English News

The tragedy of poor Othello!

On the morning of Tuesday, July 19 a group of Year 10-12 students travelled to the city to see a production of William Shakespeare’s Othello.

We arrived at The Arts Centre at 10am and were sent off briefly, after a roll call, to buy food for ourselves, before we headed inside along with several other schools. The eerie lighting of the scene as we entered instantly induced a hush over the audience, and the lone character lying motionless on the stage produced a sense of intrigue within us, as we impatiently awaited the beginning of the production. The play was a captivating piece of theatre, and as we learned afterwards the actors had spent almost 8 weeks rehearsing in order for us, and countless others across the country, to experience the creative genius of Shakespeare hundreds of years after his works were written.

After the experience, time was set aside for members of the audience to ask questions of the actors. Many students had intelligent queries on the significance of themes and props, as well as the nature of the production itself. This allowed students to discover far more about the play, and what professionals thought were the most important aspects of it. The valuable experience of this gave us a far more in depth understanding of the play and its characters and themes.

Othello centres on the fall of the play’s namesake and protagonist, a great general of Venice. It’s status as a tragedy gives away the fatal nature of the ending, however the exact outcome for each character is something that will keep viewers guessing until the very end.

Overall, the experience of Othello was a valuable one for the all the students involved, and hopefully there are more opportunities for similar events in future.

Thomas Ellis - Year 10

Students Benefit from Speaker's Expertise

The Year 12 Mainstream English students were exceptionally fortunate to receive a lecture from experienced teacher, Mrs Louise Piva, on Wednesday July 20. Mrs Piva is an English exam assessor, currently lectures at Monash University and is completing her Master’s Degree in improving the writing of senior English students.

During her 90-minute presentation the students were given opportunities to write and to edit their work.  Mrs Piva provided excellent tips such as breaking down the writing process into smaller and varied pieces; comparing and preparing for the exams to getting reading for a marathon.  She also looked closely at some of the mistakes students make in their writing, modelling how these could be rectified to enable more erudite and effective communication.

Feedback from the students included the following:

“One of the most helpful presentations on writing I have listened to.”

“A wonderful opportunity to learn more about the fine art of writing.”

“Clear and comprehensive.”

“A highly beneficial experience.”

“I liked how she showed us quick ways to improve our writing immediately.”

“Mrs Piva was both insightful and motivating.”

“I enjoyed how she gave us pieces of writing to try and edit ourselves.”

The Year 12 English Team

PESA 2016

The Plain English Speaking Award (PESA) is a highly prestigious competition run by VCAA. It celebrates the ability to make a point and to persuade or delight an audience, using simple speech.

Nossal was given the honour of hosting the regional finals for this competition on May 24. We had significant success with myself, Cree Oliveira, being awarded the runner up and Abhishek Kumar of Year Ten winning the day and advancing to the semi-finals which were held in Melbourne on Tuesday June 22.

Abhishek and his support squad went to the Department of Education and Training for this highly selective level of the competition.

Only 24 students from the entire state were invited and six speeches in total were given in Abhishek’s heat. The topics ranged from islamophobia to indigenous incarceration, and included a (satirical) explanation of why we ought to destroy New Zealand. Abhishek gave a compelling articulation in support of a ‘culture of responsibility’. All of the speeches showed a high level of consideration, research and preparation along the lines of their respective topics.

After the prepared speeches came the highlight of the day – the impromptu round. It was far more enjoyable to watch than to participate in, as contestants were given only four minutes to prepare a three minute speech on an unseen topic. This year, that topic was “life is what you make it.” Undaunted by such an intimidating task, Abhishek gave an incredible performance. Although ripping up his only cue card in the first thirty seconds of his speech made some members of his audience anxious (myself and Ms Banaag), Abhishek definitely pulled it off with an outstanding speech urging us all to realise the privileges in our own lives. The judges had the unenviable job of deciding who to send through to the national finals and unfortunately Abhishek was not selected this year. However, he has certainly made us extremely proud of his efforts. Well done Abhishek!

Cree Oliviera - Year 11