English

A Toast to Success

The morning of the Level 1 English exam at Te Aratai College was marked by the feeling of both nerves and egg-citement, thanks to the breakfast organised by the English department.

As per tradition, as the quad slowly filled with Year 11 students waiting to enter Te Puna to complete the exam, the aroma of bacon and pancakes filled the air of Te Whare Mātauranga.

The purpose of the breakfast is not only to fuel the students’ minds and bodies for up to three hours of furious writing, it is also a

chance for friends to offer support to one another and to allow time for any last minute questions. Students left feeling juiced up and ready for the task ahead.

Many thanks to the teachers who gave up their mornings to help, Daryl Crocker for allowing the use of the cooking rooms, and Jodine Hardwicke for returning from leave to assist. Good luck to all students as they finish exams and we hope you earn the results you deserve.

Spoken Word

On Tuesday the 22nd of August, a group of four students from across year levels represented our school at Word: The Front Line Ōtautahi, a spoken word poetry slam that has been held in Auckland for the past 10 years, and has now been brought to Christchurch for the very first time.

Held at The Piano, the night was full of amazing performers from 5 different schools.

Our team, made up of Isabel Marshall-Ma, Adrian Singh, Georgia Kieboom, and Joseph Lomani, had been practising for a short 3 weeks, attending workshops during the weekends and staying after school to make sure the poems were interesting, catchy, and most importantly felt.

Coached by the extremely talented spoken word poet Dietrich Soakai, Te Aratai’s team did exceptionally well on stage. Isabel and Adrian’s poem “Chaotic Rain Thing” made the audience laugh and was full of vivid imagery and creative ideas. Georgia had the audience spellbound with her beautiful metaphors and heartfelt performance of her poem “Stars”. Joseph had probably the most audience participation of the entire night, making the entire room click and stomp on beat with his incredible poem “My family is like palusami."

Unfortunately, it was Christchurch Girls' High that ultimately won, but we were still a part of history as competitors in the first-ever Christchurch-based slam.

The event is annual and Ms Singh will be running a weekly spoken word club throughout the year, so if you like to write, perform, or just want to do some confidence building, consider joining the team. We are looking forward to creating more poetry and spoken word in 2024 - watch this space!

Chaotic Rain Thing

Bleached clouds gather and colour themselves grey.

The sun meek, hiding away like a child in the window hiding from strangers on the street.

A spit,

A drizzle,

A shower.

Slept for 12 hours!

Step outside and the scent of rain on concrete overpowers.

I play a song on the radio that is my brain. An indie song that fits the scene. To wipe the blackboard of my mind clean.

Pace in a circle.

But not the anxious pace. The timing pace. Take your time pace.

The pace of that indie song that I can only pretend to hear. Look up from my grassy steps into the dappled view of the air.

Steaming cup of tea in hand, feet freezing on the ground,

Neck reaching up so my head is in the clouds

Thinking "Ahh this is the moment I never wanna leave...

Oh my god I can't believe, there's a new album, did my friend see?

Wait no thinking, just being. This is thinking, thinking about stopping thinking, would you die if you stopped thinking?

If you put a brain in your hand would you have 2 consciences?

How would I bread toast? Wondering for 2 weeks but everyone said it's nonsense. Better yet, if you put bread dough in a toaster is it bread or toast?

Why do some people laugh more than others?

Why do people look for perfection when low standards make you happier?

Ew, this train of thought is growing sappier.

Oh yeah, that thought I had.

It went like.. me at a work interview:

What's your work style? Lonely.

What's your work ethic? Midnight.

And yet I'm still happier in the daylight.

Hey, daylight's the name of that song I like.

I should listen to it again, has the skipping through the city feel. Feeling cheerful and bright.

If you had no senses would you feel alive?

Nope, off track! just let my mind be blank...

Open eyes, be at ease,

My hair is frizzy with watery beads.

Grass seeds grown up, dog leash hung up, Feeling free whilst the clouds fall down on me.

The perfect setting to daydream.

So to going inside I procrastinate, stand still in life but not in time. But I still try to hold off my 80 year waiting void of a fate.

Turn around, walk around.

The rustling trees make soft sound.

Onto my umbrella their leaves drip, in a cascading water wall, disappearing on the ground,

I don't slip, on the slippery wooden step,

The deck is shiny with rainy depth.

And then the air grows colder, and so do I,

(not metaphorically! just temperature-wise)

No need for calm before the storm when the storm is the calm.

So I cross my arms and hope to dry,

Step back inside, blanket and book in arm and sigh...

And... the rain stopped. Way to kill the vibe, sky!

by Isabel Marshall-Ma

WORD Christchurch Trip

On Monday 28th August, 36 Year 9-13 students from Te Aratai College took a trip to the University of Canterbury to attend the WORD Christchurch Secondary Schools’ Day. We heard from various New Zealand and international authors about their journey through writing and the challenges they faced. Best-selling author Jane Higgins who wrote Glimpse spoke about the real experiences behind some of her stories. Gabriel Krauze from London, UK is the author of Who They Was and he spoke powerfully about growing up within gang culture and the way he started writing a book about his experiences. Khadro Mohamed, recent winner of the New Zealand Ockham Book Award for Best First Book Award (2023) spoke about writing poetry as a way of exploring emotions. MahMah Timoteo was incredibly inspiring as she urged us to be confident and proud of who we are.

One thing that stood out to us was the variety of speakers. They all grew up in different environments and backgrounds but they all shared their love of writing.

This love for writing helped them through all stages of their life, no matter how different. The range of individuals allowed the audience to relate to the authors.

In particular, Witi Ihimaera who wrote The Whale Rider spoke about the decision to use a female character as the next tribe leader. This challenged Māori traditions resulting in some criticism from the community. Witi stuck with his ideas and The Whale Rider is now a best-selling book, recreated in film and live action. He encouraged us to challenge stereotypes and traditions around us and make a path of our own.

At the end of the sessions, the authors were available to chat and sign books. It was amazing to meet these talented writers and get their signatures! Thank

you to Ms Singh and Miss Campbell who took us on this inspiring trip. We hope to do it again next year!

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