Send a Story Archives

Events

Send a Story – Story B – Part 4 – Liceo Chiabrera School, Italy

This is the fourth part of STORY B of our #sendastory project. You can read the entire story so far on this page. This chapter was written by the pupils of Liceo Chiabrera School in Italy.

Liceo Chiabrera is a high school specialising in Modern Languages and the Classics. The Modern Languages studied are English, French, German and Spanish. We are in the centre of Savona, a town situated in the north west of Italy. We are on the coast but surrounded by hills and then quickly into mountains so we have a range of landscapes from beaches to country villages to mountains. The students who have taken part in this project are in the third year and so are 16/17 years old.

On hearing the name “Lady Franklin Bay”, Marc opened his eyes wide and a shiver ran down his spine.

As the wounded man started to tell his story, Marc remembered his grandmother some years ago taking a small, golden key, which nobody was allowed to touch, from the mantelpiece. A key which opened a chest with the letters “L.F.Bay” engraved on it…..but the wounded man had started his story so Marc forced the memories of his grandmother out of his mind and focussed on the present…

“…well, you know, in the 17th century the West Indies Shipping Company owned a ship, called the “Lady Franklin Bay”. It was one of the largest ships ever built. It used to sail all over the world, especially to England and South America, bringing back gold, silver and precious materials to the Crown.

One day during one of several expeditions, sailing near the shores of South Africa, the Lady Franklin Bay was attacked by pirates who killed all the crew except for a young boy who had hidden in the ship’s galley, but they didn’t manage to steal the gold.

The young boy’s name was Charles Henry, and he was one of my ancestors. He retrieved the gold and made his way to Naples where he set up a famous pizzeria called “Lady Franklin’s”. But the West Indies shipping company thought Charles Henry was one of the pirates so he was arrested and he lost everything except for a small wooden chest which contained the recipe for the special Lady Franklin pizza and most of the gold from the ship!”

The more Marc listened, the more he was sure his grandmother possessed the chest he was talking about!

Marc leaned towards the man, and whispered excitedly: “So, tell me how I can help you…”

Events

Send a Story Around the World – STORY A – Part Four – St Andrew’s School, Argentina,

This is the fourth part of STORY A of our #sendastory project.

You can read the entire story so far on this page. This section was written by the pupils of St Andrew’s School in Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

St. Andrew’s Scots School is in Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina. We are are really big school, with kindergarten, primary and secondary areas. Olivos is a peaceful suburban town near Buenos Aires city and our school has been here for many years, although not since its foundation, which was 175 years ago. St Andrew’s is one of the oldest schools in Argentina, it was once a boarding school for boys but now it is a day school for both girls and boys, most of them Argentine and Spanish speaking.

Confused and terrified, I stood up in the forest in the humid soil. I shook off the dead leaves and moss from my clothes. Feeling a sharp pain in my temples, I blinked hard to try to adjust my eyes to the darkness and looked around me.

Suddenly, a match lit an old-fashioned lamp. A strange old man was holding the lamp and watching me closely. My head wasn’t playing games: it was the man from the shack.

‘What is happening to me? What are you doing to me? Who are you?’ I quivered.

‘I won’t hurt you, but the less you know about me, the better for you,’ he answered, breathing heavily. His voice was raspy and deep. ‘We haven’t got much time. Everything is falling apart.’ He handed the photo of the girl to me.

‘Who’s the girl?’

‘She is the one you must help. You must find her and save her,’ the old man insisted. There was a note of panic in his voice.

‘How?’

The old man took out a battered roll of what seemed leather, tied with a red ribbon round its middle. He unrolled it carefully on the ground and I saw it was a map.

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Events

Send a Story Around the World – STORY A – Part Two – St Anthony’s School, Canada

This is the second chapter of STORY A of our #sendastory project. You can read the entire story so far on this page. This chapter was written by the pupils of St Anthony’s School in Drumheller, Canada.

St Anthony’s School, Drumheller, Canada

St. Anthony’s school in Drumheller, Alberta Canada is a K-12 school composed of diverse ethnic groups, although mostly English speaking. Drumheller is near Calgary, Alberta and our rural catholic school of 460 students is vibrant and welcoming. Our students exemplify our motto “Making the world a better place to be!” Drumheller is a picturesque community, famous for coal mining and dinosaurs, badlands and coulees. We love cookies!!

PART TWO

‘Don’t be scared, I do not wish to harm you, I would just like someone to talk to!’

‘Wha… .’ that’s as far as I got. In the distance a petrifying sound roared through the trees. It made my blood run cold. ‘It’s not safe to talk, come with me.’ I didn’t know if I should trust the strange man, but the threat of that sound and the fact that I needed answers made the decision for me. I bolted after him.

Once inside the hut, I took a quick glance around. The room was bare, with the exception of some dust, broken glass and a small picture. The man seemed to be wearing a coat made of fake fur. He saw the fear in my eyes. ‘You are safe here.’ he said in a strange, but calm accent. After several moments, my heart stopped racing. I decided to take a better look at the picture. It showed a small girl no older than 10. I asked the man who the child was. He looked at the picture fondly, there was sadness in his eyes. He was about to answer, when the far wall crashed down revealing my darkest fear.

If you enjoyed the chapter from the pupils of St Anthony’s School, please pass it on to your friends. Check out our #sendastory Pinterest board and our Instagram account for pictures and info about the country featured this week on #sendastory

Events

Send a Story Around the World – STORY A – Part One – St Martin’s School, UK

To celebrate World Book Day 2014, Jump! Mag is sending a story around the world. In fact, we are sending TWO stories around the world. This is STORY A, and next week STORY B starts in Canada. We will publish the entire stories on a special page on the site, so you can read it in one place.

UK teacher Grainne Hallahan set a task for 14 schools around the world – to write 200 words of a story then pass it on to the next school, in a different country, on a different continent. We will publish a chapter every week on Jump! Mag.

Along with their story, we are asking the pupils to share information and photos of their school, their town and their country, which we will post on Instagram and Pinterest. What is it like to grow up in Ghana? Do you really see bears in Canadian cities? Do all kids go surfing in Australia? If you have a question to ask the pupils, please share in the comments or ask on Twitter or Facebook and we will pass on to the school.

We start our journey in the home country of Jump! Mag – United Kingdom.

St Martin’s School, Brentwood, Essex.

We’re a school of 2000 students aged 11-18. Brentwood is near London, and our students are mostly British born and English speaking. Our school was originally a boys’ school and a girls’ school, which merged to form one large school. Essex is a beautiful place, with many parks and a coastline with lovely beaches.

Part One

Rubbing my eyes, waking up slowly, adjusting to the bright light, I realised I was no longer in London. Cautiously, I stood up and looked to my left and then my right. Was this just a dream? I had to acclimatise to my new surroundings. Instead of city streets, the ground appeared to be soil, rough and dry as tinder.

Shafts of sunbeams, silver as a pencil’s lead, glimpsed through the trees. Ahead of me, was a dilapidated, derelict hut with a silhouette in the window– it seemed to be some sort of mysterious creature. A strange hint of something – musty, damp and smoky – filled my nostrils.

Then it struck me: a snaky, shadowy and slippery shape was slowly emerging from the rotting door, encased by twisting vines.

I bolted. As I ran I heard an insistent voice behind me, crying ‘Stop! Don’t leave. Do you come from the civilised world?’ Slowly, I turned. I realised it was some sort of man. He seemed to be dressed in tattered clothes.

Shocked and afraid, I stepped backwards, ‘Who are you?’ Tentatively, I edged towards him, only to realise that I still appeared to be in London – only it was different.

If you enjoyed the story from the pupils of St Martin’s School, please pass it on to your friends. Check out our #sendastory Pinterest board and our Instagram account for pictures and info about the country featured this week on #sendastory