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

Congratulations to Andy for encapsulating the story of Mao’s Last Dancer  in these three lines…

Little peasant boy
Chosen for China’s Ballet
Made his dream come true

Andy, you are the winner of our Haiku reviews competition – come to the library and collect a prize!

Mrs Sweeney

OK, you may not have a novel in you, but can you come up with an absolutley stunning first line…one that will have readers leaping from tall buildings, running across quicksand, or at least falling off their chairs to get to the next line?

To inspire you, here are some great first lines…

‘He woke, and remembered dying.’ — Ken MacLeod, The Stone Canal

‘I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one.’ – Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game

‘A whisper: sssshh…the thinnest vehicle of breath.’ – Gail Jones, Sorry

‘ Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world.’ - Christopher Paolini, Eragon

 Post your entries here. Brilliance, as usual, will be rewarded! 

 Mrs Sweeney

Congratulations Alexander! Your humourous and informative review of Alive just happened to be the 100th post published on The Portal, so you have earnt a prize! Please come to the library to collect it!

Mrs Sweeney

Image : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Chocolate.jpg/770px-Chocolate.jpg 1/8/08

The long list from which this year’s Man Booker Prize winner will be chosen, has been announced.

It is…

Aravind Adiga - The White Tiger
Gaynor Arnold – Girl in a Blue Dress
Sebastian Barry – The Secret Scripture
John Berger – From A to X
Michelle de Kretser - The Lost Dog
Amitav Ghosh - Sea of Poppies
Linda Grant - The Clothes on Their Backs
Mohammed Hanif -  A Case of Exploding Mangoes
Philip Hensher – The Northern Clemency
Joseph O’Neill - Netherland
Salman Rushdie – The Enchantress of Florence
Tom Rob Smith - Child 44
Steve Toltz  – A Fraction of the Whole

It’s good to see two Australians on the list – Michelle de Kretser(below left) and Steve Toltz (below right). A Fraction of the Whole is his first novel.

The short list will be revealed on the 9th September and the winner announced on the 14 October.

Mrs Sweeney

Images: http://www.libraries.vic.gov.au/downloads/Reading_Victoria/de_kretser_michelle_lost_dog.jpg 31/7/08

http://www.australianfestival.com/images/SteveToltzCPrudenceUpton.png 31/7/08

You’ve all written book reviews. Have you written Haiku – the traditional form of Japanese poetry written in 3 lines; the first line with 5 syllables, the second line with 7 syllables, and the third line with 5 syllables?

Here’s your chance to combine your skills. Try writing a book review in Haiku form.

eg. Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne

Fourteen year old John

Caught up in a mutiny

Will he live or die?

Add your haiku to the comments on this post, and I’ll publish the really good ones as posts in their own right. A prize for the best one will be awarded during the last week of term.

(Apologies to the insideadog team from whom I pinched this idea).

Mrs Sweeney

Image : http://www.scotlandschool.org/staff/mbakken/images/haiku-plaque-01-s.jpg 30/7/08

I won’t say just how close we are, but it won’t be too long before the 100th post is published on The Portal.

If you happen to be the author of that post you might find yourself on the other end of something scrumptious! The more you post, the better your chances…

Mrs Sweeney

Image : http://www.tonyfugere.com/funny/ 18/7/08 Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).

Exciting news! The time has come to announce the winner of the ‘Most Commented on Post’ competition for term 2, 2008. And the winner is…Tyronec! This prolific contributor wrote about the decline of English in his post Moden Inglish , attracting 16 comments on this controversial subject. Clearly it’s something Scotch boys feel strongly about.

Congratulations Tyronec! Come and see me to collect your yummy prize.

There is also a consolation prize for Gilla, runner up in the competition with his post ‘Poetry for Dummies’, which inspired 11 responses. Come and collect your prize too, Gilla!

The competition will run again this term, so start thinking of topics which might ignite passions in your fellow students or staff. Remember, they do need to be related to books, writing, reading, words or the literary world.

Good luck!

Mrs Sweeney

In response to a reader’s suggestion, we are launching a new competition. The person who writes the post which is most commented upon will receive a traditionally yummy prize! The competition deadline is the first Friday of next term, so you have plenty of time to think of a controversial book/writing/reading related topic, compose a scintillating post and publish it on The Portal. You can then sit back and watch the comments roll in. (See ‘How to post’ on the left of The Portal’s front page).

Mrs Sweeney

Image : http://student.nuigalway.ie/~writers/images/Writer03.jpg 27/5/08