'FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL' - poems from Orchards Junior, West Sussex

Well now. I am really excited to be writing this blog post. I recently worked with Year 5 at Orchards Junior School in West Sussex. The aim was to produce poems about their wonderful school, with me collecting the poems at the end of the day in order to compile a special, bespoke poem. I look forward to sharing that poem on my blog soon. In the mean time, I'd like to share two very special pieces that emerged from the workshop. First off, Alexie in Year 5 produced a really imaginative piece from a very interesting perspective. Secondly, their teacher Mrs. Jones wrote a frankly amazing poem. I love it when teachers join in with my workshops! Here are the two fantabulistic poems: 

Waiting for the Start of School, by Alexie Year 5 

The school stands silently

The leaves drift across the playground

The window creaks quietly 

The school stands up straight 

The playground freezes in the cold 

The paper rumbles angrily

The pencils clash together 

The lockers slam impatiently 

The whiteboard whispers in frustration

The sharpeners rattle loudly 

The books slap with frustration

The rubbers bounce about 

The teacher walks in

Slowly

They stop. 

First Day of School, by Mrs Jones (TEACHER!)

It’s time. The iron gates ready themselves to peel open

and let the flood of feet flow forward

chitter chatter, pitter patter,

running, shouting, laughing, racing

“I’m first!” “No, I’m first!”

The doors fly open,

bags are shoved, bottles grabbed, 

chairs claimed, pencils readied

eyes scanning for clues

at what this new day will reveal. 

Sixty eyes expectant,

a gang, a troup, a clan. 

I take a moment to look,

to really see what is behind each mask,

to read each expression like a poem or a book, 

to assess where my feet

will need to travel first. 

My class, my children, my joy.

“Good Morning, Everybody…”