2024 Yearbook

ENGLISH MATTERS

PATRICIA STADTMILLER

English KLA

Thank you to the English team for 2024 – Mrs Mergard, Ms McLachlan, Mr Bell, Ms Rogers, Mr Bigwood, Mrs Duff, Mrs Cooke, Ms Buchanan and Mrs Cullen. Your expertise, professionalism and willingness to work collaboratively to facilitate optimal teaching and learning is highly valued. Our English staff have enjoyed the opportunities presented by the implementation of the new Year 7 and Year 9 English syllabuses in 2024 and look forward to the implementation of the new Year 8 and 10 syllabuses in 2025. Thank you to our Inclusive Education staff - Mrs Livolsi, Mrs Cusack, Mrs McKnight, Mrs Hughes, Mrs Cafe, Miss Cass and Mr Prindable who are such an integral part of our differentiated learning programs and enrich the educational opportunities for our students. Thank you also to Mrs Cullen for overseeing the coordination of Inclusive Education within the College and to our librarians Mrs Smith and Mrs Shean for supporting our students’ love of reading. Importantly, thank you to all our students, their parents and care-givers for their commitment to dynamic learning in English. Within the English Department in 2024 we have been focusing on the College’s Classroom Mastery initiatives. These are designed to: create consistently productive, safe and calm learning environments; improve student learning outcomes through increased engagement; and effectively apply evidence from the Science of Learning and the insights of cognitive load theory. Our English students have been honing their English skills and knowledge in preparation for the increasing academic rigour they will experience in 2025, developing their appreciation of the rich and varied literary world particularly in relation to creative and critical writing, historical fiction, multi-media texts, picture books and poetry. In 2024 our Year 7 and 8 students had the pleasure of participating in the live performance of Poetry in Action titled “The Power of Poetry” which introduced students to poetry that contains some large ideas and lots of heart. This show followed a fractured attempt by the Poetry in Action troupe to present a show with their star actor, Candice, missing in action. Their challenge was to be able to convey the power of poetry with a ring-in actor with no knowledge of poetry and to express how poetry can perfectly capture a moment, transform an opinion and bring about change. Years 9 and 10 were similarly engaged when watching a performance of “Words of War” which brought to life the world and works of Wilfred Owen. This captivating show reverberated with passion, anger, humour and heartbreak as it followed the life and works of Owen and the influences that led him to become one of the most striking and brilliant voices of his era. This dynamic show took students through the horror, heroism and hopelessness of conflict; examining people’s attitudes to war and how, through Owen’s poetry, we can come to a better understanding of war today.

Our English staff have been privileged to journey with our students and their families throughout 2024. We wish all our teachers, students and families a safe, happy and holy Christmas season.