Recently, students from ten local schools had the opportunity to work first hand with a variety of presenters to explore and enhance their skills in creative writing, storytelling, bush poetry, cartooning and collage making.
This was held over 2 days and instigated by the Jugiong Writers’ Festival Committee as part of the Jugiong Writers Festival which is held on 23 and 24 of March. “These experiences bring out the fun in reading and writing,” said Jugiong Writers’ Festival Chair and workshop presenter Freda Nicholls. “That has always been the aim of the Festival, that and to encourage reading and writing across all ages.”
The first day was held at Harden Murrumburrah PS with students from Trinity visiting. Students attended workshops with Jane Carroll the feature author, Brian Allen local cartoonist, Penny Lucas focusing on text features, Anna Glover on bush poetry and rhymes and Sally Keatinge writing character descriptions, ‘In My Shoes’. After school, Jane Carroll then ran a successful teachers writers’ workshop with staff from Harden Murrumburrah PS, Harden Murrumburrah HS and Trinity Catholic Primary school.
“With this year’s theme, each workshop dared the students to dream and think about what is down the track,” Freda explained. “Utilising the skill sets we have both locally and nationally with our guests.”
Jugiong PS hosted the following day with 138 students from the small surrounding schools, Bongongo, Jugiong, Brungle, Binalong, Wallendbeen, Wombat and Stockinbingal Public Schools. Everyone dressed up for the day in ‘Old time clothes’ as the focus was on the past and the way people had told their story down the track. Presenters were Jane Carroll, Brian Allen, Peter Beath Wiradjuri story teller, Alison Guy artist, Freda Nicholls, non-fiction writing and Tracey Rainie and Sally Keatinge focusing on descriptive writing ‘In My Footsteps’.
“Days like this not only enrich our children and teachers learning across every aspect of education but importantly allow them to meet and work with peers from other schools,” said convenor and hardworking Festival Committee member Sally Keatinge.
