Winners are grinners … just ask Jade Neary.
The grade 5 Lumen Christi Catholic Primary School pupil was grinning from ear to ear on Monday morning when she was named a winner of the Colour Your Classroom national writing competition.
The competition called on primary school pupils to write about who inspired them and why.
Jade, 10, wrote about her grandmother Marica, who left her sisters and family behind in Croatia to move to Australia and start a new life with her husband.
Jade said she was very close with her grandmother, who had taught her to bake, sew and plant her own garden.
“My grandma always calls me the perfect child.
“When I make a decision to do something … my grandparents always say, ‘We’ll be there’.”
Teacher Anne Livermore said the school had got every grade 5 pupil to submit an entry in the competition.
“It worked out well with what we were doing with our writing,” Ms Livermore said.
Jade, who was one of six Victorian winners in the Australia-wide competition, says she hopes to write novels and have her own pet shop when she’s older.
“I love how, when you write, you’re in the zone,” she said.
