Writing Revision and Science Fiction
After completing the e-asTTle testing it was necessary for both Years 8 and 9 to revise the various language tools needed with particular relation to writing. This included different aspects such as word classes, sentence structure including learning about dependent and independent clauses, the use of conjunctions, how to use the Oxford comma, using apostrophes to show possession (and as a contraction), and direct speech.
This week the Year 9 students have been exploring a Science Fiction story entitled “There Will be Soft Rains”. It is a haunting story, written in the 1950s by Ray Bradbury, exploring the decimation caused after a potential nuclear bomb. The students are tracking the time period over the story and deeply analysing what was ordinary at particular times and what was unusual; frankly, it turns out to be everything!
Years 7 and 8 English: Poetry and the Library Bus
Both year levels are working through poetic forms and literary devices, and the Auckland Libraries mobile bus called in again this week.
Creative Writing: Plots, Characters and Credible Detail
The Creative Writing cohort has been pulling apart the opening pages of well-known novels, then building plots and characters of their own.
Year 9 and 10 English: Shakespeare on Its Feet
Year 9 are turning Othello from page to stage through freeze frames, and Year 10 are preparing for the ASB Theatre production of Macbeth.
Years 7 and 8 English: Persuasive Speeches and the Mobile Library
Year 7 and 8 students have been writing and presenting persuasive speeches, and the Auckland Council mobile library bus called in at the school.
English Years 9 and 10: From Poetry to Analysis
Year 9s are constructing three-paragraph analytical essays using the BUG formula. Year 10s are working through Cambridge-level language analysis, learning to distinguish it from literary analysis.
Years 9 and 10 English: Ozymandias and the Passage-Based Essay
Year 9 and 10 students prepare for passage-based essays on Ozymandias and other poems, building both poetic analysis and essay-writing skills.
Wrapping Up the Artemis Inquiry
Year 7 and 8 students close their Artemis unit having mastered the inquiry process, with Artemis II’s launch now on the horizon.
Building Comprehension and Summary Skills in Years 9 and 10
Year 9 students are mastering the art of summarising, while Year 10s are developing the deeper reading and paraphrasing skills needed for Cambridge assessments.
Novel Study and PAT Results in English
Year 7 students are exploring identity and belonging through Wonder, while Year 8s are analysing I Am Malala. Both year groups completed PAT assessments in Week 5.
Cambridge English in Years 9 and 10: Reading Deeper
Year 9s are mastering summary and paraphrasing skills. Year 10s are working through Cambridge-level comprehension, learning how to use evidence, inversion, and concision to lift their answers.
