St John’s became a hub of poetic vision on Thursday 1 October when children across all ages celebrated National Poetry Day. National Poetry Day is the annual mass celebration on the first Thursday of October that encourages all to discover, enjoy and share poetry. The theme for this year was ‘vision’ with the motto to ‘see like a poet’ and #ShareAPoem. Head of English, Mrs Elaine Atkin, explained, ‘It is always incredible to see how imaginative and sensitive the children are through their poetry. They approach poetry with an open mind and produce work which is far beyond their years.’
Since 1994 National Poetry Day has engaged millions of people with poetry through a range of live events and web-based activities throughout the country. Such a variety of poetry is written and read that each year the day is given a new theme, in order to highlight particular poets and styles of poetry. As National Poetry Day explained, ‘The Day starts conversations, it encourages love of language – and best of all it’s open to absolutely everyone to join in, quietly or noisily in rewarding and enjoyable ways. As the artform’s most visible moment, it showcases the ways in which poetry adds value to society.’
Pupils in Forms 5 and 6 looked at etymology to study the origins of their names, investigating related imagery and then wrote poetry to describe themselves:
I am the Earth Worker
I till friendship, growing the bonds of love.
I am strong, I am tough, I am man of earth.
I am not at the cliffs of the dark and the cold, but
South, at the mountains of prosperity,
Humbly crafting peace and kindness.
I imagine dignity and honour, so great and bold.
I am South, at the bottom of the hill and
I have no wish to reach for the top. I am fine
being here, a slightly unknown nobody.
But I do always wonder
Is this really me?
Oliver Sutcliffe (Form 6)
Whenever people ask my name,
They think of the beautiful flower,
With delicate petals, not one the same.
But the vibrant cheerful crimsons bleed,
They see and show the memories of others,
Until their strong stems finally wilt and reach their own fatigue.
I don’t associate my name with a spirit or eternal sleeper,
What I imagine is what fascinates me,
Stretching towards something deeper.
Blush quartz and pearl shimmering,
Subtle and simple,
Yet shining with beauty and wisdom so enchanting.
My name is deeper than it seems.
Poppy Marr (Form 5)
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Children in T2 focused on the theme of ‘owls’ for their poems as they had embarked on an exciting child-led project during their independent learning sessions and were keen to continue this topic with their poetry.
Owl silently swooping
Whooshing through the still air
Low and golden
Poppy Nichols (T2)
Eagle gliding through
The burning sun
Green grass, animals hiding
Owl saw them
His mission is amazing.
Magnus Moore (T2)
Form 2 took inspiration from the trees in the Forest Garden and, with a partner, took time to mindfully feel the trees before honing in on specific detail with viewfinders.
Twisting, curling, huge grabbing arms hugging like hot water bottles
Rolling, long twigs slowly taps to the music like piano keys,
Enormous, happy roots waving enthusiastically
Elegant fiery golden leaves speaking spookily
Amazingly, the trunk stands like soldiers
Merrily coloured flapping conkers sway
Slowly autumn arrives.
Violet Egerton (Form 2)
For more information about National Poetry Day: https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/