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Darlinghurst Primary & Nursery School
have recently launched a great new
website...... Why not take a look, there's plenty of interesting ideas and
some real valuable resources!
Don't forget to check out the
school blog & the interactive education zones.
www.darlinghurst.co.uk
29th October 2007
I was recently invited to watch a performance about ‘Litter’ aimed at Year
8 students at a local school. The performance consisted of just 3 actors &
actresses and a stage set.
Arriving early I was already seated when the Year 8s entered the hall,
they sat, chatted, fidgeted and generally looked disinterested. I’m not
sure if they new what the performance was going to be about but they
certainly didn’t look like they were enthralled with the prospect, in fact
I heard one student comment on having had to miss his trampoline lesson!
When one of the actors came on the stage, the children were respectful and
listened as he made the introduction about the performance … immediately
my heart went out to him and his colleagues … like lambs to the
slaughter … I watched as the expressions on the kids faces made it
perfectly obvious that they weren’t bothered about litter at all. As he
exited the stage, they whispered to each other, made faces, giggled,
messed with their bags and even turned away from the stage and chatted to
their friends behind them
Of course when the actor made his introduction he came on as himself but
when he returned to the stage moments later he came on as Kenzie … a real
fashion conscious cool dude who talked the kids lingo! … what an
impression … and what a response from the kids. I saw one boy swivel round
on his backside, neck stretched so he could get a better view … their
attention was grabbed … the stage was set … and from this point forward
their focus was firmly at the front of the room.
LITTER is a difficult subject to get kids interested in but this approach
really worked, issues surrounding takeaway litter, chewing gum and
graffiti were covered, the effects each has on the environment and the
potential harm to animals and children, the legality issue and how easy it
is to recycle, reuse and reduce – all wrapped up in a 40 minute
performance … which was also just the right amount of time to keep their
interest.
In brief Kenzie … the cool dude… couldn’t careless about dropping litter
... he thinks it’s uncool to use a bin and can’t be bothered to listen to
the constant nagging from his sisters, he has no regard for the
environment and is quite happy in his world of play station games and
looking cool. His sisters however think differently and realising that
Kenzie can’t be told they seek other ways of getting their message across.
Project Kenzie is to change their brother’s behaviour by helping him
realise that his actions alone can cause harm to animals, injury to
children and damage to the environment, they help him understand what can
be recycled, how he can reuse items and how reducing his impact on the
environment plays such an important part in his own future.
I’m sure that every Y8 student came away from the show having learnt
something new, I know I did … one aluminium can powers a play station for
4 hours! … perhaps now there is hope that through educational performances
like Kenzie we can guide our younger generations to care more about our
planet and their future.
The impact visual theatre can have on children when used to present an
important message is a powerful one. If you would like more information on
this performance then contact
andrea@my-school-needs.co.uk .
Or Freephone 0800 542 8024Download -
Other Performances
Download - Information for
Councils
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