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Characters Come to Life During Book Week!!

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Every year schools and public libraries across the world spend a week celebrating books and reading during Book Week. Authors, characters and experiences are explored and shared as the freedom and joy of reading takes centre stage around the world.

This year, in a special Book Week Seminar, students from Pinewood shared their reading experiences both in and outside of the classroom in an entertaining and personal seminar. Grade 6 students bravely took to the podium and to discuss what literature teaches us. Each student talked about their favorite character and explained to the audience the life lessons they have learned so far as a result of reading. Book references were personal and very varied ranging from Diary of a Wimpy Kid to The Hobbit.

Students from Grade 9 got to grips with how literature functions and specifically how it can frighten and provoke us, giving informative presentations on the conventions of the gothic genre and the supernatural. They explored the key devices in gothic texts supported by beautifully illustrated slides focusing on three short stories: The Masque of the Red Death, The Fog Horn and Triumph of  Night.

Showing great courage and considerable talent, grade 10 students took to the stage in an entertaining attempt to bring to life the iconic poker night scene from the modern play Streetcar Named Desire. To accompany the acting and illustrate the techniques of plastic theatre, students used the piano and drums to underscore the actions and illustrate the inner life of the characters. The end and perhaps the highlight of the seminar were exclusive readings from Pinewood’s very own published writers who shared their own work in the recently published student anthology, We Are Writers.

Tao McCarthy, English Teacher
on behalf of the English Department