From the English Faculty

Year 8 Poetry Presentation – Manal Younus

Adelaide spoken-word poet Manal Younus was once again a welcome visitor to SAC. The Year 8 students were an attentive audience as Manal shared stories of her life and her passion for poetry. Their responses to Manal’s questions gave testament to their familiarity with poetry and the teaching of it throughout the middle school years. The Eritrean-born poet’s messages of being confident in who you are and where you’ve come from were well received and the Year 8s showed their support and appreciation with rousing applause and supportive clicks.

STUDENTS REFLECTED:

“Wow!  Manal was incredible.  She performed with such emotion and was so entertaining.  It was really fun to watch.” Erin 8AT

“I thought Manal’s performance was really inspiring and forced you to visualize what the world was like from someone else’s point of view.” Evie 8AT

“I loved the performance. It was very entertaining and she was very confident. I loved her poems and how expressive she was. I learned not be afraid of public speaking and to express my feelings.” Charlotte 8MB

“I loved her poem ‘Woman’ as it resonated with me.  I loved hearing about her personal experiences with poetry.” Mariah 8AT

“Manal’s presentation was really engaging, and she helped me understand that poetry is so much more meaningful than ‘words’.  She inspired me to write more for fun.” Gianna 8AT

“I loved her encouragement and bravery. She tried to interact with everyone and encouraged everybody to have a try. As for bravery, it’s really simple: She stood up and shared her ideas with courage!” 8MB students

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Year 9 Poetry Workshops

In conjunction with their study of poetry this semester, Year 9 students attended a workshop with Adelaide poet Julie Wright. Through presenting examples of her own work, Julie explained how poets observe the world around them – global, local and personal – and then write about it in ways that are deeply personal but which also resonate with readers. The students were challenged to do their own writing, share their ideas and develop their knowledge of poetry.

STUDENTS REFLECTED:

“I enjoyed the poetry workshop, particularly where we got the opportunity to write different poems drawing inspiration from hers. The concepts and type of poems we wrote about were interesting. I loved writing the poem to God and the poem about Covid 19 as well. This workshop introduced me to different types of poetry and gave an insight into the creativity a poet has in their work.” Liliana 9SM

“In the workshop with Julie I learned that some people express most of their emotions through poetry. The workshop challenged my thoughts about poetry because I didn’t know that there where so many different types of poems and how much could be fit into poems.” Skye-Laura 9SM

“I enjoyed hearing Julie Wright’s poems and the anecdotes from her life that add to the meaning behind her poetry. I also enjoyed attempting to create poems similar to those we were told about. This has confirmed my liking for the study of poetry because the session was informative and memorable.” Amy 9SM

“I think that the poetry workshop is a great way for people to show their creativity especially the people who like poetry or who are trying to get into poetry. Julie Wright was really inspiring, and she also inspired me in some way through her poetic stories. I learned that poetry is a great way to express your feelings and emotions without actually saying how you feel. I also learned a few more poetry devices like how poets use shapes to spark their creativity.” Asma 9SM

“I loved how Julie Wright expressed emotions and demonstrated a story in a few lines. It has influenced me into starting to write my own poems for fun.” Rayan 9SM

Ms Genevieve Pelekani
English & Literacy Coordinator