Dunkirk is a National School of Creativity
As a School of Creativity, Dunkirk looks at different ways of delivering the curriculum. Here are some examples of different projects the school has done.
The flock of birds is installed at Abbey Campus
We are so excited by our large flock of birds created by all the children in school - and many parents too. We used old books from Lenton Primary to create a host of birds and these have now been hung up in the central library ceiling area at Abbey. It looks wonderful and is such a special illustration of the way we love to work at Dunkirk; each bird is clearly individual (and so definitely the work and ideas of the child who made it) and yet together they create a special community and sense of togetherness.
We are so excited by our large flock of birds created by all the children in school - and many parents too. We used old books from Lenton Primary to create a host of birds and these have now been hung up in the central library ceiling area at Abbey. It looks wonderful and is such a special illustration of the way we love to work at Dunkirk; each bird is clearly individual (and so definitely the work and ideas of the child who made it) and yet together they create a special community and sense of togetherness.
A flock of book birds emerges…
Last week the entire school was busily involved in creating a huge flock of birds – and we’re really excited by the ideas, thoughts and imaginations of the children and adults who worked together to make them.
The birds are going to hang up in the library area of Abbey campus and every class in the school took part in sessions to make the installation. We were joined by lots of parents and family members too, which feels incredibly special and is something that
always really shines out in projects at Dunkirk.
We had a wonderful stock of old books from Lenton Primary, most are now being used in Abbey Campus but some had become damaged by damp or very worn through use – so, to give them new life and purpose we have transformed these old books into the flock of birds. It felt a really fitting use for them, especially as they are to hang up in the library.
A really key aspect to projects at Dunkirk is the asking of Big Questions – it’s a crucial part of the school ethos. So, with this project, it was vital that we were not just making birds, the conversations had to explore the issues around this. What do birds symbolise? Why a flock of birds? What does the library space feel like now? How might it feel when the birds are hanging up? How does it feel making things out of old books? What do you notice in the old books? What happens when we each make
something that is individual but we put them together to form a group? What does being individual
mean? The questions went on…
Last week the entire school was busily involved in creating a huge flock of birds – and we’re really excited by the ideas, thoughts and imaginations of the children and adults who worked together to make them.
The birds are going to hang up in the library area of Abbey campus and every class in the school took part in sessions to make the installation. We were joined by lots of parents and family members too, which feels incredibly special and is something that
always really shines out in projects at Dunkirk.
We had a wonderful stock of old books from Lenton Primary, most are now being used in Abbey Campus but some had become damaged by damp or very worn through use – so, to give them new life and purpose we have transformed these old books into the flock of birds. It felt a really fitting use for them, especially as they are to hang up in the library.
A really key aspect to projects at Dunkirk is the asking of Big Questions – it’s a crucial part of the school ethos. So, with this project, it was vital that we were not just making birds, the conversations had to explore the issues around this. What do birds symbolise? Why a flock of birds? What does the library space feel like now? How might it feel when the birds are hanging up? How does it feel making things out of old books? What do you notice in the old books? What happens when we each make
something that is individual but we put them together to form a group? What does being individual
mean? The questions went on…
Light Week and The Lantern Procession
The whole school has spent a week looking at the theme of Light across different faiths in the world.
Children have looked at what light means to people and what it means to them. They have explored the symbolism of light and how it is used in different cultures and religions. They explored some Big Questions on light such as ' What is the light of your life?',' What would happen if all the light in this world disappeared tomorrow?', ' Is light more important than darkness?' , ' Can light exist without darkness?' and 'What/who created light? '. Claire Simpson and Katy Doncaster (Visual artists) worked alongside every child in school to make beautiful willow lanterns. Parents came and joined in and also had a session on their own to make some lanterns. Parmjit Sagoo did some yoga sessions with different classes and groups on the theme of light and stories about light were read in assemblies.
The procession was held on the windiest day of the year so far!!! But was a huge success. The lanterns stayed in one piece and all the families and children paraded through the Dunkirk streets and ended on the school allotment and sang songs around the fire. A big thank you to every parent/carer who made the effort to join us. There will be an assembly at 2.30 on Friday 1st February to show the work that classes have been doing. Please join us then.
Children have looked at what light means to people and what it means to them. They have explored the symbolism of light and how it is used in different cultures and religions. They explored some Big Questions on light such as ' What is the light of your life?',' What would happen if all the light in this world disappeared tomorrow?', ' Is light more important than darkness?' , ' Can light exist without darkness?' and 'What/who created light? '. Claire Simpson and Katy Doncaster (Visual artists) worked alongside every child in school to make beautiful willow lanterns. Parents came and joined in and also had a session on their own to make some lanterns. Parmjit Sagoo did some yoga sessions with different classes and groups on the theme of light and stories about light were read in assemblies.
The procession was held on the windiest day of the year so far!!! But was a huge success. The lanterns stayed in one piece and all the families and children paraded through the Dunkirk streets and ended on the school allotment and sang songs around the fire. A big thank you to every parent/carer who made the effort to join us. There will be an assembly at 2.30 on Friday 1st February to show the work that classes have been doing. Please join us then.
Return to the Planet Zog - maths play and Sherlock Holmes - Eco play
Key Stage 2 had fun this week having watched 2 fun plays. The first was a play all about aliens that helped teach the children different maths skills such as probability and graphs. The second was all about Dr Who and Sherlock Holmes that helped teach the children all about saving energy by turning off the lights.
This film shows the culmination of two terms work with our link school in Pakistan, The Lahore Lyceum.
Working alongside our resident drama artist, Parmjit and media specialist, Morgan; the children in both schools explored the big question, ' If you were the World Leader, what is the one change you would make?'
Working alongside our resident drama artist, Parmjit and media specialist, Morgan; the children in both schools explored the big question, ' If you were the World Leader, what is the one change you would make?'
As a National School of Creativity, Dunkirk was involved in showcasing some of it's work at a national level. An exhibition was held at the South Bank in London of the different work School's of Creativity had done. A film was made at Dunkirk by a group of children from two schools in Telford and Wolverhampton showcasing our World Leader project. This film was shown at the exhibition through the summer 2011.This group of children went around a number of different School's of Creativity to find out what they do. Click here to visit the SOCit website where you can find Dunkirk on the map and see the work