The Junk Yard Lot
On Wednesday April 8th, Zach Scott's traveling theater troop came to GSA to perform The Junk Yard Lot. This was a wonderful chance to bring a community organization into GSA! The troop set up their stage in the courtyard and all the K-3rd students watched and participated. The story was about how a little girl overcomes teasing with the help of her friends, and it highlighted the themes of creativity, generosity, and community service.
The Courage to Stand
Our 4th and 5th grade students participated in a program called The Courage to Stand presented by Theatre Action Project. The goal of this project was to educate students and to dialogue with them about the role of the courageous bystander in a bullying situation. Each presentation lasted sixty minutes for four consecutive days.
During the sessions, students learned the meanings of the words bully, target, bystander, and most importantly, courageous bystander. Through the use of participatory performances, the issue of bullying was explored by investigating historic examples from the American Civil Rights era and Germany during World War II.
Our students interacted fully with the program coordinators and had a wonderful time learning about this important topic. There will be a fifth day follow-up session in May in order to assess whether the program has enabled the girls to use the anti-bullying skills they were taught during the course.