A bit of a fun one for the last week of term!

Literacy tip of the week: Words from other languages. 

English is a complex language built around a lot of borrowed words (some say up to 80% of English is borrowed from other languages!) Do you ever hear a word and wonder where it came from? This week I challenge you to pay attention to the words you read or hear. Do they sound like they came from another language? Look it up! Report back! 

This might be harder than it sounds because so many words have just become part of your vocabulary. For example, how often do you stop and think that ‘kiwi’ is a Maori word? What about Ballet? Quiche? Comedy? Drama? Lager? Broccoli? Cookie? Caravan? Karma? Pyjamas? Shampoo? Chess? Ketchup? Tea? Coffee? Husband? Zombie?

What we’re reading: I've just finished "The Son in Law" by Charity Norman. It's about a family having to work through some awful stuff to find a better path into the future. I enjoyed it on the whole, and it made me think quite a bit about what we should and shouldn't forgive other people. It has a similar vibe to Jodi Picoult books so if you like her stuff, you'll like this too! - Ms Ward

As I type up Ms Ward's review it reminded me of another Charity Norman book I read last year, 'See you in September' which is about a young British girl who travels to NZ for an OE and ends up getting involved in a reclusive cult in the central North Island and the family's struggle to get their daughter out of it. It was really interesting to read from the perspective of people inside the cult and I found it fascinating to hear the author craft the mentality of those with various levels of conviction and commitment to the cult. A really good read. 

Katherine Beaumont

HOD English

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