ENGLISH AND HUMANITIES
English, Humanities, Art, Health/PE, Electives
The students are no doubt pleased to see the end of another term, as they have worked so hard that they must be exhausted!
In English, we have been working through our textbook, and have studied sections of two different texts – My Girragundji, and Tales from Outer Suburbia. Students have discovered different ways of writing, and methods of engaging their audience.
Humanities has introduced the students to the life of Vikings. It has been an energetic term, with lots of games of Quiz, Quiz, Trade and some creative activities. They have also been learning about the Bayeux Tapestry which is a 50cm high, 70m long tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings in immense detail, and kept in a museum in France.
Sections of the 70m long Bayeux Tapestry
Because Humanities focuses on a lot of in depth studies, it is important that students revise when they return home for the day so that they can recall the information easier when it comes time to do the topic test. Part of their revision is done through MyEd which is an app attached to their SEQTA. Research has shown that if students complete these tasks on the day that they have the class, their knowledge retention is much higher and they will achieve better marks.
As part of their studies into Vikings and Medieval history, the students visited our Ibrahim Dellal campus in Sunshine for a History Up Close incursion, which introduced them to Medieval clothing, song and dance, and warship. The students learnt lots of new things, like how the modern English language came to be, how people dressed according to social status, and how they hunted and fought. The incursion supports the learning they had done previously on Vikings, and also the learning they will do next term on The Black Death.
Indigenous art has been our focus in art and the students have learnt about different aboriginal symbols that are used in painting, while they have created their own artworks.
Dot paintings with Indigenous symbols created by Ashlee Kirkpatrick (year 8), Zac Uguz (year 8) and Hajer Mohammed (year 7)
Over the holidays, students have some homework to do. They have a digital story to complete for English, and must do quiet reading for at least 30 minutes every day. A reading journal is to be kept over this time and they can use their vocabulary books for any words that they don’t understand. In saying this however, the holidays are a time to relax and recuperate. Make sure you spend some time resting.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this term with the secondary students, and look forward to another exciting term in Term 2. We have many activities planned for all classes. NAPLAN testing will happen during week 5 for the year 7 students also, so we will practise skills needed for this too.
Have a great Easter break everyone, and stay safe.
Mrs. Sara Cartwright