India Day: 30th March

 Pupils continue to develop their connection with Day Star School by learning about different aspects of Indian culture through creative and innovative ways. Pupils chose to participate in 3 workshops over the course of the day and each workshop promised to deliver education on India as well as opportunity to enhance their appreciation of another culture.

 Dance Ihayami, from Edinburgh, taught the pupils a variety of popular Bollywood dance moves as well as a short routine that incorporated hand movements and elements of story telling. The pupils were very tired at the end of the workshop but thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

Moving on from the fast pace Bollywood dancing, pupils learned where coffee comes from as well as the benefits and draw backs of labelling products as Fair trade. They  roasted coffee beans from India, ground the beans down and tasted the coffee. They also branded their own company for selling their coffee. Thanks to Mr. Munro from science for his enthusiasm and his love of coffee. For some of our pupils this was the first time that they had tasted coffee and they really enjoyed the fact that it came from India.

As well as coffee grinding, pupils learned about the flora of India and made giant replicas of the national flowers of India. Groups were instructed on how to make jasmine flowers, orchids as well as lilies under the supervision of visiting artist Sara Best. These wonderful flowers are now on display throughout the school and look fantastic.

The day was concluded with a trip to the library where pupils learned about one of the oldest forms of entertainment in India: shadow puppets. By using recycled materials, pupils created a character from Indian folklore and had the opportunity to “play” with their puppets and create a puppet show. Thanks to Kerry Jones from Ruffled Feathers for leading this work shop. 

A HUGE thank you from everyone involved in India day to Hattie Fennell who has created an amazing DVD showcasing the events of the day.