Books

Sarah: A lot of books in bookstores nowdays are written either for adults, young children or teenagers. There aren’t enough books for eleven year olds to select. Although Harry Potter is a great series I hunger for something else in my reading, with huge problems presented on every page, with a thick plot, well thought out characters with an ending that isn’t always happy. I always enjoy a book when I can picture the events happening in my mind.

Bedtimes

Florian: Us eleven year olds go to bed at around 8:30pm on weekdays but why should we, I mean why can’t we go to bed around 9:15pm when we’re sleepier. We need more freedom when we go to bed. If we’re not sleepy and we go to bed, we either read in bed, which is good but if we don’t want to read, we’re trapped in bed, unable to do something fun until we fall asleep.

Respect

George: Why do parents never listen to what eleven year olds want to buy or play? Parents always say, “No son/daughter why don’t you read or have a nap.” Maybe us eleven year olds hate reading or going to bed. What do we do? I don’t know. I think parents should respect what eleven year olds want to buy or play.

Molly: I believe that all kids should be treated with the same amount of respect as adults receive. We may be younger and smaller but that doesn’t mean that we have to be told what to do and actually do it! We have the right to stand up for ourselves and do what we want to do, its not fair, we’re human as well and we should also be allowed to have a say!

Young Adults

Riley: I think that eleven year olds should be treated like adults in conversations because we always get left out of a discussion because adults say “you don’t need to know” or “you wouldn’t understand”, but I hate it when everyone else knows something that I don’t.

Meg: If you’re a girl at eleven years of age you’d know all the others think we’re the same … yes we are all the same but we’re not. We should all be allowed to be ourselves without being teased. We’re eleven year olds and some adults think they’re more important than we are. We’re not as mature and smart as adults but sometimes we feel like we are.

Wareif: Why do some adults treat some eleven year olds like they aren’t mature enough to do things by themselves? I think adults should just listen to what eleven year olds have to say, eleven year olds aren’t as young as adults say.

Independence

Tristan: I think that eleven year olds are misjudged in the fact that they need more independence. They need to be able to do more of what they want to do, rather than getting dragged around shopping centers. If this matter were to be dealt with, a typical eleven year old lifestyle would be much better.

Lines

Katie: I think as a child we shouldn’t be pushed out of the line, just because we are smaller and younger. I personally think that adults can’t just push in. I know it may be an accident, but when you are in line look out for children.

Iain: Eleven year old kids get shoved, pushed and don’t get noticed in lines that would be minutes of waiting and when you get shoved out it doesn’t make life any better and I think eleven year olds should at least get some respect.

Tim: Can adults really not remember what it’s like to be a child? Do they think that children don’t care if adults push in front of us in a line or ignore our opinions just because we’re young? Is this fair to eleven year olds?

Matt J: An eleven year old should have the same respect as an adult has. He or she has been in the line as long as the adults have been in it. They should not be pushed or bumped out of it. Just because we’re smaller doesn’t mean they should be pushed out of the line.

Adam: Eleven year olds are not babys. Eleven year olds are always getting pushed or bumped out of the line. I think eleven year olds should have the same rights as an adult.

Attitude

Evie: I think most people are and shoud be a glass half full kind of person. I know I am. Well, most of the time. But there are things that can make eleven year olds like me become a glass half empty person. Things like mean people and teachers, problems at home and at school, not being listened to and being pushed around. I hope what I have written will give you a better understanding of eleven year olds.

Charlotte: We’re eleven. Not that old, not that young, no emotional, physical, mental problems, we don’t complain, we’re nothing special and that’s how we feel.

Expectations

Emily: I’m eleven and not that old, just like any kid I go to school and come back home. I’m not extraordinary but yet adults expect a lot from me, but I can’t do everything that they want, I’m just a kid.

Clothes

Miica: Why always girly? I find that if you’re a girl and are around eleven years of age, that the only clothes they sell at the shops are either pink or really girly, and I’m not into pink and girly kinds of clothes so I have to buy boys clothes and that’s fine, but they don’t always have what I’m looking for.

Shopping

Ben: As an eleven year old I hate getting pulled around by parents to places that I don’t want to go to. I think eleven year olds should have some say if we want to go to the shops or some other place, to staying home and playing with our pets.

Millie: As an eleven year old I really don’t like it when you find something that you really like at a shop but it has been wrecked.

Rights

Matt L: I think eleven year olds should have as much right as adults. When I watch TV my Mum and sister hog it and they watch all their shows and they don’t let me watch anything.

Daniel: I don’t see any good, conclusive reason adults can behave towards us eleven year olds as if we have brain damage. I find it very offensive when our everyday rights as eleven year olds are misjudged. We’re just like everyone else.

Anna: I believe that eleven year olds should have the rights to say no to something that they don’t want to do. For example, it’s early in the morning and your Dad asks you to go up to the shops to buy a newspaper. You try to say no, but all they do is ask again and again, until it comes to the point where they’re forcing you to go. How are you supposed to say no?

Choices

Ida: I personally think that us eleven year olds are old enough to make our own choices and not be told what to wear, do and read every day.

Liam: Us eleven year olds don’t like to be woken up in the morning. We should be able to sleep in instead of waking up early in the morning to go to school. Sometimes I get woken up by Mum or Dad and I hate that.

Sally: I think that some adults say things to you that can get a bit annoying. When they say it over and over again. But you know what they have said, but they keep nagging you to do it!

Harry: I think that being dragged around on chores when you don’t want to is unfair, boring and there are many better things to do. For example, playing in the park or of course watching tv.

Year 5 talked about coming to a fantasy school where we could learn anything. These were our ideas.

Miquela:
I would like to learn how to make a website, how to make money and how to make a Nintendo DS Lite.

Josh D:
I want to learn how to make a remote control aeroplane, an atomic bomb, a fighter jet and a boat that transforms into a biplane.

Matthew:
I want to learn how to make remote control vehicles, how to harness solar energy and how to make a Nintendo DS Lite.

Charlotte:
I would like to learn how to make a lollie machine that shoots out never-ending lollies that don’t make you fat.

Alastair:
I want to learn how to do Harry Potter enchantments and spells and how to play Quiditch.

Theo:
I want to learn how to fly a plane.

Emily:
I want to learn any magic.

Mark:
I want to learn how to build atomic bombs and AK47’s.

Bryan:
I want to learn how to make a robotic Tom (person).

Will:
I want to learn how to make an AK47 and a MIRV (a missile).

Sean:
I want to learn how to make a really awesome web browser.

Zoe:
I want to learn how to draw really well and how to make money.

Jadviga:
I want to learn how to forge money, make a teleporter, an electronic computer chip that lets you get 100% on all tests and how to be invisible.

Josh R.:
I want to learn how to speak to dead souls and I want to learn how to use ‘the force’.

Henry:
I want to learn how to fly.

Jay:
I want to learn how to fly a gyrocopter and make a tank.

Emma:
I want to learn how to paint and to draw.

Daniel:
I would like to see a school with lots of sport.

Tom:
I would like to see a school with lots of sport.

I received a message from Mrs Krynen today: “Just to let you know that the ticket sales and orders for the Festival events went really well this morning! I was amazed for the first day of selling. They will also be selling after school.”

So be quick and make sure you get your mum and dad to buy their tickets to the Parents’ Night. And don’t forget to put in your orders for the launch breakfast and the pizza lunch at the same time.

Mrs Krynen also told me the Year 4s had a great time working with George White yesterday. They are writing and rehearsing a performance for the Festival Launch.

By the way, we now know who will be officially launching the Festival with a speech on Tuesday morning - Channel Ten’s sports director, Tim Gossage!

Other news from Mrs K - Mr Humbert is now back from the Solomon Islands, and has been told all the Festival news. We were hoping he’d do another audio-visual presentation for the Closing Celebration next Thursday afternoon, and he’s agreed. Teachers will be snapping away to record the Festival on film, so be ready with your best grins to make sure Mr H chooses your pics for the presentation!

Finally, the timetable will be up on the website as soon as I can get all the columns straight!

Keep an eye on the blog for news as it comes in …

I’m delighted to announce a late addition to our line-up of presenters.

Jamie Edis will be showing the Pre-Primary classes how he created his book, Have You Ever Heard a Giraffe Laugh?

When we first invited him to present at the Festival, he was flat out organising his book launch. Now that’s over, Jamie has time to breathe and has made a last-minute decision to join us, which is fantastic news.

He has drawn on his background in visual media - most recently as animator, illustrator, computer game designer, sound effects creator and character voice actor of ezone.com - to produce a visually enhanced multi-media presentation.

Jamie will be incorporating games and a puppet show into the session too - something for the PPs to look forward to.

Creating stories with animals as your characters is great fun. By using imaginative words, you can paint a picture of each animal in your reader’s mind, and all without a paint brush.

Let’s see how you can do this. Meet Ziggy, a Pekinese. (That’s a dog, for those of you who don’t know!)

Ziggy was no bigger than a guinea pig and had a face like a squashed monkey’s. No-one actually could be sure that he was a dog. When he breathed, he made snorting noises like a piglet.

Now you’ve started building a picture of Ziggy. But what else can you do? How do we get a feel for his personality?

‘Back off,’ Ziggy snapped, his tiny razor-sharp teeth showing between black lips. He eyed the huge bone in front of him. It was nearly twice his size. But Ziggy showed no speck of fear. He stood his ground, not a quiver in his body, as Bob the basset looked on.

Okay, now we get an idea of who Ziggy is and how he appears to others. But what about how Ziggy feels inside?

Ziggy’s heart thundered in his chest. That basset was way bigger than him. He’d gobble him up in one quick bite. Please, he thought to himself, please let me look scary.

Now you’re getting an idea of how dialogue and action around dialogue can paint a picture of your character.

In my workshop, ‘Doggy Dialogue’, you’ll get the chance to bring to life the doggy characters in my book ‘Seeing Dogs’. And of course, Lucy, my guide dog, will be there to lend a paw.

See you there!
Janet

Hi! My name’s Lucy and I’m a guide dog.

My Mum must be a bit forgetful, cos she calls me other names. Sometimes I’m Loopy, or Fruit Loop, or even Goosey.

But I reckon everyone should just call me Top Dog. Why, you ask? Because I can do things other dogs can’t.

Think I’m joking? Okay, tell me when you’ve ever seen a dog admiring itself in a mirror at a clothes shop. And how many pooches hang out at the movies? (It’s the popcorn I go for, not the film.)

I’ll be dropping in on you during the Writers Festival, so start making some lip-smacking Top Dog biscuits.

Hi all, and I’m really looking forward to the festival.

I’m happy to talk about the life of a famous writer (although first I’ll need to find one so I can ask them what it’s like …), how to write a bestselling book (this topic might be cut, as JK Rowling hasn’t replied to my emails, faxes, SMSs, phone calls and letters yet), and what a million dollars in cash looks like (might also be cut, as the bank hasn’t got back to me either - I only need it for a day, but they’re being really difficult).

Failing that I’ll chat about the things I DO know: writing, web pages, robots, publishing and maybe a bit about growing up in Spain. If there’s any time left, I might even read a bit of Hal Spacejock - particularly his attempts to land his ship and refund some mouldy chocolate. Oh, and remind me about the signed bookmarks…

Cheers
Simon Haynes

Hello everyone,

I am nervous because I normally edit my writing many times before I put it into the public space. I have done so much editing of my writing that I even enjoy it now!

What kind of weird person enjoys editing their work? Am I the only one, or do others like editing too? I usually do more than 20 complete edits of my books before they are published.

(The best part of writing is the creative 1%)
Dave Caddy

p.s. This is my first blog entry…..ever. Thanks Rosalie.

Joy and I are looking forward to telling you about The Catalpa Escape - the story about the great escape of the Fenians from Fremantle Prison on Easter Monday, 17 April 1876.

Here are a 3 questions for you to research:

1. Who were the Fenians?
2. Easter Monday this year was March 24th, nearly a month earlier than it was in 1876. Why isn’t Easter at the same time each year?
3. The story of this great escape involved a whaling ship called Catalpa, bought specifically to sail out to WA from America to rescue the Fenian prisoners. Why do you think they chose a whaling ship and not a war ship?

The first to answer all 3 questions correctly gets a special news flash on this website!

Just type your answers as a comment below.

Not a lot happens on a sugar cane farm. That didn’t stop my mother writing to all her children once a week.

At boarding school I remember receiving a letter in which she described the antics of a skink who lived under the fridge. He would retrieve sultanas she threw to him and hoard them in a little pile.

Mum wrote the details of her daily life. I recall many descriptions of baking days, frightening snake stories, bush fires and people she’d met on her weekly trip to town.

It was not until my father died that my own writing habit began in earnest. I challenged myself to post a letter to my mother every Monday.

This initial challenge was made more daunting when my brother told me: “Jules I hope you realise Mum reads your letter to everybody who visits her, including the cleaner.”

That is really how I learnt to keep it short, keep it conversational and interesting and post it every Monday.

Several years later my husband introduced me to the new term “blogger”.

This new style of writing felt like a home-coming – back to my writing roots and the mother who taught me about writing in first person.

Now in her late eighties my mother recently visited my website, read my blog and posted a comment. My post about her and her response are here on this link to Sewing Circle.

I wonder what your mother taught you?