On Wednesday, in the hope of relieving some of the tension building around exams, we enjoyed a Summer Singalong in Chapel during which we sang some of our favourite songs from this academic year. We then practised the school song for Speech Day!

On the Monday before this, Mr Turner gave an interesting, informative and humorous presentation entitled ‘Creativity’. Here is Mr Turner’s presentation in full.

“Good morning, I thought that today I would talk to you all about creativity. Well, I didn’t have much choice really as Mrs Stokes and Reverend Kate said: “Simon, talk to them about creativity”. So, I am doing what I am told.

I’m probably a good person to talk about this as I am a bit of a fan of making stuff, creating things, trying things out, failing miserably. You may remember my assembly on bad weaving and terrible pottery.

Talking of which… here is my latest disaster. I was asked to make a ceramic model of St Paul’s Cathedral two weeks ago and things were progressing quite well. There had been a few issues with bits dropping off but I thought it would be nice to show you how I was getting on. BIG MISTAKE!

Here is what I was going to bring in – what do you think ? Here is the real thing…Don’t answer that question. Do you want to see it?
[Mr Turner presents a box of broken clay……. ]
Yet again I have not learnt my lesson. Transporting very delicate dry clay in a bag on a bike is never a good idea! Back to the drawing board……

Luckily for me, working at Queenswood I am surrounded by lots of creative people and we are a very creative school – Art, Drama, Music Textiles, DT are all really popular and I know all the teachers of all these subjects love seeing the work you produce and I have been really impressed with some of the stunning work my Y8 and Y7 have produced in Art and the amazing textiles from y9 and 10 and great DT work.

Then there are the teachers in my department. I have learnt so much from them in terms of techniques, ideas, strategies and just being enthusiastic about creativity and making stuff.

Just as an example did you know that Mr Ford in the Art Department has started doing these amazing linocuts? Mrs Sheehan is a great textile artist and Mrs Wright paints superb portraits and still life (see above).

All of us in the faculty know how important creativity is for our well-being and health…unlike my other half who gets very annoyed with me turning the spare room in our house into a creative space but I am not sure what the problem is? It looks perfectly fine to me!

So how have some of the Y10 been getting creative in the last few weeks?

Well as you may know I am a big weaving fan. I weave on Tuesday nights and Mrs Sheehan, Mrs Boyce and me thought it would be a good idea to take the textiles group to Hackney to use some real looms and learn a whole new skill. They learnt about warps and wefts, colour choices, yarns and this is what they produced in about two hours.

And then just before half term the Y10 DT students were lucky enough to travel into London and try their hand at some conservation and craft skills including gilding, clay work, lime plaster work and stone carving and we are planning to take them back for another day in June looking at heritage skills and careers.

But we wouldn’t want the Y5 students to miss out so as part of their taster lessons guess what??? I built them a loom and here they are getting creative.
Actually, it got a bit out of hand and I had to intervene but they had a lovely time.

Several studies have shown that creative hobbies, such as art, writing and music, can reduce and even prevent stress. You may find that, after a stressful day, enjoying a hobby can help you de-stress and even give you an energy boost. Being creative may also reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, and can help us express or manage our emotions in a positive and productive way. Especially when those feelings are difficult to put into words. So, as we come to the end of the school year, here are a few tips for getting creative and trying to include it into your busy lives and maybe swap in a creative activity when you might normally be scrolling through TIK TAKS or SNIPCHAT:

Get some coloured pencils and do a small drawing each day – see how your observational skills improve over 8 weeks of the holidays . You will be surprised.

Take a photo each day – look around you and no, I don’t mean yet ANOTHER selfie.

Write a short story – you don’t have to show it to anyone so just let your imagination run away with you.

Try knitting, crochet or sewing and if you are taking or carrying on textiles next year then you should definitely be honing your skills – maybe go on a summer course.
Baking a cake can be creative, stress relieving and they are nice to eat and share.

Write a journal – these are fun to read when you are older. My children like reading my holiday journals from when I was young and can’t imagine what it was like going on holiday without a phone or the internet. I am very very old remember!

Do a jigsaw – I bet you didn’t know that we have jigsaws in the staffroom – don’t tell anyone though, but it relieves the stress after teaching!

So, what new creative things am I going to be trying out this summer?

A person I know called Karolina has written this lovely book about making Polish mobiles so I will be trying that and I will keep you posted if it goes well.”

After Mr Turner’s speech, Reverend Kate prayed:

God of creation and creativity,
We give you thanks for those who use their senses for good and we pray for all creatives - including those who weave, knit, embroider, print and make pottery – that they may continue to make sense of the world, create useful things and illustrate the beauty of your creation.
Amen.