This year I am running the Junior Theatre Arts Club while being wonderfully supported by a PYP teacher.  Our focus has been on enabling student skills and understanding of all the processes involved in creating a performance.  The intention is for students to write, direct, perform and stage their own work, with a public performance occurring in May 26.

The 25/26 year has taken the Lighthouse in a new direction - towards ongoing publication rather than a single end-of-year option - due to the changing needs and interests of students and the wider school community.

In 24/25 the number of students who continued with this dropped to 5, so there was a lot more work involved in getting something ready for publication.  I didn't know who to 'lean on' to get content, and we were competing with students who were publishing their work elsewhere.  However, we made it in the end.

This was a 'You're a drama teacher so can you help with this club?' situation and I was very much playing catch up and getting to know the students (none of whom I taught).  

The production was quite a challenge, given the amount of time and access to facilities we had, but my colleagues worked tirelessly to make it happen and the students involved learned a great deal.