July newsletter
Dear Friends,
Welcome to our July debrief where we sound the ‘School’s Out’ claxon with slightly reduced energy levels, struggling to raise anything but an ice-cream after these extreme temperatures. It’s been a cracking year with our club members producing some of their best work and end of term gatherings with parents, volunteers and workshop leaders celebrating their amazing achievements.
We’re dabbing our eyes as we bid some of our Year 6 pupils a fond farewell as they move on to secondary school but a fantastic new initiative gives them the opportunity to stay connected through our Mini Mentors programme. Five of our Monday and Thursday club members have been trained by our Workshop Leaders and Volunteer Story Mentors to offer guidance and support to their younger peers and who better to understand what triggers and inspires a burgeoning imagination? They’ll start supporting workshop leaders when the school year resumes in September and we look forward to sharing updates on the dynamic energy their young minds bring to their mentoring roles in the near future.
Meantime, .....thinking of a holiday?
Forget the headache of an airport terminal and visit one of our coastal gems; it’s got everything you could possibly want as our young travel writers will tell you….
Worthing is worth Visiting!
Over the last couple of months, Wednesday club members attending The Laurels Primary School in Worthing, have been out surveying the town to come up with their top tips and recommendations for sights to see and things to do. Little Green Pig patron and travel writer, Lizzie Enfield, ran a workshop on how to write compelling copy that would persuade would-be visitors to make it their go-to destination while a follow up visit to Worthing Museum and Gallery gave the club members a chance to see previous tour guides from the 1930’s & 1940’s for inspiration.
The resulting ‘Worthing is Worth Visiting!’ travel guide was launched by the eleven authors at an end of term sharing with parents, carers, teachers, Little Green Pig volunteer story mentors and staff, and couldn’t be more persuasive in showcasing the charms and history of the town. There’s some entrancing alliteration for all things sea-associated, signposting to the best nature parks and if you have any gaps in your knowledge relating to Queen Victoria’s bloomers, rest assured, this guide will tell you everything you need to know!
Pure Poetic Chaos at Longhill High School
The lunchtime writers club at Longhill High School rounded off this term with workshop leader and poet, Roy McFarlane giving the floor over to the students for an open mic session to share their work. Open to pupils from all years, they’ve produced an amazing body of work that covers themes of loss, sorrow, identity, belonging, is funny, life-affirming and sad in equal measures and reveals a prodigious talent way beyond their years. The club offers a space to be creative without any pressures or targets and gives the students the opportunity to use writing in a therapeutic, fun or personally expansive context. Just a few of the comments from the students on what they get from the club….
"You really get to spread your wings and soar. You get to dive into the world of poetry!"
"It's a safe place to learn poetry and to make new friends and to come out your comfort zone"
“In class we don't have as much freedom and we aren't really able to just open up and write how we feel. At school it is usually something very specific we have to write about whereas at the workshops we can write about anything."
Without doubt, this is in huge part due to the infectious passion that Roy, previous poet laureate of Birmingham, manages to infuse his workshops with, but also the amazing teaching staff who have supported Little Green Pig with ensuring space, time and energy is dedicated to making the sessions possible for their students. Their work has been compiled with a zine anthology titled Pure Poetic Chaos and we’d urge you to take some time out to read through their contributions.
Welcome, Ella!
A resounding welcome to our new Audience Outreach and Development Intern, Ella Alemayehu-Lambert, who brings a wealth of talent and experience of working and volunteering in the arts and with young people. She’s recently graduated from the University of Sussex with a BA in Drama, Theatre and Performance, and in addition to working part-time as a tutor, regularly performs her poetry to live audiences and on radio. She’s a powerhouse of impassioned ideas and a campaigner for ethical policies in the arts and education and we couldn’t be prouder to be part of her already impressive career trajectory.
We’re beyond grateful to the Fonthill Foundation for supporting our After School Club and Transitions project at The Laurels Primary school in Worthing and the Stephen & Laura Vakil Foundation for supporting our After School Club at Longhill High School. We couldn’t do what we do without the generous support of our funders.
If you’d like to consider making a donation or support us by spreading the word about the work of Little Green Pig, please check our Support Us page and share this newsletter with friends, family and colleagues.
Wishing you a happy and hydrated summer, cooling paddles in the sea and plenty of ice lollies. If you’ve got access to an outside space, do keep our beautiful wildlife in mind and leave a fresh dish of water out for our insect, feathered and furry friends!
