October 27, 2012

Am I a rubbish dump

The sea narrates a story by Hannah Arnold, a winner in the Herald's writing competition for primary students

I used to be a great place, with my deep channels and lapping waves. I remember the warmth of the sun shining on my face; its light, soaked up by my plants, provided nourishment for all. Fish would happily swim through my tides. People bathed in my sparkling blue waters admiring everything within.

What was that? An unwelcome guest entered, churning and spreading inside me. It was like a blanket had been thrown over my face. No longer could I absorb the rays of the sun. The plants cried out for light. It was cold and dark. All efforts to wash this intrusion on to the shore were useless as more and more of it came.

Then I saw him. A man in a blue raincoat rowing his boat over my deepest trough. Guiltily, he turned around, checking no one was looking. He poured out the revolting contents of three black bags into my currents. I could taste it. It was sour and it spread like clouds of gloom. My temper started to rise from my deepest trenches to the surface, where my waves became restless. They tossed the boat around as the man frantically rowed to shore. My tide pulled him in and I pushed him on to the jetty. Enormous jets of water shot out at my command in pursuit of him. Water splattered his body and he cried out in agony as he staggered away clutching his face. What had hurt me was now hurting him.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Fish slowly died and plants withered. In loneliness, I waited for the people to return. Little did I know that my beach was closed and the people had found a new haven to enjoy. I stood still, hopelessly wrapped in the choking blanket.

Some time later, I saw a figure through my murkiness. It was the man in the blue raincoat. I could not get my jets of water ready this time. Although I did not see his face clearly, I felt his tears of regret and sorrow pierce through my heavy blanket as he walked away.

Surprisingly, he returned with a group of people hauling unusual equipment. He told them how he loved to swim here as a boy but he had also ruined this place by dumping chemicals and filth from the factory. The men set to work putting me through filters, pumps and boilers. I regained my colour, and my water glistened once again in the sun's light. They scattered plants all around me. New fish swam in daily from all directions and my beach was reopened. I felt extraordinarily complete.

The sun was setting, the familiar blue raincoat was in my sight. My gentle tides washed over his feet as a big thank you for what he had done. He smiled. From that day on, he told people my sad story so this would never be repeated. I knew he would always be there to protect me.

The Herald Youngest Writer

An addition in 2012 to the Herald's Young Writer competitions, Youngest Writer: WriteOn is for students in Years 1-6 and is presented in association with the NSW Board of Studies. Hannah Arnold's story, Am I a Rubbish Dump?, was chosen to feature in Spectrum as one of 12 Gold Award winners of this year's competition.

Using this image of crashing waves by Herald photographer Nick Moir for inspiration, students were invited to write a description, exposition or narrative of up to 500 words. Hannah took a modern approach, first consulting the thesaurus on the school computer to find words related to the picture. She found words about stormy weather, wind and waves, but it was when she asked her family that inspiration struck. "I showed my grandma the picture and she said, 'What about the greenhouse effect?', but I didn't know what the greenhouse effect was,'' Hannah says. ''Then my mum said, 'What about pollution?' and that sounded like a good idea to me."

October 26, 2012

Rubbish inspires young writers

TWELVE primary school students have been honoured for their creative writing skills in the third annual Sydney Morning Herald Youngest Writers WriteOn competition.

However, Hannah Arnold's description of the ocean as a rubbish dump took out the main prize, beating hundreds of finalists who used a Herald photograph of giant waves lapping over Bondi beach as inspiration for a short story.

Hannah, a stage 2 student at Redeemer Baptist School in North Parramatta, will have her piece published in tomorrow's Spectrum.

The award now partners the prestigious Sydney Morning Herald Young Writers' prize for senior school students, now in its 27th year.

During September, a judging panel of teachers read 230 entries from schools across the state, and selected 12 gold, 11 silver, and 12 bronze award winners.

The gold award winners, and their families and friends, visited the Herald offices yesterday for the award ceremony.

All of the winners will have their works published in an anthology, to be published by the NSW Board of Studies next year.

COMPOSITION WRITTEN IN DETENTION
Chris Walker

DERGAM Salah was in detention at North Parramatta’s Redeemer Baptist School when he penned Fear , a moving poem that won rst prize in the prestigious Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards.
The awards have a 30-year history, and this year attracted more than 10,000 entries, but Redeemer students stood out. Just 2 per cent of entries earned a prize, but Redeemer had more students recognised for excellence than any other school in Australia.
These included a second for Connor Mishalow, nine highly commended, and 32 commended, along with Dergam’s rst. The 12-year-old said he was inspired by a photo of a man being attacked by a jaguar. ‘‘I was on detention at school and my teacher said to me, ‘have a look at this picture’,’’ he said. The ‘‘totally scary’’ image, together with the help of an online visual thesaurus, was enough to win him the national prize. ‘‘I never thought that I would win. That was the best detention – without it I couldn’t have won,’’ Dergam said.
Connor, 14, drew his inspiration for A Special World , from the images of war he had seen in World War II movies and online games. ‘‘I was thinking about people getting hurt and the destruction of war, and I wanted to show what is going to happen because of the war,’’ he said.
 

FEAR by Dergam Salah
He is unaware that he is the prey,
Stalking him is a silent killer
Ready to pounce the beast waits, In an instant he attacks,
Fears dagger-like clawstear at his throat,
His heart racing,
His skin wet,
The battle is on.
Feeling the shock of the surprise,
Feeling the beasts breath on his cheek,
The strength of his muscles on his neck,
The predator never gives up.
But the prey is also determined,
To win the battle.
Drawing strength of a source so deep,
With shoulders squared,
He risesfrom almost certain death,
To win the battle.

Principal Jonathan Cannon said Redeemer had a whole-school approach to literacy, and promoted the idea that it could be cool to write poetry. ‘‘It is so important to provide students with tools to communicate what is deeply important to them, and poetry is among the most important of those tools,’’ he said.

29 Feb, 2012 03:48 PM

Funeral for Redeemer Baptist School's founding principal Noel Cannon

His son, current Redeemer Baptist School principal Jonathan Cannon said after spending much of the last two weeks in intensive care, his father’s last wish was to ‘‘go home’’.

He passed away at his Oatlands home two days after his final wish, surrounded by 200 of his family and friends, including the congregation of Redeemer Baptist Church.

His son described his last couple of days:

''He rallied for almost two days, but then it was evident that his breathing was becoming more laboured and he was slipping out of consciousness more often.

''So the whole Church surrounded his bed at home — singing gospel songs and praying to the Lord with much thanks for all that He has given us through this servant of His — as Noel took his last breaths.

''All who gathered were able to personally farewell this much loved brother who was, for many of us, also like a father,'' Principal Cannon said.

He called his father a ‘‘visionary pioneer’’.

In a letter addressed to parents and guardians at the school he states: ‘‘Noel Cannon’s energy, determination and vision in leadership and service contributed to the formation of Redeemer Baptist School...he was a pastor who by the grace of God established a unique community of holy love at Redeemer Baptist Church in accordance with Jesus’ commandments to love God and our fellow men.’’

He told the News his father had ‘‘many many children’’.

‘‘He taught us, he loved us and he taught us to love others in that same way,’’ Principal Cannon said.    

Noel Cannon was a driving force in implementing literacy and numeracy programs in regional and remote communities in partnership with the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Association.

He was acknowledged for his educational contribution with a fellowship awarded by the Australian College of Educators in 2007.

Principal Cannon relayed the words of former student Emanuel Perdis who said Noel Cannon had: ‘‘an indomitable will and a panoramic vision of education within a strong framework of loving fellowship’’.

A funeral will be held for Noel Cannon today (March 2) at Redeemer Baptist School in Sargood Hall.

Music prelude starts at 11.30am with service starting at noon. Family, friends and past students are welcome.