This story is a popular children’s story in Indonesia and Malaysia. There are several different versions. Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih are stepsisters – one good and selfless, the other greedy and selfish. In the course of the story, the good sister is rewarded and the selfish sister is taught a lesson and sees the…
Inside this School Journal are two articles (Kei te Tāone Nui: Māori and the City [1945–1970]; Reducing our Footprint), two stories (Fleet of Foot; Please Don’t Tap the Glass), one memoir (Break-up Day), one comic (Press B), and one poem (Save the Earth Song).
Author Rose Lu moved from Auckland to a much smaller place when she was twelve. Fitting in wasn’t easy, especially given that her new home contained very few Chinese New Zealanders. Suddenly Rose was different from everyone else – an experience she uses to inform her first piece of fiction for the School Journal.
The movement of Māori to the cities in the 1950s and 1960s was one of the most significant movements of people in our recent history. Paula Morris has used stories from her whānau as the basis for “Fleet of Foot”, a work of fiction that sits alongside “Kei Te Tāone Nui”, an article in the…
Poet James Brown explores the perils of inertia and disassociation when it comes to climate change. Implicit to the poem is a fundamental question: Why do so many people do nothing when we know the stakes are so high? This is a companion text to recent level 4 journal articles about climate change.
The post-Second-World-War era in Aotearoa New Zealand saw one of the fastest rates of urban migration in the world. With Māori migrating to cities in large numbers to take advantage of new economic opportunities. The “golden city” offered much, but it came at a high price. Keywords: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories, assimilation,…
Keywords: agriculture, carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, change, citizenship, climate action, climate change, e-bikes, electric bikes, energy, entrepreneurs, environment, farming, food rescue, fossil fuels, future, greenhouse gases, hemp, innovation, making a difference, nitrogen, petrol, pollution, power, recycling, solar power, technology, zero waste
Paul Mason continues his story of a dystopian future. Told from the perspective of Tre and Muse, both of whom have spent their young adult lives fighting back against the rulers. This latest installment in the series is told using a comic format.
Keywords: author, belonging, bravery, break-up, childhood, courage, embarrassment, friendship, gender, identity, inclusive, individuality, inspiration, intermediate, LGBTQIA+, pretending, puberty, rainbow, relationship, relationships and sexuality education, RSE, school, self, sexuality, transgender, wellbeing, writer, writing
This is a humorous fantasy story set in a “memory bank”. A breakdown in the filing system leads to confusion when the characters’ reminder notes get mixed up. This story links to the non-fiction text “The Memory Toolbox” and the poem “What Do You Remember?”, which are also in this journal. It provides a model…
This School Journal contains three stories (Stranded; Happy Birthday; Red, the Pig, and the Automobile), two articles (Kura Huna: The Art of Reweti Arapere; The Story of the Ventnor), one play (Mauri Mahi, Mauri Ora) and one poem (Grumpy Hungry).
This narrative poem, told in the first person, chronicles being hungry, an experience that intensifies as time passes and which is matched by figurative language that does the same. A good model for student writing.
A humorous play with an intriguing setting and multiple features that allow students interested in drama to hone their performances.
In 1902, thirteen lives were lost when the SS Ventnor sank off the Hokianga coast in Northland. The ship was carrying the carefully packaged bones of almost five hundred Chinese goldminers on their way home for burial. Despite immediate efforts to retrieve the bones, the ship and its precious cargo were lost. Keywords: ancestors, Aotearoa…
An inventive reimagining of the fairy-tale genre, based loosely around Little Red Riding Hood. This is a great model for student writing, especially for those who want to explore the creative possibilities of a retelling by innovating on a familiar form. Keywords: anthropomorphism, cleverness, disguise, fairy tale, fantasy, humour, innovation, Little Red Riding Hood, moral,…
Reweti Arapere learnt that the art he wanted to make was the art that emerged when he looked at the world through his Māori eyes. His giant cardboard and felt-pen figures help him to tell the stories of his whakapapa and of Aotearoa. Keywords: 3-D, ancestor, art, black, cardboard, creativity, felt pen, graffiti, hidden treasure,…
The nameless narrator and his friend Jeet, as featured in “The Polterheist”, reappear for another round of humorous high-jinks, this time involving an awkward birthday and a backyard tunnel.
Piki and his koro are trying to save some stranded whales, an experience that reminds Piki of his dad and his own troubles. Keywords: ancestor, change, conservation, environment, family, fishing, grandparent, kaitiakitanga, matriarch, persistence, Project Jonah, resilience, stranding, support, tohorā, upokohue, volunteer, wellbeing, whale, whānau
Inside this School Journal are two articles (Choie Sew Hoy: Otago Pioneer; The Memory Toolbox), two stories (The Memory Bank; Bawang Putih and Bawang Merah) and one poem (What do you Remember?).
This poem is a collection of memories – the poet thinking about a number of events in his life, which are presented as a series of vivid images from specific moments that have stuck in his mind. The poem links to “The Memory Toolbox” and “The Memory Bank” in this journal. It shows how the…
Choie Sew Hoy came to New Zealand from China in 1869, after working in the goldfields of California and Australia. He became a successful merchant and entrepreneur in Otago and was prominent in public life. He was also a well-known leader and benefactor for the Otago Chinese community. In 2019, 250 of his descendants came…
This article explains the difference between short-term and long-term memory and describes various techniques for improving memory, such as using acronyms, chunking information, and making word associations. It includes a sidebar about memory championships. In addition to being a fascinating topic in its own right, the suggestions for brain exercises could have practical applications for…
This is a humorous story, deftly handled and with a tight focus, spinning great entertainment from a context many students will recognise – a school gala day. This story provides a good model for student writing: taking the everyday and exploring its imaginative possibilities, with closely observed characterisation and a heavy reliance on dialogue to…
The Rapsey family, including nine-year-old Elizabeth and her six-year-old brother, Johnny, spent just over four months walking the entire length of New Zealand. During this time, they lived a simple life, learning about the natural world around them and the various ways to engage with it. Rebekah White captures both the sense of adventure and…
Inside this School Journal are three stories (The Musician; The Winning Side; Muse), one play (Last Match), one poem (Leaves), and two articles (Game Changers; Feedback).
In 1866, the General Grant was sailing from Australia to London when it was shipwrecked on the one of the Subantarctic Islands. Of the eighty-three people on board, only fifteen made it ashore. A survivor later wrote about how the castaways only had six matches, with five “squandered”. The lighting of the last match was…
This poem explores the relationship between the poet and her grandmother who was a refugee from China following the Cultural Revolution.
This article is a follow up to “Climate Change: Our Biggest Challenge”. It explains the phenomenon of feedback loops – positive feedback loops, which can cause climate change to accelerate, or negative loops, which can lessen the factors that cause change. Keywords: activist, albedo, carbon dioxide, challenge, change, climate, climate activist, climate change, deforestation, energy,…
The students at Newlands Intermediate have learnt that creating successful digital technologies requires a realistic, think-small approach – and that it’s OK to make mistakes. Keywords: augmented reality, coding, collaboration, cooperation, creativity, development process, digital, digital platform, gaming, MiniDevs, Mixiply, Newlands Intermediate, pivoting, planning, problem-solving, prototype, software development, students, technologies architect, technology, teamwork, testing, thinking,…
This is the third installment in this series, which is set in a dystopian future.
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