English Extension 2: Creativity shines
The HSC English Extension 2 course is hugely challenging, but this year’s students have excelled, as their teacher Ms Lovell said at a recent showcase, which was livestreamed to parents.
I don’t regard myself as the teacher of the Extension 2 class, rather I act as a midwife, encouraging, cajoling, sitting on the sidelines, intervening when necessary and looking on in wonder at the final products.
This year seven students – Claudia, Daisy, Zara, China, Greta, Eloise and Jemima - have undertaken individual projects that include three essays, two suites of poetry and two podcasts.
There is something about this group of students that has set them apart. And I’m not just referring to the extraordinary circumstances we have found ourselves in due to the pandemic.
It’s a quality that I have no control over, but one that has defined this class and our year working together. It is quite simply, generosity and camaraderie. The support and encouragement the students have had for one another, the genuine interest in one another’s work, the willingness to share their knowledge and the lack of competitiveness has allowed each student to flourish. To produce their best, to strive to achieve what they envisioned for themselves. I am very proud of the calibre of each of the projects. Your parents must feel very proud – and no doubt relieved – that you have stuck it out.
Creativity is at the core of our humanity and being creative takes a certain kind of courage. The courage to be vulnerable and process feedback, to be disappointed when you can’t do a film due to restrictions, to realise that you need to rewrite entire sections while you’re in the middle of a gruelling assessment week, to learn new skills in order to produce a podcast or even a reference list. To stick at it when you’re just sick and tired.
Girls, I hope you realise that you’ve achieved something very special and learnt a lot about yourselves along the way.
Let us celebrate the courageous creativity of 2020’s Extension English 2 students.
Ms Fran Lovell
English Teacher