Snapshot of A Year
24 Nov 2017
In 2016-17 over 3,300 students wrote up a storm in our creative writing workshops.
That includes 812 teenagers from around New South Wales who wrote poems about their lives in our ‘State of Mind’ project, 416 young people we got to know by setting up residencies in their schools, and the seven awesome teens from Youth Off The Streets who wrote protest poems that impressed our socks off.
You can read about all this and more in our Annual Report for 2016-17.
It provides a great snapshot of a year of colourful, crazy, full-on action and activity at the Sydney Story Factory. And what an amazing year it was!
It includes introductions to students who will tell you themselves about how our programs are changing their lives, original poems and stories, and a collection of facts and stats that will have you gripped (can you guess how many wings, beaks, tails and feathered torsos we cut from paper this year for Robot Bird Poetry workshops?).
It’s also packed with quotes from our students about why they loved unleashing their creativity, and from parents and teachers and community workers and volunteers who are seeing first-hand the impacts of our programs in the lives of the young people they care for.
Like these…
“The students were engaged and inspired from the moment they arrived at Sydney Story Factory. The workshops allowed them to explore a way of storytelling that was new to them in an environment which fostered creativity… This workshop will have a direct benefit on the students’ future class activities. They responded to the program with enthusiasm and wonder.”
Carrita Nardi, teacher, Bankstown Girls High
“I started volunteering with SSF because I write for a living, and thought I’d be able to give something back to kids who could use some help. What I didn’t realise was how genuinely rewarding and fun it would be to get to spend time every week with an enthusiastic, imaginative, energetic kid who has a bunch of great ideas that can be turned into great stories.”
Lane Sainty, volunteer
“The boys are still discussing the fact that they are now published authors and just cannot believe that they have their very own books. I have had feedback by their parents/carers and they said that B and K haven’t stopped talking about the session at home either, they are so chuffed!”
Courtney Schacht, teacher, Casuarina School