Education News 

Foundation One Activity Night

On Wednesday the 23rd of November the annual Foundation/1 Activity Night was held. The night formed the beginning of our school camping program by providing children with the opportunity to experience time away from their families outside of regular school hours. As the students arrived back at school, they were eagerly waiting for the night to begin. Children assembled on the Tiger Turf as teachers were holding up their numbers to their assigned activity. There were lots of various activities including mask making, pillow painting, making play dough, pinwheels and pot making. Once the activity finished, we met back on the Tiger Turf to enjoy some pizza for dinner, followed by an icy pole. Thank you to all the staff who were involved in the night. We look forward to next years Foundation/1 Activity Night in 2023! 

Lauren on behalf of the F/1 Team

Refugee

A few months ago, I wrote a short story titled 'Refugee' and submitted it to the Ozkids in Print website, in hope for it to be published in the magazine edition. Late last month, I discovered that I had won a Young Australian Writers Award for it, which is one of seven awards that were granted to primary and secondary school kids across Australia for outstanding writing.

Last Saturday night, along with my family, friends and teacher, I was invited to the Pullman on the Park Hotel Grand Ballroom for the Young Australian Artist's and Writer's Award ceremony. There, I received my award, along with the talented writers and artists from across the country.

It was really awe-inspiring to be able to see the amazing, award winning art and literature and to experience that incredible night of celebrating this achievement. It was a momentous night that I will never forget.

REFUGEE

By Alannah K

Glowing eerily, the ivory moon glared down onto the boat packed with terrified people.  Inky black waves smashed relentlessly into it. The vicious waves quaked the small, vulnerable boat, sending icy spray pelting down onto her, soaking through her patchwork coat, sending shivers up her spine. Hands trembling, she clutched her tiny shivering puppy who was curled tightly in her arms. 

Crowded by trembling, petrified refugees, she breathed deeply and tried to escape her harsh reality.

Closing her eyes, she could almost feel the radiating sun beaming down on her. Almost smell the mouth-watering wafts of her grandmother's cooking. Almost see her parents' warm, comforting smiles. Almost. 

The sorrowful whine of her chestnut puppy broke her from her reminiscent trance, the tiny dog's fragile, pencil-thin body wriggling tirelessly. She half-heartedly tried to soothe the frail puppy, stroking his head the same way her mother used to, before the bombs, before the fear, before everyone she loved was snatched from this Earth. 

Yet the puppy was relentless, continuing to fight her weak grasp, trying so hard to escape her protective barrier. Suddenly, the puppy's energetic determination overpowered her and he slipped out of her arms. 

"NO!" she croaked.

Tears pooling in her eyes, she watched helplessly as the ball of chestnut fur fell flailing overboard, toppling into the brewing, inky darkness. The crashing waves engulfed the puppy. 

Without thinking, she launched into the waves. The icy chill hit her immediately, like a shark sinking its jagged teeth into her exposed flesh, freezing her veins and clouding her brain. Yet she pushed through, her pure desperation driving her forward as she blindly searched through the numbing darkness.  

Then as her lungs screamed for air and her eyelids began drooping as if they weighed ten tonnes, a flash of soaked, straggly fur caught her eye. The puppy's limp body was sinking lower and lower, falling closer toward the seabed. Limbs numb and head pounding, she used all the strength she had left to propel herself through the murky waters. As her chest was on the verge of exploding and her lungs were screaming for air, death clamped its cruel, chilling hand around her. Tears of pain and desperation welled in her eyes as she forced herself to go on. That playful puppy was all she had left, and she was certain she couldn't survive in a foreign country completely alone. Struggling, she had at last made it to her puppy. Grasping his soft, limp body, she cradled him against her chest, a final burst of happiness flaring inside her. 

Ever since she boarded that overloaded, patchwork boat, she could sense the pain creeping forever nearer. But now she could finally accept it, because now she was with what she loved most in this world. The last thing she saw was her precious puppy, curled peacefully in her arms, when the darkness swallowed her whole.