Saturday 29 June 2013

Thank you

The Headteacher was stunned by the enthusiastic response to the suggestion that visitors to the exhibition might contribute to the blog. Clearly, the Festival of Literacy had inspired parents and pupils alike to delve into the creative caverns of their minds, and to revel in the thrill of word play. Such artistry! Is it possible to tell from the posts below whether they were written by adults or by children? Will we ever know? Does it matter? The Headteacher thanked everyone for their response, and wondered: what next?
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Thursday 27 June 2013

Silence

We all sat in the room, silent, waiting. All of us sat still, as if afraid of a imaginary force. It was as if the next person to speak who be cursed, a curse of the wildest imagination. Silently, I shuffled, though no noise came. Then in she strode, tall and thin, her mouth shrivelled and her lips curled. Her eyelashes fluttered pathetically, as if to say she was delicate, and not to be messed with. Then he sneezed, and everyone turned to face him, with a menacing glare, she coughed and began to speak sharply...

By Becky Class 6

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Doppelganger

I was standing in the queue at the post office when it happened for the first time.A man said, "Long time no see. How`s the new job going?" I`d never seen him before.I didn`t have a job.A case of mistaken identity.Then in Boots the girl on the till said, "Irene- no its not you.You`re the spitting image!" Later I thought about it who is she my doppelganger? Who would I be if I wasn`t me? If I had that freedom to be someone else entirely. A weight lifted from me I felt different already.
Pippa

Bubbles

I fell, the endless deep green-blue swallowing me, engulfing me. A barren landscape spread out below me, almost welcoming. I began to feel sleepy and heavy, and the water seemed to press my eyes closed. Air leaked from my lips, and the spilled bubbles flitted to the surface like tiny fish. I fell.

The Theme Park

Wandering among the attractions breathing in that special theme park smell. that sweet like candy floss and salty greasy chips.Nothing can beat it.I jostled through the crowds ,heading for the big one,the one everyone was talking about. Apparently it made the most fearless person scream for their lives.my heart pounced in my chest as I joined the long queue for it as the queue got shorter and shorter my heat beat faster and faster , butterflies started somersaulting in my stomach. Then it happened I was at the front , next to the fastest ride in the country!






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Different

I decided to draw a picture for my sons, David and James! What should I draw? I wondered, looking around anxiously to gain inspiration. A box of felt pens sat partly hidden in the art cupboard. I started with orange, drawing squiggles and wiggly lines, gradually adding other colours until the entire page was covered. I thought it looked wonderful! So psychedelic! So creative! I showed my masterpiece to David. "What do you think?" I expected enthusiasm and praise or at least some confirmation of my brilliance. David looked. He cocked his head to one side.
"It's different."


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Flowers

Lazily swaying in the breeze,the poppies appeared as a hazy carpet on that hot summer's day.
Memory can play tricks on the mind, however; Bert thought for an instant that he was back in the fields of Flanders. He heard, at once, his comrades laughing nonchalantly, betraying the fear that haunted them day and night. In the distance... the incessant sounds of battle echoed through his memory; screaming shells; rumbling artillery left no doubt in his mins that he was imprisoned mind and soul.
" Grandad, what are you thinking about?"
With a shudder of relief, Bert's mind catapulted forwards 97 years and he gazed longingly at his 6 year old great granddaughter.

By anonymous

The big red button

I was stuck. I couldn't go back. The place was full and everyone was pushing to get out. In front of me was a door. I tried it, it was locked! If i couldn't do somthing I was going to be crushed. People behind were yelling at me "Open the door!"
   "Im trying," I said, "but i don't know how."
"It's easy!"  shouted a voice from the back, "Press the big red button in front of you."
  Suddenly I spotted it and pressed.
The door sprang open, I was free!

Soaring

A gull's voice
Suddenly I was soaring. Flying! The wind whipped my face. I wavered, rain sting, forks of lightning snaking down. Gulls screamed. An apocalypse of clouds loomed above, a tangle of ribbons... Dark black... Angry clouds. A turbulence of waves caved in on itself, a crash resounding... Bending... Billowing. Friends dived through the waters, their prizes clasped tight. I dived.
Waters churning... Breaking... A fish, darting between the reeds... A lunge... It was gone, swirling out over the grey greenness. A haven below, yet a chaos above... I screamed a cry of exultation at the simplicity of my life. My voice was carried away by the wind, away into the darkness. My wing cracked, and I swirled off. A splash sounded. And I was back in the green haven, but I would stay for very long this time...

Location:Example

Echo

Towering above the gloomy forest, the jet black tower rose out of the mist, appearing suddenly out of the over grown grass. Trees with finger-like branches shadowed the tower, their solidity blocking out sunlight, causing a crazy network of jagged lines across the mossy walls. Lightning bolts shot across the steadily darkening sky, the dreary grey clouds blocking out the setting sun.

Location:Norfolk

The ice-cream

It was a sweltering hot summer day and Harry was too hot to do anything. He decided to go to Blaise castle in hope of buying an Ice-cream. When he got there he saw the the ice-cream van and heard the gentle tinkling music. He rushed towards the van. Hurriedly, He lined up in the monsterous queue. He waited until he was at the front and then ordered his ice-cream. It arrived, humongous and towering. Steadily he walked away. It fell, leaving a large splatter on the floor.
"Give me another ice-cream!" he yelled.


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Location:Blaise castle

Falling


The right one, then the left.I close my eyes as I fall in the murky depths, I open them when I finally resurface. In the never ending ocean I swim with the energy I have left .I pull myself to the shore .I look around ,then Earth is just gone pale, then darkness.
By Awab Class6
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Monday 24 June 2013

100 Word Challenge

At our Celebration Evening we are challenging our visitors to write brilliant stories in a maximum of 100 words.
They will be published here on the blog, but beware: we will exercise quality control. Our panel of "Stretch Writers" will scrutinise, and they may delete posts if they don't think the literary quality is up to HJS high standards!
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It's all coming together

Excitement mounts as we approach the Gala Premiere of our animated shorts. On Thursday 27th June 2013, at the Henleaze Junior School Celebration Evening, the fantastic work done by the whole school will be on display. Here's a sneak preview of the Exhibition Plan

Saturday 1 June 2013

State of play

After 4 days of intense filming activity, Year 6 have gathered the footage they need for their animated films. Now all that is left to do is the post production. I say all... That is quite a task in itself!
The filming went very well. Thank goodness for the workshop day with Wendy and Roger. It meant that we were pretty confident with the software and had lots of good ideas for overcoming animation problems, such as how to make things fly or sink, and how to set up our backgrounds.
One of the problems we had to overcome was size. The models provided by Year 4 tended to be much larger than the Lego characters we practised with last week. That's because Year 4 designed such wonderfully detailed characters, and using pipe cleaners and plasticine, it was easier to make them about 12cm tall. But the scenery painted by Year 3 was A3 size, which worked fine with Lego models around 5 cm tall, but not always so well with bigger models. It's a question of perspective. But we found good solutions. Careful positioning of the camera, use of close ups, and enlarging the backdrops on the photocopier enabled us to keep the shots looking like the Year 5 storyboards.
It was a challenge filming the stories exactly as Year 5 wrote them. As animators, Year 6 had to be true to the authors' intentions, even if tempted to "improve" the plot by adding their own ideas. So whilst they could use their creativity to interpret the plot, they could not change it.
The films are made up of several scenes, assembled in order in Animate It. They have now been exported ready to import into iMovie, where we will add sound effects, voices, music and titles, and any special effects or transitions that are needed. All of this could be done within Animate It, but we think there are more options available in iMovie, and it's good to get familiar with another app.


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