Week 2 Term 4: English Department - English Department Starter Pack: Review of Term 3 2024 (October 21 - October 25)

Some of the English Department @ TC Career Pathway Evening Term 3

Term 3 was a very busy term for the English Department. From the beginning of the term right up to the last week of term, the English Department has been working very hard with their students. The journey through our Junior English program in Term 3 specifically focussing on the Literacy Co-Requisite that took place in Week 9, working through the internal assessment schedule with our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English students, has been laborious but rewarding. We knew that Term 3 was going to be full on. We knew that Term 3 was going to be our opportunity to get through our curriculum with our akonga especially as this is our last full academic term with our senior students as they finish school in Week 3 of Term 4. As a school, we have had to navigate the demands of relief teaching as many of our colleagues have been unwell or called to other family priorities, stepping in to fill the gap for relief has meant that a lot of us in the department have had to cover classes on top of their own classes. This is what we do. We step in and help because we want to - for our colleagues and our students. 

Some of the English Department @ the AATEL Twilight PLD Term 3

We had an opportunity to attend the Auckland Association Teachers of English Literature workshop this term which was centered around Junior English. Attending these professional development workshops is our opportunity to make connections with the Auckland cohort of English teachers and most importantly see what other teachers are doing and collect the resources that they share. I am really pleased with our NCEA Achievement Data as we have (and continue to) strive to help our students attain their credits and get through the curriculum. At the beginning of Term 3 our Achievement Data for NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English showed us: 

Tamaki College English Department: NCEA Level 1, 2 + 3 English Internal Assessment Comparative Data Term 3

I want to thank Mrs Pravina Harde, Mrs Christine Williams, Mr Faiyaz Hoosein, Mr Jeremy Spruyt, Ms Anahina Latu and Ms Francis Kolo for your commitment, your work, your heart of service and your leadership in what has been another busy term for us as a department. I say it all the time because this is how I truly feel, I am so grateful and honored to work alongside you all. Thank you for trusting my leadership. I thank you for everything that you bring to our department. Without you, there is no English Department. My heart is full of gratitude when I think about our team and how they have blessed our students this term. I would also like to acknowledge Mrs Vivienne Jenson-Jones, Mrs Maryanne Wyatt and Mr Marc Milford for their work and support for the English Department this term. I will now review our Term 3 Junior and Senior English program.

JUNIOR ENGLISH PROGRAM TERM 3 REVIEW: 

This term our Year 9 and Year 10 students looked at visual texts (film) as our primary text study and the common assessment task was Close Viewing. This term our theme was ‘Our Stories’ specifically looking at stories and texts that reflect the experiences of those in our community and globally. Some of the texts that featured in our Junior English program in Term 3 were:

The Freedom Writers

The Truman Show

Encanto

Junior English Close Viewing: Student Exemplar

We have taken elements of the Close Viewing assessment that we have used in the past and modified it for our own classes so that it is specific and appropriate for their Year level. We have also been working with a select group of Year 10 students who are at Level 5 of the curriculum for reading - they were selected to sit the Literacy Co-Requisite in September (Week 9 of Term 3).

SENIOR ENGLISH PROGRAM REVIEW TERM 3

Our focus Term 3 across our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English classes was to get our students through the internal assessment schedule and to get them prepared for the Derived Grade Exams (Term 4) and the NCEA End of Year Examinations (Term 4). Our students have done extremely well working towards and gaining their credits (as mentioned earlier) this term. Term 3 is always scheduled as our time for our senior students to finish and complete their internal assessments.

NCEA Level 1 English: 91924 Student Exemplar

NCEA Level 3 English: 91475 Student Exemplar

In Term 3 our students are working on the following assessments across NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English.

• 91924 - New NCEA Level 1 English internal assessment
• 91925 - New NCEA Level 1 English internal assessment
• 91104 - NCEA Level 2 English internal assessment (Connections Essay)
• 91106 - NCEA Level 2 English internal assessment (Reading Responses)
• 91101 - NCEA Level 2 English internal assessment (Writing Portfolio)
• 91107 - NCEA Level 2 English internal assessment (Close Viewing)
• 91478 - NCEA Level 3 English internal assessment (Connections Essay)
• 91475 - NCEA Level 3 English internal assessment (Writing Portfolio)

In my next post I will reflect on our plans for Term 4 2024.