The Owl 2020

The Owl 2020
Literary Contributions
Dear Future Self,
Literary Contributions
I am writing to you to remind you of a time
when you were removed from every-day
life and school education, this was called
lockdown. This may all seem like a distant
memory, but I shall refresh it. In the past
few weeks I have been learning how to
work independently and handle my free
time. Between balancing online piano
classes, drama lessons and a lot of school
work, it has taken quite a while to get used
to this new regime but as time progresses
I’m sure I will eventually find lockdown as
a new sense of normality.
Some of the skills you learnt during this
time might surprise you now as you may
think you always possessed them, but you
didn’t. Prior to the corona virus quarantine,
I had a routine that largely depended on my
mum and teachers organising me. All your
classes were set times, drama and piano
were done in big groups and getting
together with friends was a simple part of
everyday life.
I learnt that I could adapt to different
situations, that staying connected with
family and friends were really important for
my mental health and in order to continue
these relationships I had to seek out the help
of technology and devices. Another thing
that I realised at this time was that in daily
life my busy tasks kept me exercised and I
now realise that lockdown has taught me
how I have to replace these parts of my
schedule with focused fitness like running,
cycling, trampolining, skipping and sit ups.
You took for granted how close you were to
your brother and how all the family
depended on each other but let me tell you
how strong and important that connection
is. You realised you were the lucky one as
you had such a loving and supportive
family through these foggy times. I didn’t
appreciate that school was such a carefully
thought out and organised system and how
much I needed it, but also how my teachers
can make your learning experience fun
because sitting at a laptop is incredibly
boring.
To conclude this letter, appreciate the
resilience you built up and the people in
your life that make it special because it can
be taken away so easily. I thought everyone
was appreciated at this current time but I
never would have known how important all
the shopkeepers, bin collectors, doctors,
nurses, teachers, cleaners, care workers and
many more amazing people risk their lives
every day for us.
Best wishes
Your younger self.
Theo Purcell (I)
The Amazing Piglet
Aoife Akmad (II)
There once was a pig called Piglet,
As happy as could be, he lived with his
friends;
Pooh, Eeyore and Tiger, they were his
family.
They live in a 100-acre wood,
Which I wish I could!
He loves eating food just like me,
I wish he could be part of the family!
Piglet likes to fidget, he also falls asleep –
So when he drifts off, we all weep!
Piglet is tiny but he has a big heart,
We love you Piglet as we said at the start.
Piglet represents a model pig,
Who stands up for what he believes in,
And season, any year,
Piglet always has a helping ear,
To listen to your problems and know what
way to steer.
Piglet is a childhood friend of mine and
with his little pink face and curly tail,
Him and Pooh never fail.
So as Piglet said,
If you live to be 100, I want to live to be 100
minus 1 day,
So I never have to live without you.
To all the pigs in the world like Piglet.
Eve McKeown (I)
The Pig of Pigs
Jessica Lane (II)
The Pig of pigs,
The King of the farm.
They don’t like wearing wigs,
But they love living in Larne.
We love their tail,
We love their snout.
When we see them about,
We run and shout.
Dear Pigs we do love you, more than a zoo.
We love you more than ducks,
We love you more than cows.
And when we see you around, everyone
stops and bows.
Pigs like apples,
And so do we.
They go well with breakfast,
And with tea.
You are the king, as we said before.
And you’re way better than any wild boar.
You rule the farm,
So it will come to no harm.
The Pig of pigs,
The king of the farm.
You are the best,
And the world is blessed.
Emily Warnock and Anna Curran (II)
Grace McIlroy (V)
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