The photograph above (my own) shows the aftermath of a burst of creativity, as grade four students devoured an art project in under thirty minutes. The leavings are almost as delightful as the art pieces themselves.
I’d like to thank the volunteers and organizers at Deloitte and the teachers and students at Ecole Communautaire Rawlinson Community School for inviting me to take part in their Literacy and Learning event. It’s always heartening to see young creative minds at work, and Rawlinson had these in abundance.
I got up extra early and drove to Milton where I caught the GO Train for the rest of my trip in. We started the day at the school promptly after nine. Over fifty grade four students were broken up into three groups who were then cycled to one of three stations. There, students were either asked to write about their dreams, or draw pictures, or listen to me read some passages from my novel, The Unwritten Girl. After recess, the students returned for a group project. I read to them the first half of the first scene from The Dream King’s Daughter and asked them to break into groups to write up their own versions of the ending. The students rose to the challenge, and a few groups got to present to the whole. It was fun reading their alternative takes (some of which were deliciously violent. No a lot of love for Mr. Scaly, that’s for sure).
The students were given a gift bag, including a free copy of The Unwritten Girl, which I happily signed.
So, thanks again to everybody behind the event, and especially to the teachers and students at Rawlinson. Once again it’s clear to see that the kids are all right.
| The school in question, at the beginning of the day. |
| The library in the school in question, where groups of grade four students wrote about their dreams, drew, or listened to me read The Unwritten Girl. |
| The artwork the students put together. |