New Writing North / Newcastle City Council / Action for Children / Bluestone Collaborative / Well Newcastle Gateshead:
St Mark’s RC Primary School - Diversity Week
(February 2022)
The children of St Mark’s RC Primary School in Newbiggin were treated to a week of workshops by creative professionals centred around a celebration of cultural, ethnic and social diversity. I ran four workshops (2 workshops with 2 classes), working on songwriting, lyric writing, recording techniques and singing. The children generated melodies through dice rolling games, and were encouraged to reflect on what diversity or ‘difference’ meant to them within a social context.
Year 4 group:
‘What Makes Us Different’
Salty air at the beach
New seashells just within reach
Pancake breakfasts at a waterpark or eating a peach
Share the things that we learn
Like how it’s good to take turns
Who needs the elder wand when we have all these way to have fun?
These are the things that we can do
To learn to love what makes us different
Take Shrek - he’s green, that’s different
But it’s cool with me!
If we were all the same nobody would be free
We’re not just rookies now, we know what to do
Let’s play this game and work together to be true
Making new friends, having some fun, playing on Minecraft in the sun
Best friends no matter what
You are my heart in my lock
Year 3 Group:
Me and You
Protecting people, and jumping around
Teach bad guys lessons, sprint along the ground s
New dimensions, of kindness and play
Let’s hug our teddies, it’s a great new day
Different countries, and different hopes
But we all have to clean ourselves with soap!
We celebrate in different ways
We sleep all night and we play all day!
New human beings born every day
Families and friends they are here to stay
Festivals, parties, and holidays too
Sharing your smarties with your friends and you!