Lindfield The Yard explores unity in diversity Lindfield students were captivated by a recent performance of The Yard, which explores themes of bullying and unity in diversity, celebrating the extraordinary in the ordinary. Last year, based on a recommendation from one of our new parents, we booked in a new performance called The Yard to enhance our social skills program and to reinforce the anti-bullying message. This work is a collaboration between one of Australia’s leading dance theatre practitioners, Mr Shaun Parker, and teenage performers from Captivate in Western Sydney. The production draws inspiration from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and its study of human behaviour. The Yard extrapolates those themes and transplants them to the Australian school yard. This performance had our students captivated and inspired by the dramatic depiction of a school yard and provided teachers with the opportunity to link the show’s messages into Second Step lessons and conversations in class. Year 5 student Lachlan Brownrigg said he thought the performance was important. ‘It made us think differently about bullying and allowed us to understand the perspective of someone being bullied,’ he said. Henry Lea, also in Year 5, was particularly impressed by the teenage performers. ‘They were amazing!’ he said. ‘This performance made me want to start dancing along with gymnastics. I am really glad that I watched it. The performance sent a great message. 10/10!’ Noah Nadanachandran (Year 5) said, ‘The performance was energetic and Lindfield students watch young performers in The Yard . dramatic. It seemed very realistic and a good representation of what a lot of kids might experience at their school.’ For Diesel James (Year 5), it was one one of the best performances he has seen at school. ‘The actors presented in an exciting way so that we could really understand the meaning of their performance,’ he said. Mr Pascal Czerwenka Deputy Head of Lindfield 32| NEWS SPRING 2018| GRATITUDE