NEWS

Two members of our staff, Shaun Dolan (Artist in Residence) and Charlotte Thorpe (English Coordinator for Key Stage 1 and 2) have been very busy working with other countries on their project 'Making Your Mark'.

 The project aimed to address a problem - when children are asked to start writing but are a little lost as to where to begin. The project uses art as a basis for writing and starts with a simple black mark on a page, which then develops with a student's imagination.

Shaun and Charlotte presented 'Making Your Mark' at the HOPE conference in Poznan last year and staff members from DAA Hospital School, Yerevan, were some of the participants. On returning home the teachers showed the project to the rest of their staff and created wonderful art and writing with their students. This work was so impressive that Shaun and Charlotte decided to visit Yerevan in March of this year to see the work for themselves. The trip was very positive and was the beginning of what is set to be an interesting and enriching partnership.

Following the success of the visit to Armenia, other hospital schools joined the collaboration - Linkoping Hospital School, Sweden, and Our Lady's Hospital School, Crumlin, Dublin. Staff and students from all schools had fun creating interesting art pieces and written work - which was then presented at a collaborative art exhibition in Linkoping in May this year.

Shaun and Charlotte would like to thank staff and students at Chelsea Community Hospital School for their continued enthusiasm and support - and of course our partner schools for their hard work, warmth, and hospitality.