In term 4 TREE and English combined to create TREEnglish, a 10-week program which explored English in our local community. Under the banner of Sustainability, all of Year 9 self selected one of these seven interest groups in order to lead their learning;
- Agricultural Innovation
- Paddock to Plate
- The History of Orange
- Brand Orange
- Regional Well-Being
- Children’s Literature
- Viticulture
Instead of an End of Year Examination, the students created one of the following having explored their relevance to cultural, social or environmental sustainability in Orange/The Central West;
- TED-Ed Talk
- Documentary
- Magazine for CWD
- Children’s book for our prep students
During the 10 weeks all students received a series of lectures and talks from local mentors, who are pioneers of sustainability within each special interest group. These included;
- Sophie Hansen – http://www.local-lovely.com
- Cath Thompson – https://www.instagram.com/me_n_us/
- Rhonda Sear from Brand Orange – https://brandorange.com.au
- Ross Hill – https://www.rosshillwines.com.au
- Phillip Shaw – http://www.philipshaw.com.au
- Robert Bruce – https://robertibrucephotography.com.au
- Pete MacSmith -http://msmmilling.com.au/msmmilling.com.au.html
- Pip Job – https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/about-us/rural-support/YFBP
- David Cumming – http://www.definewine.com.au/contactus
- Kate Bracks – https://twitter.com/kate_bracks?lang=en
- Dan Blyde – www.blyde.com.au
The program was incredibly well received by students, with some brilliant projects created along the way. It was fabulous for staff to see them exploring English in a local context and revelling in it. It is such a key skill for effective communication.
Below is a sample of the finished products and some photos taken of the visiting mentors.
