ENGLISH

After a productive Term 1, it’s been a positive start to the term in English classes. Year 9 Journalism students are preparing for their excursion to SYN FM, while Year 12 English students will soon enjoy a range of lectures to further prepare them for SACs and exams. 

Writer Of The Month returns for 2023 in May. In 2022 we had a record number of entries as students demonstrated their creative talent and honed their writing skills. Keep an eye on Compass for details. 

Students are also encouraged to enter the wide range of writing competitions advertised on the Compass newsfeed including the Plain English Speaking Awards, and the What Matters Writing Competition. There’s plenty of prizes to be won and they’re a terrific way to practise your skills while having a say on things that matter to you. Talk to your English teacher for more information.

Finally, it was terrific to engage with families during the recent Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences. One of the most common pieces of advice for improvement from English teachers was for students to read for at least 20 minutes a day outside of school. Teachers and the helpful staff in the Library can provide students with book recommendations, including non-fiction texts. Reading is one of the simplest and most effective ways of improving comprehension, grammatical and general writing skills. As the old adage goes, You can’t write what you haven’t read. See the school’s Library website for text recommendations, book reviews and subscriptions to a range of useful organisations.

Happy reading.

Sam Florence

English KLA Manager