1. Remember, this piece of writing is about YOU. When we read it, we should get a sense of what kind of person you are now or what kind of person you would like to be. You can do this in any way that you would like but here are some ideas to help you…

2. Write a letter to yourself to be read when you are in S6. You are just starting S1 at Mearns Castle. S6 seems like a very long way away…

3. Think about the next six years. What would you like to happen in these years? Tell your S6 self how you are feeling now at the start of S1. Maybe you could explain what you are enjoying about S1 or what you are worried about. Tell yourself what you hope you will learn while you are at Mearns Castle. Explain what you would like to be able to do that you can’t do now. You could tell yourself how your personality will grow and change over the next six years. Think about what kind of person you want to be when you are 18 and about to leave school. What advice will you try to follow so that you get the most out of being at secondary school?

4. What’s in a name? You could do some research into your name so that your leaf tells us exactly who you are! You could write about: Why your parent chose that name The origins of your name What your name means Whether or not your name suits you and give reasons why or why not Whether or not it is a family name. If you are named after someone, you could explain who and whether or not you are like them Whether or not you like your name and, if you were going to change it, what you would change it to and why

5. You could write a poem, imagining that you are part of the natural world. You could base your poem on the five senses. If I were in nature… I would sound like the crunch of crisp autumn leaves underfoot. I would look like the sun sparkling though a tumbling waterfall. I would smell like damp earth after fresh rain. I would taste like the salt from the sea on a windy day. I would feel like the heat of the sun, warming the wakening world.

6. This is an extract from a poem called “Warning”, written by Jenny Joseph. She is looking forward to growing older and being able to do whatever she likes. When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens And learn to spit.

7. One day I will… One day I will play for Scotland and score the winning goal in the World Cup. One day I will stay up all night and eat Maltesers, packet after packet, until I am sick! One day, I’ll be a high court judge in a very odd wig. One day, Harry Styles will take me to Nando’s for dinner. One day, I will have a scruffy wee dog and I will call him Stanley. What would you like to do when you are older?

8. These are just a few examples. Perhaps you have a better of idea of your own? Your English homework this week is to chose one of the ideas you have been given or to come up with your own idea for a piece of writing to put on the wall.Your writing should be ready to show your English teacher by Friday 20 th September.