From the Curriculum Leaders
A Curriculum Snapshot
On Friday 24 May, Year 9 students had the pleasure of witnessing a Shakespeare influenced performance, produced by the Bell Shakespeare group. A three person show that delivered not only a gripping plot, but great educational and literal benefit.
Displaying what a true performance looks like, the cast pulled on their character’s essence of being, to release a story, inviting the audience to consider why Shakespeare characters acted a certain way. Dissecting the language and text, it was explained to the audience just how important words are. From their mallow meaning to conflicting ideas, to sinking emotion, each word, each line, each phrase was etched with purpose and qualification and this was made evident to our Mount Carmel girls.
Lines littered with description and purpose, demonstrated the valuable language devices Shakespeare used. Through watching not only the performance but the engagement of the students, it was clear they got more from the play than simply a couple periods off class. Such an educational yet enjoyable performance was one that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
The learning didn’t end with the performers’ concluding lines, however. After the show, the cast were welcoming of questions and put curious minds to rest. They shared not only their performance, but their story, advice and experience. Bringing in relative topics, the cast reached out not only from an English perspective, but a drama and acting one. Also present in the audience were members of the drama class, whom are currently working on this year’s production, The Dream, a Shakespeare influenced play.
They proposed the concept of a career following passion. A ‘safe career’ can be overrated and it’s the passion that makes a job enjoyable, not the career itself. A majority of students walked away with a fulfilling feeling of satisfaction and a greater respect for Shakespeare and his work. Inspiring this years Year 9 students was something that came fluently to the cast and helped develop their English understanding on words, lines and phrases along with their power.
Whilst poetry certainly captured the interest of the older students, many of the Primary classes enjoyed a series of STEM challenges with a feline focus. The program, facilitated by staff from Ten Lives, seeks to foster responsible cat ownership with the aim to create social change in how people care for cats and protect wildlife. Three major areas were addressed - desexing, microchipping and containment. The Ten Lives Team delivered an Ed.Cat incursion program for students from Kinder to Year 5.
The program included a diverse range of STEM challenges including creating dioramas showing the objects that cater for the needs and wants of a pet cat; constructing models of a cat using materials that reflect the function of its body parts; designing a cat containment playground; and using reused materials to design and construct a toys for cats.
The Year 2 students also even enjoyed the opportunity to have a behind the scenes tour of Ten Lives with many kindly donating cans of cat food and other feline accessories. From all accounts, the experience was thoroughly enjoyed and simply purrfect!
Rose Goward and Sarah Wilson-Haffenden
Curriculum Leaders