Mr Siddles said, "It was wonderful to see so many children actively engaged in their empathy work and then sharing it so enthusiastically in assembly."
Author Jo Cotterill (A Library of Lemons, Electrigirl) was our special guest on the day. She delivered a fantastic assembly to the children in Key Stage 2 about the importance of empathy and how to demonstrate to somebody that you are listening to them. She then talked about how events can be interpreted differently, depending on your point of view.
After break, Jo delivered two exciting writing workshops to the pupils in Deer Class and Eagles Class. The children really enjoyed sharing some of their work with her. She then met with a group of interested parents, and talked to them about her life as an author and recommended some of her favourite books.
Miss Eyles in Year 6 thought it was a great day and said, "We worked hard to understand the difference between sympathy and empathy
Tom said, "She came and gave us some pictures and asked us to write about how the people in the picture feel. Empathy is important because if you don't empathise with people, they might never get better but just stay the same."
Miss Eyles in Year 6 thought it was a great day and said, "We worked hard to understand the difference between sympathy and empathy
Tom said, "She came and gave us some pictures and asked us to write about how the people in the picture feel. Empathy is important because if you don't empathise with people, they might never get better but just stay the same."
At the end of the day, there was a huge queue outside Mr Biddle's classroom as she sold and signed copies of her books, including her latest publication, Jelly.
While all this was happening, Squirrels Class were organising the very first Moorlands Empathy Awards. The class had chosen five book characters that they all empathised with, and then split into small groups to prepare an argument explaining why their character should win the award. On Wednesday, with the help of Mr Allen, Mr Biddle and a few members of Deer Class, they led a fantastic assembly where each group talked about their character and gave reasons why they should win. As the pupils and staff left the assembly, they were all given a voting slip where they could vote for their favourite character. The winner, with 89 votes, was George from The Smartest Giant in Town.
Mr Biddle said, "We are looking forward to carrying on with our empathy work in the future. It fits in perfectly with our school's core values and is now becoming firmly embedded across the school. The staff of the school have worked really hard to get this far and we're now seeing the benefits."
William's highlight of the day was, "When I went up in front of the whole school and thinking about all the different characters."
William's highlight of the day was, "When I went up in front of the whole school and thinking about all the different characters."
