Enrichment and Enhancement Programs in English

“Simply existing within the literature environment is inspiring. My Literature teachers have been incredible role models, all very different but inspiring in their own way, and our classes have always formed very strong bonds.” Angela Sexton, Year 12 Literature student.

In English, the enrichment and extension opportunities are diverse, catering for each student’s individual needs and the group as a whole. In the English Faculty, we encourage all students to engage and seek out opportunities to challenge themselves in English. In all our English classrooms, we offer extension opportunities through our differentiated curriculum and our online resources on the St Catherine’s Portal. We encourage students to participate in writing and poetry competitions, attend the Writer’s Festival, experience workshops with visiting poets and writers and listen to lectures on their texts at VCE level. The breadth of opportunities is vast with embedded extension tasks in all classes, as well as directed academic pathways for high achieving students of English through a study of Literature and the Honours Program.

Years 7 and 8 English Honours Program

The Years 7 and 8 English Honours Program allows selected students to focus on enhancement writing tasks and a specific literature focus. The program is highly individualised and tailored to suit the passions of each identified student that is participating. Once each student’s area of talent is identified, curriculum is targeted to enrich their enthusiasm for English and provide them with opportunities to extend their skills.

Students develop their own original narratives that can be published online or in a book. They participate in exciting writing competitions, develop varied digital text types and discuss Literature devices through their study. Students also participate in literature circles, discussing various novels and develop their own online reading blog based on the State Library’s reading platform.

Writer’s Club

Writer’s Club began in 2016 to give interested students in Years 7 to 12 the opportunity to engage with like-minded students who are passionate about developing their writing in an informal setting. The focus is on sharing and discussing their writing in addition giving interested students the opportunity to participate in various incursions on writing. Currently we have 23 members in Writer’s Club and the group is growing every week. To date, love poetry has been written for Valentine’s Day, creative narratives have been constructed for International Women’s Day and this week we are attending a slam poetry session with John Englezos who was the winner of the main poetry slam for Melbourne and is a published poet. The central aim of this club is to enrich students learning and inspire them to create wonderful pieces of writing.

Years 9 and 10 Literature Elective

As well as the core study of English in Years 9 and 10, we offer the Literature Elective for interested students. This elective allows students an opportunity to accelerate their learning with a focus on classic and contemporary literature such as Kafta’s Metamorphosis and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. It is a challenging elective, allowing capable students a taste of what VCE Literature will be like. Studies are under various themes, this year the themes are Transformations and Victorian England.

VCE Literature

In Years 11 and 12, VCE Literature is offered as a pathway of study for students wishing to enrich their learning on texts from various periods in history. This subject is offered as well as English and we encourage high achieving and passionate students of English to elect into this subject.

Angela Sexton is a current Year 12 student of both English and Literature and her views, quoted below, articulate beautifully the impact of this subject on her learning.

“Literature has provided me with a more intimate, close-knit environment in which to study texts. Our studies tend to be a more in-depth, creative analysis of culturally relevant literature that encourages us to develop our writing skills, whilst also delving into philosophical thought and discussion. Personally, this has enabled me to view my English texts differently as I am so used to analysing contextual, historical and cultural aspects of the writing, leading to a more interesting and thorough exploration of each text.

I think we all feel that the Literature class offers a sense of family where we can discuss ideas, favourite authors and literary concepts together. My peers inspire me to pursue my dreams in literature, as we are all so incredibly encouraging and supportive of one another.”

The opportunities for acceleration through the English Faculty are diverse and well developed. Our differentiated approach allows all students to engage and learn in an individualised way, hence allowing their confidence and passion for the subject to develop.

 

 

Mrs Ceri Lloyd, Head of English & EAL