Issue 7 2012.pdf - St George Christian School

Middle School
Metaphors, Monsters and Mystery
A simple question, it may seem
To ask your child about their day.
And so you wait with baited breath,
To hear just what they have to say.
And somehow, “Ugh” is all you get,
As if the grunt will help explain
The vast amount of learning done
And stimulation of the brain.
And so we thought (to help you out)
That we might let you in to see
The learning planned in Middle School.
So this is English in Term 3:
Year 6 begins our escapade
By starting work on written verse.
Exploring poems, rhyme and form
And language choices far from terse.
Some limericks and couplets too,
And sonnets speaking love of yore.
A torrent tide of dancing words
Through simile and metaphor.
(It might be wise to stay here tuned
For coming on in later weeks
The privilege could be all yours
To sight some poetry sneak peeks!)
Tis here that those in Year 6 learn
The beauty of their words unfurled,
To capture through the choice of phrase
The majesty of our God’s world.
Year 7 left two weeks ago
To magic worlds of quests and gold.
And so far have become entrenched
In timeless tales of days of old.
In fantasy the students find
A complex web of Bible truths
Presented through the twisting yarns
Of dragons and courageous youths.
Now armed with knowledge of the form
Year 7 work to understand
The power of the written script
To craft descriptive, detailed lands,
And thus present to teachers proud
Their stories to be shared and told.
And grace the world of literature
With villains cruel and heroes bold.
Year 8 this term have started out
Investigating Gary Crew.
And seeking to uncover why
His writing combines old and new:
From shipwreck tales to mystic birds
And borrowed facts from history.
To keep his target audience
Engaged through cryptic mystery.
But that’s not all! There’s more to do!
In essay form, they then must show
How Crew can hold his readers firm
And build them up with themes of hope.
The texts will also help provide
Some conversation starters too:
How “self-enlightenment” is not
The key to finding out God’s truth.
And there you have it all laid out -
The meaning of the grunts and groans.
The monosyllabic response
Is simply translated as so:
“Why, thank you Mum, my day was great!
My English teacher’s really cool!
I’ve learnt so much in fun new ways
I sure do love to go to school!”
By Mr Gillman
On 14 July the Archaeologists’ Excellence Group went on an excursion to two different museums: the Nicholson
Museum and the Hyde Park Barracks Museum.
In the Nicholson Museum we were able to touch real artefacts from Pompeii, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece
and prehistoric times. We each chose an artefact of our choice and completed an analysis on it, including
answering questions and drawing it in detail. We also saw real mummies, sarcophagus coffins and statues.
After a rush through wet weather we went to the Hyde Park Barracks Museum. The first highlight in the program
was when we got to tag, draw and collect information on artefacts which were dug up in 1979 on the site. It
was great fun to learn the process of finding artefacts and analysing them in archaeology. The next highlight
was when we went in the Hyde Park Barracks. It was well preserved and cleverly built. The structure of the
museum was stripped back to show the laborious work of the convicts that used to lived there. I learnt that
being flogged was gruesome and that the hammocks were so uncomfortable to rest or sleep in. I am so glad
that I’m not in the convict phase!
Matthew Winfred