Girls from Elsey Primary School with their presentation
Nine girls and the mothers that participated in Mosaic’s Primary School Programme at London’s Elsey Primary School celebrated their achievements at a special graduation ceremony.
The ceremony, which was hosted by international law firm Norton Rose, marked the end of a nine week programme for the girls and their mothers giving them an opportunity to share their experiences of the programme with their mentor and teachers and they were each awarded a special certificate.
The programme at Elsey Primary School was led by Yvonne Robinson, a Mosaic mentor from Lloyds Bank helped to raise their aspirations and build their confidence. During their sessions they explored different role models, the value of good communications, the importance of education and career choices as well as getting involved in the community.
“The new outlook of these formerly shy, withdrawn girls who now beam with pride, I know is down to Mosaic, it’s like we have a commonality through Mosaic, it just takes a smile or glance that connects us.”
Commenting on the group Yvonne said:
“When I first met the girls and their mums they were very friendly but quite reserved when talking, because naturally they didn’t know me and may have felt a little anxious about what the programme was about. However, I was really impressed when all the girls had an idea of what profession they wanted to get into, some had one, some had a few which was great.”
A teacher from the school spoke about the impact of the programme on the girls:
“From my perspective the girls have become absolutely full of confidence with a renewed leash of excitement for their future prospects. It has been particularly wonderful to see this progression for 2 new girls to our school, both from Goa. They displayed some of the classic behaviour expected from new students; shy, withdrawn and very quiet, couldn’t hear them!
“They also had a new culture, language to grasp to add to their readjustment to a new life in England. Now, whenever I see them I notice their smiles first which are visible from afar. It’s so heart-warming, one of the girls in particular is so happy and approaches me with such excitement, she often has nothing to say but is just happy. I put it down to a love of life that I think was breathed into her from Mosaic.
“The new outlook of these formerly shy, withdrawn girls who now beam with pride, I know is down to Mosaic, it’s like we have a commonality through Mosaic, it just takes a smile or glance that connects us.
“The girls who completed the Mosaic last term approached me about starting again well into the new term and wanted to be the ambassadors for the new group! I see the same pattern repeating itself. “
The girls and their mothers were also happy to share their views of the programme, they commented:
‘‘Fun! Enjoyable! Positive Thinking’! Exciting! Interesting! Fantastic! They had all these lovely adjectives, I asked them to explain why Mosaic was all these things, and they said the following…’
“We learnt new things we had loads of fun, we learnt how people can do ‘male’ jobs as well.”
“We learnt important things for the future.”
“We learnt new things which were fun.”
“It changed my life and helped me to be a better person. I want to be a good citizen in the local community…”
“One of our mentors ran a session using inner confidence to help the girls through difficult times, she used a techniques where the girls clicked their fingers to remind them of being in a confident, happy state. One girl referred to this when I asked what they remembered about Mosaic… clicking my fingers to remind me about confidence.”
“Mosaic was exciting, I enjoyed it, I learned more interesting things like role models.”
“Mosaic taught me great things; men and women can do all things and how to be a good citizen, role model.”
Mosaic would like to thank Norton Rose for their kind generosity in hosting the event at their prestigious offices in central London.
If you are female and interested in mentoring on one of Mosaic’s Primary School Programmes you can read more about what’s involved and register your interest. Our Primary School Programmes in London start again in October 2014.
Giving young people the chance to shine through leadership and enterprise is vital. For young people growing up in some of our most deprived communities, Mosaic’s work does just that. Your work helps to build binds between different communities and I wish you every success....