VE (Victory in Europe) Day

4th May 2010. On Saturday 8 May 2010 the country will be marking the 65th Anniversary of the ending of the Second World War and, at Deer Park, we will be commemorating this event, in our own special ‘VE Day’ organised by Miss Dovey, our History Advanced Skills Teacher, and representatives from the community and related charities, including the Cirencester and Swindon branches of the University of the Third Age and the London Jewish Cultural Centre.

To enable our pupils to share in this public celebration and reflect on and learn from the experience of others, we have planned this special standstill day for all pupils in Years 7-10 on Friday 7 May 2010. On this day, with the exception of Year 11, who will continue to focus on preparation for their GCSEs, all pupils will follow a different timetable and have the opportunity to participate in a range of themed activities and historical recreations.

The day has been planned to meet the following learning objectives:

• To give pupils the opportunity to commemorate the ending of the Second World War
• To discover the different legacies of the Second World War
• To promote an appreciation of what we have now and an understanding of how this has been achieved

In History lessons some pupils will be interviewing members of the Cirencester U3A to find out about the variety of experiences. Other pupils will investigate the impact of the war on the British Welfare State. The Year 10's day has been inspired by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s work on the ‘Legacy of Hope’ and they will be talking to four Holocaust Survivors – Harry Bibring, Susan Pollack, Ruth Barnett and Joanna Millan, who will be travelling across the country to be with us on Friday.

Since one of the legacies of the Second World War was its impact on the dance culture, the P.E. faculty, along with a group of Key Stage 3 pupils, took time out last Friday morning to work with the Gloucestershire Dance Advanced Skills Teacher, Sarah Shaw, in order to learn the intricate moves of the Lindy Hop. They will then teach and coach the rest of Key Stage 3 this Friday.

To re-create the atmosphere of 1945, musicians Blitz and Peaces from Devon and JJ Swing Band of Cirencester will be playing evocative songs from the period as pupils enjoy a specially prepared menu of food rations at lunch time - see the screens for more details of the special £1 lunch.

From 2pm the Friends of Deer Park will host a VE Day Street Party for pupils from Chesterton and Stratton Primary Schools. We hope to be able to entertain them with tent raising competitions and milking races with our Land Girl artificial udders!

We hope that the day will be successful and that our pupils will engage positively in the activities staff and others have prepared as a part of our work as a ‘School of Creativity’.