TREEnglish

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.