Antarctica at Spring Bank Primary School

 

On Friday 14th February Year 3 included a presentation of their original poems as a much-anticipated and joyful finale to a Certificates assembly celebrating personal achievements. The temperature outside at 9 am was 1 degree Centigrade and my car was warning me of black ice. Definitely scene-setting to get us in the mood, but the very warm welcome by a whole row of parents for the efforts of their youngsters was heartwarming. Deputy headteacher Amy Houldsworth gave James Nash a big build-up and explained how every year that he has worked in the school he has created magic.

A topic new to our commissioned poet, local writer James Nash, he had carefully done his research and held an ideas session with the year 3 children to give them a range of possibilities. They chose to write original work on the theme 'Imagine you are a penguin.' And, of course, had to model how penguins walk! They considered how penguins live, what they love or hate, the realities of daily life with their families. Quite sophisticated ideas when you're seven years old. They might be small but the ambition in their writing was huge. Young writers with some very mature considerations.

As they worked together on crafting and editing their work, their confidence grew along with their thinking and vocabulary. And they were so engaged and enthusiastic about the work that all the parents commented how much they had heard about it at home. “He's never stopped talking about it, and is so looking forward to expressing himself.” For, of course, part of the project is encouraging children to perform their own work in front of an audience. Just the whole school, and staff, and parents. Quite daunting when you're a new reader as well as writer!

“He's buzzing to do it!” “She's following her two sisters who have alredy done this project, and who both told her how much she would enjoy it. She has.” “All week he has been very excited and looking forward to performing.” “She's very shy but going to read out some of her work, I'm so proud of her.” There was more in this vein, and a universal thumbs-up that Mrs Baruah's class had really got under the skin of a penguin.

We heard about protecting the penguin eggs amidst the blue of the ice, or in a blizzard. We thought about the sound of silence, or the raging of the winds. We worried about swimming alone or walking through the snow. We considered the danger of icebergs and predators in the sea.

'I can feel the cold.'

'I'm looking for a hole in the snow to lay my beautiful eggs.'

'I hear silence, or the sea lapping on the ice.'

'The snow is shiny, glittery.'

'I walk and wobble on the ice.'

'I see other penguins with joy and laughter.'

When I asked Mrs Baruah, and several other teaching or teaching assistant staff, “Can you think of a child who has absolutely confounded your expectations this week?” each of them had several examples come immediately to mind. So the project has long-term implications for writing competence as well as self-confidence – and you can't overestimate the value of that.

Once again we are very grateful to the Inner North West Area Management Committee of Leeds City Council for supporting this project.