less bright, the yellow and red of the film still with us all as we went home.

Suzy Shakusky*

Year 10

* a pseudonym, as requested by the author

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

In EAL in Year 11 we are working on Argument Analysis. Our issue is fast fashion.

These are some of the ideas the students have explored:

Ning: Social media is responsible for its popularity with teenagers.

Traci: Fast fashion is promoting over consumption.

Estrelya: It creates loads of waste, and it is harmful for the environment.

Maggie: Fast fashion makes trendy clothes affordable but at the same time is damaging to the environment with all the waste it generates.

Minnie: Fast fashion makes people thing they need everything.

Pania: By using social media for advertising, it encourages people to waste their money buying products they do not necessarily need.

Maxine: Fast fashion is harmful to the environment because of mass production causing waste to be dumped in the environment.

Ahans: Fast fashion causes young people to compare themselves with others.

Reiki: It creates poor working conditions for workers.

Yoyo: Fast fashion creates poor quality products and also creates a lot of waste.

Elena Stirkul

EAL Leader