Faculty News 

LAF

Our students in LAF have been working very hard throughout the term and we are very proud of all their efforts during remote teaching and learning.  The students have had a busy term completing work on the Google Classroom as well as hard copy work.  They have also joined their teachers each week on Microsoft Teams meetings to meet with their subject teachers as well as a LAF Meeting for Wellbeing and Connection.

The staff and students have had some wonderful guest speakers visit us on Teams throughout the term and it has been great to see some old faces as well as some experts in their field.  

Some of our students have also really enjoyed the cooking challenges and the Feel Good Fridays which has given them another opportunity to connect with their peers.

On Wednesday, we celebrated our Year 12's with a special video of their time from Year 7 to Year 12 at Evans and they enjoyed a pizza delivery during this time.  We can't wait to be able to see them face to face in the future to celebrate their achievements further.

This term’s history lessons for students in the LAF all took place via remote learning, same as with all lessons for Term 3. We became accustomed to remote learning and working and began having classes via Microsoft Teams.

Students completed 2 units of Indigenous Studies which covered some aspects of the history of First Peoples in Australia, as well as their continuing culture and spirituality.

Our first full unit completed via remote learning was on plagues and pandemics throughout history. We started with the 1919 Influenza, commonly referred to as the Spanish flu. We also looked at the Black Plague of 1347, which was a very interesting time to look at and compare. We all enjoyed making comparisons between now and then, history is one of the best teachers after all. It was a good opportunity to give our perspectives on the current Covid-19 pandemic and our own situation as well as share our coping strategies.

The students engaged positively in all these units and showed their resilience by working well in this remote learning environment. Well done, everyone

Maths

Before the lockdown of Term 3, students finished off Term 2 being creative and making any 3D shapes they liked using Jelly Beans and Toothpicks. Students put in so much effort not only in creating the shapes, but "engineering" their designs for the shape to remain balanced, and to remain upright and sturdy. Kaitlyn managed to make the largest shape, and spend a great amount of time "engineering" her design to ensure she could keep making it bigger and bigger. Students did an amazing job being creative, but also being practical in creating a design that remained upstanding (which was rather difficult as the shapes got bigger).

TAS

Evans High school’s Hospitality students love using commercial kitchen and equipment and take pride in learning and developing new skills whilst preparing various foods and beverages at school. They have showcased their culinary and food service skills on various occasions.

Remote Learning has obstructed our students’ ability to develop their culinary skills in the school’s commercial kitchen, however Year 11 Hospitality students were given an opportunity to further develop their cooking skills and learn new recipes and various techniques of cooking while staying at home. They were provided an easy recipe with pictures. Students participated with great interest and produced high quality food item showcasing their skills even in the home learning environment.

Here are the few examples of students’ cooked food.

English

Year 7

Year 7 have been working hard from home and learning many skills. These skills have seen them understanding the basics of nouns, verbs, adjectives and sentence structure along with general grammar and punctuation activities. Students have engaged in further developing their knowledge through a range of writing technique tasks where they have been focusing on imaginative writing.

Year 8

In English, Year 8 have been working on developing their writing skills by identifying and analysing the structure and features of imaginative texts and examining how authors convey significant ideas through inference. Using what they have learnt from model texts and examples, students have been composing their own short imaginative texts inspired by a range of stimuli to experiment with using descriptive language techniques and characterisation strategies in their own writing.

Year 9

Year 9 began the term working on revision of the parts of speech – nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. They then used their understanding of the parts of speech to work on their imaginative writing skills, particularly their ability to write descriptively and use imagery to build mood and atmosphere in their writing. Following this imaginative writing focus, students then spent several weeks learning about discursive writing and the writing strategies and skills that they need to use to build a sense of individual personal voice in their writing. They have ended the term with revision on reading comprehension and literacy strategies.

Year 10

This term Year 10 have been working on imaginative writing. Students were given a range of stimulus material such as prompts based on familiar texts, thought-provoking images and lead-in sentences to promote and increase engagement in writing. Students have been working on developing a complex representation of the setting and characters in their imaginative texts through developing their use of a variety of language and writing techniques. They were provided with scaffolds and tables to help plan and organise their ideas. There has been some very creative and engaging writing coming from students. It has been great to see them using their imaginations and creating such evocative images and characters.

Year 11 English Standard

In Standard English, Year 11 have been undertaking a close study of Edgar Allan Poe's classic text The Fall of the House of Usher. Students have closely and critically analysed the language and stylistic choices made by Poe to develop tone, mood and characterisation throughout the text and they have evaluated the impact of these choices on the reader's experience. Making use of the knowledge they have gained from their close study, students have composed their own suspense-filled short stories influenced by Poe's style.

Year 11 English Advanced

The English Advanced class has been undertaking a critical study of Othello by William Shakespeare this term. Students have completed a scene-by-scene analysis of the play and they have engaged with a series of writing tasks to extend their critical thinking skills and their capacity to write imaginatively and discursively about the characters and ideas in the play. The quality of work submitted by students has been high and has shown an impressive ability to work at a consistently high standard individually at home.

Year 12 English Standard and Advanced

Year 12 Standard and Advanced students completed their study of Module C: The Craft of Writing this term before engaging in structured revision of each of their modules. They have completed a modified version of their HSC Trial Examinations online. From now until the HSC Examinations in Term 4, students will be continuing to revise each module and writing skills required for their examinations. Online lessons will continue to be held and are an important opportunity for students to communicate with their teacher and peers where they are able to ask questions and discuss ideas in a collaborative learning environment. All Year 12 students are strongly encouraged to participate in their online lessons and to regularly ask questions and communicate with their class teacher via Google Classroom.

German

Guten Tag! In term 3, students in 7H, 7R, 8T, 8S, 9ONE and 9TWO have continued their German journey online. They have learnt:

- The question words (who, what, why, etc.)

- The names of classroom items

- How to talk about their hobbies

- How to talk about their family

- The numbers 21-100

- Lots and lots of grammar, including: gender, verb conjugation, sentence structure and possessive pronouns.

Learning a language during the lockdown period has definitely presented its challenges. It’s hard to do speaking practice when you don’t have access to your speaking partners, for example. However, I’m proud to say that a good number of students have risen to the occasion in the areas of reading, writing and listening.

Hopefully we will all be able to say ‘Hallo’ to one another in person soon. Tschüß! (Bye!)

Japanese

Year 7 - 9

This term, Years 7-9 Japanese students must be commended for persevering through online lessons and classes. They have learnt how to discuss the following topics in Japanese: where they come from and where they live, classroom commands, asking for permission, animals and zodiac years. In addition, they have also learnt about different kinds of Japanese food and they can discuss their food preferences in Japanese. Currently, they are learning how to tell the time in Japanese. Students have also had the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of Japan through topics such as Hiroshima, Tokyo Olympics 2021, Harajuku and Anime. Evans Japanese students must be congratulated on their resilience and efforts this term.

Year 10

This term, Year 10 Japanese students have learnt how to express themselves in Japanese in a number of topics. Under the unit "Home Life", they have begun developing a strong cross-cultural awareness by comparing and discussing Japanese and Australian homes. They have expanded their knowledge of Japanese vocabulary, learning a variety of commonly used nouns and adjectives. They have also learnt how to express their strengths and weaknesses in Japanese. The Year 10 Japanese students thoroughly enjoyed the "Food" unit, learning the names of different kinds of Japanese foods and how to express their own food preferences. Currently, they have just begun the unit "School Life". This unit will allow students to further their understanding of both Japanese and their own cultures whilst extending their skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking Japanese. The Year 10 Japanese students must be commended for their resilience and commitment to learning despite the exceptional circumstances of Term 3.