English@Walkden

Okay – it’s a cop out but I genuinely couldn’t choose. With James Ball playing Margaret the cleaner, Denni Lees poisonning Chloe Hodgekiss’ soup and then hoovering up her ghost and Dylan Thomas playing Dobbie the elf who murdered Greg Whitehead with a toilet brush….. it was all too much for me.

Three classic Macbeth/Walkden High plays filled with murder, madness and mystery.

Listen out for the fabulous Scottish Accents!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sizi9rkK7kc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y85WSWmHHWI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91iOX3oiB_k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7o8XQdEwI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm78uC3ybKQ

Some very talented year six pupils attended Walkden High School on Friday and spent a lesson writing metaphor poetry with Mrs Lane. There were two winning poems – one boy and one girl.

Amber Fernley (from St Paul’s Heathside Grove)
There’s an attack by a red pen
It’s red itching powder sprinkles
There’s your blood squeezing out
It’s the hotness of a burning saphire in a crystal cave
There’s the bits of red fluff off your jumper
It’s a million pins stuck in your body
IT’S CHICKEN POX

Jack Carr (Boothstown Methodist)
It’s a sledge colliding with ice
It’s a brick falling from a skyscraper
It’s a slate crushing your head
It’s the roof caving in
IT’S A FRACTURE

Mr Johnson’s year 8 English group were doing Media Shakespeare with Mrs Lane. Listen to their radio ads here. 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3akDfGOA2Ic
2- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPnZV3ipImU
3- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiEiRjyqJ0w
4- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-4AQ0bTmGQ
5- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTiRprtjNSw

Walkden High Is Proud
The Times Spelling Bee is now in its third year and over a thousand schools throughout the UK are taking part. The Northwest regional heats took place on Thursday 12th of May when Walkden High School competed against 8 other northwest schools.
I say this every year but it really is difficult to express just how tense and exciting the event actually is. To maintain one’s composure under the spotlight must take a lot of nerve and my admiration goes out to Libby Maclaren, Ryan Hinds, Thomas Rowley and Charlie Sykes, all of whom had to earn their places from 240 Year 7 pupils.
The Spelling Bee is split into two challenges: the Spelling Play-Off and the Quick-Fire Challenge. The first is an individual knockout and, after a nail-biting finish, Ryan Hinds was bestowed the title of ‘Last Man Standing’. He received a medal, had his photograph taken and was interviewed by a Times journalist. A fantastic achievement!
Individual points from the first challenge are then added to the Quick Fire team round. Only the first placed team can progress to the semi-finals and unfortunately we were unable to build upon our half-time lead. Although the team were somewhat disappointed, they should be proud of theirselves; Walkden High is certainly proud of them.
Mr. Johnson (English Department)

Some useful websites:
http://www.globelink.org/abouttheglobe/
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/virtual-tour
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&biw=1276&bih=576&q=globe%20theatre%20original&wrapid=tlif130468573602211&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

Only 2 weeks to go

Mrs Lane was given the wonderful opportunity to teach at Turton for a day and one year nine class did some amazing adverts. One Walkdener boy said “They’re pretty good.” (Which I think meant, they’re utterly brilliant.)

6 of the adverts were chosen to be judged by Mrs Lane’s normal year nine class and they spent a good while looking at each one. Two of them were really close: The Coke advert and The Lego advert, but there could be only one winner. So…. the winner is…….

LEGO – “There’s a big kid in everyone.”

For all those sonnet fans out there, here’s Kenny Wong’s. Is he the next Shakespeare?

The Sonnet of False Hope
Love is but brief yet is everlasting,
I saw you but once, but once was enough,
I knew then you are my everything,
Although I am bad at this poetic stuff,
These poems are my soul and my frail heart,
So please hear me out, at least for this one,
This is but the long winded and weak start,
Please wait, reject me only when I am done.
You said that you loved me, do you not now?
To hear those words was a shock I admit,
False hope I wasn’t going to allow,
But you should see, that is exactly it.
It was in that false hope that my love lay,
I love you. There. I have no more to say.

WINNERS of 7A’s hell-writing competition are: Roberta Warburton and Luke Anderson. Read below to find their hell…

Hell on earth

Luke Anderson:
Once I got up. I knew the routine. Everyday is a page turned in a mystery book, it gets easier to figure out. People are imaginations, a picture in my mind additionally animals, and nature, anything solid, liquid or gas. I know its there, but I don’t. I am a computer, I have knowledge, although I don’t know who I’m giving it to. I am nothing. I am a pair of closed eyes. I am 4 senses. I am every thing but eyes. I am – I am – I am – I AM BLIND!

Roberta Warburton:
Darkness surrounded her. She felt shadows creep around her, yet nothing was to be seen. Anger leered in the air. There was no light at the end of this tunnel.

It was like living in a coffin. The walls were built up of angry, depressed souls. It was lifeless. The air smelt of burnt dreams, that had disintegrated in the arms of death. The taste of ash lingered. Shrieks of fearful children hung in the atmosphere. The darkness sent shivers up her spine. Unknown creatures of the dark tugged vigorously on her sanity.

It was as if the world was compact with hate, jealousy and despair. She heard screeches of pain coming from all directions, as she searched for any hope, any joy, but still there was none.