Children at Bathwick St Mary Church School have taken part in the week-long ‘From page to stage’ experience, celebrating the journey that takes a story to both the screen and stage, along with all of the important roles on and off stage that form part of this process.
The week, which featured a strong African theme, began with the children taking part in an activity day chosen by them. The juniors were lucky enough to participate in African-inspired singing and drumming, mask making, dancing, jewellery making, ‘Lion’ art and crafts, music sampling and mixing and performance. The infants children, meanwhile, made masks, musical instruments and beautiful African sunset silhouettes.
“It was a very exciting week and was a wonderful chance for the children to work with those from other year groups and to shine in activities that they may have been experiencing for the first time,” said Head Teacher Kevin Purkiss.
“The highlights of the week took place on the Wednesday and Thursday when all children in both infant and junior were able to watch a real production in a theatre. The juniors travelled to Bristol to watch The Lion King musical at the Hippodrome. It was incredible and the children were absolutely thrilled to watch such an amazing show. The infants visited the egg theatre to watch I Believe In Unicorns. It taught them all about the importance of stories and reading for children. They had a wonderful time!”
For the rest of the week, the children learned songs from the Lion King, worked in classes on arts-based tasks and created their own mini-shows.
To finish off the week in style, the children dressed up as something they had been inspired by, which included lions, the colours of African flags and even unicorns. “They looked fantastic and even raised money for Bathwick’s linked parish in Zambia too,” added Kevin. “We all came together to share what we had all been doing during the week and sing our Lion King songs.
“It was a very special week that will stay with us all for a very long time.”