English Writing

English Writing students have been studying poetry over Term One. For many, this was a new experience, and pushed students to challenge their approach to writing. This unit teaches students to examine each and every word, and consider how language can be used in new and interesting ways. The course aims to refine students' use of language, writing in several different forms including poetry, short story, familiar essay and an individual project of the student's choice. The polished pieces are used as part of a folio that students are required to submit at the end of the year.

English Writing teacher, Shane Wolfe, approached the unit by exposing students to many different poets, and assessing the unit through submission of an atmospheric piece of writing based on place and an ekphrastic piece of poetry as a response to an image. 

Here is a finished atmosphere piece by student, Charlotte Robertson: 

Under the Highway

Under the bridge

the walls tremble,

like a spider crouched

at the centre of its web

after someone’s thrown a rock.

The sun’s lights simmer,

dancing on the river below,

tiptoeing up to shadowed pockets

where the girders shudder.

Shoes kick stones

which scatter,

shrieking like birds across the concrete pylon,

then retreating into the shadows.

Under the tunnel’s arc

people-less faces stare

spraypainted over names,

watching hours mingle together.

Under the highway,

the once vibrant paint slows,

taking the time to pack up,

before they leave,

wandering away with the wind.

English 3

In English 3, students have started the year with an adaptation unit. Students in Darren Close's class have been looking at short story, So Much Water So Close to Home by Raymond Carver and the film, Jindabyne, directed by Ray Lawrence. 

Students are assessed through essay comparing the two texts, examining the themes and how texts change meaning from one form to another, and through a creative task. Students were asked to produce an imaginative multimodal piece, along with a 500-word justification identifying the symbolism of the piece. 

Student Lauren Page produced this painting: