English Miss Lisa Mack Head of English It is with a sense of achievement that I outline the many incursions, excursions and competitions we have offered in our English courses this year. With the introduction of our new ATAR English, Literature and general units, came the opportunity to start from scratch with our Year 11 programs, to make them even more educationally rich, rewarding and aligned to the national curriculum. For example, our Year 11s in Term 1 were thrilled to, not only study the text Jasper Jones, but to speak up close and personally with its author, Craig Silvey. It was an invaluable experience as students were able to ask him many questions relating to his text’s powerful themes and his life as an internationally famous author. The lads queued into lunchtime and eagerly awaited a chance to have their books signed and to get a selfie opportunity. Furthermore, the College was abuzz with the arrival of nationally famous rapper Marksman Lloyd in Term 1. Our Year 12 1CD students studied his latest CD Rewrite the Ending and hung out with this inspirational role model. By lunchtime the library was filled with students who had been part of his seminars throughout the day. As he performed, many boys danced, clapped and excitedly shouted out the words to his songs. Most students from Years 7–11 were encouraged by his promotion of the arts. In particular, Marksman taught the boys how to rap, express their feelings in writing and to be a man with integrity. Moreover, our Year 11 Literature students enjoyed the performance of Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus at the University of WA and in Term 2 our entire Year 12 cohort spent an immersion day at Curtin University with many other local schools attending. We were proud of our College’s presence on the day, as our lads took the full day seriously; they attended all the lectures with maturity and a willingness to prepare for their end of year exams. Middle School English has also offered the boys many creative and dynamic opportunities this year. Boys in several English classes were fortunate enough to experience the first day of The Giants surreal journey through the city. A brisk walk to Langley Park commenced our observation of the Little Girl Giant being dressed in a yellow raincoat by the talented and skilled Lilliputians, where she then began her search for the Diver Giant. With water spraying from her boat, the boys were able to see the commencement of her travels along the edges of Langley Park. For some, it was anti-climactic, but for many the experience was breathtaking, and so the boys were eager to revisit The Giants over the weekend. The boys certainly enjoyed their rediscovery of puppetry on a grand scale. 214
Author Craig Silvey explains the motivation behind the plot of Jasper Jones to students
Students with Craig Silvey
Marksman Lloyd gets students rapping in the Senior Library
