The English Conqueror

08/03/2023

So inspiring to hear actors’ analyses of character and theme. What a fabulous production.

01/02/2021

Les Mis’ ‘One Day More’ tops the chart for best musical number! And what a worthy winner. I directed Les Mis back in 2008 with a wonderful music director and fabulous cast of young performers. It’s will always be a show very close to my heart. It was epic! We said if we could ‘do’ Les Mis we could do anything and that cast, crew and ensemble proved us right!

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21/01/2021

What’s the point of poetry? A question I’ve been asked many a time, it’s one that is often hard to explain without concrete examples for students to engage and empathize with. Often many see poems as words from other worlds, other people, different lives. Yesterday’s inauguration may give students around the world another route into a love of poetry. Well done Amanda Gorman for reminding us that poetry is meaningful, personal and relevant for now. Just brilliant 👏👏👏

18/12/2020

Worth a read. So inspiring to see how original student writing can be

Writing a fictionalised history of lobotomies in the United States set Fort Street High’s Eszter Coombs apart from her peers. This is her English extension 2 entry, en...

16/12/2020

Storyteller by Marshall Cavendish was a fortnightly magazine with cassette tapes produced in the 1980s. Those of a particular age may remember it! I have childhood memories of sitting with my dad’s huge headphones on listening to the tapes and following the stories on the page. I loved it and mum says it cemented my love of reading from an early age. My set was given away in the 90s but I acquired these a few years ago and my 2 little boys are now enjoying the stories of Gobbolino the witch’s cat and the fables it explores.
It has been out of print for years but you can view and listen to the 1980s texts online on YouTube. There are even Christmas special editions available. For those of you with littluns I highly recommend!
This Friday a new digital version of Storyteller will be released, written, illustrated and produced by people across the world. Storyteller, Members Edition. I am so proud to be part of it! We hope you will enjoy.

12/12/2020

For all you fellow drama geeks out there. A giggle in a Sunday. Thanks to Karen Abell for sharing 🤣

10/12/2020

Studying is hard. Even though I’ve taught for years and completed my masters a few years ago, I found getting back into learning once again these past few months tough. Developing new skills and exploring new content has been fantastic and a real challenge with the 2 rugrats around but my unit is done. Results came in today (hooray! And its good!) and I can empathize with my students once again : the wait is excruciating. But it’s so worth it. I’m signing up again for next semester. Who knows where it’ll lead? Keep learning folks. What will be on your agenda in 2021?

04/12/2020

*That’s not a Christmas tree... That’s a Christmas tree. (*insert your best Aussie accent and Croc Dundee impression)

08/09/2020

Hanami. The Cherry Blossom festival. I’ve always loved these flowers ever since I lived in Japan over 20 years ago. It’s strange to see them in September and not March time. But it’s the sign that spring is here in Australia at last.
A book that shaped my life is ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ by Arthur Golden. It inspired me to move to Japan after university and I’ll never forget the immersive experience of hanami when I lived there. Walking through the streets of Kyoto brought the book alive and it will always stay with me.
I lived in a small village called Kawauchimura in Fukushima-Ken, a place so close to the nuclear explosion following the tsunami of 2011 that it has been uninhabitable for years. So sad.
Looking at the cherry blossom here in Sydney makes me smile. Such beauty for such a short time.

08/09/2020

Hanami. The Cherry Blossom festival. I’ve always loved these flowers ever since I lived in Japan over 20 years ago. It’s strange to see them in September and not March time. But it’s the sign that spring is here in Australia at last.
A book that shaped my life is ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ by Arthur Golden. It inspired me to move to Japan after university and I’ll never forget the immersive experience of hanami when I lived there. Walking through the streets of Kyoto brought the book alive and it will always stay with me.
I lived in a small village called Murajima in Fukushima-Ken, a place so close to the nuclear explosion following the tsunami of 2011 that it has been uninhabitable for years. So sad.
Looking at the cherry blossom here in Sydney makes me smile. Such beauty for such a short time.