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with three interviews having taken place this year. Since
June, we have received three donations to the Ruyton
Archives, including the book,
A History of Ruyton
, signed by
Miss Hilda Daniell. There have been seven external requests
for information and five internal requests. The Year 4
teachers have introduced a new unit of enquiry where the
students research the history of both Henty House and
South House. The Archives Office was able to provide
assistance with this unit, via the ‘history cabinet’, housing
important historical documents and through two visits to
the classroom.
We are grateful to our many individual volunteers who
have played a part in the Development Team at Ruyton this
year.We value the contribution of each and every one of
you. Special thanks, also, to the talented, friendly and
efficient Development Office team who assist in keeping
everything running smoothly. This year has been
particularly complex, with the organisation of the Fair and
the launch for the Capital Campaign. I am truly grateful for
your ability to multi-task and to deliver on time, all with
good grace and humour.
Ms Tonya Peters,
Director of Development
English
Be it in reading, writing or speaking, the English Faculty
continues to provide a variety of enriching opportunities
both within, and external to, the curriculum. The significant
list of achievements and highlights of the year in the
English Department, detailed below, is a testament to the
hard work of both students and staff alike.
The introduction of MacBooks has led to a timely
opportunity to enhance and refresh our curriculum. New
units of work have been developed throughout the year
and this will be expanded upon in next year’s English
curriculum. The technology has allowed for even greater
differentiation in terms of units of work on text, writing
folio and listening and speaking activities and assessments.
The texts studied as part of the English curriculum offer
numerous opportunities for students to make connections
with events and times beyond their immediate experience.
In Year 7 students are asked to consider the impact of
commercial development on the environment in Tim
Winton’s
Blueback
. In Year 8 students explore the effects of
Apartheid on South Africa in the 1970s and also the
ramifications of early settlement on the Indigenous
community in Jackie French’s
Nanberry
. In Year 9, the
spectre of racism and prejudice and its insidious effects on
a community are further explored. Year 9 students also
undertake a Human Rights Project which links the study of
the film
Rabbit Proof Fence
to the issues of Human Rights in
Australia and throughout the world. In order for students to
become aware of the way in which language and images
are used to shape their lives, Year 10s have been encouraged
to become critical readers of the messages presented to
them in a continually expanding range of media. At Year 11,
the study of
The Great Gatsby
asks students to consider the
consequences of being motivated solely by materialistic
gain, with such a novel prompting students to make
parallels to elements of contemporary society.
To support our studies of Shakespeare at Years 9 and 10,
and Bertolt Brecht at Year 12, the English faculty organised
for CompleteWorks Theatre Company (CWTC) productions
of
Romeo and Juliet
,
Macbeth
and
The Life of Galileo
to visit
the School. In the performances, there was an interactive
element with the students taking assigned roles and
discussing features of the plays at the end. In addition, as
part of their learning outcomes, Year 12 Literature students
attended readings at the home of Literature teacher,
Mrs Di Berold, where the students’ understanding was
enhanced through readings and music.
In conjunction with Mrs Julie Purcell in the Library, visiting
authors and writing workshops for Years 7, 8 and 9 were
offered. These visits were timely as they were organised to
complement the girls’ work in the Isobelle Carmody
creative writing competition and the Boroondara Literary
Awards Competition. Ruyton has a long history of success
in the field of creative writing and 2014 has been no
exception. This year, three students were recognised with
awards in the Boroondara Literary Competition. As they
have for the past 21 years, students in Years 7 to 11
participated in the annual Isobelle Carmody Creative
Writing Competition. Once again, the quality of the writing
was extremely high. This year’s topic,
The Building
, resulted
in an impressive range of engaging and inspiring writing,
with buildings, both literal and metaphorical, providing
interesting settings and points of action. The judge,
professional writer, Ms Sue Lawson, was thoroughly
impressed with the imagination and flair displayed in
the short narratives and commended the students’
dedication to the craft of writing. This ability and
dedication can also be seen in the English Department’s
Literary Magazine,
Scripsi
, in which Senior School students’
talent for poetry, fictional stories, autobiographical
narratives, essays and speeches is displayed. This year
marks the first year that it will be published in an
electronic format and I trust that you will enjoy reading
the collection over the summer holidays.
Annual Report 2014
11