ERC Updates

From the English Department

ERC Writing Club

The ERC Writing Club is back for 2022! Passionate writers who would enjoy the opportunity to develop their craft in a safe and fun space are welcome to join us at lunchtime every Friday in C16. We hope to offer a range of exciting activities for ERC Writing Club Members such as workshops with authors, excursions, competitions and the chance to have their work published.

From the Writer’s Corner

Thank you to Declan West in Year 12 Advanced English for sharing his work. The following poem was written by Declan in response to Ms Borg’s challenge to write about the weather pattern that the students would use to describe themselves. We hope you enjoy Declan’s work as much as we did!

Like Snowfall

Like a snowflake, I’m a sight like no other:
Gentle and calm
But can also be wild and cover,
I can the pierce skin, belt in right winds,
In the wrong light, oh I’ll easily melt,
But in too cold conditions I’ll freeze and welt.
I thrive best in comfortable, uncomfy places,
When I fall I fall to familiar faces;
If moulded in such a way
I can bring joy like a snowman,
but if left in the sun I will surely melt in hands.
Like snow, I can be so brittle
Without the right conditions, I’m crippled
caught stuck smack in the middle;
But in numbers, with support, snow compacted is a wonder
Loud and proud like a crack of thunder.

Declan West (Year 12 English Advanced)

Try Year 7 for a Day

The English Faculty was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Year 5 and 6 students as they tried ‘Year 7 For a Day’. A huge thank you to Ms Borg, Ms Leate and Ms Roper who, with boundless energy and enthusiasm, engaged the boys in some creative writing activities and introduced them to Shakespeare with some fun drama games.

Year 7 Lockdown Project

When life gives you lockdowns, make literature! At least, that was what Ms Gazzola’s Year 7 classes did last year. Students used the period of Off Campus Learning to develop their creative writing skills. Their work was published and last week, we had a pizza lunch to celebrate their newly acquired status of ‘published authors’. They should be proud of their efforts.

C Block Stairs

As part of the ongoing aim to foster a love of reading and celebrate all things literature, the stairs in the C Block have been transformed into a stack of books. The chosen books represent works studied by the students in English (e.g. 1984, Hag-Seed, Macbeth, The Great Gatsby, Unwind, Animal Farm) as well as some staff favourites (The Messenger, All Our Shimmering Skies, The Yield) and some student favourites (I’m looking at you, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Harry Potter). We hope that students will be inspired by this artwork to become voracious readers as we continue building a culture of wide reading in the school. We also look forward to sharing some photos of the artwork with you in the next newsletter and on the ERC Facebook page.

Renaissance Reading

Years 7 and 8 have access to a program to encourage reading and provide guidance for students to select reading material that will provide an appropriate level of challenge for them while also ensuring that they understand what they are reading. Students take quizzes after reading to test their understanding and accrue points.

It is exciting to see some avid readers emerging! Leading the charge in Year 7 are KJ Sullivan on 29 points followed closely by Milton Stepanovski on 25 points.

In Year 8, Ryder Boyton has earned a whopping 505 points! Jacob Hughes has earned 299 points while Alexander Zachristos and Oliver Penrose have also read their way to an impressive 75 and 62 points, respectively.

It is so wonderful to see the boys discovering, or rediscovering or simply continuing to experience the joy of reading.

Ms Gazzola
Head of English