As part of the national Windrush Celebrations, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMS Windrush we held a special day.
Our Windrush celebrations were a huge success. There was a buzz of excitement throughout the school as children enjoyed stories from the Caribbean, tasted exotic foods and listened to reggae, soca and calypso music. Our children were so excited to learn about the Empire Windrush as it arrived from the Caribbean and finding out how the Windrush has changed and helped Britain.
Our day started with an assembly led by Wendy Shearer, a Professional London Storyteller, writer, imagination weaver and published author. She shared a short extract from her book of Caribbean Folktales and Windrush memories. She worked with every year group to create a short story based on the character of Anansi. The children were excited to share their ideas with Wendy as she wove these into her story telling.
Throughout the day some of the classes explored the different ways the Windrush generation has enriched our country through their contributions in areas such as music and food.
There was cooking and food sampling in every class.
Year R sampled a variety of exotic fruit
Year 1 tasted plantain and Reception tried a variety of fruits
Year 2 enjoyed a Caribbean fruit salad
Year 3 enjoyed making Jamaican Banana fritters
Year 4 cooked roti,
Year 5 made a delicious Caribbean style dish using eddoes, yam, cassava, peppers and mango
Year 6 enjoyed tasting the food food by Mrs Benvides
A huge thank you to Mrs Benevides for preparing some delicious food from South America for Year 6.
We are proud of the way our children were keen to try new foods and even came back for second and third helpings. Some comments from the children:
Grace (Year 3): ‘I liked Windrush Day because I got to taste new fruits and vegetables’
Josiah (Year 3):’ I liked the banana flavour in the Jamaican fritters and I really enjoyed making them’
Maya (Year 4): ‘I liked being the firebird in the Anansi story and wearing a headdress. It was fun!’
Jake (Year 4): ‘I enjoyed making roti. It tasted delicious!’
Sam (Year 5): ‘I liked learning about a different culture and hearing Caribbean stories from Wendy’
Gabriel (Year 5): ‘I enjoyed trying a yam (asaro) porridge’
Teddy (Year 5): ‘I really enjoyed creating stories about Anansi with Wendy. It was fun!’
The children have produced some wonderful work around the Windrush, this is on display in our main lobby. Please come to see the amazing work created by your children.
Here are some of Wendy Shearer’s books you may enjoy sharing these Caribbean tales with your child.
