Creative Coaching Residencies Bay of Islands – Rural Residency with Don Long

Friday, March 18, 2011

This morning at Russell, I completed the one-on-one sessions and then we reviewed our work together over the past two weeks. We talked about the ways writers of non-fiction organise their thoughts before they start – the experience they’ve just had. It’s making a big difference to their writing, sparking ideas and firing up their imaginations. It was just fantastic to see these students enjoying the challenge of what they are doing, with some of them even continuing to work on their articles at home even though they weren’t asked to do so for “homework”.

I suggested to Eveleen and William that they consider having a class competition to look at the final results, before the students enter their work into the School Journal competition. In this way, they could receive immediate feedback, before the wait for the national competition result.

At Opua School, the four writing groups had finished drafting their text and graphics and had laid them out in mock-ups of “screen grabs”. I reviewed these with each group, giving lots of feedback (in a positive way, though pointing them towards some useful tweaks). In the process, we completed a class shot list for a photo shoot and the students continued the process of giving each other feedback.

One of the parents is a professional photographer. He joined us just before 3.00. He’s going to mentor the students as they take the photographs they need to complete their website content. Because this may involve a truck and a steep road, Sergeant Davis has agreed to oversee the photo shoot, to ensure that everyone stays safe. (As I left the school, the two of them were discussing this – and, of course, the school is going to be closely involved in this, too.)

I also took the class through the reasons why they need to get their parents to sign a permission form before photographs of themselves are offered to the NZ Transport Agency’s Feet First website.

By 4.30, I was at the Kerikeri airport, checking in for my flight home. For the first time in two weeks, it started to rain, bringing to an end an extraordinarily enriching experience, inspiring young writers and sharing writing skills and the passion for writing with them.

There is something very special about working with children in isolated rural communities such as Russell, Opua, and Paihia. Through the things the children write about and discuss with you, you gain a glimpse into small, tight-knit communities where people depend on and look after one another. It really is an extraordinary experience to become a part of all that, if only for a time.

The young writers at Opua School and Russell School have promised to show me the finished result of all their hard work, as soon as they have finished editing and illustrating their writing – and I’m looking forward to seeing how Room 5 at Paihia storyboards its reader’s theatre play.

Don Long