Tuesday 7th November saw The Rookeries Carleton Junior, Infant and Nursery School recognise and celebrate Williams Syndrome Day.
7/11/2023 is a date which will only occur once in a century, and this date was marked as Williams Syndrome Day as it corresponds to the area of deletion on the #7 chromosome, 7q11.23, that signifies Williams Syndrome.
Aoife, a pupil at The Rookeries Carleton, has Williams Syndrome. It was extremely important that on this special day the pupils and staff at the school gather together to show their support of Aoife and her family, whilst raising awareness of this unknown syndrome.
During the day children researched and made informative posters about Williams Syndrome, participated in yoga, decorated t-shirts to wear on #WSD and were able to have their face painted. Staff got involved and aimed to cycle 71.123km, but they exceeded their expectations and cycled 223km as part of the fundraising activities.
Children and staff gathered in the playground and sang ‘Fight Song’ and ‘Let It Go’ to mark the end of a fantastic day, and to show their unity and support for Aoife, her family and the wonderful work done by Williams Syndrome Foundation. In the end, The Rookeries Carleton raised £612.14 for the Williams Syndrome Foundation!
Mr D Dunn, Acting Headteacher, commented “Inclusivity is woven into the fabric of our school community, we believe wholeheartedly that every child is a unique individual with their own talents and abilities. Days like today offer us the opportunity to raise both awareness and understanding of these unique aspects of children’s lives and we planned a wonderfully engaging day of activities that all link to Aoife’s interests.”