A BIG day at Kowloon Junior School!
March 5, 2015 at 9:32 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 CommentTags: Hong Kong Schools, Kowloon Junior School, Poetry workshops, Writing workshops
Well that was a whopper of a day today at Kowloon Junior School! It was great to visit my old friends there again, and to see the impressive new school premises, with a big, beautiful library right at the heart of the school, just where a library should be! The Grade 3s had my How to Write a Riveting Story Workshop, I read my Tale of Rodney Ram to the Grade 1s, 2s, 4s and 5s, and then the Grade 6s had my Introduction to Poetry Workshop. It was fun, and the kids were fabulous! Here they are above, getting ready for one of my sessions with a big “AIYEEE-YA!” on the right, and above left are my two lovely hosts for the day, Katie Tucker (Drama Club and K2 Teacher) and Vanessa Sheppard (teacher librarian). I can’t wait to see all the kids’ entries in my Clever Competition! See the Clever Competition tab above for all the details!
A Funny and Fabulous Day at DBIS!
March 4, 2015 at 3:13 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Zodiac, Discovery Bay International School, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, The Tale of Rodney Ram
I had SUCH a fun day today with my old – and young 🙂 – friends at Discovery Bay International School today! The Grade 2s, 3s, and 4s met my shaggy, shy sheep Rodney, and then the gorgeous Grade 1s met my very vain (but loveable) Pin Yin Panda, and learned all about how the animals got into the Chinese Zodiac! We had a ball! Huge thanks to the wonderful Naomi Gist (above) for hosting me today! And even more thanks for letting me, and my family of Chinese Zodiac animals, make our getaway, very stylishly, in her Discovery Bay golf buggy! But trust that Pin Yin Panda to insist on riding in the front! You can also see below a fabulous drawing of Rodney Ram given to me by a lovely student called Elin – isn’t it terrific?
AISHK loves SHEEP!
March 3, 2015 at 7:32 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: AISHK, Chinese Zodiac, Hong Kong Schools, Library ideas, Year of the Ram
It must be something to do with Australia’s historical connection to the sheep industry…but the Australian International School Hong Kong just LOVES sheep, and gave my shy sheep Rodney Ram a very enthusiastic welcome today! Here I am above left with lovely teacher librarian Megan O’Connor, with the Thinking Tree, and a very fat Aussie sheep, owned by Senior School librarian Mr Darryl Hopkins (above right) who tried to feed it to a Chinese dragon! The AISHK has SUCH great ideas in the library – like this wonderful Reading Tree (below left) and board games made by the kids about their favourite books (below right). No wonder all the kids at AISHK love reading books!
Back home in Hong Kong – and Morrison Academy in Taiwan enters the fray!
March 2, 2015 at 4:06 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Bobby, Clever Competition, Hong Kong, Morrison Academy Kaohsiung Taiwan
It’s good to be home with my family and my gorgeous dog Bobby (here he is pretending to be a stuffed toy so he doesn’t have to have a bath!) The weather’s still a little chilly, but all the birds are singing madly around our apartment on the edge of Tai Po Kau nature reserve, and the hills are green and beautiful!
And what a lovely surprise I got today to receive 15 fabulous entries from Morrison Academy Kaohsiung in Taiwan in my Clever Competition! Taiwan has officially entered the fray! If you haven’t entered your Shaggy Sheep Poem yet, it’s time to start writing! See my Clever Competition page above for all the details!
A Fabulous Frolic at Kambala!
February 27, 2015 at 7:33 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
I had a terrific time today at one of my favourite Sydney schools Kambala! My darling mum went to Kambala way back in the 1930s, so visiting takes on a very special meaning for me. I spent a fabulous hour with the Grade 2 to Grade 5 girls, and we had a lot of fun learning all about how rice came to China, as well as my shy but artistic Rodney Ram. The girls were gorgeous as ever, and it was great to see the staff again too. Warm thanks to lovely teacher librarian Sally-Anne Tilley for hosting me this afternoon – it was memorable! Here are some photos of me with Sally-Anne, her madcap daughter and friend, and a stunning Chinese umbrella in the foyer made from – you guessed it – Chinese cocktail umbrellas! I look forward to all your entries in my Clever Competition!
My wonderful afternoon with Susanne Gervay!
February 26, 2015 at 2:55 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: books about bullying, Hughenden Hotel, Susanne Gervay, Teen books
Today I met one of my personal writer heroes, the great Susanne Gervay, at her beautiful boutique hotel, The Hughenden Hotel, in Woollahra. Susanne is author of the famous I Am Jack series of children’s books as well as many award-winning books for teenagers, such as Butterflies. It was such an honour to spend time with her; her kindness, warmth and enthusiasm for other writers makes her one of the most generous and remarkable authors I’ve ever met. I owe a huge thank you to the fabulous Jennie Orchard of Room to Read for introducing me to Susanne, who, like me, is a Writer Ambassador for this wonderful children’s charity. Please do take the time to visit their website (http://www.roomtoread.org) as well as Susanne’s fantastic website at http://sgervay.com
Rodney Ram meets Robert Townson Public School!
February 26, 2015 at 4:51 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Australian schools, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese culture, Chinese history, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac
On Wednesday, Rodney Ram and I and all the Chinese Calendar Tales characters met the wonderful kids and staff of Robert Townson Public School at Raby! It was a very special day for me, as my host was my dear friend Michelle Sarjana, deputy principal, who used to be deputy principal at Kennedy School in Hong Kong, and was one of the first teachers ever to invite me to visit her school with my first book, A Dirty Story! It was a BIG day! The Kindies met my hungry dragon Chester Choi, the Grade 1s and 2s learned all about the Chinese Zodiac animals in The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, then the Grade 3s and 4s met my VERY romantic Rodney Ram and the Grade 5s and 6s were hypnotized by Sybil Snake! Lastly, my toy tiger Tarini met the Townson Tiger who told her to Aim High! It was great to meet you all, and I really enjoyed my chats with the dedicated staff at the school – especially gifted potter and artist Lyn Thirwell who is currently looking after the library! It was a treat! I look forward to seeing lots of entries in my Clever Competition!
Fabulous Fun at Lindfield East Public School!
February 23, 2015 at 7:37 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, Lindfield East Public School, Sydney, The Tale of Rodney Ram
Hellooooo Sydney!
Today I met over 400 fabulous kids at the exceptional Lindfield East Public School in North Sydney! Years 3 to 6 all heard my shaggy tale about Rodney Ram and how rice came to China, as well as lots of useful titbits about Chinese New Year, the Chinese Zodiac animals, and how I write and publish my books! Many thanks to the wonderful Rachel Watkins, deputy principal, who hosted me today, as well as inspirational principal Andrew Stevenson and all the dedicated staff. It was a huge pleasure to meet you all and to find out more about your fantastic cross-cultural curriculum and activities. Below you can see just a sample of the Chinese New Year decorations at the school – some bleached apples showing Chinese characters, and a fabulous Chinese Emperor a.k.a. principal Andrew Stevenson with the kids!
Rodney Ram frolics into Tim’s Bookshop, Maling Road!
February 21, 2015 at 1:29 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Book launch, Chinese New Year, Melbourne, The Tale of Rodney Ram, Tim's Bookshops
A big thank you to the fabulous team at Tim’s Bookshop, Maling Rd, Canterbury, who hosted a fun Chinese New Year Event this morning! Rodney Ram and I met some wonderful Canterbury kids, mums and dads, who listened to me reading Rodney’s Tale, answered questions brilliantly in my quiz, and enjoyed some lucky laissee packets filled with golden coins (well, the chocolate kind :)…) Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone who came, and may you have a Rambunctious Year of the Ram!
A Marvellous Morning at Buckley House!
February 19, 2015 at 3:06 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Today I spent a fabulous morning celebrating the first day of Chinese New Year with the kids and staff of Buckley House at Ivanhoe Grammar’s Junior School! The Grade 3s and 4s met my redoubtable Rodney Ram, and learned 3 very different theories about how rice came to China! The Grade 6s learned How to Write a Riveting Story, while also hearing an exquisite love story about handsome sportsman Luke and the love of his life, the stunning and clever Alice (thank you Luke and Alice for being such good sports…:)). And finally the Grade 5s learned about why Books are a Brain’s Best Friend. I was really impressed by their comments – it’s clear that there are a lot of kids at Ivanhoe who really do understand how important reading books remains in this digital age. Thanks to the fabulous Grace Molinaro (L) and library technician Anna Consiglio (R) for being such wonderful hosts, and such fun too! Remember all you clever kids to enter my Clever Competition!
Blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.
Sarah Brennan Funny & Fabulous Blog 