English

English Learning Area News

Things are busy here in the English department and we’ve had a few changes in staff. We’ve farewelled a couple of people; Alex O’Brien has decided to take a year off to return to study and finish her Masters degree in Melbourne, and Janelle Collins has made the big decision to make a sea change and head to the other end of the state to Portland. After nineteen years in the library, Humanities and English learning areas we were really sad to see Janelle go at the end of last year but certainly wish her all the best at her new school.

Fortunately, we’ve been joined by a number of new and returning teachers. Phoebe Nicolopoulos has returned to us after a year of travelling; no doubt she will have plenty of great stories to share. We’ve also been joined by two new teachers; Chloe Nisbet and Lesley O’Shannessy. Chloe and Lesley were both at Maguire College last year and bring lots of enthusiasm to us. We look forward to a great year ahead with all new our new (and not so new) teachers in the English learning area.

Year 11 Oral Presentations:

Year 11 students are hitting the ground running this year, with oral presentation drafts being submitted by the end of week 1. Presentations will be occurring in all Unit 1 English classes throughout the second week of term. Students will be persuading their classmates (and teacher) on their opinions on topics such as: should Australia ban live animal exports, whether the date of Australia Day should be changed, should the Liberal Party use quotas to get more women into parliament; or, should the sale of bottled water be banned in Australia? We look forward to seeing our students demonstrating all of the persuasive techniques they have learned over their years at Wanganui.