Year 9 Ako

This term our students had the opportunity to choose their own novels to read from a selection offered by the teachers. The titles that sparked their interest were “The boy in Striped Pyjamas’, “The Wave”, and “I am not Esther”. The freedom to pick their novels led to an enthusiastic buzz in the classroom. Some students were so hooked that they kept asking for more reading time - they couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

But it wasn’t just about reading for pleasure, our students have been actively engaged in the process. They have been jotting down notes and collecting evidence as they read, knowing that these notes would come in handy when it was time to write their essay.

We are now stepping into the next phase of our literacy journey. With novels complete, we are gearing up to teach our students how to plan and write an academic essay. Please don’t worry, we are taking it slow and steady, providing ample support and scaffolding to ensure every student can succeed.

Surprisingly many students from last year found essay writing to be a highlight of their year. They felt immense pride in their final results as they could see the value in this learning and that these were essential skills that would serve them well in the future.

In week 10, we will challenge ourselves by writing our essays under exam conditions. You might think this is a bit early in their schooling for such a task but we firmly believe that it is crucial for our students to learn these skills now. The nerves and jitters are natural, but they are also an opportunity for our students to understand and cope with these feelings. When they face higher stakes assessments in the future, they won’t be strangers to these emotions.

In addition to our literary adventures, we are also at the stave where we are completing the assessment for Our Body Systems. After fitness testing, each student sets a health related goal that they have actively been working on. Now, they are documenting their findings and explaining which body systems benefited from their targeted exercises.

We, the 9Ako teachers, are incredibly proud of our students' achievements and growth this year and look forward to more exciting things to come.

As always, thank you for your support and stay tuned for future updates.