7-9 English

A message from the team

Wow, what a year it’s been! Students and English teachers alike have been working hard to improve their skills and performance. Our Year 7s have worked diligently to improve their reading and comprehension skills. Our Year 8s have applied a keen focus to grow their analytical abilities and our Year 9s have been consolidating all their skills in readiness for our step up to Year 10 next year.

We’ve applied ourselves feverishly over the last couple of years to modify our practice, with a real focus on using data specifically, to plan, teach and assess more effectively. This year we saw an improvement in our NAPLAN literacy data that’s a real credit to the English Professional Learning Team. Hopefully we can continue this growth next year.

Students and families may not realise the incredible amount of work that’s gone into updating our curriculum and improving our assessment practices in preparation for expansion next year. All our staff look forward to continuing to help our current students on their journey to senior studies.

To make our teaching and student learning as effective as possible we have streamlined our planning practices: we’re all using uniform rubrics (assessment tables), the same, detailed unit planners and a greater focus on explicit, tried and tested lesson structure. Perhaps this academic detail is just falderal to you, but hopefully the improvements will become apparent next year.

Even if you’re not excited by this I can assure you that the nerds at The Lakes South Morang College are. And before you get upset by my use of the word ‘nerds’ be advised that I’m talking about the English staff!

We’re in a lather over learning, we’re giddy about grammar, we’re sappy about spelling, awakened by analysis, crazy for creativity, roused by reading, riled for writing and piqued by pedagogy. Yeah, you know how we’re nerds. Hopefully you can all see the benefit of people like us being teachers.

This year Alex Boughen was a great addition to our team but he’s off interstate next year; he will be missed. Good luck Alex. We’ll be getting a new addition to our English team, a bright young teacher named Erin Mould, who has already started learning the ropes and getting to know some of our students. We all look forward to working with her in 2020.

We all need a break and The Lakes English team hopes you all have a merry Christmas, a happy new year and a restful holiday that gets you all ready for another year of hard work, learning fun and personal growth. See you in 2020.

Escape from Melbourne Zoo

I walk through the gates, rusty, turning green-blue like the emerald sea. The night sky cold and glistening like a freshly poured glass of Champagne. My toes reach the pavement, I look behind me, where the gates slowly creek closed. The letters on the gates interlock to create the words ‘Melbourne Zoo’. My daydream is blurred by the calling of my name “ Nicole” my gaze shifts towards a brown haired, blue eyed girl, her skin so clear, like a delicate porcelain doll. Her name is Jessica, one of my best friends from primary school; feels like we have been friends forever. Next to her stands a tall boy, dark skinned, brown eyes sparkling in the moon light. His name is James, Jessica and I met him this year as he transferred from a school in the northern suburbs. The three of us fit like puzzle pieces, all different but we respect each other as we are.

I stand in the raw air and it begins to send shivers up my spine. I pat my pocket and my heart drops into my stomach. My eyes close slowly I take a long breath in. Released like a vintage car exhaust. My vision draws back towards the gates and between the metal bars. “What’s wrong?”says Jessica’s delicate voice. I point through the gate, to an iron, ornate old-fashioned park bench. On it lays a brown leather wallet. Its sheen reflects the moonlight through the iron bars into my dull gloomy eyes. Beaming lights run against the iron bars and then it pauses. “We need to go” James’ husky voice says. I stare at the old taxi, the old horn sounds, Jessica and James get in.

I stand, “you go, I’ll find my way”, I insist.

“Don’t be stupid”, the both of them exclaim but the driver speeds off. I begin to walk around the external red brick walls and metal gates, looking for an opening.

“Hello!” I yell. Nothing but the sound of loud obnoxious cockatoos like a crowd at a footy match. Suddenly a ring of the metal bars vibrates through my head, a instant flash of a light hits me in the face I stumble into the gutter.

“Shoo”, a nervous stuttering voice says.

“Sorry”, I gasp, “I need my wallet, it’s laying on that bench over there”.

“You know you could have gone straight to the reception box over there, instead of prowling around at night”, he replies.

I bring my numb, cold hand to my head and over my eyes realising how late it is and how stupid I am. The guard runs away toward my wallet and strides back to where I stand. He forces his hand through the bars. I gaze into his eyes so clear, so blue. I bite my lip, he smiles, so innocent. “Thank you” I whisper. I begin to glide to the entrance. I open my wallet to find nothing, credit card, license and cash gone. I sigh in frustration and shuffle slowly to the road.

I stand on the curb, the breeze dances through the trees and straight through me. I embrace myself under the street light. I begin to tread toward the train station. My eyes meet a group of three men, each with a beer in hand. Their faces covered by the shadows of their hoods. They stare straight through me, as if they were a pack of ravenous hunting wolves, drooling and foaming at the sight of prey. There is no way I’m going over there. I begin to scamper in the other direction, knowing that there is a tram stop close by. The wind picks up and it starts to hit me in the back like a belt, over and over again. Suddenly I hear the sharp piercing sound of glass hitting the ground. My shoulders reach my ears. I turn toward to the core of the sound, my heart skips as I see the three men from the train station in the darkness. My head snaps back. An arm’s reach away from the tram stop but  the crazy, hysterical laughter of the men draws closer to me, like maniacal clowns in a horror movie. I continue to stride ahead as fast as I can without being suspicious. I figure I’ll go toward the city, someone will be there, someone will help me. Surely.

The inner-city lights and my darting, worried eyes make is seem like I’m surrounded with pixels of colour, as if I am a character in an old-fashioned arcade game. I draw closer to the city. Consuming little mobs of students pour out from the uni bars. It’s late, the air arctic, it begins to raise goose bumps up my neck. I have no idea where I am, no longer thinking property but I continue all the same.

Suddenly I hit the ground, that’s frigid and course like sand paper. A sharp pain runs over my skull and down my neck. I can’t see. I lay on the ground, numb. My vision slowly begins to come back to me. I see a bright yellow blur next me. It moves closer to were my legs lay. I quickly bring my knees to my chest. The yellow blur comes into focus as it zooms away. A taxi. I try to bring myself to my knees but the pain hits me harder. I slowly make it to my feet and shuffle off the road. I stand on the pavement, dazed and unable to see straight. At the corner of my eye I see the silhouette of  three dark figures gaining on me. Then I begin to recognise them. They are the same three men from the train station.

‘Run’. I try, but I am restricted like I’ve hit a brick wall. My body collapses into itself, I fall back to the ground, into darkness. What feels like seconds later, my eyes flutter open to find myself laying on a stretcher. Vibrant flashing lights surround me as I lay still. I hear the words “ you’ll be okay, we called the ambulance for you”, the voice is gentle.

My eyes move from the sky onto the person who owns the voice; there stand the three same men that so terrified me. I mouth the words, “thank you” as I am so very grateful. They smile, reminding me to always have faith, even if all hope seems to be lost.