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Alannah Payne
Shenton College, 2023
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I just wanted to express my thanks for your mentoring throughout this year and taking the time to not only elevate our skills but thought processes as well. I know that for myself your lectures have been incredibly insightful, and have provided assistance in refining my written work, but more importantly have taught me the value of critical literacy.
After our first session I remember just being in awe of the concept that you explained about resisting texts. I had always found my strength in English, but this concpet really made me reach a new level of nuance in my interpretation of the ideas being expressed in our studied texts. Perhaps even more importantly this skill has slowly started to become integrated into my every day, outside of the English classroom, hence I’m extremely grateful that you passed this knowledge onto us.
So again, I would just like to reiterate my gratefulness for the opportunity I had this year to listen and learn from you.
East Kimberley College
Kununurra, August 2023
Jessica
Your presentation was very encouraging and empowering. Thank you for all the helpful texts and examples. The WAE exam seems much less cary thanks to you!
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Mia
Thank you for coming. You are very inspirational and I loved listening to you. It was very helpful, I leant a lot!.
Molly
Your work is amazing and I loved the day.
Madi
Thank you for your time and passion. We really appreciated it.
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Token boy No. 2 S.H
Thank you so much! The lectures were amazing!
Peter Jones, Head of English, Newman College
'Lisa Mack has provided an invaluable service to our English department. Providing advice on course content, structuring assessments, moderating assessments, lesson content and interpreting the syllabus. Lisa is a cost-effective way of providing high quality inservice to our staff by being able to work with teachers individually, in the classroom and in small groups. She tailors content and professional learning specifically to ours needs which is far better than trying to find a course which isn’t as useful.'
Caroline Comiskey, Erin Kelly, Literature Teachers, Nagle College, Geraldton
'Erin and I appreciated your visit, insight and knowledge immensely! We learnt so much from one day with you.
We hope to see you again!
Good luck with your upcoming PDs and consulting. We have been raving about you to everyone we meet.'
And from the students (Year 12 Literature):
"Enlightening content, engaging presentation and brilliant insight that was exceptionally helpful when applying knowledge" Hugh Flanigan
"It was mack-nificent" Kade Allen
"It was a phenomenal lecture, incredibly engaging and easy to understand" Sarah Berryman
"An informative, entertaining experience that I learnt a lot from. I would love to hear more from Lisa Mack." Cassidy Jeeves
"Vibrant and highly applicable to areas of common weakness within the course. As a class our interest was piqued and we benefited accordingly." Seamus Keeffe
"Thank you for the great instruction on Marxism and Hegemony."- Marky Mark and the Marxist bunch- Christian Barker
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St George's Anglican Grammar School
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Year 12 ATAR English students
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'The Reading Process, presented by Lisa Mack, was an engaging (and concise) masterclass on the most efficient way to handle Year 12 ATAR English. During her hour and a half long presentation, she covered the basics of English writing such as: conventions and techniques, paragraph structure for single text and comparative essays, analytical essay structure, authors intentions, Acrostics and how to use them (specifically VIPERBARC) and much more!
I found her lesson to be effective and I feel far more equipped using the methods she mentioned. For visual learners, this will most probably also be the case for you, as she uses diagrams and even an illustrated anecdote to express her theories and experience. I would recommend this masterclass to anyone doing Year 12 English ATAR, she brought everything back to the basics in a way that felt like gaps were filled in my knowledge mentioning some forgotten concepts.' Camilo
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'Some of the what I learnt from the masterclass: Quality over quantity has to be evident in a good response essay. Analyse and break down texts that consists of themes and ideas with conventions and techniques instead of repeating the obvious ideas presented in the text. VIPERBARC is extremely useful as it acts as a guide to ensure that student's paragraphs consist a good flow.' Jay
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'In my opinion, I feel that Ms Mack provides strong and crucial information that can be useful in our future tasks and WACE. I find it very interesting when she said something might not be what it seems like when writing a piece on values, racism isn't a value, instead it’s when you are anti-racist that is what your value is. That was a real eye opener for me as it made me realise then that this was something I had done and is such a common mistake. Bryan
I have learnt that many authors try to convey their ideology by manipulating the emotions of the readers to change their attitude. Authors attempt to create relatable characters, which cause the reader to sympathise with the main characters. This creates a bridge connecting the reader and the author’s minds through the use of a fictional character.' Stanley
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'I thought Lisa Mack’s masterclass was extremely insightful. We learnt a very important acronym VIPERBARC, which will help us when writing essays. VIPERBARC stands for: value, intention, perspective, endorse, representation, beliefs, attitudes, response and challenge. I thought Ms Mack was easy to learn from and easy to ask questions of, and she was relatable. She gave us examples of essay structures, including compare and contrast essays, that we can easily refer to if we get stuck during an exam.' Georgia
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James Staunton
​ On behalf of Esperance Senior High School, I'd like to thank and acknowledge your expertise for the presentation you gave us today. When I first heard about the visit, I was dreading a whole day of English. However, I, and many others, are so appreciative of your visit. I personally left with so much more understanding and appreciation for the subject. You not only motivated me to do something about a "passing mark", but you also inspired me to change my pessimistic view of English. The tips and hints you gave us as to where students lose marks and where they gain marks was/is so beneficial. Your presentation was phenomenal, I definitely enjoyed being there to hear what you had to say. I have now set new goals, higher than just to pass. So, thank you, thank you so so much!
Erin Kelly - Nagle College
Geraldton, May 2016
They [her students] were all really
thankful for the work
you did with them so
you deserve this
positive feedback!
I used your scaffold for analytical paragraphing in Year 11 Lit yesterday and today and they are really responding positively to that, so fantastic!
Abigail Malone
The workshop was very compelling, as it discussed ideologies that I wouldn't have unearthed otherwise. It inspired me to challenge myself to expand my knowledge and has impacted upon my understanding of literary techniques and good writing practices.
Maggie Sutton
Lisa encouraged us to always question in literature, and her enlightening talk has made me question a lot of my own beliefs. Her talk is something I'll always remember.
Niamh Thompson
The workshop was extremely engaging and thought-provoking. The talk really helped to round off the topics that we were focusing on in class.
Michael Walters
The experience was truly inspiring and challenged the way I look at literature and even the world. It provided insightful knowledge about the techniques we are using in class and how to more effectively use them. Furthermore, the workshop helped me to better understand what reading lenses apply to me and which ones I am passionate about, therefore increasing my ability to write about a given subject within this lens. All of this was done in a humorous and engaging way that really benefited me and taught me things I may not or would not have understood otherwise. The experience provided advanced learning with a twist that allowed a more coherent understanding across the board. This will greatly benefit me through my schooling career and life itself.
Luke Godley
Lisa Mack gave a very interesting session, in which she radically challenged many of my points of view and exposed me to a new way of thinking. She explained many literary terms and techniques in a rather short period of time in a unique and captivating way. The content in Lisa's sessions will vastly broaden your horizons and aid you in making informed decisions regarding what you write in your literary works. A very insightful experience!
