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| English Department @ AATEL BDO 2025 |
The English Department recently participated in the AATEL Big Day Out, an anticipated annual Professional Learning and Development (PLD) workshop that gathers English literature and language teachers from across Auckland. The day was structured to provide a rich platform for professional growth, featuring thought-provoking keynote speakers, such as author Josie Shapiro, and focused workshops, including a session led by Alex Moffat-Wood on planning Year 9 English courses in alignment with the new curriculum requirements. The event offered valuable insights and practical strategies for developing engaging and effective learning experiences for our students.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Josie Shapiro (author of Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts)
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| Josie Shapiro's "Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts" |
The keynote address by author Josie Shapiro underscored the profound, intrinsic value of reading and writing, championing a shift towards student-led engagement. As Shapiro noted, “
Reading for pleasure allows students to interrogate and explore texts in a meaningful way,” and
“Letting them read what they want feeds their appetite for story and vocabulary.” These statements highlight the idea that authentic engagement, driven by personal choice, is the most effective pathway to deeper comprehension and organic vocabulary growth, far surpassing forced curriculum reading. Her points—that “
The magic of books doesn't have to hit you once, it has many opportunities to find you”—provide an encouraging message for teachers to foster a lifelong love of reading rather than a single, high-stakes moment of realization. Finally, Shapiro powerfully articulated the enduring nature of literature, stating that “
Writing transcends space and time” and that ultimately, “
Reading gives an immense sense of empathy,” positioning literacy as essential not just for academic success but for developing profound human connection and understanding.
WORKSHOP: Alex Moffat-Wood (Planning a Year 9 English Course with the new curriculum)
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| Alex Moffat-Wood presenting @ AATEL |
The workshop led by Alex Moffat-Wood, "Planning a Year 9 English Course with the new curriculum," focused on preparing for the curriculum changes, which are required for Year 9 starting in 2026 and for Year 11–13 from 2028 onwards. A core theme involved critical reflective questions, such as "What do you love about the subject English?" and "What does your akonga love about the subject English?" Key principles for effective planning include using the sequence statements to ensure the full scope of the curriculum is covered, weaving together teaching statements and teaching sequences, and ensuring opportunities to revisit and practice key concepts. The session clarified that teachers are not required to assess all content for each year level, and further expectations for Year 9 and 10 English will be provided. Crucially, "meaningful engagement" was defined as not having to align with a comprehensive text study; instead, it means teachers must choose texts that are both engaging and suitably challenging, and ensure interactions reflect the languages, identities, and cultures of all students.
Overall, the AATEL Big Day Out was an incredibly enriching and inspiring professional learning experience. The insights gained from Josie Shapiro on the power of reading for pleasure and empathy, combined with the practical, future-focused planning strategies from Alex Moffat-Wood, have provided a clear and motivating direction for our English department. It was a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with colleagues across Auckland and feel reassured and excited about implementing the new curriculum, ensuring we continue to foster meaningful engagement and a lifelong love of literature in all our students.
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