Parramatta North Public School Writers' Club Anthology - WestWords 2017

The Writers' Club Parramatta North Public School Anthology Year 4-6 | 2017

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The Writers' Club

The Writers' Club Parramatta North Primary School Anthology Year 4-6 | 2017 Published by WestWords Ltd PO Box 2327 North Parramatta NSW 1750 91B Grose St, North Parramatta NSW 2151 (02) 8677 4815 | admin@westwords.com.au www.westwords.com.au Copyright 2017 Š All rights reserved Without limiting the rights of under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be used without the written permission of the publisher.

Illustrated by Sadami Konchi sadamisgraffiti.blogspot.com.au Graphic design by Luke Beeton and Christie Burmester www.sailorstudio.com.au

Introduction

Late in February 2017, Iranian-born Australian playwright and television writer Maryam Master joined students from Parramatta North Public School’s year 4 to year 6 classes for a six week in-school writer’s residency. The weekly workshops were quickly dubbed The Writers’ Club by the students, a fitting name also for this publication.. We could not have asked for a more dedicated and engaged collection of young writers, who each week enthusiastically participated in Maryam’s creative writing workshops. Every session brought some new challenge. Some weeks you might have walked

without whose enthusiastic support this anthology would not exist.

Thank you also to Maryam Master, who reflected on her time with the kids: ‘What an honour and a joy it was to work with this group of young writers!

A group of 19 smart, inquisitive, creative kids from diverse cultures and backgrounds, each bringing their own unique story to life throughout the residency. I loved every moment of my time with them. Thank you WestWords for allowing me to be a part of such a stellar program.’

by to find them dressed up in crazy costumes to help invent new characters,

Thank you also to the talented illustrator Sadami Konchi, who was

and interviewing each other. Or you might find them re-creating a scene

responsible for breathing so much life into these writers’ stories. WestWords

from a picture book using only their bodies. At all times, these young writers

joins Sadami in giving special thanks to Margaret Hamilton, Ann James, Ann

showed each other tremendous support and encouragement, and drew on

Haddon and Helen Chamberlin who Sadami notes gave her precious advice

the strength of their families, friendships and memories to create the pieces

and encouragement.

you will read here.

Most importantly, we’d finally like to thank the budding young writers

WestWords would like to thank Principal Kathryn Methven, Assistant

involved in this program for their unfailing enthusiasm and creativity.

Principal Kate Young, and the teachers at Parramatta North Public School,

WestWords

Sailor Studio

Michael Campbell | Executive Director

Christie Burmester | Graphic Designer

Michelle Rickerby | Producer

Luke Beeton | Graphic Designer

Eda Gunaydin | Associate Producer

Parramatta North Public School Parramatta North Public School is located in historical Parramatta and has been serving the community since 1877.

The school nurtures a vibrant culture of achievement, opportunity and success. There are currently 400 students attending the school, of which 83% are from a language background other than English. The diverse school population is drawn from over 50 nationalities from around the world. Our school is committed to the quality teaching of literacy and numeracy in an inclusive, engaging and supportive environment. Students are able to participate and excel in both the Arts and Sports through numerous extra-curricular programs. We are dedicated to working in partnership with our wider community to deliver ‘Quality teaching in a caring environment.’

WestWords WestWords provides pathways of opportunity for the development of Western Sydney voices through innovative literature and related arts programs. We believe literacy, self-expression and creativity changes lives and communities.

WestWords is committed to providing an environment where the stories of the communities of Western Sydney and the places they come from are celebrated. The guiding philosophy of WestWords is a belief that the unique perspectives and stories of the Western Sydney area deserve to be celebrated, developed in literature and shared with a wider audience.

We believe that engagement with reading and writing allows young people in particular to develop their imagination, gives voice to their stories and experiences, hones skills in written expression and illustration, and sets them on a trajectory for life. With a focus on literature, we deliver residencies, fellowships, workshops, performances, presentations and publications. Our partners include teachers, schools, universities, community and arts organisations.

WestWords is proudly supported by

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Maryam Master Maryam is a stage and screenwriter with over 20 years’ experience writing for young audiences. In 2016 she wrote the stage adaptation of David Walliams’ best-selling book Mr Stink. The show, produced by CDP, premiered at the Sydney Opera House, then toured nationally and to the UAE. In 2017 Maryam collaborated with Australian Children’s Laureate Leigh Hobbs on Horrible Harriet: Live on Stage, which also toured nationally. In 2018 Maryam will adapt another Walliams book, Billionaire Boy, for the stage.

On television, Maryam has written for many major Australian and international programs. She was selected by Sesame Workshop as the writer for Elmo’s 2011 tour of Australia, and wrote Elmo and Ollie for Sesame and Nick Jr. She is currently developing and writing a new animated series Monstrosity for Cartoon Network. Maryam has written for Hoopla Doopla (Beyond), Lah-Lah’s Adventures (Stella/Seven Network), Blinky Bill (Yoram Gross), and many more.

Other stage work includes The Incredible Book Eating Boy (Australian and international tour), Lah Lah’s Big Live Band, which debuted to sold-out audiences at the Opera House Concert Hall, and ’Twas the Night Before Christmas and Jingle Bell Jazz (SOH Babies Proms).

Sadami Konchi Sadami Konchi is an enthusiastic children’s picture book illustrator, award winning portraitist and event/conference sketcher, based in Parramatta. Her studies in linguistics and sociology gives her deep text analysis and good research skills to illustrate a diverse range of stories. Sadami has been one of the highly commended artists in the Arts Access Australia Art prize, a Doug Moran semi-finalist (twice), and in the top 600 at a world watercolour competition. She illustrated trade picture books, Moon (Windy Hollow, 2015), My Dog Socks (Ford St Publishing, 2017), and created academic book covers, Intercultural Communication, written by Prof Ingrid Piller (Edinburgh University Press, 2017), and Linguistics Diversity and Social Justice by Prof Ingrid Piller (Oxford University Press, 2016). http://thestylefile.com/illustrator/sadami-konchi.

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Blackbeard He held it in his hand, it was strange. It was glowing green and it felt like a stone or a gem.

“Stop right there!” Blackbeard shouted at his crew. “What are you doing moving barrels of rum from my cabin into the crew’s cabin?”

The sword came out of the sky. But before it came from the sky there was a vortex or portal. It just came shooting out and hit the ground. It looked as though it had been a knight’s sword.

“Sorry, Captain.”

Different dimensions. Time travel, space wars, scary planets, alien UFO. Destruction of planet. Super computer. The Boss Ship. ***

“Put those back in my cabin,” shouted Blackbeard.

Blackbeard was, let’s say, a very angry and mad captain. He always wanted things his own way on the ship. His biggest wish was to rule the world and rob people.

Humza, Year 6

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What Are Friends For? Hailey, Scarlet and Lizzie have just finished year 6 and they are into their holidays. All three of them are best friends. They would do anything for each other.

I think something strange happens in the night, starting from 12.00-12:30.

But be careful girls, there are 2 ECO Hotels and they are both 10km away so be careful.”

Lizzie’s dad is a really rich man, and so is Lizzie. The girls went to the beach to have ice cream. Hailey wore a beautiful yellow and pink dress so she bought a mango and strawberry ice cream. Lizzie wore a red dress with flowers so she bought strawberry bubble gum flavour. Scarlet had a light pink dress so she bought a fairy floss flavoured cone.

Hailey and Scarlet left the police station. The time now was 5.30pm. They planned to head to the hotel to find their friend. They headed off and arrived at the hotel 30 minutes later. They searched all 13 levels but no sign of Lizzie.

They left and went to the next hotel.

They just finished their ice cream when on the other side of the road they saw a woman running towards them. Hailey and Scarlet ran away but Lizzie stood there shocked. The woman grabbed Lizzie and carried her away.

Lizzie screamed.

Hailey and Scarlet went to the police station and told Lizzie’s number so the police could track down where Lizzie had been taken.

“It looks like it’s Crader. She always kidnaps girls and puts them in the hotel ECO,” said the policeman at the desk. He leaned forward over the desk and whispered, “and I believe it’s true. I’ll tell you a story. Once, when I finished high school I had holidays so I thought, I can book a room in a hotel which was near a beach. So I booked a room in the Hotel ECO. I went to bed as usual that night, but at 11.45 I woke up because something fell down. I went to the toilet.

At 12:00 the lights went off and on, then something grabbed me. I don’t mind telling you, I was so scared, I fainted. The next morning I woke up and yelled, ‘Anyone here?’ There was no reply so I packed everything and left the hotel.

It was now 8.00pm. They started searching for Lizzie. They wondered if the 13 levels in the hotel meant bad luck. They walked all the way up the stairs. It was 9.30pm. They were so tired when they got to the top that they stopped for a rest.

After a moment they started searching each unit but Lizzie was nowhere to be found. There was only one unit left. They searched inside, and finally, there was Lizzie! It was 11.45pm.

They freed Lizzie and all ran out of the hotel together. It was 12.00am. The girls looked behind and saw the hotel’s ghost chasing them!

The ghost caught Lizzie’s dress. Lizzie screamed.

Then Lizzie said, “Why do you want me?”

In a deep, sad voice the ghost replied, “I just want to be your friend.”

So from that day on they all were friends, and the ghost, called Natali, went to school.

Indhu, Year 5

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A Different World Trees swayed calmly, birds chirped happily and a mild breeze took place.

Everything was so serene. Too bad it wasn’t so calm now.

“Alex! Alex – you’ve got to see this!” I shouted.

I ran back to our cabin at camp. We were at school camp in Bathurst. I was out of the cabin, even though I wasn’t meant to be. I’d been so excited, because at night I dreamed. Not just any dream. It was so vivid, so real. I dreamed about finding a magical box.

moved the chest to the side. I had just realised that the key was missing.

“That is so cool!” Alex said finally.

“I know, but I can’t find the key,” I replied. We looked around. Nothing, just grass and dust. We started digging. Something glinted inside the hole we had made. Alex picked it up.

“Whoa!”

I kept pushing Alex. He wasn’t going to wake up. So I screeched in his ear.

That did it. Alex jolted up, nearly head-butting my nose.

It was the key! Alex pushed the key inside the keyhole. I thought we were going to be famous for this discovery. But I was wrong. As Alex opened the chest, we were sucked in. The next thing I knew, I was falling in a neverending hole.

“What was that for?” he exclaimed wearily.

“Aaaa….ahhhhh!!”

“Come with me, you’ll never believe what I found,” I said, excited.

It was pitch black. No walls. Nothing.

We were back where I had found the box. Now it looked like a chest. I looked at Alex. He was gaping at the chest I had unearthed earlier. I bent down and

Alex and I started to slow down in our drop. We were practically floating down. But soon we were spat out of the chest’s never-ending hole.

I arrived at the cabin.

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THUD! We landed heavily. I tried to look up as soon as I recovered but the light was too bright. As soon as my eyes got used to the light, I gasped. In front of me was a huge city. But it wasn’t a normal city, it was advanced. There were enormous skyscrapers and unusual vehicles zooming around. But they were flying! I tried to look at the people who were driving the unknown, flying vehicles. One passed by closely. I just managed to make out the face. It was an alien!

“Where are we? Alex said behind me.

“A different world,” I replied. Then he gasped.

“What is that?” he said. I turned around to see Alex pointing at an alien.

“Who are you? Where are you from?” the alien spoke.

I put my hands up, signalling Alex to put his up as well.

“We mean no harm,” I said to the alien.

“Well, we do,” the alien sneered. He pulled out a dart gun from a holster. *** “Where are we?” I said. My eyes were groggy. My mind was cloudy. Then I remembered, we were in a different world.

“Sam!” Alex said groggily behind me. “Where are we?” he asked.

“We’re in a jail. We’ve been abducted by aliens!” I replied.

We looked around for something that would help us escape. One look at the alien police officer, I knew what I had to do.

“Hey, officer. What is this planet?” I put my plan into action. He didn’t move. I said, “Come on, I just

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want to know. It’s not every day you get sucked through a portal and land in a different world.”

That did it. He came over to chat. We talked for a while. Alex tried to spot the key while I kept him busy.

Once Alex spotted it, he nodded. Then I grabbed the officer’s collar and pulled him back with great force. His head banged hard on the bars, making him drop to the ground. He was out cold.

“It is so gullible,” Alex said.

“I know,” I replied.

Alex put the key in the keyhole and twisted. The bars opened with a creak. We were out! Alex and I ran through the police station, not looking behind. Luckily, no other officers were in the police station. We were nearly out when I spotted something in the corner of my eye.

“Alex, stop!” I told him.

He stopped instantaneously. He turned and asked, “What?”

I pointed to a chest, identical to the one we had been sucked into.

“Shall we look for the key?’ I asked “I think I already know where it is. I’ll go get it,” he said as he rushed off.

He returned with a golden key in his hand. He bent down and opened the chest. Knowing what would happen, we were sucked in. We landed.

I looked up. Everything was different. But then I noticed. We were in a different world.

Well. Here we go again….

Indhu, Year 5

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Surprise Birthday Party Dear Diary,

***

Hi, my name is Anna and there’s a lot of things I have in my mind and I’m going to share it with you.

I’m giving my invitations out in art class and my BFFs said they would totally come but they have to wait for permission from their parents. At 5pm after school I was just waiting for my friends to message me to say if they were

I only just started 8th grade and my life is a total mess. Why? Because I have a locker next to the most popular girl in 8th grade. But luckily I have my BFFs to help me survive 8th grade.

coming.

BUZZ BUZZ

You’re probably wondering who they are. Their names are Tara, Rose and Mary. They are the bestest friends you could ever have.

Squeal! One message from Tara – it said this: “Sorry, can’t come to your birthday party, I’m busy!” What?!!

I am planning my party next week. In case you’re wondering when it is, it’s on the 12 August.

BUZZ BUZZ

Now, I need to invite my friends and my crush Brandon to my birthday party!

Okay, so it’s obvious I’m going to invite my BFFs and Brandon. But I’m also going to invite some other friends like Violet, Tamary and more.

BUZZ BUZZ

I’m so excited but I don’t know what I’m going to draw for my invitation. It needs to be absolutely perfect. Last night I stayed up until 2am figuring out what it would be and now I know it. Looks like brain-storming actually paid off!

Oh, there’s another message: “Sorry, can’t come.” From Rose.

“Can’t come either.” From Mary.

The next day at school I’m trying to find my friends but they are not here.

What’s going on?

Rosemary, Year 4

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Mixed “Where are my piglets?”

Up Boxes

“I WANT MY VEGETABLES,” said Mr Bess.

“Calm down, calm down. Sorry Mr Farmer, I think I kind of mixed up the boxes. I just need to get the other boxes back.”

“OK, OK, I will get it but let me get out of here first.”

*** “Where is my shampoo?” said Mrs Wemarry.

*** OK. Got the shampoo box.

“Your shampoo will be right back.”

Mrs Wally is so nice that she is OK when I get the cakes to her.

“Well, I hope so. I don’t use vegetables when I am washing pets.”

Shampoo is done.

*** “Arghhh! I don’t want piglets!” said Mr Coolet.

Cake is done.

“But this piglet looks really happy in your cake shop!”

Phew. Now you know what I mean? Mr Bess is bossy.

Vegetables are OK. Cake is fine as well.

“You are normally so good,” said Mr Coolet, “but only when you get the right box.”

Now on to piglets and I’m done.

*** Ay, ay, Mr Farmer can be cross really easily.

“Thank you.”

Mrs Wemarry can not wait too long, so I need to hurry up. But I get scared when I go to Mr Bess’s house because he is just too bossy.

But I have to do it. ***

“Mr Farmer, your piglets.”

Shampoo, good.

Vegetables and cakes, super.

DON’T MIX IT UP NEXT TIME!

Qing, Year 4

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The Shoes I’m offered a choice, bubblegum or a swirlie. I can’t say which I’d prefer – dirty, old, unhygienic bubblegum from under a desk, or a faceplant in the toilet.

So, there I was, at the front gates of Parramatta Marist. The place was exceedingly huge and I couldn’t wait until what happened next.

But first, I should explain…

About three minutes in I noticed a group of three tall boys everyone seemed to avoid. We were in class doing Algebra on our desks. These boys all sat together with their feet up. Once the recess bell went off I ventured to gain their acquaintance. But before I could say anything, the middle boy pinned me to the wall while he held me by the shirt. I shivered. A bully? A murderer? The end of me?

It started last week when me and my family moved. I was happy with my grade seven friends back in Queensland. Despite the floods I missed Shout Queen Academy. But my mum and dad didn’t care, and my little sister Jackie was too young to understand, so we moved.

“You’ll love it here!” said Mum. “Just imagine, eighth grade in Sydney!” exclaimed Dad. “Googa!” blurted Jackie.

He puts his lips near my ears. I’m offered a choice…

Yemi, Year 5

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Friends Forever “Hi, my name is Celina Audrey Kahn. I like to be stylish and do people’s make up.”

She stomped her way out.

I was practising making the land go up and down, and my friend was practising burning wood.

“That was interesting. What AM I GONNA DOOOOOOOO!” I yell.

“Hi, my name is Dishita. I like to read and write stories. I am practising powers with my friend.”

“Hey Dishita, you should get better at burning things because I’m getting better at moving land.”

We decided to go to Sapphire Beach. I heard it was a relaxing place to rest. I saw a magical note saying a secret message.

“Hey, I think I know how to read it – lemon juice! There we go.”

It said: Dishita, you need to practise your powers.

While that was happening, Dishita made a decision. “I shall take over the fire kingdom and rule the world!”

I decide to look for Dishita and to come and rescue her. That’s it, I will make a ginormous fan and capture her. But I still need something to turn her good like me and not evil. I remember I have a scientist friend and she will make a potion for me.

“Please Maryam, can you make a potion for me to turn Dishita good?”

“Yes, sure,” she gathered the ingredients. “A rat tail, tennis ball and pen. Here we go, you’ve got to make her drink it, though.”

It looked like to me Dishita was getting angry. Her cheeks wear puffy, her face was red and she held her fist like she was going to punch someone.

***

I got an ice pack but it melted. Wow, I was stuck. Dishita stomped away, still angry.

Seems like I’ve arrived just in time.

***

“What are you doing, Celina?”

Dear Diary, everyone always thinks Celina Dumb head is always better than me.

“Saving you.”

It’s so unfair everyone thinks Celina is better than me. *** “Hi Dishita, feeling better than yesterday?”

At that moment Dishita struggled. She was turning… turning… TURNING EVIL!!!!!! Ahhhhh!

“Muahaha, Paris, I am your queen now, so obey me!”

“Drink this!”

I make her drink it.

“Nooooo!... Wait, what happened to me, Celina?”

“You turned evil.”

“WHAT?”

Sarah, Year 4

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The Ashes The birds that fly, the flowers that blow.

A nice place called Home Island.

Two girls called Haily and Scarlett.

“What do you think of this?” said Haily, stepping back to show off her art.

“OHHHHH, that’s a great sculpture,” said Scarlett.

Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! The phone rang.

“I’ll get the phone,” said Haily. “Hello.” She listened, and then shouted, “SCARLETT!” “What is it?” answered Scarlett.

“Are you playing a joke?” screamed Haily.

Before Scarlet could say anything the door already slammed, and Haily was gone.

Scarlett grabbed the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s Ashly.”

“Who are you?” said Scarlett.

“OHHHHHH, me? Yes, you knew me in preschool,” said Ashly.

“YOU!” shouted Scarlett.

Haily came in and said, “I thought you called her, but Mum called me and said she’s staying with us for life.”

“NO,” said Scarlett.

“Remember how she pranked me so much?” said Haily.

Haily and Scarlett put the phone away together. Then they heard a knock.

“I’ll get that,” said Haily.

Haily opened the door and saw a girl.

“Hey, Haily and Scarlett, haven’t seen you girls in a long time,” said the stranger. Haily and Scarlett looked at each other.

“Wait. Rachel from preschool?” said Scarlett.

“Yes,” said Rachel.

The girls told Rachel about the phone call.

“OK, that sounds horrible,” said Rachel.

“I know. Wait,” said Scarlett.

A noise came from the door!

Haily looked through the hole on the door, but it was no use. It was Ashly.

“Idea, idea!” said Haily, clicking her fingers.

“What is it?” asked Scarlett.

“We pretend we’re not here,” said Haily.

“I know. We can hide in the attic,” said Rachel.

“Great idea,” Scarlett said.

The girls shut the windows and doors.

“Come on,” said Ashly, “there’s no point in waiting.” So Ashly went home.

Jessy, Year 5 23

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Escape As I was about to go to bed, I felt like exploring. Exploring a forest. There was one spot in the garden. It was an escape route. I never really used it much.

Tonight, I would. I packed a bag with a snack, water, toys and clothes. It was really late at night, but I was ready.

An owl swiftly landed on the lowest branch and spoke, “It’s nearly that time again.” I wondered what it was. After a soft breeze of wind struck, we had to go. By the time Rosemary arrived back home, she would miss her special event. I checked my watch.

I left. I was in the wilderness. All by myself. Well, I was until I found a bunny.

I ran after that little bunny wherever it went. It reached thick and tall trees.

It hopped right through one, so I did too. I was floating up and up and up, spinning as I transformed.

“I can’t believe it! It has been nearly 3 hours! What am I going to do?” It was a struggle moment for Rosemary!

I was covered in white linen, with fairy wings and bunny ears. I fell into the water, but I walked through it instead. On the other side of the lake, I found someone. Someone like me. A boy. We were getting along pretty well. Just as a breeze of wind hit, I had to go.

I arrived back just before my dad woke up. I couldn’t believe it! It was like that place was made for me! After breakfast, I texted my bestie, Rosemary. We met at the mall with a backpack each.

“I have to be home in 3 hours!” Rosemary said in a panicky type of voice.

Because of that, we boosted through everything to the forest. After transforming, the same boy met me at the end of the lake next to a rather sparkly tree.

For a split second, I got lifted up, high into the air. I was floating. I dropped onto the lake again. It was like time rewinded! I checked my watch, but a breeze of wind blew it away! Rosemary and I ran trying to catch up to it and ended up at Rosemary’s house! We both sighed and took a moment to catch our breaths.

After I placed my watch tightly onto my wrist, we made it back right on time!

I got thinking about it and said, “I have really found an escape route.” It was a magical moment for everyone. As soon as I got back home, I drifted into bed wondering about what awaited me still. I wondered about it in all my dreams.

“That is a place I would call home.”

When I woke up, I ran to the sparkly tree. But it looked different…

Tara, Year 5 25

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Dear Diary: Diary Dilemma Dear Diary,

“Fine!”

Hi, my name is Amy and I’m in 8th grade. My life is such a big mess right now.

It all started last year before summer holidays. I was in the 7th grade and it was great until she came, and by she I mean Madison Hollister. She is the most spoilt rich girl I have ever seen. She takes everything for granted. She has a gigantic limo which she only allows her two BBF’s to ride in, Emma and Rose. Which brings me here. She has done so many mean things to me. Once she even tried to publish my diary. Let me tell you what happened.

***

Scribble scribble. I was writing in my diary just before lunch, near my locker, when Madison came. She was putting on hot pink lipstick before she was going to eat. Who does that? Anyways. She saw me put my diary back into my locker and she said, “Oh Amy, that‘s so sweet you have a diary. What do you write in it?”

When I woke up in the morning, I went to brush my teeth. I looked in the mirror and I screamed. Chloe and Azra came upstairs from breakfast and started laughing.

“None of your business, Madison, go away.”

After school finished I went to talk to my BFF’s Chloe and Azra. We talked about so much, like what happened at school that day. By the time I thought about going home it was 6:00pm. So I phoned Mum and Dad and asked if I could have a sleepover and they said yes. ***

“Amy, did you do something with your hair?”

“No, I didn’t. So this is my question: why do I have a moustache and a unibrow?”

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“We sorta drew on your face while you were sleeping. Don’t worry, it comes off with water, I think.”

After I got ready I noticed I had a text message saying if I don’t do what the texter says he or she will read my diary aloud. Signed – MH. I had a major meltdown. Chloe and Azra read it and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this.” *** The next day at school was horrible. I had a math test in 1st period then I had double PE. We did a unit on swimming and I got so embarrassed because we had to partner up and guess who I was with? Madison. We jumped into the water but then Madison pushed me and I nearly drowned. When I came out of the pool, water was dripping from my mouth and something green was near my nose. Yep, you guessed it, it was snot, it was right near my nose and everyone started to laugh. Thanks a lot, Madison!

I hadn’t forgotten about the blackmailer but I didn’t know what to do. Should I tell my parents or what? I went to my locker to look for my diary.

Just then Madison showed up wearing a shiny, silver jacket and platform shoes.

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“Hi Amy, write anything interesting in your diary lately?”

“Go away Madison, why do you care?”

“Because I just do!” Ugh, sometimes I wish that girl would disappear. For the rest of the day I kept on thinking about the blackmailer. Who was it? What does MH stand for? Then I realised it was Madison Hollister. That’s it, she was the blackmailer. I was going to give her a piece of my mind.

Here it comes: “You are rotten to the core Madison I mean reading my diary out loud I didn’t know that you were that bad now that you’re exposed. I’m going to tell the principal!”

I told the principal and she gave Madison detention and cafeteria duty. She was going to blow up. Since that day she hasn’t bothered me anymore. I know she won’t stop, but just for now I’ll enjoy myself.

Saanvi, Year 4

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Wolves and Wolfya Wolfya ran along the beach on all fours. It was midnight. Time to hunt.

She howled to the pack then barked what to do. The pack understood.

A bird flew by. Quick as lightning she was off. She jumped up and caught the bird in her mouth and brought it back to the wolf den. It was her turn to catch dinner. So far she had caught 3 wild pigs, 8 birds and 22 fish. This should last the pack for all the dinner. She ran up the sand dunes and howled. Quick as lightning the wolves ran up to eat their dinner. Wolfya was happy but little did she know she was being watched.

Soon they were back with rotten food. To the wolves and Wolfya, it smelt delicious, but to the humans it was horrid. They were determined not to open the door, but the smell was too much for the lab people. They opened all the doors and Wolfya ran out. Now the wolves knew how to break others out. But the lab people were not going to be stopped, for Wolfya was half wolf and half human and nothing could stop them from capturing her.

Bam. She heard wolves howling then fell asleep. She woke up and found herself tied to a platform in a locked room. She was in a lab. The guards were on break. She tried to bite the ropes. She bit through one and her arms were free. She clawed the ones on her legs until the ropes were broken.

They made the lab smell-proof, and once again Wolfya was captured. The wolves tried to use the smell way again but it was no use. The place couldn’t open up. So the wolves tried to break down the smell protectors! But they were super tight. It took 3 days to break them down, and by then Wolfya had already been experimented on, but luckily it gave her better hearing. When she got out she could hear the click of a beetle’s wings. From then on she could hear the scientists coming and run away. She was never ever captured again.

Where was she? She did what her instincts told her. She howled and howled and howled and howled. She howled till her throat was sore. Someone came running in. She bolted out the door lickety-split. She ran around the lab and turned the place upside down. Once she had her breath back she started howling again. She could hear the pack around the lab but all the entries and exits were blocked. There were no windows. She knew there was no escape.

Jade, Year 5 31

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The Cat Clan One dark night, stars were blooming with brightness and the moon floated over Earth. Just then three animals were spotted all together by humans. The humans were confused about why those animals were together. They were not even the same breed of animals. There was a cheetah, a panther, and a snow leopard.

has. Shadow the panther was called Shadow because his fur was pitch black, and his shadow was a lot darker than most shadows. Snowy the snow leopard was named Snowy because of its white fur that’s even brighter than snow. The three animals explored a tropical forest to find a cougar but as they walked they bumped into a cave.

“What are those animals doing! Shouldn’t they be fighting?” said a confused human. The humans were scared so they left the three animals alone.

“Should we explore it?” asked Snowy.

“So guys… do you think we should find a cougar for our club?” asked the cheetah.

“I want a tiger!” shouted the leopard.

“No! A lion!” shouted the panther.

“I’ll go with his one…” said the panther as he lifted his paw and pointed at the cheetah.

“OK, let’s go find a cougar then!” shouted the leopard.

“We need to know each other’s names first!” replied the leopard.

“Well, my name’s Spots,” said the cheetah “OK, Spots, my name is Shadow,” replied the panther.

“OK, my name is Snowy,” said the snow leopard.

The reason they were called those names is because Spots the cheetah was black, spots all over him and it was way more spots than a cheetah normally

“Yes please!” shouted Shadow excitedly.

“Well, off we go, then…” whispered Spots.

“Why are you whispering?” whispered Snowy.

“I don’t know… why are you whispering…” whispered Spots again.

“I DON’T KNOW!” shouted Snowy furiously.

“C’mon guys, we didn’t even take one step in the cave,” said Shadow.

“WELL HURRY UP AND TAKE A STEP THEN WE WILL FOLLOW!” screeched Snowy in rage! Spots turned around and sped away.

“Spots, no! We need you!” shouted Shadow… but it was too late. Spots was too fast.

“Well… I guess it’s just us two then…” said Shadow sadly.

“Let’s just go already!” said Snowy in anger.

Heidi, Year 4 33

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Tim at School Character: Tim

And can you tell us how many friends you have?

Tim is a really tall man. He is 4 metres long! He likes strawberry ice-cream, it is his favourite ice-cream. Here comes Tim.

Tim: I have about 1200 friends. That is a lot of friends, but I have more friends in other countries.

Hi, Tim.

And can you tell us if you like books?

Tim: Hi.

Tim: Yes! Yes! I love books.

Can you tell us the things that you love, like sports?

While we were talking there was a thunderstorm and in 3 2 1, it is home time.

Bye Tim, see you tomorrow.

Tim: OK, my sports that I like are karate, soccer, swimming, running, jumping, and lots more. There are about 368 sports that I like and there are 0 sports that I hate. Well, I love sports because they keep you strong and active.

Tim: Bye.

Kourosh, Year 4

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Fall of the Earth and the Solar System Up high on the clouds was a working model of the solar system which controlled every move of the solar system. It was on a nimbostratus high above Australia. It stayed there like it was a tall tower stuck with bubblegum on the Earth.

Little Tim was laughed at for liking monsters. Living in Australia he had noticed the strange nimbostratus that sometimes dropped a huge staircase which stayed there for a week. He decided to investigate and got up the staircase.

After trekking 1000 miles up in 10 hours, he took a break. By the 2nd day he had travelled halfway. When he was 100 steps away from the top, the staircase hold disappeared. Near the top, Tim almost fell. Luckily, he reached the top in time. The malfunctioning solar system was waiting for him. Earth was starting to fall.

Tim ran into the machine and saw a wonderful sight. Plasma towers glowered, metal gears rotated in different directions, lava cubes melted, and more. Then, suddenly, a gear fell down and opened a gate. Ghostly ghosts and raging fireballs flew out and dashed straight towards Tim. He found a plasma blade and sliced the monsters. He could see a glow nearby! Tim headed for the blinding light, dodging electrifying wires, falling balls and sneaky traps.

Reaching the core, nuts, bolts, lava and gears flew everywhere. On the other side was a figure. He launched a tablet at Tim. It talked about it wrecking the machine and making the solar system fall to its doom. Tim had to stop this evil man. A cloning machine was nearby and Tim cloned him and his plasma blade‌

Aaron, Year 5 37

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Soulmates Today is the day I finally meet my boyfriend of 2 years in real life. I’m at the airport right now waiting for him to arrive in London. He’s from America and I’m from England. We met on Omegle and we ended up talking for hours and I gave him my skype name and he called me. He should be here in 10 minutes, and it’s been 1 minute already. There’s a fountain outside the airport and that’s where I’ll be seeing him.

8 minutes left. I wonder where he is? The airport’s door opens, and there at the entry of the door stands a tall, handsome boy with fluffy and soft looking brown hair and beautiful dark, ocean blue eyes that you could get lost in so easily. It was my boyfriend, Ethan. He was looking around and all of a sudden, his beautiful eyes landed on something, or someone I should say. His eyes landed on me.

He smiled with tears in his eyes and ran over to me as I did the same. He hugged me so tight once I got to him. We were both crying our eyes out and smiling the biggest smile we could.

“I finally get to have you in my arms,” cried Ethan.

“I can’t believe I’m in your arms,” I said and he let out that beautiful laugh of his.

“You know Nicole, I’m hungry,” said Ethan, causing me to laugh.

“Me too, wanna go to Clarewoods?” I asked.

He pulled away from the hug and grabbed his backpack and my hand and I led him to my black car.

“Yeah, Clarewoods sounds nice,” said Ethan, giving me a kiss on the forehead as I giggled and got into the driver’s seat, starting the car and heading to Clarewoods.

I already knew that he was the one for me and always would be.

Tinoosh, Year 6

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My Future is Ending “Boom,” came a bang on the door. I crunched up into a tiny ball.

library. Suddenly, the door opened.

Mrs Neyana whispered, “Don’t move.”

“Wait,” yelled the robber, “where are you going?”

I was in my classroom but all I could see was my future ending.

I replied, “TOILET!”

The robber yelled, “Open the door!”

Celina gave me a worried look. I reached the library, but the books were…

GONE. What should I do? I knew the robber must have taken all the books.

What could I do?

I never knew my life could have such a terrible lockdown!! Sarah was soooo right. She guessed something would happen that would cause me to give up on my dreams. What was I going to do?

Oh NO, he just broke the door open!

“You are my prisoners!” he shouted.

I ran behind the teachers’ desk where I found Mrs Juhosh lying as if she fainted.

“WOW,” I thought to myself! I had always dreamt of being a librarian like Mrs Juhosh, but now it’s not happening. My life ends here! Mrs Neyana has always taught me this saying: “your dream can come true with believing.”

The reason I got here is because of Mrs Juhosh. She loves books and she blesses them for whoever believes in their dreams like me! I had to get to the

Just then Mrs Neyana yelled, “HEEEELP.” I could not resist my teacher screaming help. I dashed across the hallway. Oh NO….

He caught me. WHACK! His head is bleeding.

“Ha ha ha!”

I’m so worried that my teacher died!! Oh no!!!

Wait… it was all a dream, thank god!! My teacher’s still alive and so is Mrs Juhosh.

Dishita, Year 4 41

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The Desert Lions Ouch! Oh! Ouch! Hot, hot, hot! It is so, so hot!

“It smells like burning ash here in the desert.”

Ouch! It feels like I am on the sun even with my shoes on. The heat is sinking into my feet. My family and I… well, my family basically decided to go to the desert for a road trip. I mean, why would you go to the desert for a road trip?

Like one hundred things could go wrong.

Max and Dad are setting up the tent. Mum and I are setting up a fire. Why would we set up a fire when it is so hot?

I stood up from that boiling rock and asked Dad and he said, “At night the desert gets very cold, so we must have a fire to keep us warm.”

“OK,” I sighed, helping Mum set up the fire. Hmm, I noticed that the rock was getting cooler. Anyway, the sun was setting and I was nervous. What if lions come and eat us? Or what if I freeze to death because of what Dad said? The sun had set and I am freezing. Max was sitting in the tent playing on his phone.

Obviously. Mum, Dad and I are making smores. Mmm, delicious. After that we went to sleep.

The next day I woke up in one piece and so did everyone else. The tent was so squishy and I was sleeping in a ball. I had tangled hair, and it took me 15 minutes to comb my hair out. Ouch, oh ouch hot ouch hot, hot, hot! It is still hot.

Well, it is the morning, but ouch! Cactus alert.

Oh noooo, I hear roaring. I see a big fluffy mane. Is that what I think it is?

A… a… a… lion.

I told Mum and Dad and they didn’t believe me, but as soon as the noise got louder we raced to the car, but the car got stuck in the sand. Was this the end of my life?!

The whole family started pushing and pushing the noise got louder and louder, ahhh…

Celina, Year 4

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The Human That Lived in a Watch “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” I screamed.

“And my name is Tom,” said the elf.

“What happened?” said Mum.

“What is your name?” said the fairy.

“Oh, nothing,” I said.

“My name is JJ.”

Then when Mum went out of the room, guess what happened? There was a fairy and an elf. The fairy was so beautiful. She was wearing a rainbow dress and the elf was wearing a blue short and a t-shirt. Then I said something slowly. They got really scared and hid.

Then one day my watch got lost and I cried for half an hour. I was thinking about the fairies, then a key dropped out of my tear. Key, lead me the way. The watch was hidden in my purse the whole entire time and all the fairies and elves got really happy.

Then I said, “No need to be scared, I am not going to hurt you. What’s your name?” in a soft voice.

Maryam, Year 5

The fairy said, “My name is BB.”

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Felix It was one casual day. My daily routine would just be laying in a dirty pile of fine rocks, sleeping in the cold, cold, windy landfill. Hi, I’m Felix. I like to break things, mostly everything. I was living in an arcade game. Every morning the arcade store would open at 8:00am. People came to play games all day. Our game was really popular.

A girl walked past our game. She put a gold coin into the hole and there the game started.

That’s when my job started. I would start chasing everybody in their hotels.

I would start breaking the windows and as I said, “Everything.” But as usual, Bend-It Baxter, known as “the good guy”, would come in and save the day and fix everything. All the customers would throw me off the roof and I would fall in a pile of….. mud!

The next day they were throwing a surprise party for Bend-it Baxter! They were celebrating his 2-year anniversary in the game. I knew it was going to be an epic party. I know everyone else takes me as, well, The Bad Guy. But I said to myself, “I want to come as well.” The arcade store closed. And that’s when the party began. Everyone was partying hard. Bend-it Baxter walked in, and everyone started cheering for him.

I decided to check out the party. So, I knocked on the door, and when it slowly opened, I realised that it was Bend-it Baxter. He was surprised to see me.

“Hi, Fe-Fe... What was your name again?” asked Baxter.

“It’s Felix,” I said.

I kindly asked if I could join the party. At first, Bend-it Baxter looked confused.

And for a moment there I started to warm up with embarrassment. I wanted to go to the party so bad. Bend-it Baxter decided to let me come in. I felt happy.

So I walked into the party, but all of a sudden everybody got angry.

“Why would you let him in?” a customer said madly.

So they went on as everybody was staring at me. It was cake time! The manager pulled out the cake and it looked delicious. I looked at the cake for a moment. I felt mad as I wasn’t on the cake. I was so angry that I started huffing and puffing. Then I smashed the cake! It went all over the people. All of them left angrily.

I was feeling mad but sad as well. Bend-it Baxter was standing there so still while I walked out. I didn’t know what to do. I kept thinking about what happened at the party. Everybody was looking at me with a nasty look behind their windows. I felt left out and disappointed. So, I decided to leave the game.

The next day, a 9-year-old boy put a coin inside the hole. The game began again. All he could see was the people in the buildings and Bend-it Baxter looking for me. The boy walked away. They found out I was gone so the owner of the store shut down. I went back to visit and nobody was there after all the customers moved out. I felt sorry but there was nothing to be done. They moved to another game and I at least got to stay in the buildings but was alone. That was the worst part.

Maria, Year 6

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