July Newsletter
Greetings Little Green Pig chums!
I am the Little Green Story Witch, and as the summer solstice leads us through warmer weather, I have been biding my time in my cottage garden conjuring up some magic for you all in my Cauldron of Tales.
While the school year winds down and the days heat up, our intrepid community of young writers have been hard at work on some impressive projects. We also have some new faces to say hello to, some old ones to bid farewell to, and some upcoming adventures to share!
So, fill your goblets with your potion of choice and relax: it’s about to get enchanting.
Double bubble, toil and trouble – I mean… ahem! – Arrrrgh me heartiessss…
Our first tale smells slightly fishy… it’s Ocean Wonder!
Taking inspiration from trips to the beach with Wild Coast Sussex and visits with the Rampion Visitor Centre and the Pevensey Bay Coastal Management Scheme young writers wrote up a storm for their ocean-themed anthology. Last month, our Little Green friends gathered for a series of launches in Brighton, Worthing and Eastbourne where work was performed by the writers themselves. Performances ranged from the stirring to the Shakespearean.
Award-winning illustrator/author and Little Green Pig patron Nick Sharratt, gave the publication ‘five starfish out of five!’
Indeed, the afternoon was an experience to remember, and great fun was had by all! (Including I, who sent a spy in the shape of a certain cardboard fish…)
To hear more about the launches, read this blog post.
You can find a copy of Ocean Wonder here or in local libraries.
Our second tale is for all you land-lubbers, and that is the tale of… Transitions!
Little Green Pig is currently supporting another group of 15 Year 6 children as they make the transition to Year 7. Our fourth Transitions project takes place with Eastbourne schools this time, supported by project funding from Arts Council England as part of our Coastal Conversations programme.
Animator Lara Leslie, from Press Play and writer-educator Ellie Walford are the workshop leaders for this project, supporting children to create their own clay characters and sets that will leading to short, animated films to be shared in the Autumn term: an innovative and creative way of allowing children to explore their fears, hopes and questions as they change schools. (Though I much prefer placing curses on all my enemies, mwa-ha-ha-ha! Ahem, apologies…) Children will also take part in a summer beach visit and series of activities in the holidays to support their transition.
Moving to secondary school is tough, even for little green witches. Are you looking for support as a child moves to secondary school this year?
We have a series of digital resources available that can be watched by anyone here via our YouTube channel that we hope will share creative ways to support this journey.
Our third tale is that of a new addition to the coven- I mean, team: A Big Hello and Welcome to Jess, our Communications & Impact Intern!
Jess is “an avid daydreamer and a career bookworm” who also works as a tutor alongside studying for her English degree. She is passionate about writing and the arts, and will be helping the Little Green Pig team with communications, evaluation and social media over the summer. Welcome, Jess!
A much sadder story, tale number four: our amazing, multi-talented, and treasured Administrator and Volunteer Manager, Gemma is leaving!
Gemma says:
“It has been such a joy to work with Little Green Pig over the last couple of years, and I have learned so much during my time with the organisation, from the wonderful, weird and wacky creativity of the children and young people we support, to the incredibly kind, caring and supportive team among the office, board, workshop leaders and volunteer story mentors.
I'm so sad to be leaving such a wonderful workplace, but I really look forward to utilising everything I've learned and bringing a bit of Little Green Pig magic with me on my new adventure teaching English in Shenzhen, China.”
We will miss you, Gemma! Look out for our September newsletter to meet the new team members who will be joining Little Green Pig.
And thus concludes our story-telling journey for this month. Wow, what a time we’ve had, eh? We’ve traversed land, sea and the realms of our imaginations, said farewell, prepared to say hello and opened ourselves up to new experiences.
Write on, Little Green Pigs!
Spaces available at our after-school clubs for the new term!
If you’d like your child to join a free after school creative writing club next term, we have places available for our Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday clubs that start after the summer! Spaces are prioritised for children in target local schools and those who qualify for Free School Meals, have SEN, are in LAC or other circumstances – find out more on our website. You can sign your child up here.
Did you know we have a podcast?
Have a listen this summer, whether you’re at home or out and about, on a journey or doing the washing up. Hear unique short stories and micro fiction written and performed by our Monday Club young writers. Episode 2 featuring Thursday Club coming soon! You can tune in here, or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, RSS Feed.
