2017 School Magazine

English has proven to be a rather amazing exercise in reading The Importance of Being Earnest , which leaves one feeling flabbergasted at how very entertaining it is.

The most interesting thing I did in English this year was group activities — being able to combine with other students and discuss ideas. It was interesting to see how many different ideas people had.

While I have enjoyed every aspect of Year 8 English, from the beauty of Australian poetry to the incredible depth of A Midsummer Night’s Dream , my favourite element of the year was the chance to design our own book cover. I found this task fun, creative, and engaging, as it gave us a chance to apply the insightful themes of the novel in a unique way.

I most enjoyed exploring the themes in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird . While I had read it before, studying it in class helped me pick up on many subtle but vital lines. This unit meant that I now read and analyse more carefully.

I deeply enjoyed the Poetry Unit we did … because it was fun to write our own poems and present them to the class. This inspired my love of poetry and pushed me to participate in the SlammEd workshop and lunchtime slams too.

I love English because when writing you can forget to think and calculate, and, for a moment, you can just feel.

I find English an exhilarating subject where I’m able to let loose my wild and creative imagination.

I realised how far I’ve come, especially in oral presentations. This has given me confidence that in my future career I know that presenting in front of an audience is my strength.

My teacher made the classes more enjoyable, because sometimes things became class discussions which made it easier to learn because we were able to relate better to the topics.

I learned that classics can actually be pretty cool. Shout out to Mr Darcy, am I right?

This year, English has risen to become one of my favourite subjects. I’ve learned how powerful words and ideas can be, and I absolutely love that I can express my own opinions through my own words.

I am not a big reader, but my favourite topic this year was Pride and Prejudice . I absolutely loved it.

SLAM POETRY 2017

they were then challenged to read in a variety of emotions and performance styles. The workshop culminated in a lunchtime slam in the Gehrmann Theatre where all thirteen girls participated enthusiastically and confidently. Competition was fierce with only three points separating the top three slammers. The overall winner was Ailish Luke Martin (12O). Ailish and Megha Prasad (12M) were selected to participate in a SlammED! Masterclass at the State Library of Queensland before competing in the SlammED! Grand Final on Saturday 26 August, at the Judith Wright Centre, where both performed exceptionally well. Our slam poetry enthusiasts also had the opportunity to participate in an afterschool slam poetry workshop, hosted by a visiting American poet, Sierra DeMulder. The workshops provided an invaluable opportunity to watch and learn from a professional touring poet. MS JULIE SMITH, ENGLISH TEACHER AND SLAM POETRY CO-ORDINATOR

Now in its third year, the Slam Poetry ECA continues to go from strength to strength. This year’s programme began with the Year 8 cohort competing in class poetry slams as part of their unit on ‘Identity in Poetry’. The winner from each class competed in the Year 8 Poetry Slam, won by Susannah Hinchey (8W). Term II saw the return of the Arts Week poetry slam, a popular and well-attended event won by Ellen Wilson (12L). In July, Sophie Conias (8R), Zoe Greenslade (8R), Susannah Hinchey (8W), Tara Bashirzadeh (8R), Eve Zelich (8L), Abigail King (8R), Brooke Goston (8E), Emma Wall (11W), Helena Gandhi (11O), Ellen Wilson (12L), Ailish Luke Martin (12O), Megha Prasad (12M) and Charlotte Than (12O) participated in a SlammED! workshop run by visiting performance artist, Caitlin Armstrong. The workshop introduced the concept of sehnsucht: a German word that describes a yearning and wistful longing for an imagined place where one truly belongs. Students’ prose responses were transformed into simple nine-word poems that

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2017 | CURRICULUM | 077