14 Issue 55 – February 2016 – QUEEN MARGARET CALLING
O rganised by the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand,
the production was a collaborative performance between
Wellington schools as part of the Primarily Playing with
Shakespeare programme.
Each school rehearsed different scenes from The Tempest before
coming together for the final performance at Queen Margaret
College. Students sung, danced and wore an array of costumes, all
bringing their own interpretation of the play to the stage.
For students Olivia Morphew, Charlotte Lee, Rosa Findlay,
Isabelle Osborne, Tallulah Nemet-Sargent and Brooke Raitt, getting
to grips with the plot of this Shakespearean Romance was the first
challenge.
“Some of the language was confusing at first but we made some
changes to the text to make it easier for a modern audience,” Tallulah
Nemet-Sargent, who played Adrian, comments.
The budding actors put their own spin on this classic story,
dressing Alonso and company as scouts while they roamed the
remote island.
Brooke Raitt, who played Prospero’s magical servant Ariel, says
the highlight of the experience was the final performance in front of
Last term, some talented Year 7 and 8 performers took to the stage in a performance of the
Shakespearean play, The Tempest.
Shakespeare With A Twist
family and friends.
“We had a quick rehearsal together with all the schools before
taking to the stage. It was an exciting day,” Brooke comments.
“Everyone had a better understanding of the play after the
performance. I would definitely like to do more Shakespeare in the
future.”
This talented nine-year-old recently built and programmed
her very first robot and admits she is hooked.
“I love programming. I really enjoy it because it is
another way to express myself creatively.”
Jaskiran attended an afterschool programme for children
interested in coding and robotics and discovered an exciting new
hobby.
She became familiar with coding using an online web tool called
Scratch and tutorials from Code.org. From there Jaskiran learnt how
Year 5 student Jaskiran Rahi proves that coding and robotics are not just for boys.
Mad About Coding
to 3D print, construct and programme her own robot in just six
weeks.
Her two wheeled robot, aptly labelled Jaskiran, can move
forwards, backwards, left and right all at the touch of a remote.
One special feature of Jaskiran’s robot is two ultrasonic sensors at
the front which detect objects 5cm in front of the robot. The robot
is then programmed to stop, reverse and change direction thus
avoiding a potential collision.
Jaskiran enjoys coding so much she decided to share her passion
with her school friends. In Term 4, she conducted two coding
sessions as part of the world wide ‘Hour of Code’ with students from
Year 4, 5 and 6. She directed beginners to start with tutorials from
Code.orgwhile going through Scratch withmore experienced coders.
Jaskiran says the difficulty level of coding can vary.
“If you want to programme a robot to do more actions, it
becomes more complicated,” she explains.
Nevertheless, she is excited about more girls becoming interested
in coding and hopes it will continue. As for what next, Jaskiran has a
few ideas up her sleeve she would like to try.
“I’ve been thinking about developing my robot further or
making a new robot in the future,” she says.
“I’ve been inspired by a xylophone app to try and programme a
robot to play the drums. It is just an idea for now.”