2018 My Place Competition – Winners Announced

The ACTF Education team have been overwhelmed by the response to the 2018 My Place Competition from Years 3-6 primary students around Australia.

As over 900 short stories about a 2018 My Place character started flooding in from every part of the country, we realised the stories provided us with a unique window into the creativity, passions, concerns and diversity of the young writers.

Read the Winning Entries

It also reinforced just how loved My Place is. With its ground-breaking blend of history and imaginative fiction written by Nadia Wheatley and illustrated by Donna Rawlins, My Place continues to inspire personal stories in primary classrooms. It also illustrated how the video clips and resources from the acclaimed My Place television series (available on the My Place for Teachers website) continue to be an embedded part of teacher practice in primary classrooms Australia-wide.

Year 3 & 4 category winner, Maia (Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar, VIC) is congratulated by Junior School Teacher Librarian, Marissa Caluzzi

Many of the student stories touched on the universal themes of family, fitting in, bullying, friendship, depression, racism, and adjusting to life in a new country, suburb or school. Contemporary issues such as the drought, protection of the environment, smart phone use, video games, same-sex marriage and female participation in sport were woven throughout many of the stories.

The ACTF’s Head of Education, Peter Maggs and Curriculum Officer, Janine Kelly felt privileged reading through the diverse, thoughtful and touching stories. “It was an incredibly difficult task narrowing down the stories to a final short-list for each category.” Peter Maggs noted after the judging.

Year 5 & 6 category winner, Rebecca (Woollahra Public School, NSW)

The final judging was carried out by the ACTF’s Head of Development and Production, Bernadette O'Mahony. Bernadette played a major production role in both My Place Series 1 & 2. “I’d like to have some of these budding writers in a development room. Their story ideas were highly creative, they really got what makes a good My Place story – and it was great to see what issues and events resonated with them in 2018” Bernadette noted after the final judging.

Year 3 & 4 Category – Shortlisted Entries

Mira, Goulburn Street Primary School (Tasmania)

Maia, Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School (Victoria)

Wil, Redlands College (Queensland)

Nelly, Northcote Primary School (Victoria)

Leah, Redlands College (Queensland)

Winners - Year 3 & 4 Category

1^st Prize - Maia, Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School (Victoria)

2^nd Prize - Mira, Goulburn Street Primary School (Tasmania)

3^rd Prize - Wil, Redlands College (Queensland)

Year 5 & 6 Category – Shortlisted Entries

Lucy, St Thomas More’s Primary School (Tasmania)

Rebecca, Woollahra Public School (New South Wales)

Jet, Morphett Vale East School R-7 (South Australia)

Zara, Graceville State School (Queensland)

Winners - Year 5 & 6 Category

1^st Prize - Rebecca, Woollahra Public School (New South Wales)

2^nd Prize - Lucy, St Thomas More’s Primary School (Tasmania)

3^rd Prize - Jet, Morphett Vale East School R-7 (South Australia)

Read the Winning Entries

All students who entered the competition will receive a certificate of participation and a My Place poster. The winning students from each category, along with their teachers, will receive ACTF Shop vouchers as their prizes.

The ACTF would like to thank the 80 primary schools and 900 students from around the country who made the 2018 My Place Competition such an outstanding success.