2014 School Magazine

English

YEAR 9 ENGLISH

In Term III, I particularly enjoyed learning about Australian values as it was quite different to other topics I have previously studied. My peers and I learnt a lot about Australian character traits and could apply this to our everyday lives. MIRABELLE PUN (9H) The most enjoyable element for me in English this year was finishing the spelling section of our Successful English textbook; it really broadened my vocabulary. MIA KAPERNICK (9L) Of all the activities in English this year, I found the wider reading tasks interesting and challenging. Wider reading tasks push us beyond our comfort zone and usual reading genres. It also allows students to improve their English and discover hidden interests. LUCY YUAN (9O) When I was set the daunting task of writing my own short story I was both frightened and exhilarated as writing has always been a passion of mine. As I wrote my story, the creative side of me was on fire with different concepts and characters that could possibly be on the page. This task gave me a sense of control and imagination. BREEZE MATHEWS (9M) This year I found English fascinating as it provided an opportunity to improve my grammar, writing, spelling and speaking skills. My favourite aspect of English this year was writing my own short story with the theme of ‘Journeys’. I found this assignment really helped to improve my creative writing skills whilst being very enjoyable. ELLEN WINNING (9E)

YEAR 8 ENGLISH I have really enjoyed English this year. We started with persuasive writing, which was great, and I especially liked Term II because we studied Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream . In primary school I did a play on it and really enjoyed that, so it was interesting to learn about it in more depth. It was a very interesting storyline with lots of twists and turns. REBECCA JAK (8W) English is exciting, eloquent and extremely enticing as it extensively educates us in the expressive and emotional art of reveries and rhyme and effectual writing. HANNAH NGUYEN (8O) I really enjoyed English this year, especially Shakespeare. The play was a delight to study with many lovable characters and a great storyline. I think learning English is a great way to learn different methods of expressing yourself through text and speech. We learnt the basics of writing good essays, poems and diary entries through enjoyable class discussions and informative texts. LYNETTE WONG (8O) I enjoyed many aspects of learning Shakespeare this year. I began thinking that it’ll be a bore and no fun at all. But I soon found myself amused by Puck’s cheeky personality and amazed by the magical love juice. WENDY ZHAO (8W) JUNIOR WRITERS-IN-RESIDENCE This year I participated in the Junior Writers-in-Residence programme. Melaina Faranda, author of many successful books including The Circle series, spoke to us. She kept us engaged and entertained by telling us her own stories, many of which were very funny. She took us through different writing activities which included her holding up an object or saying a word and then we would have to write about something it made us think of. On the second day, Melaina gave us some very valuable tips for editing our own work. I really liked the programme, I found the whole experience really enjoyable. XIAONING THOMPSON (10W)

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