Tamati spoke to all students at the College about his life and how it changed dramatically after he was involved in a car crash. Tamati was hit by a drunk driver and many students were moved by his story. His message about the huge costs of drinking and driving was certainly understood by the students and many stayed behind to talk with Tamati and to thank him.
The photo shows Florrie, Ali and Jenna with Tamati.
I know many of you are very keen to see the Simpsons movie. I’ve read quite a few reviews of the film and most critics love it. Have a look at the real-life Simpsons below while you are waiting.
This post is aimed at Year 12 students.
In the school exam you will have to write essays on the texts that you have studied. To do this successfully there are some things that you must do:
I have added a brief powerpoint for the Year 12 students who are studying Schindler’s List. The slideshow contains some ideas about how to approach analysing the film.
The slideshow could have been better constructed as I have put too much information on some slides and used a few too many bullet points but hopefully it will be of some use.
Some of the Year 11 English students have been making slideshows as part of their coursework and here are some examples of their work. They are here in an altered form as the slideshows had some interesting special effects that unfortunately cannot be uploaded by SlideShare. The first slideshow is from Toby, Andrew and Quentin who have been researching film terms. They matched up the terms with photos that they took at the College.
This slideshow is also on film techiques and it is made by Chas and Ethan.
The last slideshow is by Alexis, Rebecca, Rose, Sophie and Valeska and it is based around photos that they took at school.
In Term Three Year 11 students will be delivering a speech. This speech will be either a traditional classroom speech or a demonstration.
Whatever task you choose remember to be aware of your audience. How does your topic relate to them? How much do listeners know about your topic? Make sure that you have a clearly stated purpose. The purpose should be able to be achieved in the allocated time. Incorporate supporting materials into your speech ot demonstration. Perhaps use statistical information and examples to clarify ideas.
I have added some links below that may help you prepare for your speech:
How’s the holiday? Is the bad weather getting you down? Need something to do? Then try a jigsaw. No, not that old one from the bach with the missing pieces – try Daily Jigsaws.
Give the Mona Lisa a try or one of the many other puzzles available. Push play on the jigsaw above and you will be taken to Daily Jigsaws.
Afghanistan has been of world interest in the last thirty years because of the Soviet invasion and the activities of the Taliban. The Kite Runner is set mainly in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, during two very different periods: the rule of the monarchy and that of the Taliban. In order to really understand the novel you will need to have some understanding of Afghanistan’s history. The links below will give you a deeper understanding of Afghanistan and its political history.
http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/afghan.htm
http://www.gl.iit.edu/govdocs/afghanistan
http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/afghanistan/
http://www.afghan-web.com/history/
I hope that the Year 12 students reading The Kite Runner will have finished the novel by the end of the holidays. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, has been a runaway bestseller, attracting huge readerships in America and throughout the world. Hosseini is an Afghan-American doctor who lives in California, having migrated to the US as a refugee during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Hosseini was born in Afghanistan in 1965, the oldest of five children. His mother was a teacher of Farsi and history in Kabul and his father was a diplomat. There are clear parallels between Hosseini’s own life and that of the protagonist of The Kite Runner, Amir. Hosseini had a privileged life in Kabul which was much like the life Amir lives. The novel evokes the sense of place very clearly and richly. Hosseini has said that the setting for the early part of the novel, with its descriptions of the house Amir grows up in and even the name of the suburbs that Amir lives in, Wazir Akbar Khan is ‘almost directly lifted from my own life.’
As well as the setting of the text in both Afghanistan and America, the larger political background which is woven through the novel is taken from life.
For students who are revising the ‘Catcher in the Rye’ these holidays I have made a link to a site that has lots of information on J.D. Salinger and the novel.
english@cc 