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KATIE from Castleford Park Junior Academy in West Yorkshire is one of the many pupils who have been taking part in Life Lessons (paulbatesonis.co.uk/lifelessons), a collection of portrait photos with poems. The project, funded by Creative Wakefield and Wakefield Council, gave children and school workers the opportunity to express their feelings during the Covid-19 lockdown by taking part in creative workshops with the Phoetry collaboration of teachers Paul Bateson and Mark Ratcliffe. While Paul helped those involved put their thoughts into poetry, Mark took portrait photos aimed at putting the poems into the context of the unusually empty places where they were writing, a long way from the normally busy life of school. Katie’s poem describes her feelings about missing her Nan during lockdown.
Time A lonely time A time of missing Time without family – especially Nan Wanting to go places wanting to see people Giving hugs and kisses is missed A time of being locked in A time of rest.
