ACARA Years 7-10
— Two friends climb an abandoned water tower at night, where one confronts his fear of heights while discovering his fearless friend has her own hidden fear.
— A girl with amber eyes discovers she's a daughter of Bastet, joining a pack of feline women who hunt together under the stars.
— A Filipino girl accompanies her mother to clean a wealthy American family's mansion and discovers that despite their poverty, her family has something the rich family lacks.
— A competitive swimmer struggles with body image after overhearing teammates discuss restrictive eating, until a teammate's collapse at a meet forces her to reconsider her choices.
— An owl hunts through moonlit woods to feed her soon-to-hatch eggs, fights off a raccoon predator, and returns to witness her chicks emerging into the world.
— A poem traces the cycle of grief from fresh loss through fading memory to sudden, sharp remembrance that brings the pain flooding back.
— A boy stands at the edge of a cliff, gathering courage to jump into the river below, then leaps and experiences the exhilarating plunge into cool water.
— A thirteen-year-old girl remembers her brother's journey from playful teenager to soldier while processing the news that he's missing in action in Afghanistan.
— A child recalls dancing in autumn leaves before moving south, where a photograph preserves what geography has taken away.
— A boy's subway journey becomes a catalog of encounters — a homeless woman, street performers, a soul-reading stranger — each revealing the city's complex humanity.