Springwood State High School Celebrates First Ever Book Launch Soiree.
Families and teachers came together at Springwood State High School last Tuesday 18 October in celebration of students who were presented with a copy of a published anthology of their own stories called, Dreaming With Eyes Open.
60 hand selected students with a flair for writing were recently invited to venture out into the Moreton Bay region for a three-day writer’s workshop.
Facilitated by The Young Writers program, students across Springwood and its Primary School Partners collaborated to write, illustrate, and produce their very own published anthology of student stories.
Acting Head of Department in Development at Springwood State High School, Kylie Turner led the inaugural initiative with fellow teacher and published author Debbie Kahl who leads the school’s English Academy of Excellence Program.
“We hand selected our students that had an interest and a flair in writing and also from our primary partners, that being Chatswood Hills, Springwood Central and Daisy Hill State School,” said Kylie.
“The idea for students to publish their own stories stemmed out of this years' Book Week theme, Dreaming With Eyes Open, explains Kylie.
“The theme was about stepping into your own story, listening to Country as the first storyteller and learning from friends who help you on your way and this is what formed the basis for the student stories.
“Award winning author, Samantha Wheeler also worked with our students to guide and inspire their own storylines.”
The outcome of the three-day workshop that the students participated in is the published anthology called Dreaming With Eyes Open thanks to the support of our school’s connected communities.
“Our Writer’s workshop was around developing partnerships with our community, with our current students and with our future students, as well as building partnerships with our team here at Springwood State High School,” Kylie continued.
“What we learned from this experience is the success of working within a community by reaching out and inviting our primary school partners to participate in the three-day Writer’s workshop.
“We were also incredibly grateful to the supporting businesses in our community including, Dianne Aylward, Principal of Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre who kindly hosted students at the at Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre for the three days.
“House Publishers in Underwood also supported us by publishing the student anthology that were presented to students last Tuesday at our very first Book Soiree event.
“We’re so proud of our students and the way they represented Springwood State High School, as well as their families and are so excited to continue this program and grow our partnerships in 2023.”
Springwood State High School is committed to providing excellence in 21st Century Teaching and Learning within a Culture of Care.
Primary School Partners: Chatswood Hills State School, Daisy Hill State School, Kimberley Park State School, Rochedale South State School and Springwood Central State School collaborated to write, illustrate and produce a published anthology of student stories.