Griffith North Public School's Connor Simpson and Samuel Martin reap success in competitions

Year four student Connor Simpson was named junior runner up in the Riverina Local Land Services 'Magic of Wiradjuri' photography competition, while his classmate Samuel Martin received high commendation in the Naomi Williams Wiradjuri Poetry Prize.

Connor's pet was the inspiration for his entry.

"I decided I wanted to take a photo of one of my pet bearded dragons," Connor said.

"I took it with my mum's phone, not expecting much, but realised afterwards the background of the shot had blurred which made my pet more prominent. It was a happy surprise."

Connor received recognition for his piece during the school holidays at an awards ceremony in Wagga.

"I was awarded a camera and a certificate of congratulations at a morning tea there," he said.

"I'm still very surprised about the whole thing. I think it will encourage me to learn more about photography."

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Meanwhile, Samuel was inspired to write his poem "Our Elders" by this years NAIDOC Week theme.

"My friends knew a bit about how to write poetry and they helped me a lot. It was a good learning experience because I also wanted to learn more about Indigenous elders and culture" he said

"I spent time working on it over several days, putting as much information as I could into my poem.

"It was great to be highly commended. I received $50 and a recording of my poem is going to be added to the competition website."

Assistant principal Robyn Delves said the youngsters were so dedicated to their cause that they worked on their respective projects during their lunch-time breaks.

"It was a really lovely experience for them," Mrs Delves said.

"We're pushing poetry and the creative arts in a big way at our school this year. The students have done an array of poetry readings and other activities.

"I think it's really important that the work of students is recognised in competitions such as those Connor and Samuel participated in. Expressing themselves creatively is fantastic and we're looking to enter students in more competitions going forward."

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