Beyond the Classroom - Extension and Enrichment
English provides a range of activities that extend students’ experiences beyond the classroom. In addition to extension opportunities in speaking and writing, students are engaged in a range of activities which enhance their learning and extend their cultural experiences. As a culmination to the Year 8 study of the film, ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ the students were involved in a workshop run by Randal Flynn. Randal is a screenwriter who has worked extensively in Hollywood with writers such as Douglas Adams (author of 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'). He has also published six books for children and run an internationally acclaimed screenwriting course. Randal immersed the students in a scene by scene analysis of the film using the distinctive language of cinema; language such as camera shots, angles, editing, mise en scene and much more. The students were engaged by Randal’s enthusiasm and inside knowledge of the world of the cinematographer.
Theatre performances have been enriching experiences for students in Years 9 and 10 and 11 who enjoyed performances by the Complete Works Theatre Company (CWTC) of 'Romeo and Juliet' (Year 9) and 'Macbeth' (Year 10). Both performances involve students taking on the roles of different characters in the play, much to the delight of the student audience. For Year 12 English students, there was a production of Robert Bolt's play 'A Man for All Seasons' performed at the Melbourne University Theatre. As a feature of its 2009 season, the Melbourne Theatre Company presented Joanna Murray-Smith’s new work 'Rockabye' and some of the Year 12 Literature students attended in order to supplement their study of an earlier play, 'Honour'. The new Sumner Theatre has inscribed its walls with a quotation from 'Honour' as a tribute to Joanna Murray-Smith: not only is the students’ engagement in a play written by one of Australia’s foremost playwrights in that space deeply enhanced but also studying the play as an examination text becomes more significant.