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Starting today, K to 4 students at the Oakville School will begin a once-a-week Empathy Drama Workshop with Spencer Payne, an old student from the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, thanks to the Art Smarts Program.
Monika Metzlaff, Kindergarten/ K-4 music teacher at Oakville School, says they are ecstatic to see this idea come to life.
"We are very excited to see Spencer Payne come out and work with the students." She continues, "I think it will be an excellent opportunity for them to have someone very knowledgeable in that area to do some drama and the workshops, and of course, we are excited to focus on the topic of empathy."
Metzlaff describes what the workshops will look like.
"Activities that are focused on taking a look and putting yourself in another person's shoes."
The teacher explains that at the end of the workshop, they get to show off their empathy skills.
"We'll be finishing up our five-week program with a presentation and sharing some of the things they've been learning at an assembly for the parents."
This idea was supposed to come to life almost two years ago; however, COVID-19 got in the way of that plan. Metzlaff says that they came up with this idea because they noticed that students become a little moody this time of the year.
"We find that students in January, February, and March are starting to get on one another's nerves."
The workshop concludes on April 15th.