Announcing the winners of Logan City Council Writing Competition.

My name’s Karen Tyrrell, Logan resilience author. I awarded prizes to children who participated in the  School Storm Preparation writing competition. The judging panel was composed of Logan Mayor, Luke Smith, SES Officer, Jim Ferguson and I.  We  shortlisted excellent entries from  schools, until making our final selections.  We decided on a class story which featured all of the Get Ready Logan tips.

A very timely event after the recent fierce storm battered Logan and East Coast Of Australia with torrential rain, flooding and strong winds.

How do we Prepare for a Storm?

1. Prepare your home and family prior to an emergency.  Then you’ll recover and be less likely to suffer during a disaster event.
2. Tie outdoor furniture down and check roof tiles.
3. Trim trees and cut down overhanging branches.
4. Drive cars into a garage or cover cars with blanket.
5. Create an Emergency Kit for humans and pets.
6. Listen to radio 101 FM for storm updates.
7. Don’t drive cars onto flooded roads.

Writing Competition Winners

As author judge, I was looking for the best example of a collaborative story based on selection criteria set by the Logan City Council.

Drumroll …

1^st place was awarded to Calvary Christian College, Springwood, Class 6C

Class 6C with Jim Ferguson and Karen Tyrrell

2^nd place was awarded to St Paul’s School, Class 5F

3^rd Place was awarded to St Paul’s School, Class 6A

Mayor’s encouragement award has been allocated to Beenleigh State School, Class 5B.

Class 6C’s story ‘Ben & Felicia Prepare for a Storm’ shared practical ‘Get Ready Logan’ tips. This story read as a cohesive story, with a high level standard of presentation with pictures illustrated by the students. Class 6C worked as a team producing their story collaboratively.

6C Class Captains with “Ben & Felicia prepare for a storm”

How do you Create a Collaborative story?

1. Ensure everyone knows what the selection criteria are or what the story goal is.
2. Brainstorm ideas for a story line, characters, plot and scenes.
3. Write a sequential story collaboratively ensuring the story is cohesive.
4. Allocate group member tasks to complete i.e. writing, typing, illustrating, collating.
5. Assess story using selection criteria.  Look for originality, realism (if needed), visual appeal, Is it interesting? easy to follow, unique style, well-written, does it achieve its message goal etc.

The winners were announced on 6^th of June at the Logan Uniting Church building on Dennis Road. I delivered a 5 minute interactive talk immersing the children with FUN emotive actions and reactions.

Karen Tyrrell talks to Calvary Christian College

Jim Ferguson and I gave each student a copy of their book and a small pack of “Get Ready Logan” goodies.

6C students holding their book and their Get Ready pack.

I presented Class 6C a signed copy of Jo-Kin vs Lord Terra, my Fun space adventure with positive resilience and problem solving skills.

6C Student receives prize: Jo-Kin vs Lord Terra

 Writing Competition MEDIA

Please stay tuned for stories in The Reporter newspaper and in Logan City Council bulletins.

PLEASE Watch out for announcements of the official book launch in October.

Did you prepare for the storms… and keep safe?

Were the collaborative writing tips helpful? … Did they resonate with you?

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