Shakespeare; his work and time at San Andrea School

Ben Johnson once stated that Shakespeare was "not of an age, but for all time."  In keeping with such a spirit, the Department of English has taken the initiative to put up an exhibition dedicated to Shakespeare's work, life and the time he lived in.  This exhibition saw the contribution of all the grade 8's, 9's, 10's and 11's, under the guidance of their teachers of English.  Given the fact that this exhibition was held during the last week of the second term the grade 12's were exempted from taking part in such an activity since, at such a crucial time of the year, priority was naturally given to O'Level preparation.

Different grades were busy working on different types of projects. The grade 9's researched Shakespeare's life, which information was then presented in the form of an interview with Shakespeare. The grade 8's contribution involved the creation of a number of models about a variety of themes related to Elizabethean times.  These themes included Elizabethean weddings, Elizabethean clothes and Elizabethean entertainment, amongst others.  On the other hand, the grade 10's tackled Twelfth Night and presented projects related to the play.  These projects included photographs of students acting some of the play's most prominent scenes and the production of love letters sent by the most important characters of the play.  The grade 11's were in turn assigned a research project either about one of the themes which emerge throughout Macbeth, or about one of the central characters of this play.  These research projects were presented in the form of charts.  

This exhibition proved to be an enticing experience for students, teachers and parents alike.  Parents were able to appreciate all the exhibited work since the exhibition was purposely planned to coincide with Parents Day.  Thanks to this occasion, students were given the opportunity to interact with the literature content covered in class in a creative and fun manner.  Moreover, students were also able to place the Shakespearean content covered in their respective grade within the broader spectrum of Shakespeare's works. Since Shakespeare is a common element across all the grades, students could relate material which had already been covered or which will be covered in the coming years, to the material covered during their present year.

Given this exhibition's fruitful experience, plans for next year's exhibition are already under way; the poets in ALL San Andrea senior students had better get their pens ready for the occasion!

Ms. Marlene Ellul
June 2010

View photos of exhibition here