the portal

Tennis…cricket…football….soccer…whatever. If you are sports crazy this is your chance to excel.

You might like to write a tv/radio commentary for a game that sticks in your mind, or just describe one amazing move by your favourite player.

You could comment on Federer’s reaction to losing the Australian Open Final – did it surprise you and why?

What about a limerick about the latest ‘bad boy’ antics by a footie rebel?

Have you read a great autobiography by a sportsman? Tell us about it.

You choose the format, but write about your obsession with conviction!

If you make us laugh or cry or smile with appreciation you will win a prize! (This competition will run all term).

Mrs Sweeney

What did you read during the holidays? Do you realise it could earn you SCRUMPTIOUS REWARDS? We’re looking for intriguing, scintillating or otherwise impressive reviews that will inspire your fellow students to read the books you have enjoyed…or did you read something that is to be avoided? Do your friends a favour and warn them!

There will be prizes awarded over the next 3 weeks to writers of worthy book reviews.

Mrs Sweeney

 It’s about a boy, Todd Hewitt, who is the last boy in Prentisstown, a town with no women. (shock, horror!)he will be a man in 31 days but Prentisstown is dying, all because of the Spackle.

This book is a work of art.  It’s one of the best books i’ve ever read and i encourage everyone else to read it. I lives up to the first line more than i can imagine.

Gilla

A novel of the “sword and sandals” genre, “Centurion” follows the trials and tribulations of two Roman generals, Cato and Macro, who are dispatched to the kingdom of Palmyra to quell revolt and deliver the city from Parthian invasion. A rather gratuitously gruesome, gritty and predictable tale unfolds with the outnumbered Romans triumphing against overwhelming odds. If you enjoy reading very detailed accounts of Roman battles or simply love all things ancient and Roman there will surely be something in “Centurion” to please.

Parallel narratives follow clues extracted from the pages of an ancient Jewish text illustrated in the manner of Christian prayer book and rescued twice by Muslim librarians in Kosovo. The book’s story, from its creation to concealment, from Spain to Venice during the Inquisition, to war torn Sarajevo in the 1940’s via syphilis-ridden Vienna in the 19th century, presents a creatively mapped exploration of religious intolerance that continues to shake our world today. It seems more hastily crafted than some of her other work and a few may find it a bit didactic at times.

SENIOR FICTION ONLY

This is Winton’s first novel in 7 years and it won the Age “Fiction of the Year”  Award. It is the story of one boy’s discovery of surfing and the friendships he makes while finding the courage to surf some seriously big waves. Even if you don’t surf, Winton makes you feel like you’re there. It’s the closest you can get to surfing 20 foot waves without getting wet.

Ms Ophelia Hopkins

NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLER

If you like a good mystery or ghost stories then this is the book for you. This is a dark, somewhat Dickensian tale, full of eccentric characters. Set in the bleak English countryside, a writer tries to piece together the mystery of Vida Winter and the ruin of Angelfield, an old house with many secrets. The story does take a while to warm-up but once you are hooked, it’s hard to put down.

Ms Ophelia Hopkins

Short-listed for the Children’s Book Council Awards, this short, well-written novel tells the story of Brian. He is chronically shy, 17 and struggling to deal with his mentally ill Mother, a new job and falling in love. Well worth a read.

Ms Ophelia Hopkins

For those budding Scotch Scribes looking for a role model, here’s an interesting list of authors who were published whilst still under the age of 20 (or who wrote their books that young but were published later). 

Teen/Child published authors
*       Nancy Yi Fan: Swordbird (published at 12 yrs)
*       Zlata Filipovic: Zlata’s diary (written 11-13 years; publ. 13))
*       Flavia Bujor: The prophecy of the stones (14)
*       Atwater-Jones, Amelia: In the forests of the night (14)
*       Alexandra Adornetto: The Shadow thief (14)
*       Sonya Hartnett: Trouble all the way (15)
*       Catherine Webb: Mirror dreams (16)
*       Francoise Sagan: Bonjour Tristesse (16)
*       Robert Louis Stevenson: The Pentland Rising (16)
*       SE Hinton: The Outsiders (17)
*       Christopher Paolini: Eragon (18)
*       Simon French: Hey, phantom singlet (18)
*       Mary Shelley: Frankenstein (19)
*       Helen Oyeyemi: The Icarus girl (19)
*       Jack Heath: The Lab (19)
*       Scott Monk: Boyz are us (19)

       Published as adults
*       Daisy Ashford: The Young visiters (sic) (written at 9; publ. 38)
*       Anne Frank: Diary of a young girl (written at 13-15 years; publ.
posthumously)
*       Isobelle Carmody: Obernewtyn (begun when the author was 15; publ.
29)
*       Louisa May Allcott: Flower fables (written at 16; publ. 22) & The
Inheritance (written at 17, publ. posthumously)

       Close, but no cigar
*       Matthew Riley (20)
*       Catherine Jinks (26)

Thanks to Craig Edgman, Teacher-librarian, for compiling this list.

Mrs Sweeney

The author of the Devil Wears Prada has come up with a trio of new characters, all living in Manhattan and trying to juggle careers, family and relationships. Leigh is a book editor for a prestigious publishing house, Emmy is in the restaurant business and Adriana has never worked in her life, living off her wealthy parents and her looks. Having worked and played hard throughout their twenties, the prospect of turning 30 awakens them to the fact that maybe their lives aren’t so perfect after all. A pact is made and they have exactly twelve months to face their biggest challenges and drastically turn their lives around. A great read for fans of, dare I say it, “chick-lit”.

Ms Morris