February Writing Competition

After the success of the writing competition last year, we are continuing to encourage young writers at St Andrews in years 7-10 to practise their talent. Last year we ran competitions with various themes as well as months where the topic was Open in order to encourage different styles of writing. The Open competitions were the most popular and received many entries. With that in mind, we are operating Open competitions through the early months of 2021. An Open competition allows our poets, story writers, song writers, playwrights, and essayists to tackle what they love. 

The February competition was popular and we received many entries from all the grades. The quality was high and much kudos must be given to our year 7 entrants who are adapting to a new school and still finding time to enter the competition. The winners and runners-up from January are below:

Our Year 7 winner is  - Layla Sanchez – a poem “The Side you don’t See”.

Our Year 8 winner is – Mackenzie Jones – a poem “Scars”.

Our Year 9 winner is – Jeremy Delfino – a discursive text “Protest has Become a Form of Conformity”.

Our Year 10 winner is – Theresia Purwadi – Short Story “Death at a Tea Party”. 

Congratulations to all of the winners who each receive a $30 gift voucher.

Other writers deserve an honourable mention for their quality and efforts in February. Please congratulate:

Elyscia Barret (8), Sakina Ganiwalla (8), Amy Sutcliffe (8), Euleila Barret (9), Ava Alley (10), Holly Brasier (10), Keya Pandya (10), Rikhil Prasad (10).

Thank you to all of those students who entered. Some samples of their talents are below.

Extract from Protest has Become a Form of Conformity.

On the other hand, conformity is not the defining factor in a person’s reason for protest; they may truly believe in and advocate for change in a corrupt system. Online Activists may have a large audience and so use their widespread influence to educate and open the minds of the ignorant which can aid in enacting change. Those like Greta Thumberg, an environmentalist, are doing what they are because of their passion, drive and resilience truly rebelling against what they believe is wrong. Greta Thumberg, a member of Generation Z, a quickly influenced generation due to their constant access to the internet, has strong conviction. She is able to voice her concerns through protests such as her fridays for future in which she and other school students go on strike. While others go to school like they're told Greta believes that the global warming issue is much more important and warrants her full attention. She has no desire to conform.

All in all, it seems to be a mixed bag. On one hand people more often than not rally together in protests because of it’s “trending status” despite not fully grasping what they stand for or the issue at hand. On the other hand, true activists, full of passion and drive discard social norms and conformity to change the world. Why does this matter? activists, whether conformists or rebels rally together to fight the status quo. Isn’t that what protests are all about? 

Jeremy Delfino (Year 9). 

“The side you don’t see.”

Tall palm trees sway peacefully, and gently through the air.

Salty waves splash, back and forth like a rocking chair.

Bare feet sink into grains of sand, as yellow as the sun.

Cool breezes flow, they whistle and run.

Sunlight fades into the night’s sky display.

Nighttime stays still, until it is time to go away.

Droplets descend, creating ripples in the sea.

Rain falls harder, and fills the ocean like debris.

Streaks of lightning power the dark sky, electrocuting it full of life.

Ravenous waves slash at the sand, causing a strife.

Thunderous roars pound like a large drum.

This fierce storm has only begun.

Light fills the sky, forgetting about the long night.

Peaceful waves look innocent, as if they don’t bite.

Winds still blow, the same way they did yesterday.

No one will know that it acted in such an uncontrolled way.

Morning sunshine glows, as it awaits a visitor.

And still no one knows, of the storm so bitter.

Layla Sanchez (Year 7).

Extract from Death at a Tea Party.

The room was silent for a few seconds. “Thank you, please sit back down over there while we discuss”, Inspector Montgomery said, signalling to the folding metal chairs provided in the office specifically for the interrogation. He then huddled back into a circle with the other officers present where they started discussing. “Do you think it could be Miss Hudson? Love would be the strongest motive”, “No, Miss Lynott was in between her and the victim”, “That would eliminate Miss Hughes as well then”. “What about Miss Fadden? She was the one who invited them all and provided the cake and tea. All the cutlery, cups and saucers were hers as well. She could have slipped poison somehow that killed Miss Marigold”, That couldn’t be! There were no traces found on the teacup or anywhere”, “Aren’t you all forgetting the ultimate suspect? It’s Miss Lynott, plain as day. The poison was found in her bag, she was sitting next to the victim, making it easier to slip in the poison while everyone was distracted and she had more than one motive.” “If you say that, anyone could’ve done it, especially Miss Fadden who was also next to the victim. They all have motives, plus, we still have the possibility that one of the others slipped the bottle into her bag. It was open and next to where the body was; everyone rushed over”. 

Suggestions were being thrown around everywhere but Inspector Montgomery remained silent, still stuck and thinking. None of the explanations being thrown around made sense. Halton thought very hard. He just needed that one clue. Wait. That’s where I’ve heard about that. This explains everything! Although one detail will be a risk.. no, I’m certain. “Dad”, Halton interrupted. All the officers looked at him, including his father. “I know who did it”. The officers looked at eachother, then burst out laughing. Halton looked serious and his father did too. “Inspector you can’t be serious”, “I know what I’m doing. Halton knows protocol and is very smart. Besides, children may pick up on little details that adults normally wouldn’t. Lets see what he has to say first before dismissing him”. 

Theresia Purwadi (Year 10)

Who am I? 

I recognised the tortuous band of the Milky Way, with a very bright sun and earth almost battling against each other. Finding new ways to overcome each other’s forces but then retreating to another defence. Predictable until it bores me. But the stars and moon shine splendid light together against the unfathomable darkness in which they reign in. Between one fight and another, they are always destined to remain at opposite quarters, never to cross paths. Destiny is a funny thing mortals make more and more extravagant over the years. Although if destiny were to be devious, what would be the outcome of unstoppable forces to encounter another? Perhaps, it would be fatal. Nonetheless, I have full and inescapable control in the palm of my hand. In a snap of my fingers my desires will come true. Let’s start the entertainment, shall we?

              Snap!

Elyscia Barrett (Year 8).

Extract from an untitled story.

She had drifted into my life like a hesitant butterfly. Unknowingly I had bent to her winds. She had different charms to her wings. The colours of her wings were seen differently by others compared to what I saw. I saw her as pink and red. Two similar colours. One being one tint away from the other. The colours of love and passion. Something of softness and courage. They saw her as black and grey. Two similar colours. One being one shade away from the other. The colours of evil and despair. Something that absorbs all light while maintaining neutrality. 

She always seemed to be wearing clothes radiating comfort to me but illness to others. A black book with no title was in her hand at all times. She never let go of it. Her hair seemed to fall perfectly over her unreadable green eyes. Come to think of it, her eyes were what held me hostage. They were the cap of the pen. 

Keya Pandya (Year 10). 

Extract from Hope.

Hope. It feels as though you are reaching for something that you are not sure is there. You can feel your fingers brush against the faintest wisp of it, but when you try to reach out to close your hand around it, you come back with nothing. So you try again, and again, and again, over and over. You begin to wonder why you keep attempting to grab it though it’s obvious that it’s not there and that you will never be able to obtain it. 

But something tells you not to stop trying. It tells you to not give up and that it is possible. It questions you as to why now? Why would you give up now after trying so hard for so long? It makes you think of all the possible reasons as to why you shouldn’t stop. You have gotten so far, so why stop now? It reminds you why it began in the first place. Although it may not have been in your control and the best at the time, the events leading up to this moment have taken you on the craziest ride of your life. You have enjoyed every second of it and there is no doubt in your mind that you should enjoy it a little bit longer. You know that there is a destination at the end of this journey, and you may not know what is waiting for you there but you do know that no matter what, it will bring you happiness. It is always okay in the end, and if it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.

Ava Alley (Year 10).

Extract from Hope.

Sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to, things go from bad to worse, darkness overcomes you, terrible fates are inevitable. These phrases of discomfort referred to the award winning book, The Red Tree, both illustrated and written by Shaun Tan, can take control within one's lens and mindset. As humans we can't always be in control of everything in our lives, we will experience bad times, we will experience failure when what we need the most is success. So then the question is, how can we stand our ground during these indestructible periods? and how can we manage to fight back?

It's all about having hope for the future and believing that things are going to be better one day, but after all, you can't just fool your deep mind by repeating statements or by making false promises but instead you need some kind of powerful proof that helps you energize hope once again. What is hope you may ask? Hope is a positive state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and situations in oneself’s life or the world at large. Without having hope deep inside the heart, life is unpredictable, hard and quite fabled at times. Things go out of hand and beyond of our control many times. Hope helps us keep the fight on and improves the odds of making our life better. I’m my unique lens and mental attitude, I assent that hope is worth having and that our individual hopes should be used wisely.

Why is hope important? Well, life is difficult. There are many obstacles and therefore, hope allows people to approach problems with a frame of mind and strategy suitable to success thus, increasing the chances you will actually accomplish your distinctive goals.

According to twenty years of scientific research conducted by positive psychology founder Martin Seligman, hope reduces feelings of helplessness, boosts happiness, reduces stress, and improves our quality of life. Hope is one of the most important mental traits in life and without doubt, it is one of the most important traits of positive people. 

Rikhil Prasad (Year 10).