Literacy

Book in a Day 

Last Term Solway participated in the Kids Cancer Project Book in a Day competition with 10 talented student writers locked in the conference room from 8am – 8pm to create an original short story, ‘The Great Switcheroo’. We are excited to share that the team and their book have been selected as finalists in the competition. Winners will be announced on Thursday 13 November via the Kinds Cancer Project You Tube channel. Congratulations to the team and we will keep you posted on their journey.

Public Speaking

Solway students are renowned for their Public Speaking skills. This is a legacy we are proud to continue with the Year 5 Super Speak Program starting next week and culminating in a parent presentation on Wednesday 26 November. This program develops students’ confidence, poise, volume and body language alongside the skills to write structured speeches such as their speeches for Leadership roles for 2026!

Year 6 will be working with the Debating Association Victoria to learn about the importance of well structured, thought out and presented arguments in their interclass debates this term. Selected students with also participate in our annual Korowa debate on Thursday 13th of November, and our Year 2 debating mentorship through Term 4.

Looking to 2026 there will be a continued opportunity for students to take on Public Speaking and Leadership roles in our Green, Wellbeing, SRC and DT teams. We look forward to working with our students to develop these important life, leadership and academic skills.

Cold Writes and Quick Writes:

A “Cold Write” is a writing exercise, often done at the start of a unit, where students write without any prior instruction or assistance to demonstrate their current skills and knowledge. It is used to establish a baseline before the "warm write" at the end of the unit, which is a supported writing session.  Students can practice this skill by completing “quick writes” but using writing prompt such as those below. A "quick write" is a short, timed writing activity, usually 3-10 minutes long, used to check for understanding, generate ideas, or practice writing skills.

1. The message inside the fortune cookie, which contained only four words, has become my fate.

2. I’ve walked by that old house hundreds of times in the past two years, but today was the first time I caught the little girl watching me from the window.

3. Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any more complicated, my mother decided to open her new business—a coffee shop—in our living room.

4. My little sister thought she’d found the best hiding place in the house…until she realized it wasn’t exactly part of the house.

5. Susan hadn’t expected the hot air balloon to be filled with two dozen baby animals, but when your great uncle sends you a modern-day ark, you just have to roll with it.

Sarah Watkins