SKELLIG (opening) by Tia A

There the boy was, standing in the dark gloomy playground with a bunch of bullies around him. After the argument, they had become abusive - the bullies kicked and punched and gave him a nose bleed.
With the hurt inside the boy, he ran, not just running around having fun. He ran and ran fast out of his primary school.
After the boy had run for miles, he stopped at an old ancient ruin which was hanging off a tall cliff and below it was a deep dark blue lake.
The boy walked closer and placed his toes at the very edge. He raised both his arms up like he was going to dive in but he was swaying slowly backwards and forwards.
Surely he must have had questions in his head saying,
“Do I really want my life to be ended?”
“Am I sure I want to jump and be gone forever!”
“Shall I just forget about it and hope that everything will be ok?”

After of rocking for ages, the boy crouched down and …

Skellig diary entry by Jack S

Dear Diary,
I was having a great day when, out of the blue, we suddenly had to move house because there’s a baby coming! It’s all the stupid baby’s fault, that’s the reason we’re moving out!
Once I had packed my things, we finally got to see the house, we drove off and, guess what? It’s a dump! It looks like it could fall down at any second, it probably will, I’m expecting it to anyway.
The baby hasn’t even been born yet and I already hate it, I didn’t get the room I wanted because of it and I’ve had to move house because of it, it’s ruined my life! My bedroom is in the attic, my window doesn’t even have glass in it! Just a gaping hole! Doesn’t help that a fat crow flew in, dad’s temper hasn’t gotten any better either.
There is also a mysterious shed in, what I’m assuming, the back garden, I don’t care if there are just garden tools, I’m going to find out what’s in there!

Michael's Diary by Olivia

Dear Diary,
Today was the worst day of my life I got told that we're moving!! So on the way to ‘the new house’ mum and dad were talking about how everything is going to be perfect with the new baby and everything. I already hate this baby its ruining everything. When we finally get to the house dad's face lit up like he’s eating a big mac from McDonalds.
The house is horrible it looks like its going to fall down. When we actually get into the house after walking through the jungle that’s outside of our ‘lovely house’ as dad likes to call it.

SKELLIG (opening) by Kaycee

There he was, sick of being tortured. All of his life he dealt with being bullied and abused and now he just wanted to die.
He stood at the edge of the ancient ruins…
Max was just about to leave school he put his trainers on, so his shoes didn’t get dirty and he put his bag on. Max was walking home peacefully until he saw James. James was Max’s bully. Max tried to ignore James by walking in another direction, it didn’t work. James ran up to Max and started to hit him and scratch him, James also took Max’s bag and everything that was in it.
Max was frightened and shocked the only place he thought he would be safe if the ‘ancient ruins’. Max loved to go there because it was one of his mum's favourite places, until she died.
Max stood at the edge of the ruins looking over the azure coloured water. He stared to question his life choices to live or die. He chose to DIE! He put his arms up as if he was going to dive in to the water; the thing is… he cannot swim. Max didn’t care that he couldn’t swim he just wanted his life to be over.
Max again was getting his arms ready to dive, he stepped back in fear. Did he really want to die? Max stepped forward again looking over water. He closed his eyes….. HE JUMPED!

Skellig (opening) by Tia M

I was standing on the edge wondering what was going to happen next at school because there was a group of bullies and they bully everyone in the school but I was their favourite so today I got punched in the face and they put me in the dustbin and I didn’t like it.
I had blood running down my nose and my head was bleeding because on the way up I bashed my head. When I got up to the top I looked over the edge and this crumbled old rock I kicked fell into the lake and it was really low down it was a wrecked sculpture and there were rocks pocking out and it was really dangerous and then I heard someone shouting my name but I thought it was just in my head.
I stood on the edge of the cliff with my toes hanging over the edge and I looked down and I was pretty scared but I raised my hands took a deep breath and before I jumped someone shouted my name so I stopped lowered my hands and turned around but there was no one there so I turned and raised my hands again and took a deep breath and I made a decision and jumped.

Missing Person Reports

After watching 'Alma' we had a go at writing missing person newspaper reports. (Click on any of the pieces of work to zoom in)

Molly's Work

Cloud's Work

Ava's Work

                                     

Isabelle's Work

Lisa's Work

Tia M's Work

Tyler S's  Work

Our Newspaper

Over the last week or so we have been creating our own newspaper.

You can read our efforts by clicking here

Alien Life Form Report (Homework) by Kirsten

I travelled to Saturn to find life there. As the average temperature is -147 there, I expected not to find anything, but I still went to look. It took me a long 5 and a half years to get there.  The ice rings were beautiful, but they were too fragile and cold to stand on. The planet is a gas giant and it’s very cold, so I didn’t stay for long so I wouldn’t freeze.
The scenery was lovely, very rocky with many stone arches and hideaways and craters that go deep into the ground and look like rabbit burrows. I found him in one of these. The reason I know he is male is because he spoke to me. He speaks in Alien and English.
I brought him home to find that he can breathe in our air. The two things that he doesn’t react well to are:
• Our gravity force, he floats and doesn’t walk! 
• He doesn’t cope very well with Earth’s average temperature as it is 161 Celsius difference. He has to stand under lots of powerful air cons. 

Overall the finding of this amazing creature was phenomenal and I will be visiting Saturn again to see if there is any more life there. I enjoyed it and would love to find another alien like I found!

Alien Life Form Report (Homework) by Tyler S

My Galactic Discovery 

It was Wednesday 13 July 2016 when I got blasted off into space with a destination set for Mars. My mission was to go to Mars and search for an alien life form, and I am proud to say that I succeeded. 

You may think `How can any life form survive on the freezing climate and on the immense gravity level on mars?” Well, that’s exactly what I said when I saw this extra-ordinary creature. Both of which you are about to find out. 

My Alien       

Since Mars has an extremely low climate that can drop down to minus one hundred and twenty five degrees Celsius in winter, it can handle extreme temperatures. Because of how used they’re used to acid-freezing temperatures, they take three thousand years to get used to a huge climate change (e.g. minus one hundred and twenty five degrees Celsius to twenty five degrees Celsius.) so if brought to Earth, it would perish. But if the weather turns from cold to absolutely freezing they would change the depth of their fur. 

After their ability to change their temperature, I decided to call them Temprilens. 

You may ask `How do you know all of this? Have you even made contact with them? Do they speak English? `                                                          

Well first of the three questions, I have made contact with Temprilens and 6 out of 10 Temprilens know every language there is and ever was! I know all of this because I have been talking to a range of Temprilens who were very friendly and treated me like one of their own kind. But there is still more to tell. 

Because of the strong gravity level, the Temprilens is very stout creatures, about three feet and two inches in height. The colour of their fur is hazel and it gets darker as they get older. The odd things about Temprilens are their eyes. The eye of the Temprilen can change colour each day (sometimes, they don’t always match as a pair!) The surface population of Temprilens has an average of eight point six hundred and seventy four million! That’s enough to fill all the houses of London! 

So if any more missions are commissioned to Mars to find alien life form and if any of you are to be going, look out for the Temprilens! Now you know much about them.         

Writing a letter in character

We have been reading 'Goodnight Mr Tom' by Michelle Magorian. Today we were replying to a letter from Mrs Beech as if we were Tom Oakley.

Original letter:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I asked if Willie could go and stay with God-fearing people so I hope he is. Like most boys he's full of sin but he's promised to be good. I can't visit him. I'm a widow and I haven't got the money. The war and that. I've put the belt in for when he's bad and I've sewn him in for the winter. I usually keep him in when I wash his clothes and I got them special for the cold weather so he should be alright. Tell him his Mum said he'd better be good. 

Mrs. Beech

This was Sophie's reply:

Dear Mrs Beech,

My name is Tom Oakley and I am the person who is taking care of Willie I would also like to you to tell you that Willie has got here safely and he has settled in very well, he is a very quiet boy. I live near a church like you wanted and I read him bible stories every night. Also, he hesitates to ask questions but I answer them anyway. He is very polite and is never naughty I don’t feel the need to use the belt. He has been coming on walks with me and is getting used to the countryside, as it is very different to London, I promise to take good care of him. I am sorry that you can’t come down but we will carry on writing to you to let you know what’s happening. I am quite worried that he can’t read and write for most of the children down here can read and write by the age of around six but anyways, I’ll help him but I am confused to why he didn’t get any help. I you don’t mind me asking did you help Willie with his work? Willie has told me he had no friends but he has made good friends with Sammy and they love going on walks with each other. As it is his birthday in a few days I will give him some presents and throw him a party.

Yours sincerely

Tom Oakley 

Lisa's letter:

Dear Mrs Beech,

William has settled in well and the billeting officer has given him to a religious person, I do live near a church and I am a regular attender. I always go to church on a Sunday so I hope you are okay with him staying with me. I have not needed to use the belt and I do not intend to do so. He seems to like the village and he does enjoy staying here. We are going to my friend’s house later, after lunch, so that I can have a talk with my friend and his wife because I have not seen them for a while and William can have some orange juice or something while we are there. I told William that after I have written to you we will have some lunch. He has been very well behaved and when he returns home I would ask you not to punish him for behaving terribly because he has been on his best behaviour for me as you said for him to do so. As his mother you will know that is his birthday is very soon as it is on Thursday and I was going to do a little celebration for that, hopefully he will enjoy that. I am also hoping that he will make some new friends over the next couple of days so that we have some people that we can invite to join us. He has already made one friend as he has made good friends with Sammie, they often enjoy going for long walks together and playing in the fields.

From Mr Tom Oakley

 Cloud's letter:

Dear Mrs. Beech,

My name is Tom Oakley and I am currently caring for your child Willie, I am writing to inform you that Willie has settled nicely in my home. Although I am not very experienced with children hopefully I will not have to use the belt that you have sent me because he seems very well behaved. I am a bit concerned about his health though because he has been throwing up a lot lately but luckily I have been able to take him to the village doctor, the doctor informed me that it is a result of malnutrition. As you have requested he is staying in my cottage which is by a Church and I have been reading him stories from the holy Bible that he brought with him. One thing I have noticed though is that he hesitates to ask questions and has been showing some very strange behaviour for example when I put him to bed instead of getting on the bed he hid under the bed and curled up into a ball. He seemed very surprised when I told him that he could actually sleep on the bed under the covers. I have also noticed that he cannot read and write but we won’t have to worry about that because he will be attending the local school. He has also made good friends with Sammy and they enjoy going out on walks in the morning. 

Yours sincerely,

Tom Oakley.

Kirsten's version:

Dear Mrs. Beech, 

My name is Thomas Oakley. I am looking after your son whilst the war is in place. I live in Little Weirwold and I will take good care of your son. William has been very good, not mischievous at all! He misses you very much but is coping okay. He likes his new home and is to start school soon. I understand that you can’t visit, that is fine. I haven’t used the belt yet, and the behaviour that William is giving me is amazing so I won’t need to be using it. I live near a church and was once religious before my wife died. I read him bible stories every night and take him round the church and the graveyard. He says his prayers at the correct times. Your son keeps learning new things when I take him for walks (I couldn’t believe that he’d never seen a cow before)! He likes his clothes a lot and I am looking to get him some new ones. I told him to be good and he has been. He is a polite, quiet, kind and friendly boy. He must have changed since you last saw him. I don’t really know a lot about looking after children, but I do know your son is a nice person.

William is good friends with Sammy and they enjoy long walks together. I know you think dogs are fierce and poisonous, but I think differently. William likes playing with my dog, Sammie.

I hope you are okay and we wish to see you soon after the war is over.

Yours sincerely,

Tom Oakley

Tyler S's letter:

Dear Mrs Beech,

I received Willie from the Billeting officer yesterday. Willie is a quiet, shy little boy who doesn’t always reply joyfully to everything you say. He is very well behaved, so there will be no need for the belt you inserted into the bag. As requested, Willie is living near a church with me in Little Weirwold. I read a story from the Bible to him every night. I give him all of his meals each day and he has a little bed in my attic to sleep in every night. Willie is an unconfident boy, that’s probably to do with the fact that he has a new house, village, routine etc. I’m sure he’ll get more confidence by the days he is with me.

He has made good friends with Sammy, like going out to play and going out on long walks.

As long as he’s with me, he’ll be safe.

Yours sincerely,

Tom Oakley. 

Rhianna's letter:

 Dear Mrs Beech,

I would like to say that your son has reached his new home for the next couple of years. I live in a cottage in the town of Little Weirold, and there is a church 200 yards away. As you requested, I am a Christian, and attend the local church frequently. Every night I read a Bible story to Willie, and he seems to be taking them in. 

He has been very good. In fact, I didn’t have to tell him to behave. He has made friends with Sammy, and they enjoy spending time together. Willie has settled in well, and has his own room and is eating well.

I do not intend to use the belt that you have given me, even if he doesn’t behave, as it is just plain wrong to beat a child. Although I am a single parent (of Willie) and find it hard, as you are, we don’t have to resort to whipping. I have never hurt a child, and I never will. I strongly encourage you to stop when he comes home. I’ll still keep the belt though, as it fits nicely around my waist. Thanks for the belt!

Kind Regards, 

Thomas Oakley, temporary father of William.

Love, 

William