Library The Brother Rahill Resource Centre continues to be a busy and productive place. Classes have visited regularly to take advantage of the print and online resources available, with research tasks supported by topical displays, online library guides and book tubs. Students have also made use of the study space and meeting rooms for homework and study groups before and after school and in recess and lunchtime breaks. Improvements have included the installation of a new loans desk in Term 2 to create a more welcoming entrance. Wider reading is promoted with colourful displays and a diverse selection of reading matter. The addition of an eBook platform has expanded the collection and provided an option for students who prefer to read on their device. Year 7 & 8 Readers & Writers Club have met each Tuesday lunchtime in the Literary Lounge to share their love of books and stories. Activities have included book discussions, writing challenges and presentation of creative responses to their chosen books. The Library at Westcourt has moved to the Waterford Learning Centre enabling students to work independently and collaboratively in a large multi-purpose area with accessible resources. New moveable library shelving, tables and seating allows the flexible space to be easily adapted to suit learning needs. It is a popular place at lunchtime with students using the space for board games, reading, homework and study. Book Week celebrations were a highlight on the library calendar. Year 7 classes were treated to a visit from popular author, Michael Panckridge, whilst Mark Smith, author of ‘Road to Winter’ visited Westcourt to speak to the Year 9s. Lots of budding authors entered the Book Week short story competition and a lunchtime book quiz proved popular with our keen readers. Congratulations to the following winners: ‘Escape’ Short Story Competition Charlie Bowman 7H, William Anderson 8E, Austin Lofts 9C, Thomas Naylon 9C and Aedan Green 12D Book Week Quiz Wizard Poker Team: Lucas O’Connor 12H, Sean Doherty 12E, Liam Keogh 12C, William Pile 12H, Michael Hussell 12G & Aedan Green 12D - The Library Team: Joy Whiteside, Heather Stapleton, Ros King & Luke Guy
Getting stuck into Mark Smith’s book at Westcourt (photo: Mark Smith)
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THE BOX I wake up on a cold, stone floor. Laying on my back, my eyes search the room. It’s a cube with four black walls, a black floor and a black roof. There are no doors, no windows, no furniture. Except one hole. The meter long square is in the dead centre of the roof. I look outside and see a pale blue sky. Where am I? I don’t know how much time has passed since I woke up. I have no sense of direction. Panic starts to set in. I feel claustrophobic, the walls suddenly closing in on me. The need to escape becomes a necessity but no matter how hard I try, I cannot reach the hole in the roof. Freedom is so close, yet so far. That’s what frustrates me so much. I slump into a corner, put my head in my hands and eventually fall asleep. I wake up on a stone floor. The same floor. I wake up in the middle of the room, on my back. Exactly the same as before. But there is no hole, just another part of the roof has replaced it. I jump to my feet and do a full circle, until my eyes come to rest on a window. I press both of my palms to the window pane and my nose is so close it almost touches the glass. The window stretches from the roof all the way to the floor, leaving my entire body exposed to the outside. My eyes scan the new surroundings. I’m in a city, but not a normal city. There are weeds growing from the cracks in the pavement, windows are smashed, cars have come to a stop.There are no people. I snap out of the trance and come to my senses. Glass can be smashed. I slam my hands against the glass, then my elbow, then my knee. It doesn’t budge. It’s bulletproof. I must have slept. It mustn’t have been for long. But I wake up in the same position, exactly the same as the last two times. It’s different. Light floods in from every angle and drenches me. My once black box has turned to crystal clear glass. I spring to my feet and slam at the windows, smashing my whole body weight into the wall. I bounce right back. No. It can’t be bulletproof. Not again. I desperately attempt to smash through the boundary to the real world. But each wall is bulletproof glass. I give up and sit cross-legged in the centre. Skyscrapers stretch up on every side of me. But something in particular catches my eye. Something is moving behind a smashed car. A red bandanna is tied to its arm. A human. The next time I wake up, I am not laying on my back in my black box. I’m still lying on my back, but I’m on pavement. I’m in the same place as before, but I am no longer in my box. Buildings and cars surround me but I notice one thing in particular- the girl with the red bandanna is standing over me, pointing a knife at me. - Austin Lofts, Year 9 Westcourt Library area
