A commemorative School Assembly, Tea Party and planting of trees took place recently at the Primary School, an event to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the “new” school on Quarry Lane. This was a very special occasion involving all three Headteacher’s of the school. I hope to bring you a full report next month. As I thought about this occasion, it brought back memories of many of the celebrations held at the school, over the 50 years. We enjoyed teaching children national history through such celebrations. The anniversary of the end of World War II, which was a most memorable event with, it looked like, all the village turning up. The Festival of British Villages in 1977. The late Queen Elizabeth’s Silver and Golden Jubilee’s, Royal Weddings, The Olympic Games. These are just some of the examples. We also took part in sponsored silences, one to raise money for a new boat to use on the Pit Project. Charity events like World Book or Red Nose Days were very popular when staff and children dressed up to raise funds for that charity. I’ve included a few pictures at the end of the text.
Whilst searching for suitable images to illustrate this article I came across a large number of old colour slides of colourful Dance Groups performing in the school grounds. In this case, groups from across Europe taking part in the Chester Folk Dance Festival, often coinciding with the Llangollen International Festival, in which the school hosted Folk Dance Groups brought to Chester at the invitation of the Chester Folk Dance Ensemble. Groups from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden are illustrated in these pictures. The School Maypole team would usually perform their series of traditional English Maypole Dances, before a picnic lunch. This was followed by colourful displays of dances in the tradition of the visiting dance groups. On one amazing occasion, the Swedish group took hold of children from every class, and we danced a conga all across the school playground, and by clever team work, the dance evolved into lines of dancers across the playground. The Swedish team were wonderful ambassadors of their country, and wanted to know more about our delightful village. We took them to the Pit, St James Church, and all through the village during their stay. Christleton already had links to Sweden though Leon and Lallah Boucher who lived in the Park. Leon, then a Director of Students at Chester College, regularly placed students at Christleton Primary School for a short teaching practice or observation.
The above events usually took place on a Friday, and the following morning, our Maypole Team would perform their sequence of dances outside the Town Hall as part of the Folk Festival led by the Deva Ensemble. These events were always memorable and we were very fortunate to be invited to take part. In fact some of the children later joined the Folk Ensemble and one of our Infant teachers played in their band. I firmly believe that education is not just about rote learning, but an opportunity to widen the knowledge of children through a variety of experiences. Meeting friends from a different country and culture through dance was an exciting opportunity for us.
Red Nose Day
Red Nose Day at Christleton Primary School
Red Nose Day - Christleton
Red Nose Day - Primary School
Christleton Primary - Red Nose Day
Dance Celebration
Swedish Dancers
Swedish Dancers
Swedish Dance Group
Swedish Dancers
Swedish Dance Group
Swedish Dance Group
Swedish Dance Group
Swedish Dance Group
Dance Group
Dancers visiring St. James' Church Christleton
Swedish Group in Pepper Street Christleton
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