Year 7 English

Year 7 students have just completed a persuasive unit and have written a persuasive text using P.E.E.L. (Point sentence, Explanation, Example, Link)

They are now focusing on a life writing unit and are currently choosing a person to write about over the next week. Their life story will include five literary devices.

Year 8 English

In year 8, students are completing a film review essay about the Disney film Inside Out Two. They are looking at how the director has used colour, themes and elements of CAMELS in the film, to engage a range of audiences. Overall, the film is proving to be popular amongst the year 8 students, with many arguing that change is not always fun but important.

Year 9 English

Year 9 students have just completed a visual literacy unit based on ‘The Hunger Games’. They have completed an assignment focusing on themes, character development and literary devices.

They are now moving into novel study work with a continued focus on themes, character development and literary devices.

Year 10 English

Our Year 10 students have recently completed a ‘Life Story’ unit where they explored the experiences and achievements of someone they respect or admire. Through thoughtful interviews and writing, they have written narratives that share the personal journeys of their chosen individuals. To celebrate their hard work, we invite family and friends to join us for a Celebration of Learning on Tuesday from 1:30 PM–2:30 PM at school.

Mass Culling of Sharks   

Over 65% of earth, is covered in ocean. The big blue is home to countless marine species, all playing an important role in their home, and one of those animals are sharks. Yet they are being culled at an alarming rate. It is wasteful, has a domino ecological effect, and it’s an injustice to those who protect them. For all these reasons, sharks need protecting rather than us inhumanely killing them.  

Firstly - Sharks are an unwilling asset to several industries, and it’s a wasteful practice to an endangered species. Over 100 million sharks are killed per year, sometimes featured in shark fin soup. The catch is, 95% of a shark is thrown back into the sea when fished. Furthermore, sharks are 100% alive when their fins are cut off!! Imagine the pain! Then, the innocent shark is disposed of, to drown agonisingly, with no fins to help it swim. It’s a completely inhumane and cruel practice to an incredibly important species. 274,000 poor sharks are killed per day, just for their fins. There is only about 1000 species of shark left, and soon we could lose all of those species. It is clear that sharks are critically endangered, and we need to do something about the mass culling. 

Secondly - As well as mass culling an endangered species, it could have an irreparable effect on the ocean. It’s also unfair to those who have jobs to protect sharks. Sharks play a role in the food hierarchy, and without them, there is an imbalance within the food chain.  

Another thing is, some ray species really like to eat shellfish, and sharks eat those rays. Too many rays, and the ray species would grow causing a decline in shellfish. Additionally, sharks eat sick fish in schools, and without that, lots of animals would be plunged into chaos. Furthermore, lots of people strive to protect sharks from culling, and it would be unfair to them and their hard work if we carelessly murdered all the sharks. Jillian Morris Brake, shark researcher and conservationist, is one example. People are trying to protect the sharks, because they preserve the ocean’s ecology, therefore, it’s our duty to respond to the murderous, mass-killing of these beautiful creatures.  

Lastly - Sharks are nowhere near as harmful as movies and stories claim to be, so there’s no good reason to kill them. 70% of shark attacks are because the shark is curious of a splashing in the water. Sharks don’t investigate with their hands; they have to use their mouth. After they figure out that it’s a human, they will swim away. Only 1 in 11.5 million people get attacked by sharks, and a big part of the reason we are so scared of sharks is the horror movies that were made in the 80s. I mean, terrorising sharks, munching on whole cities, blah-di-blah-blah. Those movies actually got a few things wrong. Sharks only grow to 3-4 metres, instead of the 100-metre beast depicted in The Meg. Similarly, these movies would have you believe that shark’s favourite activity is terrorising humans, however, truth is polar opposite. Instead, sharks don’t even know that they could be launching a fatal attack on a singular human. 

Overall, sharks are being mass culled all over the world, and it needs to stop. It’s a wasteful practice to an endangered species, it has a domino effect, and it’s unfair to those trying to protect sharks who aren’t actually dangerous. For all of these reasons and many more, sharks need protecting, before it’s too late.