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Waterman Primary School,  
The Boulevard, Rochford,
SS4 1QF

Head: Mrs.Welch
01702 546237
Schools
Waterman Primary
www.watermanprimaryschool.ik.org
admin@waterman.essex.sch.uk
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Interview-Chats with Children at Waterman School  
(January 26th 2011)

If you have read the pages of this site you will know that we have done a series of interviews in Waterman school over the last few months. When Mrs. Welch said, “Would you like to interview some children next?” my mind said, why not?  When it came to the day though, that was something else. I’m a granddad with five grandchildren, but your children, that’s something else! Thus I faced this experience with fear and trepidation! We started with the older children first. You can decide who was ‘in charge’ as you read along! At the time, as is our habit on this site, we took photos but on reflection we considered that could be unwise so all photos taken have been  deleted. The object of the exercise was to give some of the children freedom to talk under interview conditions. It was an interesting exercise! We hope you’ll agree.


Group 1:  Sharna, Skyla, Keaton

After initial greetings, OK, I think, let’s start off on safe ground.
Do you have a favourite colour?
“Pink,” says Sharna straight away.
I look at Skyla. She looks a pink girl, I think. She confirms pink is her colour. For Keaton it is blue. So far so good.
Do any of you have pets at home?  No pets. No pets?
Sharna wants to disabuse me of the idea she might be afraid of pets:
“We don’t have pets at home; it’s not that I’m afraid of pets, I’m just not allowed pets.”
Skyla in the background is agreeing.
Keaton chips in, “My Mum won’t let me have pets because it brings bad memories back.”
I don’t think I’ll go there. Oh shame, well what about your favourite class?
Sharna: “ITC, computers.”
So why do you like that? The others chip in, “Because she’s the best at it!”
Are you really? So what do you do in it?
“Movie making, website making, RM Maths.”
Movie making? Website making? These are nine-year olds!!!!
And you’re only nine? “Yes, I’m the youngest in my year!”
Sharna is clearly the leader of this group. I’d better let the others have a share.
Skyla, what is your favourite class? “Art!”  Painting pictures?  “Yes.”
Sharna again: “I was painting a shield with a heart on it.”
Skyla, what have you been painting recently then? “All different kinds of shapes; it’s like tracing but we ended up doing all different shapes.”
Sharna: “This school’s got a lot of good paints and loads of resources.”
“They’ve got gold.” That was Keaton.
Sharna again: “They’ve got all sorts of different brushes and different colours.”
It’s time Keaton got more into this: Come on Keaton what’s your favourite class? “Cookery.”
Sharna again: “We all like cookery, we just don’t get to do it much. We do it on a Thursday.”
Keaton: “I do it at home.”
I feel some balance is needed: One day a week, what’s wrong with one day a week then?
Sharna: “It’s good, it’s just that it’s not enough.”
Skyla: “One group does it one week and the other group does it the next week. The group that doesn’t do it, does English.”
Keaton: “Thursdays are fun days.”
Keaton feels it is time he got in the game: “My mum teaches me... well I know how to make pancakes and I know how to make pizzas.”
Can you toss pancakes. They all declare they can.
Skyla: “I know how to make Lasagne. I watch my mum and I know how to make it.” To prove her point she gives us a long and detailed (and correct!) description of how to make Lasagne! The others have been joining in the background, but Skyla is clearly the expert and holds the attention of the other two. Keaton and I then get into a detailed conversation about what he puts on his pizza. He knows what he’s about!  I reflect that I wouldn’t have had a clue when I was their age. It’s another day!
Sharna says she knows how to make jam cakes and then adds, “Our cook who does our lunches is the best! She makes cookies for our afters as a treat.”
Keaton confirms this judgment: “Tracy’s the best.”
Skyla joins in: “She makes pizzas and lasagnes and...”
“macaroni and cheese” puts in Sharna.
En masse they continue to extol her virtues.
It is Skyla who brings it back to class: “On Thursday we cook with Mrs. Thomas. I know food you can put bacon in. It’s Carbonara, it’s my favourite”
“I like macaroni cheese” puts in Sharna.
Keaton enters the fray again: “At the moment we’re learning about bread from all over the world. So far we’ve tried garlic bread, which I like, and Indian bread and we get to taste what the others make.”
What else are you learning?
“Spanish,” from all. “I can count up to ten in Spanish,” declares Skyla and she and Sharna promptly prove the point together.
”Yes, but we can count up to twenty as well,” asserts Keaton but the others aren’t quite so confident.
We then get into a conversation about who knows who, who can speak French.
So what else do you learn?
“Maths, tables and decimals but I’m not good with decimals.” This is Sharna
“My best thing in school, no second best thing, is literacy,” says Keaton who obviously remembered his claim on cookery.
They then (collectively) tell me about the different colouring system of books in the library where we are sitting.  
As we draw to an end they demand to hear their voices on my Dictaphone and we then explain how it gets put on my computer to be typed up. They understand it – but then, hey, these are kids who love ITC!!!


Group 2: Gemma & Lewis

(Bear in mind we just have a pair here) We spend the first few minutes with them telling me who they are and showing they can spell their names!  Lewis tells me he is year 3 and is seven and she is year 2 and is six. Gemma tells him not to answer her questions. Is age going to prevail or is the female of the species going to prevail, I wonder.  With these two the conversation bounced all over the place. The following is some of the straight forward bits that were easier to get hold of in the recording.
What do you like about school?  
Gemma replies, “ICT!  And I like strawberry shortbread.”
I’m not sure of the link but I’ll run with it.
She adds, “I like strawberries with sugar on top.”
I turn to Lewis. What do you like? “I like McDonalds.”
She adds, “I also like prawns with nothing on.... and strawberries with sugar on.”
Lewis adds, “I like strawberries with sugar on and milk”
Lewis gets a new thought: “Are you going to ask us any questions now?”
Haven’t you noticed any then? OK, here’s another one then: do you have a favourite game?
Gemma: “My favourite game is snakes and ladders.”
Lewis: “I like playing a game on my play station which is called WE Wrestling.”
Gemma: “I’ve got a game on my xBox called Smackdown” (There was some argument whether it was that or some other name!  Gemma threatens to get angry with Lewis. I detect feminine wiles!)
Lewis: “You should calm down Gemma,”
Gemma: “Right now I am getting really angry!”
I reflect that I’m sure I’ve seen these two on a TV family series! I overcome my laughter and make her laugh and we move on.  Lewis gives me an incredibly long list of his favourite wrestlers. We come to an end and I conclude, these two bright and very lively children should be on TV!  This wasn’t so much an interview as a roller coaster, but it was fun. I’m not sure if that is what it was supposed to be.


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