English

Junior School English

Year 7 English

In English classes last term, students were studying persuasive language in advertising. For their main assessment task, our Year 7s worked collaboratively to choose a product to sell digitally. They were tasked with identifying an audience to promote to, writing a script using persuasive language, coming up with their own product slogan and producing a film advertisement. 

The students enjoyed the chance to combine digital technologies with their English classes and submitted some very entertaining and persuasive ads. 

This term students will be reading the text ‘Wonder’ and looking at the values of friends, family, resilience and kindness. Students have been asked to reflect on what being a good friend looks like, how to show acts of kindness and have been tested on their to ability to show resilience. For those who do not yet have the text, we encourage you to purchase it from any bookstore, borrow it from your local library or gain an online copy. 

Year 8 English

Students in Year 8 will be viewing the Australian film ‘Paper Planes’ this term. They will be studying how grief, loss, love and winning can have an impact on our behaviours – both positive and negative. Students have explored the values of the film text and made some text-to-text connections to create a speech that they have had to present to the class. 

Public speaking is not an easy skill and often students are overcome with nerves to present in front of their peers. We encourage all our students to continue to try their hardest, show resilience and persevere through their nerves in order to present to the class. Students are given extra time to rehearse their speech and they are able to have their speeches with them so as to not increase their stress levels by having to remember the content off by heart. 

Congratulations to all our year 8 students who were able to deliver their speech in front of the class. 

Year 9 English

This term students will be studying a new text to the school; ‘Catching Teller Crow’. This novel is written by two Indigenous authors and explores some dark themes around historical and racial abuse. Students are going to be given the opportunity to read, reflect and analyse the text in class with the support of their classroom teacher and their MYLNS or TLI support staff. We will be encouraging students to read the text aloud in class and build on their reading confidence and stamina. 

While we aim for there to be minimal homework, it is encouraged that the students are reading some of the text at home to ensure that they don’t fall behind and to consolidate their understanding of what is covered in class. If any student is yet to have purchased a copy, we politely request that to be done ASAP, alternatively it can be borrowed from a local library for free. The Year 9 teachers have also endeavoured to attain a digital copy to support those students without a copy of their own. 

Image from ‘Lost In Books’: https://www.lostinbooks.com.au/featured-books/black-lives-matter