Pupils at Ark School recently held a Heroes Day which was part of the Children’s University project where teachers look at the learning opportunities that the children have outside of school hours.
The day was organised by teacher Simone Walsh and the idea of the project was to get all the pupils at the school to nominate someone that has influenced their lives.
Each child wrote a letter to their hero explaining why they had chosen them. The letters were then collected and a random draw took place choosing around 15 nominations.
Simone then had the task of tracking down the nominees and inviting them to a special lunch and assembly held at the school.
Not all of the nominees were able to make the special day due to work commitments, but those who did were given a special tour of the school by the pupils.
Following the tour, an assembly was held where the children read out their thank you letters.
Some of the heroes even gave a short talk during assembly about their jobs which was of great interest to the children.
Toby Thorne nominated his swimming instructor, Dave McQuair. He said: “When I first arrived at JHQ, I found swimming really hard. Mr McQuair has never given up on me and I have now lost my fear of the deep end and can now swim 59 metres. I feel really proud of myself and really proud of Mr McQuair too.”
Elise Busby nominated her hand surgeon, Dr Denks. She said: “I chose him because he made my hand get better after I had an accident, so he’s my hero.”
Florence Fielding nominated Rita Otten who is a local vet. She said: “She looks after the school Tierpark animals at the school which I think is really good.”
And the heroes of the day were very happy to have been chosen. SSgt Gillian Duncan was nominated by Zach Drapier for her swimming coaching. She said: “I was very chuffed to be nominated. I haven’t got any children myself, so this was very nice.”
Andy Williams received two nominations from Kayleigh Smith and Terry Jeeves for his work at the JHQ Youth Club. Andy said: “I’d like to think that I’ve made a good impression on these children, so it’s nice to be appreciated.”
Rachel Moores was nominated by Molly Dunnin who teaches her dancing. Rachel said: “I think that she enjoys it so much and I think that it’s a great idea what the children have done.” All in all, a good day was had by all.
Simone, who supports literacy throughout the school, said that it was a day of celebration: “The whole purpose of Heroes Day is to look at the community and in particular those whom we consider to be heroes that influence the children’s lives, be it a baby sitter or a mentor.
“It has turned out to be a lovely day, and a big thanks to everyone that came along today and to Della at the NAAFI who organised the catering.”
