1997 School Magazine
(!girls ®rammar ~clJool ~risbane 1997
Faculty of English
I n 1997, the Faculty continued its commitment to enriching the range and quality of student learning in the subject, in and out of the classroom, through the integration of, and exposure to, a diverse range of learning experiences in our Programs, which incorporate an eclectic range of Media and Cultural Studies, including deconstruction of popular texts in magazines, newspapers, film, and television; Literacy and Language studies; and studies of contempora1y and classical literature. In all of these areas, we integrate and exploit the latest technology as a means of diversifying and extending student learning. Such diversification included the visit of the Bell Shake-
David Parmiter visited the school in July to present a two- hour session on documentaty filmmaking, this seminar being an integral component of Year Twelve Media Studies, providing them as it does with invaluable insights into the skills and techniques necessa1y for the devision and scripting of their own documenta1y film proposals, their major assignment in Se- mester Four. Mr Parmiter's expertise is extensive, including as it does lecturing for the Australian Film and Television School and universities, working as a former ABC Senior Education Television Producer, and running his own freelance video production company, which produces a range of documenta- ries, corporate films and training programs. Award-win -
speare Company, whose perform- ance of To Kill A King in the GehrmannTheatre provided provoca- tive insights into [rel interpretations of scenes from Hamlet, this being the focus of the Year Twelve D1:ama Unit in Term Three. The performance was followed by lively discussion, in re- sponse to ques- tions posed by ac- tors and audience alike, proving that the crucial philo- sophic issues and
ning author,James Moloney, was al so a welcome guest of the school, vis- iting an enthusias- tic Year Nine level, all of whom had studied his latest novel, A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove, which this yea r won the Children's Book Coun c il Award for Older Readers. This ena- bled our students to hear the author's own comments about his novel, and to engage in discussion not only about areas
Bell Shakespeare Company
of interpretation of the novel, but also about the craft of ficti on writing as a whole.
questions confronting the enigmatic central character ofHamlet resonate as much with young people today as they have done in past generations. It also gave our Seniors the opportunity to compare the Kenneth Branagh four-hour film version of the text, which they had seen earlier in a private cinema screening arranged specially for the school. As an integral part of our curriculum emphasis on contem- poraty Australian literature, and our aim that students are exposed to theatre in all its complexity as live production, rather than simply as text, the Year Eleven students attended the international premiere of David Williamson's latest play, After the Ball, at the Suncorp Theatre . As a culmination of their Contemporaty Australian Drama Unit, students then wrote reviews of the production for 'publication' in the theatre magazine, On Stage, thus demonstrating their skills both as theatre critics, and as writers who have learned to utilise and control the textual features of a range of genres.
Year 11 students welcome Damien Pare,; well-known film director, who woi·ked with them on their Elective Unit on Australian film.
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