TO WORK WITH POTATOES!

On Friday 20th january, thirteen students and four teachers from four West Swindon Schools gathered at Toothill School. It was the first session of the 'Toothill Long Poem' workshops. We began by writing some shape poems to warm up our creative writing skills. The idea was to have students thinking about walking and what they might see, in reality and imaginatively.

We also chose objects from the ‘mystery bag’ to write questions on; to liven up our enquiring minds.

LARGE DICE by Jake:

Q: What does it do?

A: It counts all day long trying to get the biggest number it can

Q: When was it made?

A: September 12th 1959 at 11:37am

CLAPPER BOARD by Kieran

Q: What's your dream job?

A : To work with potatoes!

We also went on a ‘Toothill Word-Walk’ to make a start at looking around us and thinking of Toothill in a visual, poetic, and creative way. Every student who joined me was so keen and enthusiastic to find words, to write and take part in this exciting project – thank you! 

I asked the students to start listening start listening out for spoken words in the Toothill community, their families and themselves. We shared some lines from T.S Eliot's Wasteland:

'My nerves are bad to-night.  Yes, bad.  Stay with me.
'Speak to me.  Why do you never speak.  Speak.
'What are you thinking of? What thinking? What?
'I never know what you are thinking.  Think.'

We will become historical investigators – very little is documented of Toothill before Toothill Farm. Perhaps this project can also be part of some new discoveries and historical treasures.

We are meeting again on Friday 27^th January at 12:45 at Toothill School.