'We made some displays about her and her books.

'The Ambassadors also participated in the campus TV interview with Isobelle. They also watched her as she was interviewed by Miranda Yeung of Young Post.'

Pandora Tang of 3C learned more about Carmody's works.

'Her books include The Obernewtyn Chronicles, The Gathering and Little Fur. Obernewtyn is a series set in a world after a nuclear holocaust. Carmody wrote the first one when she was just 14 years old.

'The Gathering is a fantasy story with a classic 'good versus evil' theme. Little Fur is also part of a series, for slightly younger students, and is about the environment.'

Jamie Chong of 3A enjoyed Carmody's talk. 'First she told us how she survived during her early years when she had to stay at home with her seven brothers and sisters and entertain them!

'Then she told us how she builds up atmosphere in her stories. Next, she told us why storytelling is so important to her as a writer.

'Finally, she let us view her beautiful illustrations.

'I was honoured and happy to listen to her talk.'

NLSI Lui Kwok Pat Fong College

Speaking at the 22nd graduation ceremony of the college on June 2, Professor Lau Siu-ying of the Chinese University of Hong Kong reminded the graduates that they should learn from the Sichuan earthquake.

'Fortune will not necessarily come, so treasure what is around you, especially your parents, the school principal, the teachers and the janitors. Without their selfless contributions, you would not excel as brilliant and law-abiding citizens,' Professor Lau said.

In his annual report, principal Dr Lau Man-fai said the average pass rate of the students in the 2007 HKCEE and HKALE was 89 per cent and 80 per cent respectively, with 83 per cent of F.7 graduates pursuing further studies. He complimented the students on their outstanding performance.

The Chinese Foundation Secondary School

The earthquake which devastated Sichuan last month caused more than 69,000 deaths. This event saddened every Chinese person.

Our school joined millions of Hongkongers and played its part in raising funds for survivors. During the three-day national mourning period, we borrowed an Olympic torch from Hong Kong table tennis stars Li Ching and Ko Lai Chak and charged students HK$10 to have their photo taken with it.

The principal encouraged students to donate even more by promising to match the amount of money they raised.

Teachers held a concert and charged an entry fee and the music society held a concert one lunchtime to raise more money.

It is heart-warming to see how our classmates and teachers pulled together to support the earthquake survivors. They spent their free time organising activities and didn't expect anything in return. The events raised more than HK$10,000 and students donated a further HK$20,000.

The donations will be passed to Oxfam and Red Cross to help rebuild the refugees' lives.

I hope that our donation will help them to get their lives back to normal and remember those who lost their lives.

Anthony Chan