Black History Month at St Saviour's and St Olave's School

To mark Black History Month, the history department have organised a range of activities to celebrate Afro-Caribbean history and culture.  In today’s assembly, a historian spoke of the contributions of black artists to the British music scene.  At lunchtime, Year 8 girls participated in a treasure hunt based on historical clues.  After-school, many girls attended an Afro-beats session, in which they learnt about the history of the dance and then practised some traditional routines.  Meanwhile our Year 7s were busy preparing their very own Jamaican patties in a cookery session, whilst Year 11 crafted their own African scarves.  In all of the classes, the girls traced the history of the traditions, and developed the skills to recreate the uniqueness of Afro-Caribbean culture.

Here are some of the reflections of the students:

 

‘I really enjoyed learning about yards and inches.  Using African printed fabric reminded us about our culture.  I enjoyed learning about why black women used headscarves’.

Afia, Year 11

‘As a black person, it is important to learn about our culture through dance’.

Chyna, Year 10

‘I enjoyed this activity because its nice to know how people make patties as I am from Jamaica myself.  It was also really fun as Year 7 don’t do food tech’.

Sherlisa, Year 7

‘I enjoyed the Afro-beat class because it was fun to see what people love doing and how history turned into dancing’

Hannah, Year 7

 

‘It was helpful and inspirational and helped me know about Jamaica and improved my cooking skills’

Princess, Year 7