ENGLISH • 2020
NEW CHALLENGES AND NEW EXPERIENCES Words by Erin Fitzpatrick HEAD OF LEANING AREA -ENGLISH
One of the key revelations of life under lockdown in 2020 has been the importance of imagination and creativity and the need for artistic stimulation in our lives. Imagine the lockdown without books, films or TV - how would we have fared without written or visual language in this quiet and potentially isolated time? Writing has always been an important artistic outlet for many people, and we have been delighted at the way writing has flourished in lockdown. Here at Rangi Ruru we are proud of the community of young writers we have established. Every week girls in the Creative Writing Club from Year 9 through to Year 13 come together in order to share ideas, develop their writing skills and support each other. The group is headed by Year 13 student Katherine Rutter, who helps run sessions and encourage girls to enter competitions. While there is a focus on supporting students to enter local and national competitions, we also love to celebrate the smaller successes – writing as a daily habit, or finally sharing a new piece of work with others for critique. There is no prerequisite to join, simply a passion for writing and a desire to spend time crafting work is all we ask. 2020 brings with it new challenges – but with those challenges, new experiences and ideas that will help shape future writing.
On whispers of wind, Beneath rainbows of
If I
old leaves,
Had the power
The new season comes.
To change the past I wouldn’t Change a thing
HEIDI CAUGHLEY, Year 12 (daily haiku)
Because it would mean I never met you KATHERINE RUTTER – Poem written for ‘Spread the Aroha’ week
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