English Studies ______________________________Pages

In 2017, students in Year 8 and Year 9 experienced English delivered as projects, sometimes integrated with Humanities and at other times, as a discrete stand-alone subject. This exciting approach to the delivery of English, not only encourages students to engage more deeply with text, but to work as a team to create products that are presented in real world settings. The implementation of Project Based Learning in core subjects, allows students to investigate topics, themes and issues in depth. The initial data from this year in terms of learning outcomes and engagement are very encouraging. With the implementation of the new VCE study guide, students in Year 11 and Year 12 have embraced the comparison of texts, analysis of language to persuade an audience and the opportunity to respond to texts in a creative way. The implementation of ‘Edrolo’ – an online flipped learning resource – has enabled Year 12 students to access content from expert presenters beyond the classroom. Year 12 students began the year with the study of the gothic classic, ‘Frankenstein’. In early Term 3, Josh Nelson’s engaging presentation on the comparative texts, ‘Invictus’ and ‘Ransom’ prepared the students well for their School-assessed Coursework task.

Michael Goss - English Curriculum Area Leader YEAR 7 ENGLISH

In 2017, Year 7 students at St Joseph’s College were given the opportunity to engage with visiting authors Oliver Phommavanh and Michael Panckridge. Both writers shared stories of their families and childhoods, and explained how their experiences continue to inspire their writing. The boys also learned about what it is to be a published author and gained insight into the processes involved in writing a novel.

Year 7 Reflections on meeting Oliver and Michael:

I enjoyed it when Michael Panckridge came to Joey’s because when he was talking, it was mostly about when he was our age to inspire us to write stories. I was actually interested in what he was talking about because he was talking about footy and sports and stories from his childhood. – Adam Puglia Oliver was my favourite out of the two authors because he was really funny and brought lots of props when he talked to us. I also liked him because he had lots of energy when he ran around the stage. He was very entertaining and I enjoyed listening to his talk. – Oliver Telfer I thought that what Oliver said was very interesting about how he got his inspiration and I thought it was a bit funny. It made me want to read his book but then he told me that it wasn’t getting sold anymore and I was annoyed because it sounded really interesting. But I realised that I wouldn’t like to be a writer because it sounded like it was something that you need lots of patience for and I’m not very patient.

– Tom Pearson

Year 7 English Reflections

In English this year, I enjoyed going to the library and writing my first essay. – Gabriel Brdar In English this year, I have been challenged by spelling and grammar. I have worked hard to overcome them and I think I am improving. – William Watt In English this year, I have developed my essay writing skills. I used detail, punctuation and editing skills. – Joshua Manly In English this year, I have enjoyed reading books like Thai-riffic! – Joseph Lucas

YEAR 10 LITERATURE

As a student of English Literature, it was a pleasant surprise when I was asked to write for the school about the subject and what literature entails, and have a chance to share my own experiences that I have gathered throughout the year. I was always keen on the idea of furthering my English abilities the same way it is possible to do so in Maths, so when I was offered the opportunity to be part of the extended English class for Year 10, it was something I couldn’t pass on. Most of the boys in the class will agree that the reason Extension English is such a successful class, is that all students who are involved love English and are actively trying to improve their skills. I didn’t realise how beneficial this united passion for the subject would be until I started the year, but it was something that I was positively surprised by. The curriculum covered in this course differs from mainstream English in several ways. Extension English students this year were given a wide variety of texts such as novels, plays and films ranging from Shakespeare’s classic “Macbeth” to an under the radar film “The Black Balloon” which focused on disability and the effects that it has. After having such a great year, it was hard for me to select my favourite moment, however my highlight reel consists of learning Macbeth in Term 2 and submitting my Heywire piece. Heywire is a challenge hosted by the ABC; the task was to

Oliver Phommavanh being “Thai-Riffic” Oliver Phommavanh being “Thai-Riffic”

Books by Books by Michael Pankridge Pankridge

write a short segment about life living in a rural area which led to me seeing some new sides to my peers. The whole class found the competition enjoyable and worthwhile. I found it especially fun given that I was able to write about sport. Macbeth was a different style of writing and was challenging yet in a positive way, I really found it easy to enjoy English while we were learning it. A major benefit of Literature is that it provides a great chance to improve on writing skills, as language and techniques involved in writing the perfect essays are a large focus in the teachings. To summarise the year, participating in the extended English class was something I found extremely enjoyable and rewarding. I was able to participate in a fun class whilst still honing my writing skills which I can apply in VCE. I would not hesitate to recommend the class to any upcoming students. - William Ryan, Year10

YEAR 11 ENGLISH

The creative task in VCE English encourages students to adapt an original text or add to it. The piece below is an excerpt from one of our Year 11 students and is a great example of one student’s adaptation of a short story taken from Alice Pung’s Growing up Asian in Australia.

The Water Buffalo

On a stinking hot December afternoon in Sydney I was born. The eldest daughter of my family. As soon as I could sit up my father fed me book after book, transforming me into possibly the most literate toddler in Australia.

As I was growing up, my mother used to paint beautiful pictures full of colour and joy. My father never saw the use in painting, not until many, many years later. When I was nearing the end of primary school my life changed forever. My mother passed away after a drawn out, ultimately useless battle with cancer, leaving three children and a father completely lost. All of those beautiful vibrant colours she had painted drained from the world, leaving a hopeless, desolate landscape of grey in their wake. My mother was always the one I could understand, the one I could bond with. She was always available, always there in the moment. My father seemed to be the polar opposite: difficult to connect with, hard to understand, always there but never really there at the same time. He was a stranger, someone who was far, far away and that made me feel like a stranger; who are we without our parents? One morning I came across my father sitting watching a documentary about buffalos. By this time, I knew that there was something in his past, something he could not let go of. I had heard him calling out foreign and unfamiliar names in anguish during many nights. Sick of feeling as fatherless as I was motherless, I approached him. “Dad”, I said as I sat next to him, “tell me about your life before you came here”. I wanted to know what it had been like, what he had seen, who he really was. He remained silent, as if carefully considering how he should respond. The narrator of the documentary continued talking, “despite the buffalo’s ability to adapt to its environment, it is physiologically less able to adapt to extremes of heat and cold than various breeds of cattle”. Finally, my father replied, “some things are better left in the past, buried with our dreams and our nightmares”. I didn’t ask my father about the subject again for a very long time. As I moved through high school, I always felt some anger towards my father. He was emotionally unstable when I needed him to be a sturdy rock onto which I could hold as life rushed around me like a wave, building up with each new worry as it neared the shore. I finished school with flying colours, succumbing to my father’s idea to study medicine when deep down I knew my aspirations lay elsewhere; I dreamt of a land as forbidden as the memories my father kept secret. Years later, when I broke the news that I was leaving the hospital to pursue my painting, I could read the disappointment in my father’s eyes. A terrible argument ensued, leaving a rift between us that would last for years to come. When I received word that he was dying, I arrived to find his frail body lying on a bed of regret. He asked me to bring him a canvas and paints before he locked himself in his room for what felt like an eternity before finally revealing to me his final gift: a painting. The canvas revealed the endless suffering, hundreds of stories, a lifetime of heroism and pockets of private hopes. I saw time, humanity and war. I understood it all, how he had truly cared for me, how he could not let go, how he had already lost so much before I lost my mother. In the centre of it all was a buffalo, its eyes full of sadness. It was my father. I was so maddeningly close to his world, but still so far away. I was both condemned and freed. I had found my father’s heart and now I had to find my own.

- Lachlan Francis, Year 11