As we approach the halfway mark of the term, our focus begins to shift from teacher-lead, direct instruction, to student lead drafting and assessment. It is therefore very important that students are attending as many English lessons as possible, and catching up on missed lessons when they are absent.

Student engagement and attendance is also instrumental in demonstrating student ethical scholarship practices. Ethical scholarship means that students are responsible for ensuring the work they submit is their own. Submitting a draft on time is only a small part of the process and students need to be demonstrating their knowledge throughout the process by meeting check points, completing work in class where teachers can see the process and acknowledging sources of support including peers, tutors and even generative AI platforms.

If students require extensions, or are absent for assessment, please ensure they are completing the relevant forms and providing the relevant documentation for their year level. Your first port of call is your child’s Head of Year, as classroom teachers are not in a position to grant extensions.

Over the last 4 weeks, our students have been engaged in a number of fantastic learning experiences and opportunities.

Getting to know students at the start of the year is always fun – but finding the right activity to get the most information about students is sometimes tricky. This year Ms Diesing challenged her Year 9 English class to introduce themselves using only six words; to publish their own Six Word Memoir. Ms Diesing was amazed at the depth of understanding that can be gained from just six words. What a fantastic way to learn about the young people we work with! Please find below some of the memoirs of our year 9A English class.

7A dived into the delicious world of descriptive writing. To help us develop our use of imagery, we were each given a cookie and the task to describe it in great detail. We saw the intricate designs stamped into it, smelled the sweet aroma, heard the sound of chunks cascading onto the desk and felt our patience being tested to the limit before finally tasting the tantalising treat. Then we got to work crafting a paragraph describing the afternoon.

On 15th February 2024 our Year 11 General English students engaged with a virtual guest speaker, a PhD Candidate at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology who is currently writing a thesis about the misrepresentation of individuals and groups by the media. Jonathon Barratt provided students with real world experiences by outlining his research process, what he considers when looking at representations, and answered students’ questions our students. This was an excellent opportunity as our year 11’s begin planning for their first Year 11 English assessment. We look forward to their submissions in the coming weeks!

Thank you to Ms Marks and Ms Brown for their contribution to this edition.