‘Proud to Be’ Day 2021
On Friday 15th October, we held our ‘Proud to Be’ day to celebrate Black History Month and to raise awareness of the contribution and achievements of those with African or Caribbean heritage. The children really enjoyed the day focusing on various famous black figures, and exploring different cultures through a range of activities.
In Nursery, the children enjoyed celebrating ‘Black History Month’ together. We looked at a variety of books and created lovely artwork inspired by Jamaican-born artist Ebony Patterson. We talked about how we are all different and explored different styles of music and dance.
Isla: “Rosa Parks sat on a bus; she said no”
Chloe: “We are all different”
In Reception, we explored what diversity means and discussed why we are special, by using mirrors to look at ourselves and compared our similarities and differences between our friends. The children really enjoyed listening to various stories and dancing to reggae music.
Leo: “We’re not all the same but that’s good”
Heather: “My skin is different to my friend’s”
Oliver: “We are all different and that is special”
Lilah: “We should be kind to everyone.”
Year One studied Marcus Rashford and wrote sentences as to why he is a hero.
Jenson: "Marcus Rashford gave children food"
Abel: "We celebrate Black History Month as we think about the black people who achieve lots of awards"
Ava-Lily: “We have been talking about Marcus Rashford giving children food.”
Harry: “Marcus Rashford worked really hard to be a football hero.”
In Year 2, we really enjoyed celebrating our 'Proud to Be' day. We spent time researching Sir Mo Farah and we were amazed at how many gold medals he has won! We used our retrieval skills to create a fact-file map about him. In the afternoon, we spent time listening to famous black artists such as Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, Pharrell Williams and James Brown. We even had a go at learning Johnny B Goode! We discussed different musical elements including dynamics, tempo and rhythm. We also researched a famous black artist, Jean Michel Basquiat. We worked in teams to recreate some of his famous pieces.
Olivia F-P: “We wore our own clothes to celebrate ourselves. It's great to be me.”
Arjun: “We looked at Mo Farah. I think he is an excellent runner. We also listened to some music, and it made me feel calm.”
Jamie: “I loved looking at Mo Farah as I really like the Olympics!”
Halle: “We learnt that is important to be ourselves, and not to pretend to be like anyone else.”
In Year 3/4, the children found out about Mae Jemison who is famous for being the first African-American woman in space. They were enthused by her story and humble beginnings and in awe of her going to university years earlier than most people. They used the knowledge they had gathered to create a poster fact-file all about her.
The children also found out why we have Black History Month, about the slave trade, school segregation, the blues and music.
Rayarn: "Today we were learning about Mae Jemison and she was the first ever Black woman in space. I enjoyed today when we made posters about Mae Jemison because it was fun to find out facts and illustrate our posters”
Eden: "I enjoyed today because we made posters and found all the facts about Mae Jemison and drew space pictures and it was very fun. I also enjoyed dressing up in my own clothes and learning about why we celebrate Black History Month"
Ellie: 'I liked learning about Mae Carol Jemison. I think she is inspiring because she helped people get better and was the first black woman to go to space.'
Oliver: 'I enjoyed learning about why Black History month is important and making a poster about Mae Jemison'.
Ruby W: “I really enjoyed finding out about Mae Jemison. It made me wonder if it is dark or light in space. We found out that it is always completely dark in space because there is nothing for the light to reflect off.”
Tobias: “I enjoyed it because we got to where our clothes to show how to be ‘me’. I now know we have Black History Month because history was being changed to show only white people.”
Year 5/6 really enjoyed learning about Martin Luther King and the positive impact he had on people through taking a stand for what he believed to be right. The children created their own 'I have a dream...' speeches.
Lily: “I enjoyed wearing my own clothes today because it shows everyone can be their own person. I learnt about Martin Luther King's speech and how people were treated before he stood up for what he believed in."
Leonie: “I was shocked how some black people were treated. I enjoyed writing my own speech 'I have a dream' based on Martin Luther King's speech."
Laila-Mai: “I think black and white people get along much better than they did before, but we still need to keep telling others about why racism is wrong. We learnt about Martin Luther King and wrote our own speeches about how we want the future to be. I loved the whole day!”
Thomas: “I thought it was really good that we could discuss issues about discrimination and everyone was respectful to each other. I can't believe how bad things were in the past for black people. It is so important for us to make a change.”
Jaiya: “I liked how we all wore our own clothes to show we are all different.”
Dana: “I enjoyed wearing our own clothes to show we are all equal. I showed what colours I liked by wearing my favourite clothes.”