Autumn Term 2009:

Verse written after Poetry Sandwich for Lunch event for SPT staff:

Lunchtimes can be boring, you may often feel,

the same old tuna sandwich that does not always appeal.

But this day was different, a little more fun,

to listen to poems for old and for young.

The format was relaxed and a great lunch provided,

so I’ll go again next time, I’ve already decided!

~ Audrey Kelly, SPT’s Assistant Human Resources Officer

***

“Thank you for visiting the Even Better Crack Club in Glasgow yesterday. Everyone present was spellbound and really appreciative of your great talent. I was enthralled; I could’ve listened for hours – watching a real professional at work.

~ Frances Logan, Glasgow Storytellers

***

“I liked the time when we had to act like spies and there was an evil villain.  Do you know when you laugh you look like the big cat in Cat in a Hat.  You have a lovely smile and you are very kind.” Khizra (11)

“I liked when we told stories and had to direct other people.”  Usama (11)

“I liked to make the poem, it was so much fun.  We went on the subway train and John Rice was a really funny poet.” Mazhar (11)

“I really enjoyed writing the poems in the class.  It was fun and it was a taster for more poem writing.” Kaleem (11)

“I thought it was really fun because I really love writing poems, it is good fun.  I loved when me and Andi got filmed and we were on the internet.  It was cool and I would do it again because it was a fantastic experience.”  Nauman (11)

“I thought working with John Rice was a great experience because he is a good poet and I have never met a real poet before.  I thought his poems were really good and he was fun to work with.  We did lots of different things that were really exciting and fun and we got to make up our own stories and poems.  It was really fun and I enjoyed going to the subway and writing poems all about it and I hope we can do it again sometime.” Andi (11)

“I liked making up poems, especially with John Rice because he is funny and someone who will make you laugh.  I enjoyed all the stuff that I did with John Rice.”  Ammarah (11)

“I really enjoyed writing poems with John Rice and I really enjoyed listening to his poems too because it gave me a chance to use my imagination.”  Hafsah (11)

~ Pupils from Lorne Street Primary School, Govan

“Some of the Lorne Street Primary children can be quite difficult to motivate and John’s enthusiasm and sense of humour certainly stimulated them to become involved and to be creative. Working with him has given me more ideas for helping the children to use their imagination to write poems and stories.  He certainly fulfilled the Curriculum for Excellence criteria for active learning, when children learn through their own experiences.”

~ Norma Collinson, Primary 7 teacher, and the children of Lorne Street Primary School, Govan

***

“It was a marvel to watch you work miracles with a bunch of poems, three juggling balls and a bit of ancient chewing gum. My daughter was just delighted and has been scribbling stories since she came home.”

~ Stewart Ennis, parent who attended poetry performance at Hyndland Primary School

“Can I again reiterate our thanks for such a fabulous and fun morning. The girls are very much looking forward to your next visit.”

~ Fiona Kerr, Acting Depute, Hyndland Primary School

***

“I enjoyed working with John the Poet and I enjoyed our trip to the subway. I have never written a poem before. It was different from learning at school as it was good fun.”

Tagen (10)

“I thought that the trip on the subway really helped me to write my poem. It allowed me to look about and see and hear things that I could add to it.” Cameron (10)

“John had a lovely manner and relationship with the kids. The way he brought to life poetry for them was great. He made the children really feel that they could write a poem; even the less able children were able to feel some success. The idea of taking them out to experience writing poetry and using real life sights and sounds really brought their writing to life. A worthwhile activity that I would love to do again.”

~ Michelle Parker, P6 Class Teacher, Hill’s Trust Primary School, Govan

Spring Term 2010

“John Rice’s performance was excellent and it was good to see children, teachers and parents enjoying it together.”

“Well done, it is not easy to keep children’s attention for an hour!”

“I thought the poet was great. The kids and adults all had a great laugh. His poems were funny, entertaining and sensitive by turns.”

“I really enjoyed the poetry and found it very entertaining, interesting and enjoyable. The children were well-behaved and attentive throughout, which is unusual.”

“I thought it was very entertaining and good fun for both kids and adults!”

~ John Raymond, M. Speirs, Karen Reilly (and one unidentified Mum), parents who attended

John Rice’s poetry performance at St Brendan’s Primary School, Yoker, Glasgow

***

“I am a pupil at St. Vincent’s School for the Deaf which has just been visited by your SPT poet John Rice. I was really interested in his stories and poems and I’ve never seen stories or poems like John’s before. John was really funny and all of us pupils in St Vincent’s would like to see John again. Thank you for allowing this poet to visit our school.”

~ Demi Clelland, S4, St. Vincent’s School for the Deaf, Glasgow

***

A Selection of comments from the Girls Writing Group at Hyndland Primary School with whom John Rice worked over an extended period:

“I learned how to make a story more interesting.” (Chloe Crawford)

“I learned about many new writing techniques.” (Alison)

“I loved how we got to use a lot of our imagination as we never usually do activities like that. I also learned that you can’t be afraid of your imagination and you have to keep your mind open.” (Eva Brunjes)

“I enjoyed acting without the use of props and objects and I learned how to join in with the action.”  (Bobbie Ross)

“I enjoyed the drama and language games. I learned how to project my voice and how to present yourself and your work to an audience.” (Alice Davidson)

“I would like to do more acting skills and more story writing.” (Alexandra McFarlane)

“I loved almost everything and I really liked the drama and storytelling workshop. I learned that writing stories is actually fun.” (Mirin)

“I enjoyed writing my own poems because it made me look at writing in a different way.”        (Hannah Farman)

“I enjoyed creating the short, imaginative plays and I also like writing my own stories and poems. I learned that poetry does not necessarily have to rhyme.” (Francesca MacMillan)

“We were very honoured and privileged to have John Rice, poet and storyteller, working with our pupils in Hyndland Primary. The enthusiasm which he engendered within our pupils for poetry was amazing. He had a lovely inspiring manner with the children and had them ‘eating out of his hands’ during his performance. The p7 girls were very fortunate to have had such a high quality input from John and his dedication in all weathers to make his commitment to Hyndland was admirable. Both the teachers and the pupils have gained valuable knowledge and experiences in poetry from John’s time with us and we very much look forward to working with him again in the future.”

~ Fiona Kerr, Acting Depute, Hyndland Primary School

~

“John Rice has been involved with Thornwood Primary since April 2009. He was invited to school to speak about his writing work and to present some of his stories and poetry. Since then John has been into the school on several occasions to speak to pupils and work with individual classes.

In October 2009 we had a storytelling day when John performed some of his stories to the whole school and then worked with pupils in the upper primary to encourage their writing skills. The pupils always respond well to John’s time in school and when he arrived recently pupils in the dining hall were so excited to see him they were saying, “There’s John!!” When I told them he was working with a P4 class their disappointment was clear to see.

Recently John has been working with P4 encouraging them with their poetry. The class teacher was delighted with the workshop as the pupils were keen and highly motivated. John has since encouraged us to take part in the poetry competition and has offered advice about publishing some of the pupils work on the internet (something the pupils would be very proud of).

Last year John worked with the P5 class on the literacy and transport topic and has again arranged dates to come back into school to work with the pupils in P5 once again. Having somebody who is not a teacher come into school to work with the pupils has many benefits. The pupils respond well to John and he is an excellent male role model. The pupils seem fascinated to see John’s work published and I think this also motivates them and encourages them to write.

We have thoroughly enjoyed John’s visits to Thornwood and appreciate the time and effort he has given us. I think this kind of partnership is crucial and is very beneficial for both pupils and teachers.”

~ Jenny Matheson, Literacy Co-ordinator, Thornwood Primary School

~

John Rice’s visit was excellent. The S2 English class really enjoyed it and were engaged throughout. The workshop activities were fun and built gradually from small tasks to longer ones. John mixes up the pace really well and keeps the pupils on their toes. The pupils produced some really interesting pieces of writing and enjoyed hearing John read some of his poems. It has had a positive impact on their writing with some of the pupils having since had the stories they started that afternoon published in the school magazine. It is important for pupils to have these kinds of experiences because it:

a) shows them that writers are real people just like them, they could be writer too

b) is a different, less formal type of learning experience, that is so much fun they don’t realise that they are learning

c) allows them to explore their creativity and discover their own talents, tastes and interests

d) gives young people a cultural experience they might not otherwise have access to. Three weeks later pupils are still talking about it – here are some of their comments

“It would be fun if he could come back and do it again” (Mandi Mackenzie)

“I loved writing the stories it made me think more about being a journalist” (Rachel Murray)

“John has inspired me to write poems and ever since he came I have been making up poems” (Nicole-Marie Benson)

“When he was reading some of his books to us they were full of life” (Jade Smart)

“I liked the poem about the subway that he wrote called ‘Shooglin Aboot Unner the Grun’” (Darron Harkison)

“I enjoyed the day with John Rice because he gave us a lot of ideas. He was good at making us laugh too. He also made it fun” (Kaitlin Bagley)

~ Cathy Armstrong – Librarian, Drumchapel High School

“I thought the visit was interesting and enjoyable. John Rice showed an interest in the pupils and engaged their interest throughout. They clearly found him entertaining. They enjoyed listening to the poetry and, judging from their responses, especially liked hearing him “play” with words. I think it might have been fun for them to try a bit of that themselves. It was heartening to see the pupils have the confidence to interact with him as they did. A good visit.”

~ Kathryn Gibb, Teaching Assistant, Drumchapel High School