Moving to Tai Wai in 2018 provided Island School students in the Writers' Block Elements class with an exciting opportunity to work on a writing project with Ng Yuk Secondary School. NYSS students shared ideas and English vocabulary from their Form One lessons, collaborating with IS students to weave these elements into stories written for younger children.

The project has been a great success - over the weeks the initial shyness between the schools evaporated, leaving a real creative buzz, lots of laughter, and new friendships. I hope you enjoy the results.

Teri Eves - Lead Teacher of English

Island School

June 2018

As a local school in the district, we are always looking forward to the possible liaison opportunities with any international schools for collaborative teaching in English. It is our honour to partner with ESF and Island School in running a pilot writing workshop for our Form One students in which they learnt about story elements and new vocabulary.

Our students found the inter-school and inter-cultural experience very enjoyable. Through the creation of their own stories and interaction with IS students in English, their confidence and sense of achievement has been greatly enhanced.

Yu Ka Yan - English Teacher

Ng Yuk Secondary School

June 2018

Once upon a time, there was a boy called Mark who lived in Tai Wai in Hong Kong. He was originally from England, but he'd lived in the New Territories for a long time. His best friend was called May, and they spent lots of time together.

But Mark had a secret that not even May knew about. As a small boy, if he saw anything he liked, he'd take it and claim it for himself. One day, he took one of his friend's favourite toys and told everyone that it was his. Since then everything he touched with his left hand turned into disgusting mouldy, oozing yellowy green slime. He had been cursed.

Mark and May loved the outdoors, so one day they decided to take a camping trip to the mountain range called Dragon's Back. It was quite a hard hike as the path followed lots of pointy peaks that looked just like the spikes along a dragon's spine.

They packed a tasty picnic to take with them, with lots of delicious food, including fresh bread, chicken, cake, and a lovely refreshing drink.

Unfortunately, as Mark was unpacking the picnic, he accidentally used his left hand, which immediately turned all of the food into foul, smelly lumps of mould.

Mark was so embarrassed that May had seen the curse in action that all he could do was run as far away as possible. Only when it got dark did he realise that he had

left May all by herself on a mountain, with no food. She must be so hungry by now, he thought to himself, and felt awful about abandoning her.

He was so concerned for May that he totally forgot about his cursed hand. He desperately tried to retrace his steps with his map, but eventually he had to admit that he was totally lost.

Suddenly, off in the distance, he could see a glowing yellow light that lit up the night sky. He headed towards it. As he got closer, he realised that the light was coming from a temple. It was glowing because it was made from pure gold!

But Mark didn't care about the gold, he just hoped that there would be someone inside who would be able to help him find May, and who might be willing to share some food with them.

With his right hand he knocked on the large door, a huge BOOM echoed through the night, but nobody came. Although he was scared and nervous, he knew his only chance was to go inside. So, with his heart pounding against his chest, he slowly and carefully pushed the door open. "Hello?" he whispered.

There was no answer, so he crept through the doorway. He was surprised to find a treasure chest full of gold on a table, right next to a bunch of bananas.

Although the chest was full of gold, the bananas were what really interested him. There were no shops on the mountain, so

the gold would be useless, but if he could find May, then the least he could do was give her the bananas to eat.

"Excuse me," he said hesitantly to the empty room, "can anyone help me find my friend? She will be very hungry , so is it okay to take these bananas?"

Warily, he reached out with his right hand and picked them up.

As soon as the bananas were in his hand, there was a blinding flash of light, and Mark was catapulted through the air, landing with a THUD! He just missed the campfire that May had started next to their tent.

May gasped in shock, and although she didn't understand where Mark had been, or how he had just appeared, she was still very pleased to see him. She was even happier when she saw the bananas because her stomach had been rumbling terribly.

Mark felt so guilty that he wanted May to eat all of the bananas, but she made them share because they were both so hungry.

Mark told May the secret about his cursed hand, and explained about the golden temple and the treasure chest. She was astonished and wanted to visit the temple too. She also had a hard time trying not to stare at his cursed hand.

When they got to where Mark had first seen the temple shining like a beacon in the darkness, they stopped. They searched all over, but no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't find even the tiniest trace of a temple anywhere.

It was as if it had just disappeared into the night, taking its gold and its special powers with it.

The next morning Mark and May were getting ready to leave when a ball came bouncing past them, chased by a young girl with an excited puppy on a lead.

It looked like fun, so without thinking, Mark put out his hands to catch the ball so he could throw it for the puppy to catch, and the ball landed nice and neatly in his left hand.

Oh no! He froze. May knew his secret now, but how was he going to explain to the girl that her puppy's ball was now just a slimy lump of mould?

He looked down, dreading to see what he was now holding in his hand...

But his hands held a perfectly formed purple and red ball, with no sign of any sludge-green mould anywhere.

All he could think of was that somehow the magic temple was pleased that he had chosen the bananas for May, rather than taking the gold, and that it had removed the terrible curse that afflicted his hand as a reward for not giving into temptation.

From that moment on both hands worked perfectly.

He and May stayed best friends and they lived happily ever after.