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Issue 52 – February 2015 – QUEEN MARGARET CALLING
Stepping Out Onto the Stage
C
lara topped off her final year at College in 2014 securing
a trip to go to London as part of the SGCNZ Young
Shakespeare Company.
Clara was one of 48 students selected to participate in the
SGCNZ’s National Shakespeare Schools Production (NSSP) held in
Dunedin recently.
The students underwent a week-long
intensive course, in which they studied aspects
of Shakespeare’s works and three of his plays
under the direction of leading directors.
From the production, 24 students were
chosen to join the SGCNZ Young Shakespeare
Company off to London next year.
Clara is looking forward to the trip to
London, and meeting up again with the friends
she made in Dunedin.
“I can’t wait. We grew very close as a group.”
Clara says.
It was a busy year for Clara, immersing
herself into school life.
Clara van Wel is looking forward to a trip of a lifetime this year.
Clara came to the College for her final year of secondary school,
after a family friend recommended the school to her on a visit to
Wellington.
“I thought it was beautiful and I liked the small class sizes,” Clara
says.
“Each student gets so much more attention.”
Clara admits a few nerves before starting
at Queen Margaret College but says the school
community was extremely welcoming. She was
also glad to be part of a school, which prioritises
the Performing Arts.
Clara was joint winner of the Irene Wilson
Cup for Dux of the School 2014 receiving the
award for NCEA.
At the end of last year Clara was thrilled
to receive a letter from Cambridge University
in England offering her a place at Newnham
College to study Human, Social and Political
Sciences.
Te Karere Creative Writing Competition
J
uliette’s first picture book for children,
Marmaduke Duck and
the Marmalade Jam
, was published by Scholastic in 2010 and
launched a writing career that looks set to match that of New
Zealand children’s writing greats.
In just four short years, Juliette has had 10 children’s books
published by Scholastic and Gecko Press in New Zealand, and
Walker Books and HarperCollins in Australia. She has been twice
shortlisted for the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards, and has twice
received the Storylines Notable Book Award.
Each of Juliette’s stories shines with her whimsical and catchy
rhymes, and her amusing characters. This year, she released
Marmaduke Duck on the Wide Blue Seas
, the third story in the
Each year the English department runs a Creative Writing Competition, with the winning
pieces published in the College Yearbook,
Te Karere.
The competition in 2014 was judged by
a Queen Margaret College Old Girl and picture book writer Juliette McIver (nee Macdonald).
Senior School: Short Story
First Prize:
Alexandra King, Year 13,
The Constellation Blanirus
Highly Commended:
Fiona Curtis, Year 12,
The Climbing Frame
and
The Station
Clara van Wel, Year 13, for her untitled poem
Middle School: Descriptive Piece
First Prize:
Ilena Shadbolt, Year 9,
Times Square
Highly Commended:
Phoebe Telfar, Year 9,
The Bush and the Beach
Junior School: Poem
First Prize:
Divya Srinivasa, Year 3,
Bula Fiji Here I Come
Highly Commended:
Jaskiran Kaur Rahi, Year 3,
My Cousins
Risha Cheerala, Year 6,
Interminable Rain
Elizabeth Jelley, Year 4,
Tonga
Olivia Martin, Year 2,
Ode to the Brother
popular Marmaduke Duck series, along with the hilarious tale of
The Moose and the Goose
, and an enchanting toddler picture book
called
Bye! Bye! Bye!
Juliette was impressed with the pieces submitted, commenting
on Clara van Wel’s poem, “How can you have so much insight so
young? And the talent to capture it so strikingly?”
She also commented on Jaskiran Kaur Rahi’s poem, “I love the
emotion. The feeling of fun, discovery and delight as the family
travel around New Zealand together.”
Below are the results, with the Year Level of the student when
they submitted their writing last year.
Divya Srinivasa
