Year 12 ATAR English and Literature Conference

On Wednesday, June 18 the Year 12 ATAR English and Literature students headed out in the rain to Curtin University to attend a range of lectures related to the syllabus and exam preparation. They were treated to some engaging, practical and inspiring talks from a range of teachers and professors on the topics of postcolonial literature, speculative fiction, creative non-fiction and examination skills. The Literature students were lucky enough to experience our very own Ms Stokes presenting her lecture on how to approach the Literature exam. Our students conducted themselves in an exceptional manner and expressed their enthusiasm for the speakers and the take-home messages from the day.

 Young Writers Collective

On Tuesday 20^th of May five inquisitive students: Charlotte Warburton, Jodie Mikosza, Joseph Palmer, Scarlett and Grier Courtenay, attended the Young Writer's Collective at the Fremantle Literature Centre with guest speaker, Western Australian author Alexander Thorpe. In the seminar, the students put on their detective hats and dove into the genre of crime fiction. They started with 'whodunnit' scenarios, where they created mystery scenarios with an array of suspects. They used Thorpe's method of 'the reverse skeleton' which involved planning a crime narrative with motives, detectives and a trail of breadcrumb clues. Their stories included a wide range of plots including Jodie's minor crime of tax evasion to Joseph's more intense murder with a twist! Students said they enjoyed the experience and were delighted by the curious nature of crime fiction. 

 Year 7 Poetry In-Action Incursion

The Year 7s recently experienced the Poets Quest incursion to discover how themes and messages are communicated through poetry. They were treated to an engaging performance that showed different styles of poetry and how the use of poetic devices can help you become the Ultimate Rhyme Lord. Both students and staff had a great time and the Year 7s were an exceptional audience.

 Year 7 Poetry

To build on their understanding of representation of place in Australian poetry, Year 7 students from Ms Pescodd’s class wrote haiku poems based on the current Noongar season (Makuru). After learning about the different seasons they went on a silent nature walk around the school where they made observations of the effects of the season on the natural environment with a focus on applying descriptive and sensory language in their haikus.

 Year 9 Science Fiction

The year 9 students have been working hard on writing science fiction stories this semester. One standout example is below, from Jax Hannah.