Message from the Head of Teaching and Learning

Change the Narrative and Discover how Awesome you can be!

Simon Sinek is a British American author and motivational speaker. He talks about how important it is that we are able to ‘Change the Narrative’; to basically change the way we see things and consequently the way we feel about them. He talks about how important it is to view things in a more positive way. For example, when you’re feeling nervous, tell yourself that you’re actually excited, after all the symptoms really aren’t that different – elevated heart rate, sweaty palms. How about repackaging a ‘test’, as a ‘quiz’? The latter suggests a sense of fun and suddenly changes the way we might feel about it. I am always telling my students to recognise struggling, as a sign of strength, not as a sign of weakness – struggling is a sign that they are learning. It’s a powerful mantra that now rolls off their tongues and the accompanying rolling eyes are an acceptance of this truth, even if they are partly humoring me!

This term in Year 9 English was a Poetry Unit and the initial response to this was not one of utter excitement and zeal! Indeed, an early class discussion revealed a pretty bleak view of poetry as something that was dull and irrelevant, and the thought of writing their own poetry filled many of them with dread! Yet, they took on board the wise words of Simon Sinek and the results were beautiful. Here are just three of the poems that arose from their willingness to change the narrative and embrace their poetic potential.

Addy Smith (Year 9)

‘My view at the beginning of this Unit was that poetry was boring; old poems, written by ‘famous’ authors. It confused my brain to the point of frustration. Then one moment sitting down in class, it clicked. Suddenly I began to understand the concept and purpose of poetry. It’s not just words placed on a page, or unfamiliar phrases to which our generation are oblivious, like; ‘To thine own self be true’. Poetry can be modern and raw. Poetry is the ability to recall and tell stories from multiple perspectives and express certain emotions that words simply cannot. Whilst writing ‘Beyond the Window,’ I experienced ‘writer’s block’. Ideas were flying around my head and I couldn’t pinpoint a specific theme to begin my poem. But I persevered, and looking at my final product hanging on the wall, I feel a real sense of achievement that I, an individual who hated anything associated with poetry, developed an understanding and was able to produce a poem, of which I am very proud.’

Beyond the Window

Upon this world we stand,

Walking on broken glass-

Every step, shaking with hesitation -

Navigating our soul to its very destination…

But what if I showed you another?

What if inevitability is written in the constellations

And all you need to do is look?

Go on then.

Have a peep through your window,

Open the doors, that have been forced shut,

See beyond your imagination.

Smash open the rightful gates to your future.

Dare to challenge the rulers of the night sky.

Because before you know it,

You will long for that split second

where the turning of time stops,

Where it’s just you and an inky sky,

Embroidered with shimmering diamonds,

Like beacons of hope,

Hooking our dreams upon each sharpened point.

A child of the cosmos.

See we are astronomers trying

to make sense of the stars inside us.

But it’s the magic within us,

Beyond us,

Revolving around us.

In everything we can see

and everything we can’t.

That alights us

Dance upon Saturn’s dusty rings,

Glide down the endless tails of comets,

Laugh along with the stars,

Adventure to where the sky kisses the ocean.

No one is capable of dimming the stars

So live on, to infinity and beyond.

Addy Smith

Hannah Leisk (Year 9)

'At the beginning of this unit I absolutely hated poetry. I didn’t see any use for it in the world and I didn’t like it at all. However, over the course of this term I began to realise how beautiful poetry really is and that it can express things in such beautiful ways. I never thought that I would be able to write poetry but I have surprised myself. I am proud of what I have achieved. '

To try is to reveal...

Something from nothing.

A beauty transferred from the mind’s eye onto the canvas.

Emotions become colours;

Words become pictures.

Specks of happiness cover your dark apron.

They tell the stories of you,

Of others,

Of the world.

The horror of the world hidden by paint.

The beauty of the world found by the artist,

Shown to everyone.

Happiness dragged out of sadness

To brighten up someone’s world

Significant

Insignificant

All the same.

Coarse hairs of the brush float over the blank canvas.

Suddenly, colours explode.

Blue

Red

Green

Yellow

Everywhere.

Shouting a beautiful adventure.

People despise you.

‘No one can find happiness in this world,

You’re a fake’

But they don’t know what I know.

This place could be nice

This place could be friendly

This place could be home

But it’s not.

It’s dangerous.

Hannah Leisk

Griffin Robinson (Year 9)

'At the start of the poetry unit I was not looking forward to it. However, as we progressed into the unit, I found that poetry was fun; it was not what I had imagined, it was enjoyable.  If I had been asked to write a poem at the beginning of the Unit, I would have really struggled. Yet I am now really happy with what I have achieved in writing this poem.'

Driftwood

You left your home by water,

Because your home had neglected you,

And whilst you traveled across endless oceans for endless time,

You realised,

Water is safer than land,

Then you arrived,

Exactly where you didn’t want to be. On land,

On a forlorn, baron beach. You waited,

Waited for someone to come and find you,

What seemed like years,

Were only weeks,

You were gazed upon by the strange creature that had found you,

Kind eyes glinting with hope and the future,

You came to us from a distant place.

For a while you were happy,

You were loved,

You had friends,

You eventually got rich,

Then it all ended,

You left as suddenly as you arrived,

You were taken away,

We see you sitting there just out of sight,

Your quiet pleas unheard,

Your voice eventually heard in a distant place,

They came one day,

They took you,

Prodded you,

And eventually they let you go,

For a while you were broken separated from your other half,

Then you were back,

We could see you, sitting there out of sight,

With the glittering light from fire light,

But you longed for still,

Of times of old,

And oceans still,

You search in vain,

For a place without pain,

A place to call home.

Griffin Robinson