Announcing the 2020 My Place Competition Winners

The coronavirus pandemic has reshaped our lives, and historians of the future will want to know how this looked and felt for children, their families, and their communities. Presented by the ACTF and ALEA Victoria, the 2020 My Place Competition asked Year 3-10 students to reflect on this moment in time and share their thoughts, observations, and experiences through writing.

My Place is a classic text in our classrooms, and the chance for students to write about ‘their place’ for an authentic audience and purpose clearly resonated with educators. We received a record number of 3,200 entries from primary and secondary schools, special schools and home schools across the country.

Responding creatively to the theme, young writers submitted narratives, recounts, poems, diary entries, interviews, news reports, letters and song lyrics. As a collection, these entries form a snapshot of the everyday lives of Australian children in 2020.

A team of judges from the ACTF and ALEA had the privilege of shortlisting thousands of entries down to just 30. We would like to say a very big thank you to these teachers, principals, academics, and literacy consultants, many of whom committed to reading My Place entries while also juggling the demands of remote teaching in Victoria.

We are also extremely grateful to have had the participation of My Place author Nadia Wheatley in this year’s competition. In a student webinar held throughout the competition, Nadia gave young writers guidance that would help them craft their entries. She discussed her classic picture book, the importance of writing about our own communities, and how she gets her ideas for stories from the place where she lives. Nadia carefully read all shortlisted entries in order to select the competition winners.

Without further ado, the winners of the 2020 My Place Competition are…

SPECIAL EDUCATION

1^st Prize – Jimmy, Whalan Public School (NSW)

2^nd Prize – Izaac, St John’s Catholic Parish Primary School Dapto (NSW)

3^rd Prize – Skyla, Rockhamptom North Special School (QLD)

YEAR 3 & 4 CATEGORY

1^st Prize – Chelsea, Woollahra Public School (NSW)

2^nd Prize – Dusty, Booligal Public School (NSW)

3^rd Prize – Elijah, Home School (QLD)

Honourable Mention – Charlotte, Woollahra Public School (NSW)

YEAR 5 & 6 CATEGORY

1^st Prize – Zenn, Dardanup Primary School (WA)

2^nd Prize – Dina, Moriah College (NSW)

3^rd Prize – Jeremy, Knox Grammar Prep School (NSW)

YEAR 7 & 8 CATEGORY

1^st Prize – Ellie, Rose Bay Secondary College (NSW)

2^nd Prize – Hannah, Fort Street High School (NSW)

3^rd Prize – Xavier, Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School (NSW)

YEAR 9 & 10 CATEGORY

1^st Prize – Jiya, Warwick Senior High School (WA)

2^nd Prize – Elizabeth, St Margaret Mary’s College (QLD)

3^rd Prize – Claudia, Warwick Senior High School (WA)

All winning entries are now available to read on the ACTF website. Read Nadia Wheatley’s thoughtful feedback for young writers here, and responses from judges and the teachers / parents of winning students here.

ALEA and the ACTF would like to thank all participating students, their teachers and their families for making the 2020 My Place Competition such an outstanding success. We sincerely hope you enjoyed the process of reflecting on and writing about ‘your place’ as much as we enjoyed reading your creative work.  

All entrants will receive a certificate of participation in the coming weeks. The winning students from each category, along with their teachers, will also receive prizes including signed copies of My Place, ACTF Shop vouchers, Walker Books packs, and ALEA membership.