Universal Children’s Day 2020

On Friday 20^th November, Juniper children celebrated Universal Children’s Day. Each phase was part of an assembly with another school that focussed on a different area of SMSC&D, discussed children’s rights and explored how these were exercised. During each assembly the schools also joined together to perform the signed version of the song ‘Believe’. Bronte from Woodpeckers recognised the significance the song had in regards to Universal Children’s Day. He perfectly summed up that the important messages behind the song were about empowering all children to believe that anything is possible for them and that regardless of their background, all children should be treated fairly and have a right to be loved and cared for in order to be able to achieve their best.

Year 1 and 2 were joined by Hamilton Academy and the children beautifully shared how some of their peers celebrated Christmas. The teachers from both schools were really proud of how attentively the children listened to each other. From the work carried out this week, it was clear to see that they had learned a lot about how some children at Hamilton celebrate Diwali and Eid. The Year 2 children have made some beautiful Mehndi patterns and Year 1 have designed some lovely Diya lamps for their new friends. The children at Hamilton Academy are busy designing some Christmas ornaments for our children and some are even creating festive decorations for us. We cannot wait to receive these.

The Year 3 and 4 children discussed the importance of coming to school after exploring their right to Education. Leo, Isla, Cora and Megan expressed their thoughts on what rights are, why we have rights and why coming to school is important to them. They bravely stepped up to share with the children at St. John Fisher from Tameside in Greater Manchester. The Year 3 and 4 classes at St. John Fisher loved hearing what our Juniper children had to say and our children enjoyed hearing their thoughts too. These classes across both schools have been working on posters to send to each other in the hope that we can learn more about the similarities and differences between our schools. The children already have so many questions they wish to ask each other and are keen to meet again soon. Before ending this assembly, Amelia bravely came to the front to share why she enjoyed signing the song so much and said that, ‘When we switch the sound off, it is the same as what I hear when I remove my hearing aid,’. She showed a lot of maturity and independence and we really valued her contribution.

The Year 5 and 6 assembly was essentially led by our children. Kathryn and Michael both bravely shared their thoughts on different matters and should be proud of the clarity in which they expressed themselves. Lena shared the importance of having rights that protect children and explained that as well as a human’s basic need to food and shelter, children have extra fundamental needs to be loved and nurtured throughout their growth. Charlie explained how he exercises his right to be able to freely express his thoughts and opinions and gave a rather impressive account that was articulated beautifully. Juniper Hill is very fortunate to have such role models within our school. The children were joined by The Walk Academy in Nakura, Kenya. After joining together to sign ‘Believe’, the children from The Walk Academy powerfully sang ‘You Raise Me Up’ which for some of us, was quite emotional. Shelia and Martin from The Walk let us know why they value their education so much and shared their dreams of becoming doctors when they are older. Their new friends at Juniper wish them both the best and are excited to learn about all the other children within the class when the schools have the opportunity to send work over to each other. A big thank you to Mrs. Marriott whose amazing work in supporting The Walk Centre meant that she was able to help facilitate the liaison between Juniper Hill and The Walk Academy.  Mrs Parry said that in all her years of teaching, this was one of the biggest highlights of her career.