SPARKLING VISIT TO WOODSIDE FIRE STATION!!

What a truly magnificent vist the Young Writers had to Woodside Fire Station today!  We were made very welcome by the firefighters who showed the children the control room, sounded the alarm and introduced them to their resident fire engine.  Over half of the youngsters got to explore within the engine itself, but then the crew got called out on a real emergency so the rest missed out as these brave ladies and gentlemen raced off  to perform their duties.  Still it was forty five minutes well-spent and the team answered a number of questions from both children and parents and lots of photos were taken.  Even after the fire engine had gone, the lovely Hannah allowed the children to try on a bright yellow helmet and witness her slide down the famous pole, as well as have their photos taken beside and in front of the command unit vehicle which had remained on site.

Despite the fact the visit was somewhat incomplete, I think it is fair to say that everyone had a crackling good time there and the children were each given white LFB wristbands and a leaflet about staying safe on Guy Fawkes night, before we all trailed back to the library.  Everyone was then given a questionnaire to take home and complete about the visit and when we meet up on 7th October for our next session, we'll be writing thank you letters.

Massive thanks to Craig, Hannah and the team for making the visit so worthwhile and yes, we will definitely be back some time to finish our visit!  Huge thanks also to the mums and dads that came along to help supervise and to the Young Writers themselves for being so well-behaved.  You all did me proud!

FIRST SESSION BACK - HUGE SUCCESS

Brilliant return on Saturday; sixteen youngsters turned up, including seven newbies!  I think that is the best ever post summer holiday 1st session the group has ever had and I am so grateful to you all for coming along; it was lovely to see you all.

I had around eight holiday journals/diaries handed in so a massive well done to all those members who took this year's summer challenge and  delivered the completed project on time!  I now have the pleasure of going through them.  I will be marking them points out of ten for content, presentation and sheer creativity and the one with the highest points at the end will be our winner.  There can only be one main winner but everybody who took part will receive a special certificate so there are no actual losers.   It is important that everyone's hard work is acknowledged and it will be!  So very well done to all those who took part.

Our first session back was mainly to get back into the swing of things so we started gently with a poem about autumn.  I will be reading those handed in but I will not be marking them so they will not count towards your Young Writer's next certificate.  The assignments will start again on 7th October.

Thank you to everyone who responded to news of our Fire Station trip on 23rd September.  The list is now FULL so if you have missed out on it this time, don't worry too much.  I am sure we can arrange a similar trip some time in the future.  On that day (23rd) we will not meet at the library until 10.30 since we are unable to access the fire station until after that time.  I will put a Young Writers sticker on all members attending and then we will walk round in a group where we will be met by Chrief Fire Officer that day Craig Abbott.  It should be a good visit and a new experience for most of us.

As per our newsletter, we do have the opportunity to attend a show at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon on Saturday 16th December in the afternoon (times TBC) and the show is The Snow Queen.  Tickets will be in the region of £16 and the show is suitable for 6 to 11 year olds.  There will be a talk after the show and I am hoping to arrange a trip back stage as well, but I will have to let you know about that nearer the time.  Right now it is about numbers so please let me know ASAP if you and your child would like to attend, so that I can make all the final arrangements with the Polka staff.

So; lots going on!  Don't forget to contact me if you have any questions or comments.  See you on 23rd.

So Chuffed!!!

Hi everyone!  Just a quick reminder that the Young Writer sessions start up again this Saturday and I am sooo looking forward to seeing you all.  Don't forget it is at Ashburton Library from 9.30 until 10.30 and I am expecting quite a few newbies so we could have quite a group!

I have finished writing the new look newsletter and I am absolutely chuffed with it!  It still has the same title as the originial - AYW - OK - and I think you'll like it.  At the moment it is mostly a catch-up but I am hoping to eventually introduce a column to showcase members' work.  But we'll see how it goes.

So that is it really at this point in time.  See you Saturday xxx

Getting Ready for 2017/2018 Sessions.

As incredible as it sounds, it is now just a few weeks until the Young Writer sessions resume on September 9th and I am getting some sound ideas on what we can do in the run-up to Christmas. There will be some old ideas revitalised and some new ideas to inspire, including at least one special event - but I will give you more info a bit later.

I hope your summer is going as well as mine and that your talented wordsmiths have tried their hand at the Summer Journal/Diary challenge set at the concluding session of the old school year.  I have had a number of enquiries from interested parents who think their children would enjoy being a member, so there are likely to be some new faces during the first couple of sessions - which is brilliant for the group!

Here is a list of future sessions up to Christmas.  It might be an idea to print this off or copy it down so you will always know when a session is on the horizon.

9th September
23rd September
7th October
28th October
11th November
25th November
9th December
16th December (Special Event)

The first session back after Christmas will be 13th January but I will remind everyone about it much nearer the time.

I will put together a newsletter to give out on the 9th but if anyone has any questions or ideas, please get in touch.

Best wishes,
Jilly

Have A Great Summer!

Hi everyone.  I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who turned up at our final session before the summer break last Saturday.  Nine Young Writers were there to write summer poems and from what I could see, making a very fine job of it.

Don't forget that the Summer Project this year is to keep a diary or journal throughout the summer holidays and illustrate it with photos, drawings, tickets, postcards etc.  I have suggested writing in it once a week if possible and the authors of all those handed in on 9th September will receive special certificates and one lucky writer will win a prize.

Above all though I want to wish you all a lovely summer holiday.  Enjoy your writing, but mainly enjoy the break so you can come back in September bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Wonderful Day!!!

What a huge success last Saturday's fifth anniversary celebration turned out to be!  It was lovely to see so many children and grown ups there and I was very pleased the Deputy Mayor and Ciaran Murtagh were able to attend and do short speeches.  Amber James also said a few touching words as she presented the Deputy Mayor with his copies of Word Magic and Word Magic 2.  

I was very pleased to announce the Summer 2017 Project which is to keep a holiday diary or journal.  As I explained at the time, it is up to the Young Writers how they do this.  They can use either a notebook or a scrap book, or make and bind a book themselves.  I would like to see drawings, photos and tickets included and every participant will receive a Specil Award Certificate and the best diary or journal will win a prize.  The diaries/journals need to be completed and handed in on our first session back after the summer break which is on 9th September.

Many many thanks for the birthday cards and gifts for me, too.  It was a very lucky coincidence that the group's anniversary celebration should fall on my birthday.  It was wonderful when everyone sang Happy Birthday to me and I just want you all to know how very much appreciated it was.

I'd especially like to thank the Library staff for their continued support for AYW and also Jenny Crook from the Croydon Dyslexia Association for being the Deputy Mayor's meeter and greeter.  In all the excitement I very nearly forgot to introduce Ciaran who came along and did a talk for the children in November 2015, but he was very forgiving and said some encouraging words to the Young Writers.  He has also said he will be very happy to come back and do another talk some time so I will make sure I arrange that with him for the next school year.

Finally thank you to all the mums and dads for briniging in the snacks and I hope everyone got a piece of our chocolatey birthday cake!

So we have just the one session left this side of the summer holidays and that is this Saturday, 15th July.  Be nice if you can make it but I know some of you will already be in the thick of summer arrangements so don't worry if you can't.  All I would say is Keep An Eye On The Blog as I am bound to do an update or two before the first session back.

Once again thank you thank you thank you for helping to make last Saturday's event - and the Addiscombe Young Writer group itself - such a momentous success.  You are the Cream of the Crop!!

Big Day Coming Up!!!

Hi everyone.  Just a quick reminder about this Saturday's anniversary celebrations.  The session will start as usual at 9.30 and will probably end slightly later than usual, between 10.45 and 11 am.  Don't forget to ensure your children bring drinks and snacks.  There will be some certificates to give out and one award so it would be great if as many of you come along as possible.

I have put together an info sheet about the summer project which I will hand out at the end of Saturday's session.  Don't forget that no specific assignment was set last week but any new work brought in by members will count towards their next certificate.

And finally our final session of this school year will be next Saturday - 15th - and then we will be back on 9th September.

See you Saturday for an exciting morning!

Jilly