College Press: Halloween Edition

The end of term doesn't just bring a well earned rest, it brings the latest edition of the College Press! Packed full of jokes, activities and articles it should be just the first great read of your mid-term break.
Enjoy!

Historical Context: Of Mice and Men

This is the last in our short series of presentations on Of Mice and Men. They were created by a group of Second Years in Newbridge College. The pupils began their studying of Steinbeck's classic tale, of human friendship and fragility, by researching the historical context of the novel. We hope you enjoyed their work.

Elizabeth Bishop Booklet

The poet Elizabeth Bishop 1911-1979

Please find below is a revision booklet, compiled by a sixth year class, on the poet Elizabeth Bishop. The pupils studied the poetry of Bishop as part of their Leaving Certificate course for 2013.

DARTs: The Language and Idea Builder

This is the second in a short series of methodologies and activities that are targeted towards improving pupil literacy levels. The activities are designed from an English teacher’s perspective but can be adapted to all subjects. This concept was created with a view to helping pupils of English but colleagues from different departments have helped me build examples of how the idea builder could be used in other subjects. This activity is called 'The Language and Idea Builder'. Click here for the full document. Be sure to download in Microsoft Word for the correct formatting.

What is the purpose of the Language and Idea Builder? Any pupil will attempt to answer any written question with the knowledge they currently have on the topic and the language range they currently possess. The purpose of the idea builder is to improve the pupil’s language range which will in turn improve the quality of the point being made.

 

(Feel free to copy, change and amend the document as you see fit. Get in touch with us at newenglishirl@gmail.com with any feedback you may have!)

ePortfolios as an approach to managing J.C. 2014

This work is inspired by a poster Portfolio Profile from Windygoul Primary School, East Lothian, Scotland. It was originally Tweeted on October 9th by David Gilmour . The work was then further discussed by Donal O Mahoney on his Blog ‘eLearning Island’.

This is an edited Popplet presentation of these findings by NewEnglishBlog. We are currently developing Literacy & Numeracy and eLearning practice in the school and found the outline very helpful. With the introduction of the new Junior Certificate course in 2014, ePortfolios may be an ideal way to manage and assess pupils' progress across many subjects and disciplines.

DARTs: Directed Activities Related to Text

This is the first in a short series of methodologies and activities that are targeted towards improving pupil literacy levels. The activities are designed from an English teacher’s perspective but can be adapted to all subjects. The first activity is on: 'Sequencing / Jigsawing'


Feel free to copy, change and amend, the document below, as you see fit. Get in touch with us at newenglishirl@gmail.com with any feedback you may have! 

 

Please click this link for the workbook on Junior Cert Studied Drama and Sequencing. For your convenience the workbook contains two copies of each text. One for cutting and one to keep as an answer book.

(Be sure to download the file in Microsoft Word for the correct format!)

Dylan Walker - Jigsaw Genius

Please find below a short story from one of our third years here in the College. Follow the adventures of the charismatic Dylan Walker (Jigsaw Genius) as he tries to figure out a weird journey through space and time!
Below is a small extract but click here for the full essay.

'' Unfortunately, Dylan has yet to discover the feeling of having a good time, strange for a man edging towards his twenty-first birthday. Dylan may not have much planned for his big day, but what fate has in store for him is something only a jigsaw genius could piece together. This particular evening, as the sun was slowly making its way down from the tip of the sky, he was helping his mother finish cleaning up the dinner dishes.  Once everything was complete, he gathered up his freshly-ironed clothes for another day of doors being slammed in his face the following morning at work.  With his bedroom door  shut and the lights out, it was only the twinkling of the stars that shed a little light through Dylan’s window.  Just before he closed his eyes, a shooting star appeared.  Dylan shut his eyes and whispered,  “I wish I could be somebody”,  just before Death’s first cousin Sleep had taken over him.''

Historical Context: Of Mice and Men

This is the second in a short series of presentations created by a group of Second Years in Newbridge College. They began their studying of the novel by researching the historical context in Of Mice and Men.

1930s california from NewEnglish

Historical Context: Of Mice and Men

This is the first in a short series of presentations created by a group of Second Years in Newbridge College. The pupils are beginning the study of Steinbeck's classic tale of human friendship and fragility for the Junior Certificate course. They began by researching the historical context of the novel.

Fashion (1930s) from NewEnglish

5th Year projects based on their studies of Plath

Sylvia Plath: Mirror Images

Please find below a collection  of images that can be used with the poem Mirror by Sylvia Plath. Plath's poetry appears in the Studied Poetry section for H.L. Leaving Certificate English in 2013 and 2014.

 More newenglish

The Great Gatsby: Trailer Analysis

This an analysis of  Baz Luhrman's movie trailer for his on screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby'. It was completed by Newbridge College sixth year pupil Akvile Kovanate. The movie was due for release at Christmas of this year but has now been put back to early 2013.









Research the names of the two songs Luhrman uses in the trailer. Discuss why you think he used these songs and how accurate is the trailer?

The trailer begins with the song “No Church in the Wild” by Kanye West & Jay-Z. From the first notes we hear, the reasons for Luhrman’s choice of soundtrack becomes apparent. The first beats of the song instill a sense of anticipation, with its blend of dark undertones creating a sense of building tension and ‘the restlessness” that “approached hysteria” as pointed out by the voice of Nick Carraway.  The song’s agitated rhythm compliments the extraneous party taking place, and the lyrics are an accurate reflection of the main concepts of the novel. The song portrays the lack of depth within the Roaring Twenties, questioning the significance of the superficial wealth for those “Who don't believe in anything?” The song’s references to the church and its religious connotations consolidate with the novel’s portrayal of the reverence that wealth held in that time, and the veneration that it seemed to procure. Luhrman’s ingenious choice of a contemporary song relates these concepts to a modern audience and applies the criticisms by F Scott Fitzgerald of the society that he lived in, to the world we live in today.

Subsequent to a few well timed moments of anticipatory silence, the trailer launches into the song "Love Is Blindness”, the u2 cover by Jack White. Its gradual start is a perfect introduction to another aspect of the novel – the tragic love story between Daisy and Gatsby. The opening chords of the song are sudden and uncertain, much like the meeting between Daisy and Gatsby that it illustrates – the awkward reunion of two lovers that have nothing and yet five years of unexpressed words to say to each other. The song is permeated with emotion that heightens along with the events in the trailer, augmenting the impact the sequence of scenes has on the audience. Luhrman’s choice of this song serves to not only amplify the atmosphere throughout the trailer, but like the preceding “No Church in the Wild”, hints at the themes of the novel within its lyrics. The lyrics “Love is blindness, I don’t want to see” are a synopsis of Gatsby’s and Daisy’s relationship towards each other. Both are transfixed by the supercilious façade of glamorous luxury of each other, and are blind, or unable to see the true person beneath the appearance. Gatsby fails to see Daisy as a person beneath the unattainable but so desirable aura of prestige that she projects, and Daisy falls in love with the idea Gatsby being a man that she could truly love, someone unaffected by the lavish extravagance around him, but still part of it. To both of them, unable to see the respective truths, as in the lyrics of the song “love is drowning”

Films are more often, more than inaccurate representations of the novel they are trying to depict. Luhrman’s attempts to portray the atmosphere of “The Great Gatsby” are particularly valid in the scene where Gatsby is throwing his collection of shirts towards Daisy. Not only is this a precise representation of the same scene in the book, it is a scene that summarizes the idea behind the novel – the overwhelming emphasis on extravagance with no regards for consequences or repercussions. The scene in the novel represents everything that was wrong with the American Dream, the idolization of wealth in the “shirts, piled like bricks in stacks a dozen high”. It portrays the decaying void that is thinly veiled by the supercilious attempts to counterfeit class – the complete belittlement, yet glorification of aristocracy. Daisy’s reaction to this overt show of wealth is an insight into her true character, her extreme materialism. Her tears show her attitude towards love, or perhaps her inability to love - because Gatsby can now afford an assortment of lavish shirts, he is more worthy to be loved than what he was five years ago, a man with nothing.