LANTERN POETRY

Gemma and Daniel were our poetry inspirers today with their poetry form, the "Lantern Poem." Below are the poems they inspired others to write.

Isabella wrote: Rain Through the green trees In the winter Breeze	Mia wrote: Bee Buzzes Happily Through the summer Trees	Natalia wrote: Fly Buzzes Having fun Swiftly swooping Splat
Tia wrote: Rose Growing Beautiful Very Sharp thorns Rose	Corinne wrote: Rose Petals Soft to touch Into Summer Rose	Ivan wrote: Bling Shiny So much gold Makes me look cool Swag
Joe wrote: Ball On ground Specky mark All those flyers high	Akon wrote: Leaf Beauty  Autumn,Spring So precious, both Blade	Madison wrote: Book Read it You need it You so want it Read

   

HAIKU-students teach one another how to write poetry.

The next poetry topic was "Haiku," and the teachers today were Ivan and Nick.


Teacher response: Nick and Ivan, you prepared a wonderful presentation about how to write haiku. The process was clearly explained to the other students. I really enjoyed your own work and, again, you made the "how to" part easy for the class. I will now publish some of the student work that resulted from your lesson!

Joe wrote:                                                                   Tessa wrote:
At the MCG                                                                Outside in the sun
"Up there Cazaly!" they screamed                            laughing, playing all day long
many years ago.                                                         'til the bright sun sets.

Corinne wrote:                                                             Jamie wrote:
Through the tall, barked trees                                    Stars cover the sky
the soft breeze whispers to me                                   sparkling and glittering down
at the crack of dawn                                                    as day turns to night.

Madeline wrote:
Gallipoli plains
The bugle blows long and loud
in nineteen fifteen

STUDENTS TEACH ONE ANOTHER POETRY

Corinne and Kathryn speak! 

At the moment we are doing a students teaching students programme. We are studying poetry and we learnt about a poem called the sonnet. It was a form of poetry used by Shakespeare. Firstly, we researched it and found out that a sonnet has fourteen lines with ten syllables in each line. It has three quatrains with the rhyming pattern of ABAB meaning the first and third line rhyme and the second and fourth line rhyme. This is repeated twice before a couplet, which is simply two lines that rhyme with each other.

We created this poem together!   

Teacher Response: As a teacher, I am blown away by the power of peer teaching. From the outset of this exercise, all students were highly engaged in the lessons each pair was preparing. As the fortnight came to an end, students were keenly selecting the days for their presentation. Engagement during Corinne and Kathryn's presentation was high. All students have had a really good go at writing the first quatrain of their sonnet. We will publish some of their efforts. And how do I feel as the teacher? Excited, engaged and enthusiastically brainstormimg the next possibility.

Corinne and Kathryn: your sonnet is beautiful, reflective and creates amazing images for me. You have captured the essence of this form of poetry. You have attended to the strict requirements of a sonnet's structure. Have you explored one of Shakespeare's sonnets?

 Sonnet 18, Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? is perhaps the most famous. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/18.html  It is thought to be one of the most widely read poems in all of English Literature. Try reading it then click the link for further explanation of the meaning. See how close you were to interpreting Shakespeare's intention!

PREP STORYTIME LED BY STUDENT LEADERS

As part of our buddy relationship, we decided to start storytime for Preps. We decided to start this because we saw all the Preps in the library at lunch trying to read their books but it was really challenging them so they asked us if we could read it to them. Because of that, every Tuesday and Wednesday lunchtime, we select three books and read it to them. They love it and so do we. They give positive feedback all the time. We interact really well now and they aren't too shy to have a little conversation. Madi, Jess and Mairead

Students Lead! Confirmation Information Night for Parents

Teachers and parents alike were incredibly proud of how our Confirmation candidates presented their learning at this year's Parent Information Night for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Conor wrote, "I personally felt that the Confirmation process, ceremony and aftermath was terrific all around. The preparation for Confirmation was well organised and planned out. We practised three times and everyone nailed their part beautifully!
Amber added, "I thought that learning about Confirmation and the saints taught me a lot. The learning was a great experience. I really enjoyed the silk painting of Confirmation symbols because the colours were so bright and the banners really stood out in the Church.
Mairead reflected, "It was amazing how well the prayers of the Faithful were prepared by the students themselves."
 

Student-run Confirmation Information Night from maggiewi

GUEST POST - LEAH and JESS- VILLANELLE

At school we have been teaching each other different types of poetry. We taught everyone a Villanelle. A villanelle is a French poem that has 19 lines arranged in six stanzas.
The first five stanzas contain three lines and rhyme in the pattern ABA. This rhyme stays the same throughout the whole poem.
The sixth stanza consists of four lines with a rhyming pattern of ABAA.
In the sixth stanzas, the first and third line in the first stanzas are repeated in the last two lines in the sixth stanzas.

This is our Villanelle.

The ferns covered the descending trees
Disguising all the plains
Blowing in the soft, supple breeze

A wind’s hazy wheeze
Appears naturally
Harshly blowing all the leaves

The wind starts to ease
As powerful as it was
It calms down the leaves

I bend down on my knees
Pluck some flowers
As I hear the bees

As the sun sinks down it sees
The beautiful nature
The place that holds the keys

So now it is time for us to freeze
And for one last time
The ferns covered the descending trees
Blowing in the soft, supple breeze

Our reflection about students teaching one another!

Leah: I thought that it worked well because we could understand it more easily because it was at our  own level.

Jessica: I think it worked well because everyone was able to give it a go. I enjoyed being the the teacher because it provides some variation in the way I work and also, because I had to teach it, I understood the poem better.

Mrs Yore reflects: I am simply blown away by the poetry the seniors primaries are writing. Empowering them with the role of imparting the knowledge to their peers, has certainly raised the bar both in terms of student engagement and in the standard of learning that has taken place.

GUEST POST - JIA-YI-from Senior Primary MY

At the moment, we are learning about different forms of poetry.  Each group researched and practised  a different form of poetry.  Zak and I learnt about free verse poems.

We found out that, Free Verse poems were written in the early 20th century.  A free Verse poem has no rhythym, very few distinct rules or boundaries.  They tend to flow in an uneven pattern, it also has no neccessary structure.  This allows the writer to break from formulas and rigidity.

It has been thought that, every poet that writes Free Verse, makes up the rule for their poem.  Free Verse poems are harder to write simply because you have to make more decisions, whereas in other poems there is a strict number  of lines or stanzas.

This was my first go at writing a Free Verse poem

Yellow

Yellow is the sun.

Sunbeam shining

brightly.

Yellow is a happy colour

a sign of a good day ahead,

a sign of a

escape from the

dark.

Yellow the inside of

the delicious passion

fruit.

Chloe: Listening to new people/students teach was very inspiring and kept everyone attentive, as we all had something to teach. This is my free verse poem, written after Jia-Yi and Zac presented:

Blossoms may bloom,

Roses may open,

Lions will hunt,

Coyotes will bite,

Words are written,

Songs are sung,

Blood drips,

Bones grind,

Yet butterflies still glide,

Kittens will cuddle,

Leaves still wither,

Bark still peels,

Seeds are sowed,

While saplings mature.

Blossoms may bloom,

Roses may open,

Flesh will tear,

Guns will fire,

Birds still soar,

Lords of the sky,

The wind's gentle wheeze,

Scatters Autumn leaves,

Smoke smothers,

 And flames devour,

Thorns prick,

And flowers sweeten air.

Blossoms may bloom,

Roses may open,

Earth will shake,

Volcanos will erupt,

Sky is sliced by wings,

Waves lap shores,

There are last breaths,

And tears of grief,

Puppies are bouncing,

Pigs are snorting,

Murder is commited,

Music is played,

A comforting breeze,

Makes pine cones fall.

This is paradise.

Reflection from Mrs Y: What a wonderful experience having Jia-Yi and Zak prepare and deliver the learning about free verse. I loved that, in the end, they knew more about the topic than me! And what amazing writing they inspired. More guest posts, soon.

Middle Matters