How did your school get involved in the Community Arts Partnership’s Seamus Heaney Award/Poetry in Motion Project?
I applied having received an email from Shelley. I had heard of the project when I worked in another school, but we were not successful at that point. I jumped at the chance of getting involved and was delighted to have been selected.
How was your experience with the project?
It was a very positive experience. We enjoyed working with our poet facilitator, Abby Oliviera. The sessions were fun and her energy inspired the girls to get writing. It complimented our scheme of work for the Autumn term as we were studying Irish poetry.
How do you feel the students responded to the project?
The students were responsive and engaged. They have had experiences with other arts organizations and were able to work well with Abby. They were enthusiastic and responded well to her approaches in the classroom. They enjoyed crafting and creating the finished pieces.
How did you and the students feel about winning an award for their work in the project?
We were delighted to achieve second place. Watching live was great. The girls reacted with excitement and were very supportive of the girls who had videoed their poems. I’m looking forward to receiving the anthology.
Do you feel there was a benefit for the students through this Community Arts Partnership project?
We enjoyed the experience. I appreciated the funding that facilitated the provision of a poet to work with us and workshops which were flexible and easy to organise.
The pride that the writing had an audience outside my classroom was good for self-esteem and their success reinforced the talent that I had always been applauding in the class.
Overall, pupils benefitted in terms of creativity, confidence and self-esteem. Interestingly, working with a writer had a nice careers link for us too.
