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Junior Writing club
Junior Writing club
Students at the Junior Writing Club meet up under the guidance of Ms Coveny at lunch to flex their creative muscles and hone their short story skills. They've shared their work at exciting Showcase events this term – here are just a few extracts from their work!
The Fear Out There, Taylor Wilson (Year 8)
Susan lies in bed, reading her mother’s favourite childhood picture book. She’s nine, obviously far too old for it, but there’s something about the yellow, ripped edges and the faded watercolour design that keeps calling her to pick it up every night. The girl in her book is also lying in her bed, curled up in the sheets. Her face is turned towards Susan, eyes wide, in a swirling expression of confusion. Susan peers intently at the page, feeling herself fall forward into it like sinking sand. Suddenly, someone—or something—screams. Loud, piercing, and the type of sound to leave your ears ringing for days after. It’s an awful noise, like a nail scratching against a skull.
Rubber Duckie, Haylee Matthews (Year 8)
As I walk down to the pool gate, I see an eagle circle the pool house and up into the bright, blue, sunny sky. I look up wondering where the eagle might be heading to and why. I run back up the grass covered hill that leads up inside my auntie’s house calling for my mum, aunt, sisters, and cousins to hurry up so I can go in the pool. Finally, after what feels like an hour, they all come down.
I jump in the water feeling a nice cool breeze wafting over me as if a kite caught the perfect wind to gently keep it up in the air for a while.
Do You Belong?, Diksha Chowdary (Year 8)
Tara walked out of her class; her bag slung over her shoulder lazily. Dragging her shoes across the tiled floor, she turned into the corridor, only to be met by a pair of hands yanking her into a class. The door shut as her back was slammed against it harshly, a loud groan escaped her lips. She opened her eyes to see a duo of girls, each one staring down at her with disgust and disdain.
“Can I help you…?” Tara deadpanned, raising a brow at the girls. The next few moments were a mere blur. She was at the mercy of those girls, blood dripped down her face as she winced in pain. Her head was slammed to the wall repeatedly as a hoard of words clouded her ears. Their voices grew distant as the door to the empty classroom shut, leaving her there. The words ‘You don’t belong here, brown girl’ stuck out the most.
Taylor Wilson, Zora West, Madeline Harney, Natalie Kayssecke, Haylee Matthews and Oskar Macdonald of the Junior Writing Club
The Houseboat, Madeleine Harney (Year 8)
The car started and we began driving to the biggest river I knew. Though, I was little and didn't know of that many rivers. But still we kept driving, everyone was bubbling with excitement. I was happy as I slept, played games, stared out the window, and imagined what It was going to be like when we got there. I thought of a small boat, tiny rooms and a few beds. But when we got there It was better. There were two floors, the bottom with all the rooms and the top with a sitting area for relaxing and looking out onto the beautiful water. There was even a little boat attached with some rope to the houseboat. It was amazing, we had about three weeks all squished together on the boat.
Your Blind Eyes, Zora West (Year 8)
My head hangs low as I stumble down the halls, letting my shirt cover my figure before weaving my way through the crowd.
Their blind eyes bore into my side while their dirty words echo around and around my head.
I steer myself in and out of corridors, hiding in the shadows, although never fully unseen. My mind unconsciously steers itself away from certain girls with sneers hiding beneath their perfectly curated smiles. Their obnoxious murmurs, pointed stares, and unsubtle laughs loom over me declaring their presence.
The bell rips through the air, temporarily saving me from the noxious people around me. I stumble home, thankful for the walls of the school keeping the monsters at bay.
D e b a t i n g
D e b a t i n g
Three junior teams from NHSPA attended the Junior Debating Day at University of Sydney on 10 November. Students participated in interschool debates for the whole day, gaining valuable feedback from university debaters and coaches. All students debated to a very high standard, and the Year 9 team of Izzy Preller, Zoe Richardson, Maya Harriman-Khan and Matilda Saunders were undefeated for the whole day. Year 8 students participating included: Freya Mossman, Rebecca Walker, Elizabeth Hillier and Naomi Nogawa-Lewy. Year 7 students participating included: Tom Simpson, Eleanor Stringer, Beatrix Nagy and Luke Kelly.
Max Jackson in Year 10 has had the exciting opportunity to attend a Debating Workshop at Kirrawee High School with a selection of the zone’s best Intermediate Debaters. Students undertook a workshop followed by a series of debates and individualised adjudication. All students challenged one another, sharing strategies and skills and forging new connections that will serve them through to senior debating and beyond.
The digital times
The digital times
The Digital Times has reported on several exciting events happening in the NHSPA community this term – here is Elsa Wright's report on the exciting production of Bathory Begins.
Behind the Scenes of Bathory Begins
Bathory Begins, a black comedy production on surviving a 16th century serial-killer countess, has captivated the NHSPA community this term.
Three exceptionally talented cast members who performed in the ATYP play: Wylie Best, Mathew Pieri and Anastasia Bonnor, were generous enough to provide us with some insight into not only their own performances, but the time and effort it took the cast, crew, and director to bring this play off the page and into the spotlight.
To prepare for his part, Wylie researched British stoicism to embody the role of Royce, an apprehensive and arrogant Judas gent. He strived to convey a character who was exaggerated, yet believable. Mathew, who played Charlie (the nerdiest of the private school boy bunch), spent a long time perfecting his character’s distinctive laugh. He had to perfect not only how it should sound, but at what points it best fit into the play.
Anastasia played Maude, the more sceptical of the Butt Road girls (who isn’t blinded by the Bieber fringes and thin armpit hair). Anastasia commented there was a conspicuous raw intensity to her character that made the audience believe in her conviction. She explained that the biggest takeaway from this performance was the experience itself, noting that “we are always doing short ten-minute productions and this show prepared us for what the professional industry is really like.”
The cast members strongly emphasised the importance of everyone that was involved in the production. The clear dedication and commitment of the cast members, director and tech crew was inspiring.
Year 9 Zines
Year 9 Zines
Last term, Year 9 had an opportunity to make their assessment task all about them! Students were asked to create zines which reflected an aspect of their lives through different forms of autobiographical writing–including diary entries, memoir, poetry and songs.
Students wrote about everything from dancing, family, pets, cultural identity and connection to nature. The results were a clear indication of students' creative flair, attention to detail and ability to reflect on and gain deeper understanding of their life experiences.
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