English Dept & Library
As we draw term 2 to a close our senior school start to see the end of some of their bigger assessments, students from the junior school were offered an awesome writing opportunity with our Librian and we say goodbye to Mrs Holly Stevenson.
Term 2 was a big one for our years 11-13 English students. Many of the year 11 cohort participated in the Literacy Pilot, consisting of 2 digital exams, a reading and a writing exam, each worth 5 credits. The exposure to a formal digital exam in itself was a good experience for our year 11 students as they look to move up in the senior school.
Meanwhile our years 12 and 13 students have been focused on bigger internal assessment. The year 12 students have been exploring their creativity with writing, working towards their writing portfolio. Keep your eyes peeled for a students shared piece in a future newsletter. On the other hand the year 13s have studied Othello and are critically analysing this against a chosen perspective lens such as feminism or a time period.
On Friday, 8 of our students from Y7-11 were lucky enough to attend a Kickstart your fantasy novel masterclass at Te Ara Ātea, Rolleston with the author Heather McQuillan. This program is part of the School for Young Writers initiative in Selwyn. Students created 3 key scenes based on character, action, and relationships and learned how to enhance their writing to kickstart their own fantasy novels. Well done to these students who upheld the college values of respect and integrity.
We now reach the sad task of having to bid farewell to Mrs Holly Stevenson who has been teaching English and Ako at the College since 2021. Mrs Stevenson first started with us as a reliever in 2020. The opportunity to employ Mrs Stevenson full time arose in 2021, an opportunity we were quick to take advantage of. Throughout her time with us, Mrs Stevenson has created and delivered inspiring lessons, introduced new and engaging texts and created strong bonds with students, teachers and support staff. We are very sad to see Mrs Stevenson depart, but wish her all the best for her future endeavours. With the departure of Mrs Stevenson, we welcome Mr Paul McCarthy in week 3 of term 3.
Book of the Week
In September 1840, two ships arrive on the shores of the Waitematā Harbour to establish Auckland, the new capital of New Zealand. Among the settlers on board the Platina is young Harry, travelling alone and determined to return to family in England. But the more immediate challenge is finding food and shelter — and hiding the truth about Harry’s real identity and what was left behind in Van Diemen’s Land.