Year 6 - 12 Class
English
This term we are studying a picture book called ‘Maralinga, The Anangu Story’. This is a unique book detailing the impacts and details of the atomic testing at Maralinga in the 1950’s. The story is written by the Yalata and Oak Valley Communities and details many first-hand accounts of the people at the time. It includes beautiful illustrations and a great deal of background information on the culture and experiences of the Anangu people. We are looking at how points of view can influence a story and the reader, and the importance of primary sources.
We are also focusing on the grammar and vocabulary requirements for each year level in the interests of ensuring everyone is where they need to be before heading up to the next year level. As you can imagine, students are delighted to be having weekly “grandma” lessons!HASS
After winding up our economics and business lessons from last term where all students managed a successful business enterprise, we have switched the focus back to history. History this term is also looking at the events at Maralinga in the 1950’s, and also the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which effectively got the whole atomic weapon race rolling. Whereas English is focusing on the events and impacts from the Anangu perspective, History will look at the effects on the Australian Servicemen who worked there, and the impacts on the environment, which are still being felt today. We are also focusing on the why. Why did Australia allow the British to test on our land? Why were we so keen and eager for this to happen? Why were the public not told the whole truth about the environmental and physical damage that would occur? And why did it take until 2014 for the British government to accept any responsibility for the clean-up of the area? This all falls under the making of the nation section of the curriculum and gives us an understanding of how the psyche of Australia has changed over the years.SACE English
Having completed her Stage 1 English components, our SACE student is now working on her first assignment for Stage 2. After an in depth study of Macbeth, we are now looking at the literary devices used by Shakespeare to engage an audience. By the end of this term we should have completed at least 2 of the assessment tasks for Stage 2 English, hopefully taking some pressure off next year which will be very busy for our only year 12.
That’s about all from the 6-12 class for the beginning of term 4. Hope everyone has enjoyed the rain and is able to get out and enjoy this beautiful green countryside while we can.