Art Week 2019
This year, during Black History Month, Colindale pupils celebrated the work of renowned black British artists and their remarkable lives.
Whilst Nursery and Reception made beautiful Gee’s Bend quilt designs, inspired by a group of women and their ancestors who live or have lived in the isolated African-American hamlet of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, all other year groups focused on particular artists.
Year 1 reproduced work similar to Edward Tingatinga’s, experimenting with watercolours on cartridge paper.
Year 2 created a Faith Ringold mural depicting the bright rainbow colours of Colindale.
Year 3 used great imagination and precision to produce family portraits, using collage materials, inspired by Njideka Akunjili Crosby.
Year 4 produced Lois Mailou Jones-inspired 3D masks from card.
Year 5 focused on the 3D art of Howardena Pindell and created fantastic canvases.
Year 6 explored and investigated the patterns in Yinka Shonibare’s African pattern paintings. Each child produced an African design of their own onto their mini canvases
Art week, during black history month, was a fantastic celebration of our art talent at Colindale Primary School.
Black History Month
It was carnival time at Colindale at the end of the half term!
To celebrate Black History Month, years 3 and 4 learned about the origins of the Notting Hill carnival. The children created costumes, participated in calypso dance workshops and put on a fabulous show for parents and pupils. Miss. Collins introduced each class and Mr. Buabeng played the drums as the children paraded through the hall to the delight of the audience. The children looked wonderful in their creations and staff got into the spirit too, wearing costumes kindly lent to us by Mahogany, the costume makers based in Notting Hill. We would like to thank Andrea, mum of Kyra in 6D, and Yvonne, mum of David in 6N, who, as well as donating prizes for the children, volunteered their time to help the children prepare for the event and gave presentations to classes about the history of carnival.
Children in Year 5 learned about what life was like for black service men and women during World War 2 and had an assembly on Pilots of the Caribbean.
Year 6 visited Kenwood House to learn about Dido Belle and the abolition of slavery in the late 1700s. The children were amazed by the beauty and grandeur of the house as the stories of its inhabitants were bought to life by the guides. A workshop allowed pupils to reflect on the treatment of slaves and how different groups of people were treated just because of the colour of their skin. The guides also linked this to modern-day slavery and other forms of discrimination, and we all came away thinking how lucky we were to live in such a multi-cultural part of the world.
Reception and Nursery took inspiration from the artworks of the British Guyanese artist, Frank Bowling. Bowling is known for his colourful, textured artworks and the children had lots of fun splashing and mixing paints and creating their own interpretations of his work.
Year 1 learned about the significant achievements of some key figures such as Barak Obama, Nelson Mandela and Mo Farah. They also enjoyed playing the African djembe drums and learning an African dance.
Year 2 listened to African stories and focused on a story called The Ghanaian Goldilocks, which helped them learn about some aspects of Ghanaian culture. Mr. Buabeng brought Kente cloth from Ghana to show the children.
Outstanding achievements of Colindale Primary School.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, celebrated the outstanding performance of Colindale Primary School, at a recent awards ceremony for Schools for Success at City Hall.
Only six percent of London schools are eligible to be members of the Schools for Success programme, so this is a great achievement.
The school was honoured for its work to reduce educational inequality and achieve exceptional results for children who were previously behind in their studies, at a Schools for Success awards ceremony in central London.
The Schools for Success programme was created by the Mayor in 2017 to recognise the exceptional support given by schools in London to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The programme recognises primary and secondary schools that ensure strong progress for their lowest attaining pupils, have a strong overall performance and share their work with other schools.
The ceremony was hosted on Friday 27th September by Deputy Mayor for Education and Childcare Joanne McCartney and Mrs. Sheila Franks (Chair of Governors) and I attended the ceremony to accept the award on behalf of the school.
“I’d like to congratulate the staff of Colindale for their excellent work. Schools for Success was created to celebrate the difference that teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and governors are making every day to support children and reduce inequalities, and this school’s inclusive and supportive learning environment is a great example of this. London has the best schools and teachers in the country, and by working together we can make sure that no young Londoner is left behind.” The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan
For more information on the Schools for Success programme visit www.london.gov.uk/schools-for-success
Lucy Rodgers,
Headteacher