The pupils of All Saints Marsh Church of England Academy, which is part of the Learning Academy Partnership, have created a COVID time capsule to be opened by the pupils of the future! The pandemic will undoubtedly find a large place in our history books and as we all move forward and return to school, we wanted to give the children an opportunity to reflect on their life during the pandemic.
The brainchild of Teaching Assistant Mrs Chapling, who wanted to capture the memories and lessons that the children at All Saints Marsh have taken during this strange time and create something for the children of the future of the school to look at and learn from.
The children created memories, wrote lockdown letters and postcards to the future about their experiences during the pandemic, as well as ‘freezing memories’ by creating things that represent the lockdown. Some moments, such as ‘sanitising’ were captured in origami form: sanitisers were created out of paper to reflect the pandemic and the importance of clean hands.
In between making banana bread and cutting out interesting shapes out of fruit, some children reconnected with their love for reading and created bookmarks with rainbows and messages of gratitude to the NHS. Of course, a time capsule is incomplete without a mask. Some children created their own versions and decorated them with lockdown inspired words and images.
The time capsule will be buried / hidden in the grounds of the school and pupils of the future will be asked to open it in 10 years time.
The Learning Academy Partnership provides a first-class education to its pupils across the South West, and has done so since it was founded almost 10 years ago. The Trust is rated the best Multi Academy Trust in the country for the performance of disadvantaged children and in the Top 10 Trusts nationally for the progress that children make.
Mrs Edwards, Head of Academy at All Saints Marsh, said:
“It was important for us as a school community to mark the last year and the unprecedented times that we have experienced. Although the year with partial school closures has been a challenge, what has shone through is the sense of school community. Whether children were learning at home or at school the opportunities to connect virtually and phone calls home have meant when the children returned to school they settled quickly and we are delighted that we have them all back in school at last.
We wanted to make sure we didn’t forget this incredible year and through creating the time capsule we recognised the amazing resilience our children have shown. We hope the future All Saints Marsh pupils are proud of what we achieved and we can now all move forward with hope for a better future.”
