Creative Schools 2025

Warm Up: 

Today, the students had a second attempt at the human wheel warm-up activity (first introduced in session one). It was fascinating to observe how they approached the challenge differently this time around. I clearly explained the rules, including the start and end points, the method of travel, and how many participants could travel at once. All expectations were understood from the outset.

This time, I gave the students 10 minutes to construct their wheels. Compared to last time, their approach was far more organised. The newspaper constructions were much neater, and most groups started by discussing how to build the wheel before assigning roles within the team. Some groups carefully aligned their newspaper and secured it firmly using multiple layers of tape. Nearly every group figured out that taping the newspaper lengthwise in one continuous strip helped the structure hold together better. It was very interesting to observe the evolution of their design and teamwork during this stage. By the end of the ten minutes, every group had successfully built a wheel. I also checked in with a few groups to see if they had discussed how they would make their wheels move.

Then it was time to race—and this is when many groups started to come unstuck. The competitive urge to win took over for some, which led them to bend or break the rules. One group put their wheel between their legs and ran. Another group's wheel fell apart, and they abandoned the method entirely, choosing to run instead. Interestingly, almost every group ran the full length of the court and back, even though that wasn't required.

In the end, only one group followed the instructions correctly. They moved slowly and steadily, travelled the required distance once (not back and forth), and their wheel stayed intact. At one point, they called out, “Hey, the others are cheating!” I encouraged them to stay focused and continue as they were. They did just that, and as a result, Mariya and I declared them the winners.

Unfortunately, the other groups either didn’t follow the instructions or resorted to cheating in their desire to win. Nevertheless, this was a fantastic activity to observe how students handle pressure, collaborate in groups, and communicate effectively. It’s also a lot of fun.

At the end, Mariya and I brought all of this to the students' attention when we announced the winner. I think some of them were genuinely surprised by their own behaviour and how easily they had fallen into the trap of cheating just to win. It was a powerful moment of reflection for them — and a valuable lesson in integrity, collaboration, and following instructions under pressure.

Main Activity: 

Our main activity was the screening of the students’ one-minute films, complete with popcorn, lollies, and juice to create a celebratory atmosphere. It was fantastic to see what the students had managed to create within the constraints of a one-minute duration, working in groups of three, and editing in iMovie. The majority of the films were horror-themed, with one comedy and a couple of dramas.

After the screening, we had a group discussion where students shared their thoughts on the experience. Overall, it was clear that everyone had a great time watching the films — so much so that we ended up watching each one twice!

By the end of the session, the students were buzzing from all the sugar, so we took them out for a run on the oval to burn off some energy!

Reflection: 

As today was the final session, after the run, Mariya and I brought the students back to the classroom where they received their Creative Schools certificates. I was also given a lovely and unexpected gift, which was a really touching gesture.

We then discussed the yarn sticks, and the students decided they would wrap theirs after lunch in the colour that represented the habit they felt they used most during the warm-up activity. They also looked at some inspiration images to decide how they might hang the sticks in the classroom to create a display.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time, so I wasn’t able to see their final creation — but it was a meaningful way to wrap up a fun and engaging series of sessions. I’ve had a blast delivering Creative Schools 2025.