This week, the English Learning Area published The Obvious Choice, a magazine designed to celebrate the work of ākonga within English and Media classes. The 2025 edition has amazing fantasy writing, creative pieces about identity, grief and guilt, and non-fiction on topics as diverse as Star Wars fans, the politics of pirates, and the beauty of oka i’a. It also includes a variety of visual work, from book cover designs to blackout poetry and film stills. Everyone published in the magazine gets a copy, it is available to read in the library, and we keep a class set to use with future ākonga as inspiration for their own mahi.
The stunning painting featured on the cover is by Sophie Graham and was created as a personal response to the film Tinā. Another extraordinary personal response in the magazine is by Sarah Hay. Two of Ryan Chin’s subtle and beautiful paintings appear in the magazine. Ingshwan Zhang, who was earlier this year nominated for the Katherine Mansfield Short Story Award, has another of her excellent pieces published in the magazine, an atmospheric gothic story set in Aotearoa. One of our authors, Jay Gavin-Scott in year 13, has come full circle after first being published as a year 9. A selection of Jay’s intense and intriguing poems feature in our edition this year. We are always delighted to include film stills from the work of our Media students. This year we again have stills from a range of music videos and short films showcasing the skills our ākonga have in cinematography, composition and lighting.
Congratulations to all the writers, artists and filmmakers whose mahi has been published.
Poppy Albertson writes in her fabulous piece ‘Writer’s Block’: “My stories contain a piece of myself”. We know it takes courage to publish work that is often personal and precious to you. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou for sharing your mahi with us.