Message from Steve Brady, Headteacher - Forest Hill School

FHS Issue 12 17/6/09 13:34 Page 4
PAGE 4
Community Connections
Annual Review
As ever, 2008-2009 has been a busy year for the
Community Performing Arts Team, and as the academic
year draws to a close, we can now reflect on our
achievements.
This year our outreach has predominantly been with
schools, where we have sought not only to facilitate high
quality learning opportunities in our specialist subjects,
but also develop and disseminate best practice through
professional development as a means to ensuring our
work has a legacy of sustainable impact long after projects
have ended.
So far this year (Autumn 08 & Spring 09 terms) 44 primary
and 1300 secondary pupils, plus 23 teaching professionals
have accessed our programmes, raising our
total participation figures since designation in 2004 to
8603. However, indirectly, through staff development and
training, the numbers benefiting from our work far
exceeds this figure. Some of the identified benefits of our
work include: increased motivation, engagement, confidence,
self esteem and empowerment; improved knowledge,
skills (i.e. art and life skills) and understanding;
enhanced teaching and learning, and promotion of inclusivity
and social cohesion.
Projects
Brent Knoll KS3 Drama Project
A one year drama enrichment project with a focus on
developing the social and communication skills of students
with autistic related educational, social and communication
needs. The project also incorporates professional
development for Learning Mentors in the use of drama as
an aid to learning.A final performance will take place in the
Ken Kirkby Theatre on Wednesday 8th July 2009.
`Voices in the Classroom’ INSET
A 6-week after-school training programme for primary
school teachers aimed at enhancing singing within the
primary curriculum. Sessions provided participants with
the tools and strategies for finding their voice, structuring
their own music sessions, developing their piano, guitar
and conducting skills, and building a repertoire of tunes
and resource materials (resource pack included). As well
as developing participants’ music skills and offering ideas
for running their own sessions, the INSETs also helped to
raise teachers’ confidence in singing, identified as a key
barrier to delivery of music activities at this educational
phase.
Sudden Soundtracks
Working with Year 7 students from Brent Knoll Special
School, this 9-week creative music making project used
composition and improvisation to create music for film.
Project outcomes included the development of participants’
ability to create and play basic instrumental parts;
to contribute to the creation and performance of a short
film soundtrack and to interact socially.
Year 8 Gifted & Talented Drama Club
Now in its fourth year, this annual after school programme
for gifted and talented students from Sydenham and
Forest Hill schools goes from strength to strength. The
club provides participants with advanced drama skills
training and opportunities to access challenging new
drama texts, and includes theatre visits. This year’s programme
culminated in two outstanding performances of
Blood Wedding on 25th and 26th March 2009.
Members of the Community Performing Arts Team
Entity – Random ICT Dance Project
A Sydenham and FHS Year 10 collaborative project with
Random Dance Company and Laban, using Random’s
specially created ICT dance resource to develop technical
dance skills and create instructed choreographic pieces,
culminating in a performance at Laban in November 2008.
The project developed students contemporary dance technique
and compositional skills to a high standard using
professional models of dance practice. As a result, participants
developed an appreciation of the high quality creative
process, technical and performance skills and working
practices required by a professional dance company.
Maths Dance Project
A five week project working with Years 2 and 6 at Holy
Trinity Primary School exploring mathematical principles
(signs and symbols, 2D & 3D shapes, partition, times
tables) through movement and dance in order to develop
students’ confidence and enjoyment of maths. The project
included a learning resource pack to support teachers’
future application of maths dance work as part of curriculum
teaching.
Bollywood Dance Project
A five week dance enrichment project with Years 5 and 6
at Perrymount Primary school, aimed at raising the profile
of and increasing boys participation in dance.
FHS & London Bubble 13-17s Youth Theatre
In autumn 2008 FHS joined forces with London Bubble
Theatre Company (LB) to provide high quality, out of hours
drama activities for young people within the local community.
The 13-17s Youth Theatre was officially launched in
January 2009, with the group meeting weekly on Friday
evenings, during term time.
As well as developing drama and performance skills,
participants have attended off-site visits to the Theatre
Royal Stratford and Royal Observatory, and benefited from
the opportunity to perform their work at different venues.
To date, the group have shared their work at LB’s
Rotherhithe base (May 09) and at Sydenham & Forest Hill
Youth Forum’s inaugural event (June 09), and are set to
perform at FHS’s community arts festival – Forest Fest
(see page 2) and LB’s outdoor performance in Sydenham
Wells Park (11th July 2009). In addition, several members
have successfully participated in auditions, with some
being selected to work for Channel 4’s 3 Minute Wonder.
The project is funded with support from the Lewisham
Youth Opportunities & Youth Capital Fund.
‘Art Moves’: Royal Ballet & National Gallery Project
A large scale collaborative project with the Royal Ballet
School (RBS), National Gallery and Sydenham School. The
project incorporated an art and dance strand that drew
inspiration from paintings by Michaelangelo: The
Manchester Madonna and The Entombment, and Titian’s
Bacchus and Ariadne and Giordano’s Perseus turning
Phineas and his Followers to Stone. The project involved 66
students from RBS, FHS and Sydenham Schools and
included visits to the National Gallery,The Royal Ballet Upper
and Lower Schools in Covent Garden and Richmond,
respectively.
Responding to the theme of ‘the moving body’ the project
culminated in two performances at RBS’s lower
school, plus a Royal Gala performance attended by Prince
Charles in May 2009. Through working creatively with
individuals from different institutions, participants were
able to gain an insight into the different and shared educational,
creative and life experiences of each other. FHS
and Sydenham students gained an insight into Ballet as
an art form/discipline, and participating teachers were
able to share good practice.
YMAZ Music Tech Project
A 20-week AQA unit accredited music technology course
for 13-19 year olds running from January until July 2009.
Led by Street Vibes Youth (SVY) – a not-for-profit music
and media education organisation – the Wednesday afterschool
sessions develop participants’ skills, knowledge
and confidence in MCing, music production, performing
and lyric writing, which are then used to create tracks
towards an album. The sessions, which are free and open
to young people from FHS and the wider community was
funded with a grant from Youth Music.
Forest Fest - Community Arts Festival & Summer
Fair (see article on page 2)
Summer Transition Programme
Building on last year’s successful programme, FHS will
run its second summer performing arts transition programme
for 45 of its new Year 7 cohort. The programme,
which will run from 27th to 31st July 2009, will include
on-site workshops in music dance and drama and visits
to the British Music Experience interactive exhibition at the
O2 Arena and Laban – the internationally renowned centre
for dance. For more details about this year’s programme
telephone 020 8613 8423.
During the forthcoming year the team’s work will undergo
a review as we seek to develop a more strategic approach
to our outputs in order to: extend our programming to a
wider cross section of our local community, improve the
quality of our provision and maximise its positive impact,
as well as raise the achievement and aspirations of our
students and members of our community. To achieve this,
the development of new partnerships will be a nascent
feature as we recognise the efficacy of team work in service
provision.
As another busy year draws to a close, thanks and
appreciation goes out to the members of the Community
Performing Arts Team who include: Craig Coggle, Nicole
Charles, Kevin Jewell, Melissa Knight, Stuart Livingstone,
Nardine Montague-Gibson, Ray Oudkerk, Phil Simpson,
Michaela Rispin, and freelancers Theo Bryer and Colin
Fancy, for all their hard work in devising, delivering and
administering high quality projects. And also to the students,
teachers and staff in our partner schools and
organisations, plus everyone who has supported our work
in some way – large or small – for their contributions to
FHS’s Community Programme.
Sasha Leacock Community Performing Arts Manager