What I would like for Christmas

Christmas came early for Matilda (Tilly) Scholes, when she learned she was this year’s overall winner in the Rotary Club of Glen Waverley Year 3/4 Essay Writing Competition. Tilly, a Year 3 student at Wesley College’s Glen Waverley Campus, wrote about, ‘The pet I’d like to have’.

The nine-year old’s essay explored the merits of a goldfish, parrot, monkey, cow and elephant. In support of a goldfish, Tilly argued, ‘My mother wouldn’t stress… because it is not like a goldfish can drag things around the house or be messy with food. And she wouldn’t stress about noise because it is hard to make a lot of noise under water.’

Best of all, Tilly argued, her parents would no longer complain about her forgetfulness. ‘My pet goldfish would forget everything every three seconds so he or she would make me look good.’

Having a cow, Tilly noted, would mean her father needn’t mow the lawn, while an elephant could make showering quick and easy.

Having reviewed the merits of pets, Tilly concluded all should go on her Christmas wish list and a copy of her winning entry appears to have magically found its way to the logistics department of Santa’s Workshop for consideration. Tilly’s parents are just hoping transport considerations rule out some of her wish list candidates.

Nine primary schools in the City of Monash participate in the Rotary Club of Glen Waverley Year 3/4 Essay Writing Competition. Tilly was presented with the Memorial Shield, together with a $100 book voucher, plus a $150 book voucher for her to choose books for the Wesley Glen Waverley Junior School Library at the Rotary Club of Glen Waverley on 10 December.