Shelf Care English Society – Autumn Term

Shelf Care is BACK!

We have returned for the new academic year, and we are bigger, stronger and more creative than ever. 

In half term one, we greeted students, old and new, and reintroduced them to Shelf Care. What is Shelf Care? We hear that question often. Shelf Care is the English Department’s Extra Curricular Club where we want to celebrate students’ creativity. They can write anything: narrative, description, script, poem, review, article… You name it, we want to read it! They can submit it to their English teacher and then it is published in a Shelf Care English Society Newsletter. Like the ones we have attached right here! 

Why do we do it? We love it. We love writing. We love reading. We love losing ourselves in pure imagination. So, we brought it back for 2024. 

In Half Term One we started feeling those fall vibes as Autumn watched over us. We had eight brilliant entries which covered some exciting new sections of Shelf Care including awareness questions, staff reflections, author spotlights, and competition promotion. Because we like to go a bit extra.

As we finish Half Term Two, Edition Two of Shelf Care has hit screens on the last day before winter break and we are feeling warm and fuzzy – and it isn’t just the festive feeling. We are so proud of the following because students have engaged SO beautifully:

For Half Term Two we have 17 pages of juicy, wholesome, creative goodness with:

• A four-page feature story
• Some picture prompted pieces
• A new collaboration corner from some collaborative classwork
• Poetry Nook – a first(!!) as poetry reaches Shelf Care
• Awareness Check sections for Transgender Awareness & Disability Awareness Month – the writing is superb – with a recommended author spotlight.
• Competition Opportunities for the Young Writers’ Award 2025

Read this term’s Shelf Care editions below!

Half Term 1

Half Term 2

Overall, we totalled 21 fabulous submissions from KS3 and KS4 students. We couldn’t be prouder. A huge well done to our writers-of-the future!

Next time, on Shelf Care, we look ahead to Half Term Three and dream of what woven worded wonders await us. We invite them to submit anything but if they like to rise to a challenge, then they can try out our theme – Celebrate: Unique by writing about uniqueness, individuality or identity or create a piece entitled ‘New Year, No Change.’ Submissions are open to Wednesday 12th February and, if they’ve written for us before and submit again, keep your eyes peeled for a new Shelf Care Caring Advocate title also coming soon! We look forward to welcoming you back in 2025 but for now…

Signing off Merry and Brightly, 
Ms Steffi and Team English