Grade 3 students worked in partnership with Chickenshed Theatre Company throughout March, joining forces with two local primary schools for an exciting student drama project.

Chickenshed is an inclusive theater company that works with children of all abilities across London, to help give young people a voice. Their relationship with ASL began last year with a weekend theater project tackling the issue of refugees. The collaboration was such a huge success that this year, Service Learning Director Brandon Block decided to integrate the project into the school day, and involve all of Grade 3.

The project, "Dreams of Freedom," was based on a book of the same name, recently published by human rights charity Amnesty International. The book tells the stories of individuals across the world, from Malala Yousafzai to Martin Luther King Jr., who have stood against oppression in pursuit of freedom. Prior to the sessions, students researched a number of human rights champions and reflected on what freedoms the student group enjoyed in their own lives that others may be denied.

Half of Grade 3 joined forces with students from St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School, and the other half with Barrow Hill Primary School. Working together, they learned songs about the pursuit of freedom and created accompanying dance movements. The activity ended with presentations to parents and friends. The project stems from a much larger Chickenshed production that takes place in June at the Royal Albert Hall, where more than 600 students will express their own dreams of freedom.

"The quality of Chickenshed's teaching was truly excellent,” commented ASL dance teacher Deborah Hull. “It's amazing that they were able to accomplish this with just three hours of lessons!”

Grade 3 teacher Kendra Daly played a key role in organizing the project. “It was a fantastic experience for our students; they so enjoyed the opportunity to work with those from other schools,” she reflected. "One of the strengths of the assignment is that it tapped into students' own creativity—they had space to develop their own movements, so the theme of freedom was one that students experienced directly in creative projects.”

"The 'Dreams of Freedom' program is a great example of the learning opportunities that service learning partnerships can bring. London is such a wonderfully rich and diverse city, brimming with world-class organizations and talent, and we are so pleased to have had the chance to enrich the education, both at ASL and in the broader community," said Brandon. “We are also very grateful to the PCA who funded this through the Community Connections grants program!” he added.

Paola ’26 said, "It was awesome! I loved the dancing and singing, and my favorite part was everyone making new friends.” Bia ’26 enthused, "I met a lot of new people and had so much fun with them. Every Wednesday I couldn’t wait for Chickenshed to begin!”