Schools
Primary 6 are the first class to be involved in a fantastic writing project with The Reading Bus. The class were inspired by two workshops by John Fardell, an award winning author, and have now written their own stories on the theme of Wishes. They have chosen one small part of their story to share on Reading Bus Press.
Then a genie popped out from the explosion of the fire and said in a very deep voice, “I will grant you one wish, the only rules are that you are not allowed to wish for more wishes.” Laim T
“I just hate Mr Laton, the Head Teacher. I mean what was that about the other day. He was all like, OK, you’re late for class and, on see me in my office,” said Zahra being the cheeky one this time. Saoirse
Flora and Layton saw a train. They saw the fair and it was 20p but they had no money. They came out and saw a girl. She looked like metal. The girl grabbed them and put them on a rollercoaster. A voice said, “This will go to Vampire Castle.” Soha
“I am a little wish box. You can ask me for one wish only, so you need to think very hard what you would like to come true. But you need to tell me your wish before midnight, because after that the wish box will disappear. Be careful!” Simon
On day, just a normal day, two nine year olds called Mark and Louise were in an amusement park and they found an unusual looking pit ball. It had Celtic print so they sent and took a look then suddenly …… the ball started to glow and it was mumbling something in Chinese but luckily they had a Chinese friend to translate. She said something about wishes. Exciting I know. Rebecca
In a big white palace lived a princess called Selena but she just hated that name so she told everyone to use her second name which was Alex. If you want to know something about her family, her Mum died when Alex was six years old and her Dad died two years after her Mum. Now she only has her Grandmother. When Alex’s Grandmother will die alex will become the Queen of Denmark. Wiktoria
“That was an awesome game!” I said as we started walking home. Shhhh! What the? I looked behind me and saw a little swirl pool getting bigger and bigger!” Panashe
As they were going on the way, Vivian noticed that she was no more in Scotland and she found out that she was on one of the witches’ broomsticks and also found out that it was big and thin and long. You could easily fall off because she also noticed that it was a sticky one so she was lucky. Before she even knew it, she found herself in the sky and started wondering what her family would think of her. So, she just decided to ask where she was going but when she asked, “Puff!” they turned her into a padlock so that she wouldn’t talk a tick. Agnes
Two hours later, he was looking for food in the water. He saw a shiny box. He quickly swam to the box. Then the box asked, “What is your wish?” Adrian L
Meanwhile Kitty was trying to tell Cathy about some butterfly flying into the room. But then Tiffanny flew out and ruined her plan. Cathy said, “When were you planning to tell me?” When Kitty didn’t answer,Tiffany tried to lighten the mood. “At least we both have unlimited wishes now!” both girls smiled. Ngozi
“I grant you three wishes and let me introduce myself, I’m George the Genie.” Nancy
One day Jake came back to the large cave. “Oh, I’m back and my wish has come true.” He had a dog, but it wasn’t all correct, he wanted a UFO dog. He told his dog to sit but the dog just flew. Jake shouted, “I HAVE AN UFO DOG!!!!” Filip
One bright day there were some older kids and a younger boy in the park but some thing wasn’t right. Happy Helper saw the older kids were punching the young boy. He looked sad, worried and frightened. They were bullying him. So when ever the older kids touched the younger boy it started to rain on the older kids. But, why? Happy Helper had turned into a cloud. The older kids were trying to work out what was going on. Finally they left because they were so wet. Niamh
One day Rose wanted to be a princess. She went to school and she found a big yellow rock. The rock spoke, “I can give you a wish.” The next day she woke up in a palace. She saw a beautiful gown. Weronika
There was a magic tree right in front of the house. Amy wished she would know a big secret in the family. Then suddenly the wish came true, the wish was that the whole family was MAGIC! that was the secret. Adithya
Suddenly everything turned as red as a tomato and the money tried to eat me. I shouted as loud as I could. No one heard me. I struggled and struggled. Scott
One day Michal and Radek wished for a silver A4 coupe and a black Nissan Skyline car. There was a big bang and two cars appeared on the street! Michal said, “Look Radek, new cars. One for you and one for me. I want the Nissan Skyline and you have the Audi A4.
The Dark Witch screamed in terror. The castle started breaking up in the middle. Hector wished that they were in a safe place. Hector made new friends, Dion, Thoko, Magdalena and Claire. The Dark Witch disappeared! James M
One shiny day there was a little monkey called Jack, a zebra called Fiona and there was a little monkey called Mia. She was alone and she wished to have some good friends. Magda
Hayley took the shiny key out of her pocket and suddenly the little house turned gold. They went inside and Hary saw a gold ball. He picked it up and wished he was at home sleeping in his bed. The next day Hayley and Harry woke up and realised they are at home and they felt really happy but Harry had a big secret. He still had the gold ball in his pocket and he never told anyone about it. It would be his secret forever. Magdalena
I got lost and didn’t want to go down in this type of night. Was that the same with you? Have you got a fire lighter …. oi, what are you kids doing? By then everything was spinning in my mind. I just wished I had got out of there but I couldn’t. Thoka
I will help you and off they went. when they got there, the smaller girl said to Suzy that she lied. “Why?” “I don’t know.” Izabella
The green monster ate the door and tripped into the room. Shan was so scared, he run up the chimney. The Monster tried to get up the chimney but dust and darkness was his weakness so he didn’t go up. The monster slivered out of the house and into the street. “YAHH!” screamed the town folk at the sight of him. Callum
After school, she was walking lonely in a dark, shadowy emty place where birds where whistling everywhere; owls flew everywhere as fast as shooting stars. Zahra
Days passed into weeks. Weeks turned into months. I’ve been making so many wishes that I’ve lost track. I’ve felt like the most wonderful princess. But lately, Mum has been acting weird, and she notices me more than before. I feel like an animal in a cage. Claire
The Boogie-doogioe went to the doctor. While he was walking, he saw a box so he opened it and then he saw a paper in it. He picked it up and on the paper it said, “I am the box with the wishes. You can ask me for one wish.” Dawid
“Wow!! What is that?” said Paul. “It looks like a magic box,” said Bill. “How do you know?” said Paul. “Because it says on the label,” said Bill. It was a magic box and could give them as many wishes as possible! But they didn’t know what to wish for. Samuel
February 4th, 2010
Another special Christmas show from the Riverbank after school radio club, talking about the different ways different people celebrate christmas.
- when do you open your presents?
- what do you eat?
- a story from Sheena Blackhall
- an interview with special guest from Santa Claus and his plans to go to Ballater by Reading Bus
- christmas songs from different countries
- and sack loads more!
Riverbank - December 17th, 2009:
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January 24th, 2010
The talented presenters from Riverbank School Primary 7 broadcast this very musical Christmas special, featuring
- stories about dolphins and whales
- a beautiful Polish song
- Christmas time in Poland and Scotland
- a beautiful song from Swaziland
- views on the X-Factor
- and lots more!
Riverbank - December 10th, 2009:
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January 22nd, 2010
This week the show is from St Peter’s RC Primary School which has been the first school to be involved in a great writing project developed by the Reading Bus. The broadcast features
- students reading from their stories
- an interesting interview with the author John Fardell
- and lots more!
St Peter’s - 3rd December 2009:
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January 21st, 2010
While Miss Graham is teaching for a year at Forest Edge Elementary School, Hanover Street pupils are enjoying learning all about America from Mrs Evans during the exchange.
In this broadcast there are special messages and questions to the penpals from Forest Edge. You can also hear
- about some of the clubs and activities Hanover Street students enjoy
- Thanksgiving messages
- stories about St Andrew, Scotland’s patron saint
- how the thistle became the Scottish emblem
- an interview with Jenny Watson about the Reading Bus
- Primary 7 interview with Mrs Evans including her enjoyment of Scotland’s historic victory over Australia at rugby
- … local stories from Grace and lots more!
Standard Podcast:
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January 19th, 2010
Look out for the camels and remarkable feats of engineering in this evocation of ancient Egypt by the young film-makers at Ashley Road School!
Ancient Egypt by Ashley Road School:
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December 16th, 2009
Check out these clever films from the clever film makers in P7 Kingswells School!
Kingswells School [4:18m]:
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December 16th, 2009
Here is a fantastic story all the way from America!
Harrison Sinclair needed a phone. His cell phone fell out of his pocket and broke, and all the public phones have been vandalized. The reason he wanted to call was to find out if his daughter was at the hospital or not. There was a big bus pile up at her school. The hospital was ten miles away; he had no money for a taxi, and he would not live with himself if he didn’t find out right away.
Harrison was exploring around the cityscape for ten minutes until he finally found an outdated looking phone booth right near some railroad tracks. The booth looked out of place compared to the steel skyscrapers, and there was an old Victorian look to it. He walked to the phone booth and dialed up the hospital number nearest to the place where the pileup happened. After a few seconds of ringing, a surprisingly clear voice said, “Hello, this is St. Mary Hospital. How may I help You?” “Do you have any recent records of Julie H. Sinclair?” “What does the “H” stand for sir?” “Er, well, its Homonubus.” He heard no snicker. “There is no Homonubus at our hospital, although there is a Homonubus at Green Leaf Hospital.” Harrison’s throat stiffened, “How old is she?” “Five years old sir.” It was his daughter!
Green Leaf Hospital was a mile away. Harrison sprinted down a sidewalk and got there in seven minutes. He signed in as fast as he could and asked what number was his daughter’s room. “490,” came the reply. He rushed to the room and walked in. He saw his daughter wrapped in bandages snd came close to his dear child. Her eyes were closed. When he went to her bedside, Julie’s eyes flew open and she said in a gravelly voice: “Am I going to the place where mommy went.” “I hope not, honey.” “Well I think I am going there.” After those words, she finally closed her eyes. Harrison’s eyes widened, and he sank to the floor weeping. Then he ran out of the hospital.
His wife had died a year before and he was still mourning her. At his daughter’s funeral, she was buried next to her mother. After a week, Harrison started lingering around the phone both. At first he hated it, he kicked the walls and punched the telephone box until his knuckles were bloody. But after a short while, it suddenly occurred to him that if he hadn’t found the phone booth, he would not have seen his daughter when she was still alive and he wouldn’t have heard her last words. After that thought, he started cleaning the glass in the booth. He also polished the telephone box. Every day he cleaned the floor. In a week, the booth glowed in the sun and sparkled in moonlight. As a last touch, he put a bronze plaque on the door that said: “This booth is commemorated to my wife and daughter. I hope you two are happy.” The phone booth was Harrison’s new pride and glory. But the loss of his family left a gaping wound of sorrow in him.
One day, as Harrison was polishing the bronze plaque, the phone rang. It was very peculiar. Nonetheless, Harrison picked it up. He heard a disgusting and gurgling voice saying: “I would rather die than apologize.” Then a sound like a bang followed and the line went dead. After a few minutes of panic, Harrison thought to himself, that must have been a prank caller, and left.
It was already night, and Harrison wanted to get home fast, so he crept through an alley that was a shortcut to his house. He suddenly stopped. He heard the same gurgling voice. It was coming from a side alley. Harrison peeked around the corner and saw twenty people standing in a circle. In the middle of the circle was a man. His face was covered in blood. There was another man in the circle; he had a trench coat and a hat on. He shoved the bloody faced man to the ground and snarled, “Apologize!” The other man replied in the same gurgling voice, ” I would rather die than apologize!” Then the trench coat man pointed a gun at the bloody man and shot it. Harrison gasped and ran the other way. He quickly called the police. The whole gang was arrested. For a week, Harrison didn’t visit the booth. The scene still haunted him. But when the week passed, he started cleaning the booth again. However, he did not have as much enjoyment in cleaning it as before. After a month, the second call came.
Harrison didn’t pick it up. But it kept ringing. After thirty minutes, Harrison finally picked the phone up. He heard the fanfare of a news report. Then he heard a news reporter’s voice say, “We are at the scene of an accident involving a derailed train. Unfortunately, there was one death. It was of a man named Harrison Sinclair. The accident happened at 2:05 p.m..” Harrison’s eyes widened, his throat constricted, he looked at his watch: 2:05 p.m. Then he saw the train. He saw it derailing. And he saw it crashing through the booth. He was killed instantly. After the crash, the only thing that remained intact was the bronze plaque. And the Sinclairs were a whole family once again.
By Mark, Forest Edge Elementary School
November 20th, 2009
It was a rainy, gray and gloomy October afternoon. Mr Jones was sitting in his square, black beigh office, sipping his usual Friday coffee, and working on his newest case of the recently deceased Bill Finx, owner of probably the most popular personal technology corporation, Finx Industries. The man had died unusually and unexpectedly, causing a great shock to the industrial business. The way he looked after he was killed was top secret, and Mr Jones was one of the few people who knew how, and was puzzled by it. After stirring his coffee one more time, the man opened up his laptop and began scanning through documents, hoping to find some information about who or what could have caused the death. It seemed that a few days before he passed away, the company had discovered a new computer virus spreading throughout their system, and that it caused their data bases a tremendous amount of damage. “It was like a termite army, eating away bits and pieces of information. We were very devastated to find some new developments being devoured by that horrible program, and sadly haven’t yet discovered the virus’s original source or how to stop it,” Finx had stated at an interview. Jones mused over this piece of information.
As he opened another document he noticed a strange icon appear at the right hand corner of his computer screen. The man stared at the image. It was like a tiny swarm of black dots that kept multiplying in a pattern that looked like they were eating the screen. Jones was aghast, for he had never seen such a virtual yet terrifying thing. Then, a thought suddenly struck him. It might be the new computer virus that Finx was talking about! The dots kept increasing, almost halfway across the screen. Jones desperately launched for the off button, but no matter how hard or how many times he pressed, the computer never shut down. The man was in a panic. All of his priceless information, cases and documents could be transferring to an anonymous source right now! After hitting the button for the fiftieth time, Jones lost his hope, and with a dramatic sob, thrust is head in his hands on the table.
After a minute or two of moping around, Jones realized how stupid he had been to just sit here and that he had to go tell the maintenance to shut down all of the computers so that the virus couldn’t get to the other sources that held crucial information, but as he was about to rise from his leather chair, he noticed something utterly amazing and awful. The little black dots had completly filled up his screen and were now climbing out of his computer onto his hand. Jones screamed. The dots were in fact tiny mechanical malicious insects that were piercing his skin. There was mechanical buzzing everywhere. Their bites had paralyzed him and he couldn’t do anything but watch as the mini machines crawled under his skin, wondering if this was really happening. He felt their buzz and bodies fill his veins and head, and suddenly he couldn’t speak. The man silently collapsed onto the beigh tiled floor, his blank eyes widened and locked with fear forever.
An hour later, Belinda Burns, Mr Jones’ secretary, was going to tell him that he received mail from the London Headquarters. As she opened the door, the first thing she saw was Mr Jones’ laptop in front of the door, broken in half, with all of it’s wiring sticking out in a very upturned fashion. Jones’ chair was turned around so that she couldn’t see it’s front, but Mr Jones appeared to have been sitting with his back to her. “Jerry, you receive-” her words had turned into a scream, for right at that moment, the chair swiveled around and she could clearly see that out of Mr Jones’s body and flesh crawled out a giant black mechanical steel spider composed of a strange shape-shifting web, with Mr Jones’s grotesque head lifelessly wired in at the top.
Kat Vlasova
November 19th, 2009
Today I was chosen for Star of the Week, which is an activity we do in the homeroom. If you are selected for Star of the Week, you get to take home a cute teddy bear named Hamish Hanover, Hamish is to be toured around the town and photographed doing something. All of his adventures will be summarized and sent to Ms. Graham, who will share it with our Scottish counterparts.
For the week, I took Hamish to three diferent places. They were my neighborhood, the local indoor hockey rink, and the tennis courts where I practice my tennis skills. I will describe what happened to Hamish and me.
Hamish was really impressed with the skating rink. It has two levels - the first level is the NHL rink (National Hockey League) and the second level is the Olympic rink. Here I play hockey, which is also one of my most favorite sports. I introduced Hamish to my teammates. My team is called “Black Ice” and is currently tied at the first place with the Red team.
Next I brought Hamish to the tennis courts in the bubble where I can play all year round. I usually take private lessons, and I consider myself to be much skilled in tennis. I have a wonderful coach who makes me work hard in my technique. Tennis is my favorite sport, and I enjoy it very much. My favorite professional player of all time is Roger Federer who is currently the world’s number one.
After all of my activities, I finally went to the neighborhood. We moved to this house a few months ago. It is great for me because practically all my friends are at the neighborhood. We usually bike together and play a game called Nerf wars, which is generally a game where two teams are split up into two armies. They go to war over each other. We fight with plastic guns that shoot out foam darts. They are called Nerf guns.
One of the coolest features of our house is that it has a park behind it. Hamish and I went for a walk together and saw grasshoppers on the trail. On the way back home, we actually spotted a four inch long Praying Mantis. They are one of the dominent insects because of their hunting method. They can even catch small birds!
I think being Star of the Week was enjoyable. Taking Hamish around Reston was just dandy. I hope I will have a chance to meet the Scottish bear once again.
November 19th, 2009
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