During the course of 2001 the students have had a variety of opportunities to explore themes, topics and texts in English to demonstrate and improve their skills in Reading, Writing, Viewing and Speaking & Listening. The many options and open-ended tasks that they have encountered have ranged from formal performance of drama, debates and talks in class to extended writing in both creative and research work.

Some students have taken the opportunity to participate in the Pen Pal program with a school in Tatau, Malaysia and are currently corresponding with their new friends in Northern Sarawak. This program will continue into next year and more of the students who nominated will receive their first correspondence.
New pen pals are welcome to join the group by emailing the

• Learning Area Consultant, Mark Crook

In term three of 2001 students participated in celebrating Peace Day, the day of remembrance for the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima. All year eight and nine classes were involved in reading and studying the event and exploring how this part of history was relevant to their lives today. They also wrote haiku that reflected the event of the bombing and its aftermath.
Some examples of the student work are presented here:

The Little Boy hits Destroying Hiroshima Not one thing is left Dain McCormick		The town was silent A million suns appeared Everyone has gone Jessica Harvey
Our windows are smashed What is happening to me? The light is so bright Gareth Doust		Laughter of children Morning punctured by light flash Silence in the streets Lisa McKeever
A star in the day? Surely my eyes deceive me. What is happening? Riana Young		Seeing dead bodies The city is mourning No structures remain Katherine Hyde
Blood puddles the ground Screaming children everywhere Crying for some help Sarah Barclay		Death overtakes life Humanity is crying Justice has failed them Brenton Vivian

In addition students made in excess of one thousand paper cranes, a traditional activity in celebrating Peace Day in response to the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes that they heard read to them in class. The students took on the challenge of making the cranes and became most involved, attempting to make them in all sizes from thumbnail to one metre wingspan. The colourful display of these cranes was seen in the joint dedication and opening of the Halls Head Peace Pole in conjunction with the Halls Head Education Support Centre. More about this pole and the project will be found on their site.

Through the Learning Team approach to across curricula activities, the students have been involved in a variety of projects that focused on the Inquiry Approach and the students working in groups to develop and test a hypothesis of their own creation. Initially the teaching focus used the topic of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) to demonstrate the skills and approach needed to successfully complete the task. The students then created their own peer groupings of up to four members to test a new hypothesis. These ranged very widely to include the effectiveness of the death penalty and criminal punishment styles through time to which is the most successful AFL team. Various models and research projects were completed that demonstrated a high level of engagement and interest by the Year Nine students. Their findings were then presented to their peers. Most of the projects were assessed in English, as well as in other Learning Areas, where they had addressed specific outcomes