Kurrawang students dive into the world of puppetry during two-week AWESOME Schools residency

Students at CAPS Kurrawang Primary School experienced the joys of storytelling through puppetry when AWESOME Schools visited the regional community. Artists Sally Stoneman and Stuart McMillan shared their passion for 3D sculpture and puppetry during the artist-in-residence program with Year 3 to 6 students. The visiting artists guided students through puppet-making techniques including shadow puppets and handheld glove puppets. Participants designed and constructed their own animal-themed puppets before an assembly on the final day of the residency to showcase students’ creations. Mr McMillan said the program built students’ creativity skills and confidence when performing in front of their peers. “On the final day we got the whole school together and teachers and assistants got to see ... the work that students had created,” he said. “It was a really positive project, the kids built their confidence in crafting these puppets, they were really creative with the animals that they made, and then they got to do a few performances.” AWESOME Schools is a program which aims to enrich students and educators at disadvantaged schools. Ms Stoneman said the artist-in-residence program helped to boost students’ artistic skills. “We covered a lot of drawing and designing which is an important skill base for an artist,” she said. “We were then able to take it to the next step by introducing cutting and manipulating different tools to build the puppets.”