an interview with bonni Que

In Term 2, you delivered Story Island’s brand-new 'Choose Your Own Adventure' program at Rokeby Primary. How did it go?

It was a really interesting experience, running a program so soon after we designed it. That’s meant that the students helped to shape how the program was delivered, how it worked best in practice. It was super positive. I was so impressed by the level of engagement of the students.

There were challenges with introducing a different storytelling structure, but designing a program where students write stories with multiple outcomes really opened them up to the possibility that moments in life can have different outcomes. One student wrote a story with a really bleak ending, but having the option to write a second ending really freed her to imagine something different.

Do any 'magic moments' come to mind?

With one student in particular, the first two weeks were quite tough, they didn’t want to do anything. I ended up designing a story prompt based on their interest in the game Fortnite. They just took it and ran with it. They’ve done page after page, with beautiful pictures. It was nice to be able to find the interest that sparked their storytelling. Everyone has their own pathway to engagement and creativity. I love that in our programs, we find ways to give all students the opportunity to be creators.

In recent years, Story Island has moved to a 'deep engagement' model, where we work at the same schools over a number of years. What benefits are you noticing from that way of working?

It's so special to work with the same students again, to see their growth. There’s one student who, through school workshops and school holiday programs, I’m working with for the fourth time this term. Watching his creativity grow has been so amazing, the way that he describes things, and uses metaphors – things that I remember teaching in previous years that have come up in his writing this term. Other students now look at his work and say, ‘Oh wow! Cool!’ and get ideas from him, which is such a big shift from the first time that I worked with him, when he was largely just copying what I was doing on the board.

What are you looking forward to in Term 3?

In Term 3 we’re running A Trunk Full of Stories at Clarendon Vale Primary. I’m looking forward to the excitement that comes when students see our big storytelling trunk; it’s always interesting to see what stories students create from the objects inside the trunk. I can’t wait to get into creative narrative writing with these students. And I’m excited to meet a bunch of new volunteers!

If you're keen to join Bonni and the Story Island team as a volunteer in future Story Island workshops, click the button below. Our 2024 program is supported by Arts Tasmania. Additional support for our Term 2 ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ workshops was provided by the Calvary Community Council.