A Dubbo College Delroy Campus student is reaping the benefits of a developing interest in poetry-writing, after one of her poems was published on the Teach NSW website and shared on the Australia Times Poetry Magazine website.
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Year 10 student Helen Forrester began showing an interest in poetry when her English teacher Kiralee Bradley introduced the class to the work of poets like Robert Frost and Alfred Lord Tennyson.
The 15-year-old began writing spoken-word poetry and showing her work to her English teacher, with the two developing a rapport both in the classroom and on email.
Helen said she started writing her own poetry at the start of second term this year and initially wrote a couple of poems a week.
That has now developed into a passion that can see her producing up to two poems a day, with her work sometimes prompting an emotional response from her teacher.
"Helen tends to express a lot of emotion in her work and last night one of her poems actually brought me to tears," Ms Bradley said.
"She tends to focus on themes like growing up and belonging and it's always very easy to relate to her thoughts.
"Her interest in poetry-writing has instilled confidence and self-belief in Helen and as a teacher that is very gratifying."
Helen tends to write most of her poetry at home and said sometimes it came to her at night.
"There's times when I find it hard to sleep so I use that time to write poetry," she said.
"I try to be as positive as I can in my writing and sometimes I feel like there is real relief when I can describe my feelings and put my thoughts on paper."
While Helen is two-and-a-half years from finishing school, she said at this point she was interested in helping people and might pursue a career in welfare.
First-year-out English teacher Ms Bradley is happy she has made an impact on students like Helen.
"I love teaching at Delroy but unfortunately my position here is temporary and I have now been offered permanent work at North Sydney Boys High School from next term," she said.
"I will be really sorry to leave Delroy and students like Helen behind because I am so proud of them and just pleased that I could contribute to their lives in a positive way."
Meanwhile, Helen said she was keen to maintain contact with her mentor via email.
