This term, Year 8 English have been studying Steinbeck’s seminal novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ which examines life in 1930’s America during the Great Depression.

One of the key themes of the novel is racial discrimination which Steinbeck portrays so vividly through the treatment of Crooks, the only black character in novel. In conjunction with this, we have examined and explored various type of discrimination as presented in newspaper articles and poetry.

One such poem we explored is ‘Nothing’s Changed’ by Talamkhulu Afrika, which paints a harrowing picture of the impact of Apartheid in South Africa.

In Ms Condon’s Year 8 (3) class, we invited Mr Moodley, who grew up in Apartheid South Africa, for an extremely powerful and insightful Q&A session.

The calibre of questions asked and the level of engagement of the class was exemplary, after which students designed and created their own anti-discrimination posters.

Overall, the students in Y8 (3) have done an amazing job and have dealt with the topic of discrimination sensitively and maturely; well done!

M Condon