from across the school had been invited to take part. Mrs. Paterson explained that, rather than selecting members through the Pupil Council, children who had shown enthusiasm for the Carnival of Cultures project had been chosen to represent their classes.
To begin the session, we played the “Seaweed Game”, encouraging everyone to use their bodies and imagination to feel as though they were seaweed swaying at the bottom of the ocean. This activity helped create a relaxed atmosphere and encouraged participation from all age groups.
Following this, each child introduced themselves by sharing their name and class. We then revisited the Carnival of Cultures project, with Mrs. Paterson reminding everyone about the purpose of the event and explaining that the group would create something to showcase their learning and experiences on the day.
The children reflected on some of the activities they had taken part in throughout the SDLL project, including storytelling about birds, clay work, plant-based activities, and logo design. Their enthusiasm highlighted the variety of creative experiences they had enjoyed.
Using a children-led approach, we then invited the children to think about what could be done as it was important that the ideas were coming from the children. After some collaborative brainstorming, an exciting idea began to emerge. One child suggested creating a boat, which prompted us to ask what they would like to place inside it. Another child proposed filling the boat with letters containing different messages. This connected perfectly with a multilingual zine that the Pupil Council had previously created which came after sharing ideas about how to document languages spoken at West PS. The children suggested using the zine as inspiration for writing words and messages in different languages.
Building on this idea, they decided that the letters could include writing, drawings, and colourful designs, celebrating the diversity of languages and cultures represented within the school community. The group also agreed that the boat itself should be decorated, and children quickly gathered scissors, paper, pens, glue, and other craft materials to begin bringing their vision to life.
Soon, the room was buzzing with activity. Some children focused on creating and decorating the letters, while others worked together to design and decorate the boat. We supported one of the children to write and deliver a speech at the Carnival of Cultures by reading over the text and confirming details via email. At the end, everyone agreed to finish decorating the boat, writing the letters, and on the day, everyone gave out the letters as a speech was being delivered. Letters included sharing messages and words from different languages and cultures handed to parents.
The session demonstrated the power of collaborative creativity and highlighted how children can develop meaningful ideas when given the opportunity to shape projects themselves.
Lavinia, Dobrochna and Jane arrived in the West on the day of the Carnival. We were immediately blown away by the energy the school was buzzing with. The SDLL logo exhibition was set up by the entrance to the hall, hospitality stalls set by parents in the hall overflew with mouth-watering food and there was delicious Syrian coffee generously shared with tired parents and staff members alike – we fell in love and strictly followed the permaculture principle of no waste!
This was only the beginning: when parents and younger siblings filled all the chairs in the hall, the event started. On the stage recorded videos alternated with live performances, we witnessed children introducing themselves in a variety of languages including English, Gaelic, Arabic, Romanian, Scots, Polish, French and many more in all-encompassing way – languages taught, spoken in the community, signed, learned were all there sitting next to each other, complementing each other, supporting the acts. It was such a joy to witness. Class after class, year after year children were coming to the stage singing, dancing, playing instruments, speaking poetry, presenting the boat (of course!) and sharing some written messages with the audience members – diverse cultural themes more or less tightly interwoven in the act of art making. Some children were wearing uniforms, some were dressed in traditional cultural dresses, some playfully danced with the carnival theme and school rules – dressed more or less casually with a meaningful element added – a scarf, a skirt, a hairband that hinted at some cultural meaning in a nonchalant, momentarily, flickering way young people often do when they are given a freedom of expression. The richness of mediums, modalities and languages was breathtaking, in the world scared of scarcity we witnessed a carnival of abundance. The event ended with a parade of costumes led by a teacher who played the bagpipes followed by a colorful line of carnivalists dressed in costumes in all colours and shapes. We left with our hands hurting from clapping, teary eyes and cups of coffee in our hands. West really is the Best.