World Book Day & Our Pupil Voice
All the parents of primary-age children will know exactly what this week has been about – World Book Day. In many households, yesterday morning would have been filled with fiddly costumes, accessories and props, face paints and overexcited children trying to get ready for school as a book character.
It was UNESCO who began World Book Day (full title actually World Book and Copyright Day, but that isn’t quite as catchy when you are 7 years old) in 1995. The idea caught on and has become a permanent annual feature in schools. UNESCO recently championed the story book “What makes us human” by Brazilian author Victor D.O. Santos and Italian illustrator Anna Forlati. The book aims to show children the power of language and how it is the vehicle for culture, traditions and beliefs. It is thought that 40% of the 7000 (approximately) spoken languages may disappear by the end of the century, something UNESCO and other organisations feel would be a loss to our identity and cultural understanding.
As part of our curriculum at the Prep, we make sure our learning is real-world and that we are developing in the children an international outlook. Alongside this we celebrate the many cultures within our community and work hard to ensure all the children have a deep sense of belonging.
Our World Book Day theme this year was “The Magical World of Books” which meant the Prep transformed into a realm of witches, dragons, unicorns, magicians and all sorts of creatures. Needless to say, we all had a brilliant day and once again raised the profile of reading right to the top of everything we do.
Miss Styles, our Head of English, alongside Mrs Weafer, our Head of Houses, planned a fabulous House Reading Competition and our pastoral mentors put on events across break and lunchtime. Our Prep Chapel Choir and Orchestra used their characters as inspiration and created rhythm warm-ups. A fantastic way of connecting music with storytelling.
Please click here for Miss Styles’ review of the day.
You will have to click on the link to find out which House won the reading competition this year!
I am not sure anyone needs convincing of how reading for pleasure is a strong strategy for improving mental health through the worlds and feelings it can unlock. Pupil wellbeing is an important area of work that all schools must engage with proactively, helping our young people to develop the skills needed to manage their emotions and foster resilience.
As part of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week, Mrs Swinney, our Deputy Head Pastoral, alongside the Pastoral Mentors, set the children creative challenges linked to the theme of “This is My Place”. Mrs Swinney has written about their artworks, as well as our Black History Month competition from last term.
Please click here to hear from Mrs Swinney.
Giving children the opportunity to use their voice and talents to create beautiful art and poetry shows them how capable they are and how they can positively affect others.
Have a lovely weekend,
Alice Goodfellow
