English update

After a long period of watching and waiting patiently, the English department and classes finally moved into our beautiful new building at the start of term. With eight brand new classrooms, we are excited to make these spaces meaningful and functional for our students. We are setting expectations high and students have been fantastic at meeting them and adjusting to this change. It was wonderful to see how excited both staff and students have been during tours of the new building, especially regarding some of the new features like study pods, foldable walls and a more open, collaborative and welcoming environment.

Welcome Reading culture

With the new building comes new ideas, and something we are going to be starting to look at across all classes is promoting a culture of reading for pleasure. Research shows that reading for pleasure declines in high school years, and yet the academic, health and social benefits are worth making this a habit. Some of our early initiatives include posters that being visibility to the joys and positive outcomes of reading for pleasure, and some classrooms have ‘Borrowing Stations’ that students are to browse and borrow from. These are from teachers’ own personal book collections and reflect the way we are modelling reading for pleasure as an enjoyable and beneficial pastime. Students are also encouraged to ask (and be asked) ‘what are YOU currently reading?’ and to share book recommendations and anecdotes. More to come – watch this space!

Book Week

Week Five of this term is Book Week. This year’s theme is ‘Book an Adventure!’. The English and Library staff are working on a range of activities for students to get involved, such as an Amazing Race, match the staff member to their adventure, book cover design and much more.