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PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

As writers, we understand the ways in which writers approach writing and as teachers we know great ways to inspire young people to engage in the writing process.

Our director, Heather McQuillan is both a teacher who writes and a writer who teaches. She enjoys talking with classroom teachers about ways for them to engage, and engage with, their young writers.

After a long career in education, working as a school and professional development leader, Heather now focuses on teaching writing. She is able to provide teachers with practical ideas to inspire, enable and guide young writers to success through a process of playful and problem-solving approaches to writing.

Heather regularly speaks with teachers at staff meetings, Kahui Ako gatherings and educational conferences. She is also available for ZOOM sessions with staff or educational groups. 

 

Topics include:

The Essentials of Writing

Prompts for Playful Writing

Redrafting: A Problem-solving Approach

Engaging with Boys and Their Writing

Sorting Out Sentences - Syntax

Heather McQuillan has a Dip Tch (Adv), a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Creative Writing (with Distinction). She is the author of several award-winning books for young readers and her first collection of short short stories Where Oceans Meet was published by Reflex Press UK. She has numerous awards and publications for flash fiction. See Heather's website here.

  • TWO-DAY WORKSHOP
    Up to 10 young writers get focused workshop time with one of our experienced tutors. They will explore a number of first drafts and follow a redrafting process through to one or two polished pieces to submit for publication. We can adapt our workshops with themes to suit your school or Kāhui Ako's needs. Who: Year 3 to Year 13 Fee: $690 +gst Travel costs may apply for those outside the Christchurch area.
  • ONE DAY WORKSHOP
    This is a taster or booster session where up to 10 young writers explore a number of first drafts under guidance from one of our expert tutors. We aim to redraft one short piece to submit for publication. We can customise a workshop and themes to suit the needs of your young writers. Who: Year 3 to Year 13 Fee: $395 +gst Travel costs may apply for those outside the Christchurch area.
  • ZOOM WRITERS' STUDIO
    Each week we provide a 45-minute ZOOM session for the group to prompt writing and teach tips with one of our skilled tutors. Then, as the students work on their weekly assignment on Google Docs during school time, they will receive 1:1 feedback and editing assistance. We can run all term ( although we may need to juggle the Zoom meetings on some of our busier weeks). We recommend at least five sessions to benefit from the feedback cycle. Zoom studio sessions can cover any aspect of creative writing including poetry, flash fiction, short story, creative non-fiction or kick-start a novel. If the young writers are not used to using ZOOM or Google Docs then they may require some in-school support to get started but we can support them once they get going. Who? Year 5-13. This is an enrichment writing programme and the young writers will require class writing time to complete their writing and respond to feedback between each ZOOM lesson. Fees: for 6 students is $215 +gst a week, including ZOOM teaching time, shared notes and 1:1 feedback. ( This reduces if there are fewer students requiring feedback) We prefer to keep the group at 6 to manage the ZOOM session and the feedback workload. Any extra students would be charged at $35 per week +gst and may have feedback from a different tutor.
  • MASTERCLASSES
    Please see our Masterclass Programme on this site which is open to individuals and schools. We can also customise a Masterclass at your school or organisation for your young writers in Year 7 and above. Up to 24 students participate in a focused workshop with one of our specialist tutors. The purpose is to generate ideas and writing skills in a given genre/ form. Our masterclasses include: memoir, fantasy, lyrics, poetry forms, story, flash fiction, creative non-fiction and spoken word poetry. Please ask if you have another genre of interest. We draw on a pool of talent from within the writing community. Who: Year 7- Year 13 Fee; $450 + GST per day. We require a teacher to supervise and support during the session. If you cannot supply a supervisor then we can at extra cost. Travel costs may apply to those outside the Christchurch area. NB: We provide full supervision for our scheduled Masterclass programme.
  • ON-GOING ENRICHMENT WRITING
    An on-going writing programme for schools or Kāhui Ako. We will provide weekly enrichment writing sessions for your pupils. They will explore a range of genre, develop skills, confidence and experience redrafting pieces for publication. Availability limited. 1.5 hour session minimum. For. Year 4-13. Up to 10 per class. Fees: $72.50 per hour +GST. We recommend at least 6 sessions to make the best of the feedback cycle
  • RETICENT WRITERS
    Do you have a group of children who have potential but hold back from writing experiences? We can help with small group or 1:1 tutoring to build enjoyment, skills and confidence. A great way to change the mindsets of those children who say, “I’ve got nothing to write about.” Please ask.
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PLD TESTIMONIAL

"During term 1, our teaching team, comprising of 10 year 4 to year 6 teachers, was looking for inspiration to improve our writing programmes. 

 

We contacted Heather McQuillan through the Young Writers’ School and asked if she could work with our team. Her first session focused on what’s worthwhile in writing, boys and writing, and how to build a bank of writing ideas for future development.

 

Without exception we came away from our professional development with Heather, energised and keen to implement her ideas straight away.

 

The ideas were practical and relevant to our context and our children. This was evidenced by the increased motivation and engagement of our writers, including the reluctant ones."

- Wendy Dent, Deputy Principal, Hoon Hay School

GET IN TOUCH

Please email us about our Professional Development options.

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