Newsletter February 2012.pdfBlack History Month - October 2011
October is Black History Month and Connaught students have been engaged in many events to raise awareness of the contributions of African, Asian and Caribbean people to the economic, cultural and political life in London and the UK. Our students have been:
- organising and taking part in a quiz on famous Black activists
- watching and listening an excellent assembly on the theme of Black History and the Olympics
- making African masks from clay and recyclable materials
- eating a special Caribbean lunch
- learning about the slave uprising in Haiti in 1791 in Key Stage 3 CCPSHE lessons
- dancing to carnival dance music
- entering a competition to describe what Black History Month means to them
- winning the annual Waltham Forest Black History Quiz
Famous Black Activists Quiz
Our Year 11 Leavers' Tea Committee have been busy raising funds with a number of initiatives. For Black History Month the students ran a quiz to name photographs of famous Black activists. The quiz was very popular at 50p per entry. Two girls won a £10 New Look gift voucher after their correct entry was drawn at random from many correct entries. Can you meet the challenge? Why not have a go yourself by opening the quiz below:
Black History and the Olympics Assembly
Mr Phillips, Head of Citizenship and CCPSHE gave an excellent assembly to students on the theme of Black History and the Olympics. Students and staff listened to the very thought-provoking stories of the courageous stands made by Mohammed Ali (then Cassius Clay) at the 1960 Rome games and by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in Mexico in 1968.
Mr Phillips told audiences the story of Mohammed Ali in the 1960 Rome Olympics and that he threw his Olympic gold medal into the Ohio River after being refused service at a 'whites-only' restaurant. Mr Phillips went on to describe how Ali became involved in the civil rights movement and how he subsequently refused to fight in the Vietnam war. Mr Philips went on to tell the story of the black power salute from Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the 1968 Mexico Olympics. The assemblies heard how the two 1968 American athletes that won the gold and bronze medals in the 200m race received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty and that all three athletes on the podium including Australia’s silver medal winner and civil rights sympathiser, Peter Norman wore Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badges.
African Mask Making Workshops
150 students got the chance to work with a professional artist and make an African mask from clay and recyclable materials in one of their Art lessons. The students have been coming back to Art club to complete the decorating process and take their mask home. Below are a number of quotations from our students about the workshops:
"First of all Anna showed us an example of an African mask, so we got an idea of what we can do. We started off with some clay and we rolled it out into the shape. We knew what we were designing because we planned it out before. When we finished designing we added other things to make them look nice. When we were finished we checked if we need to add anything else. It was great fun!" Denisa Krasniqi 8S
"First Anna showed us on power point of different types of African masks that we can do. Then she drew one of her ideas on the board, which gave us more ideas of what to do for our mask. Then Anna gave us paper to do our planning for our African mask. After we got our clay and rolled it out into a shape then started to get our designs we planned and decorated. It was so so SO SO SO fun with Anna’s help." Anna Zhang 8F
"First Anna showed us an example of Africa masks. Then we got a blob of clay. We flattened it out and we started to cut out the shape of our mask. After we decorated it and that’s it." Julia Makejeva 8S
"Anna first showed us examples of African masks to help us get ideas so when we designed our own masks, it could help us. She also showed us her own design of a African mask. Anna then showed us how to roll out our clay. We had to plan out our design on paper so we don’t make mistakes on the clay. We then rolled out the clay and shaped out the clay to what we wanted. We might want it round, oval, square, and many more. After we started to put the features in, like the nose, eyes and mouth. We might even want to put some fancy designs to. Then we added feather, beads, broken tiles, straws and many more." Riya Givane & Rachel Oo 8F
more photographs (opens in a new window)
Many thanks to Anna and The Caboodle Arts Company (opens in a new window) for five excellent 1-hour workshop sessions that were enjoyed by our students and their teachers.
Key Stage 3 CCPSHE lessons
Several CPSHE lessons have focused upon the achievements and recognition of black people and their role in human history. CCPSHE lessons in Key Stage 3 have included the issue of black people and social change. This has included about how the slave uprising in Haiti in 1791 was linked to the French revolution and ultimately brought about the end of slavery. Other lessons have looked at some of the lesser known contributors to black history and the fantastic contributions made. In Key Stage 4, lessons have focussed on the role of Black and Asian MPs in British politics.
Canival Dance Workshops
150 students got the chance to work with a professional dancer and make and take part in a carnival dance workshop in one of their PE lessons. The students that took part really enjoyed their session including one student that said:
"... it was great. I hope we can do this again and soon!"
Many thanks to Mia and The Caboodle Arts Company (opens in a new window) for five excellent 1-hour workshop sessions that were enjoyed by our students and their teachers.
The Waltham Forest Black History Quiz
Mr Phillips accompanied our Year 9 Black History Month Team to compete against other Waltham Forest Schools at Frederick Bremer School. Great news! We brought the trophy home! Well done to the girls and to Mr Phillips' work in helping the team to prepare.
Black History Speech Competition
As part of Black History Month, many students entered a competition to describe in no more than 200 words what Black History Month means to them. We had a great response. Below are the three winning entries:
"In my opinion, I think that black history month means a celebration that people across the world celebrate due to the achievements carried out by the Black Americans. It is done so that people today know more about the African influences and how it has contributed in our lives today. Black history month runs throughout the month of October and people all across the globe celebrate it in many different ways. These celebrations include things such as dressing up in traditional clothes, cooking food that represents our culture, historical walks as well as finding out more information about the Black activists and much more. Men and women that made a difference over the previous years like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks etc. all deserve to be remembered for everything they did! I really believe and wish that this month is still remembered over the coming years and more activities and ways which help people know more about this month is done." Aysha Badat 9S.
“Why is black history important to me? I am proud to stand here today and say that black history is a part of me as I come from black backgrounds. I am also proud because this month is the remembrance of the black people who fought for their civil rights; the fact that they had the courage, the strength and the determination to stand up for what they believe in and never gave up. Without these great inspiring heroes we wouldn’t be where we are today to walk the streets freely to be able to be a part of a multi-cultural environment. I also remember the sad parts about black history month, as many people were enslaved, killed and forced to work long hours and only got little pay but they still stayed strong. To have the knowledge and to learn about black history it is amazing the fact that people risked their life and for that I thank them. I thank them for never giving up, never losing faith in the dream and always believing in the black community. To be able to talk about all the great heroes and leaders that were involved in history it is truly outstanding to hear the stories that happened in events to have the understanding that it wasn’t an easy life for blacks that they had to be strong and make their voices be heard. I am proud to say I am black but not only that they are still remembered today for their greatness and I salute them in every kind of way.” Nia Cooke 9W
“Black history month is something that is very important to me as it probably is to a lot of people. It is a time when we celebrate the achievements of black men and women. We can also celebrate and learn about black culture. Although there are many wonderful achievements which we can celebrate, I would like to mention two particular people. One of them is Rosa Parks. She was an ordinary black woman who stood up to the injustice that was taking place in America. She took a stand by refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus even though she was imprisoned. Rosa Parks became a well-known figure and many things took place. There was a time when black students went and sat down in an all whites café even though they knew they would not get served. When she died hundreds of people filed past her coffin to pay their respects. The other woman is Michelle Obama. Although she is not the actual President she is the President’s wife and will be very influential. Even though she is American she has visited many schools in Britain in order to inspire young girls by saying; ‘You can do anything if you try and just believe’.” Priscilla Joseph 9S
