John McGlashan College English Department - Philosophy
We aim for you to achieve to the best of your ability and become a capable young man who is ...
Erudite
You will have had some exposure to a wide variety of text types, including poetry, novel, film, short story, non-fiction - both short and extended and the classics, including Shakespeare. You will choose to read for pleasure and be open to new reading experiences. And also be an ‘artful reader’ with a developed and sophisticated understanding of the ways in which those who create texts shape the response of the reader.
Empathetic
We desire for you to question and challenge assumptions, stereotypes and bigotry; and develop a global perspective. You will be able to get into someone else’s skin and walk around for a bit - to see the world from a range of viewpoints. Inherent within this is an understanding of New Zealand Aotearoa’s bicultural heritage, and an understanding the views and experiences of a ‘Johnnies boy’ are but one of a myriad of ways to consider the human experience.
Evaluative
You will have a healthy scepticism about information and texts, especially electronic media and ideologies. You will be able to come to an independent understanding of ideas, texts and issues. On a personal level, you will strive for personal excellence - to achieve to the best of your ability in all that you do. You will recognise what you do well and think about how you can improve - you will become your own learning 'coach’ and build grit, independence and intellect.
And an Effective Communicator
You will understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively across a range of forms. You will be a fluent, accurate and precise writer. You will be well prepared for tertiary education, the pathway for the majority of you, possessing a sophisticated academic voice and being able to source appropriate supporting material and reference it correctly.
English is all about communicating and connecting. It’s about finding and nurturing a voice to tell our stories and developing an ear to hear the stories of others. Studying English and exploring these voices involves:
reading and writing
listening and speaking
viewing and presenting
As you work up through the levels of English, the complexity and sophistication of the voices you will explore and use will increase and increase. This does not mean though, that you will do the same thing, year after year; we aim to provide variation between levels and increasing challenges; and move you towards an end point - which, for many, will be a starting point for tertiary study.
Practical Matters
At the start of the year, course information is published. This can be accessed by clicking above on course information or consulting with your teacher. This contains details of the topics studied during the year, assessment dates and policies as well as information about homework, organisation, stationery etc. Please note that there might be some variation between classes when it comes to deadlines. This is because teachers respond to the needs and circumstances of their class. One important deadline is the end of Term Three by which time all internal assessment must be completed. There will be no assessment or re-assessment in Term Four.
Some units of work that may make up a typical English course at McGlashan may include:
Teachers spend time at the start of the year getting to know their students’ strengths and weaknesses and use this to plan which texts will suit the interests and needs of the students.
In Year 9, the boys study English with the aim of developing confidence in understanding, forming and expressing increasingly sophisticated ideas. In Year 10, these skills are further developed. Full details are published on the Weebly.
Beyond Year 10, there are different options for English:
The English Department also runs a series of competitions for the boys. “Go McGlashan Read!” focuses on reading; the prepared reading competition and the formal speech competition focus on speaking and we also run a creative writing competition. As well as these activities, the English Department also looks after various extra-curricular events such as debating, speech competitions and writing competitions.
David Schaumann
HoD English
Erudite
You will have had some exposure to a wide variety of text types, including poetry, novel, film, short story, non-fiction - both short and extended and the classics, including Shakespeare. You will choose to read for pleasure and be open to new reading experiences. And also be an ‘artful reader’ with a developed and sophisticated understanding of the ways in which those who create texts shape the response of the reader.
Empathetic
We desire for you to question and challenge assumptions, stereotypes and bigotry; and develop a global perspective. You will be able to get into someone else’s skin and walk around for a bit - to see the world from a range of viewpoints. Inherent within this is an understanding of New Zealand Aotearoa’s bicultural heritage, and an understanding the views and experiences of a ‘Johnnies boy’ are but one of a myriad of ways to consider the human experience.
Evaluative
You will have a healthy scepticism about information and texts, especially electronic media and ideologies. You will be able to come to an independent understanding of ideas, texts and issues. On a personal level, you will strive for personal excellence - to achieve to the best of your ability in all that you do. You will recognise what you do well and think about how you can improve - you will become your own learning 'coach’ and build grit, independence and intellect.
And an Effective Communicator
You will understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively across a range of forms. You will be a fluent, accurate and precise writer. You will be well prepared for tertiary education, the pathway for the majority of you, possessing a sophisticated academic voice and being able to source appropriate supporting material and reference it correctly.
English is all about communicating and connecting. It’s about finding and nurturing a voice to tell our stories and developing an ear to hear the stories of others. Studying English and exploring these voices involves:
reading and writing
listening and speaking
viewing and presenting
As you work up through the levels of English, the complexity and sophistication of the voices you will explore and use will increase and increase. This does not mean though, that you will do the same thing, year after year; we aim to provide variation between levels and increasing challenges; and move you towards an end point - which, for many, will be a starting point for tertiary study.
Practical Matters
At the start of the year, course information is published. This can be accessed by clicking above on course information or consulting with your teacher. This contains details of the topics studied during the year, assessment dates and policies as well as information about homework, organisation, stationery etc. Please note that there might be some variation between classes when it comes to deadlines. This is because teachers respond to the needs and circumstances of their class. One important deadline is the end of Term Three by which time all internal assessment must be completed. There will be no assessment or re-assessment in Term Four.
Some units of work that may make up a typical English course at McGlashan may include:
- novel study
- creative writing
- language study
- film study
- theme study (eg leadership, multiculturalism, facing a challenge)
Teachers spend time at the start of the year getting to know their students’ strengths and weaknesses and use this to plan which texts will suit the interests and needs of the students.
In Year 9, the boys study English with the aim of developing confidence in understanding, forming and expressing increasingly sophisticated ideas. In Year 10, these skills are further developed. Full details are published on the Weebly.
Beyond Year 10, there are different options for English:
- NCEA courses (Levels 1, 2 and 3)
- Transitional English (Levels 2))
- Scholarship English
- IB English
The English Department also runs a series of competitions for the boys. “Go McGlashan Read!” focuses on reading; the prepared reading competition and the formal speech competition focus on speaking and we also run a creative writing competition. As well as these activities, the English Department also looks after various extra-curricular events such as debating, speech competitions and writing competitions.
David Schaumann
HoD English