Earlier this month, children from Northdown Primary School’s ACE project (A Champion for Every child) were invited to visit the “Cliftonville Voices” exhibition at ARK, Cliftonville’s Community Space.
Based inside the former Cliftonville synagogue, the Margate pupils were immersed in some Jewish traditions and were able to create some artwork with artist Dan Levy, based around the shapes, letters and artefacts in the Shul.
ACE Ambassadors is a mentor programme run by Northdown that aims to support children by providing them with one-to-one sessions to equip them with the resilience and skills needed to overcome barriers to learning and success.
To go along with the art exhibitions they produce in school, the Cliftonville Voices initiative is helping the youngsters to foster a love of culture and diversity.
The second session of the four-week collaboration saw Dan Levy from the ARK come into school to help children build a model sukkah as a team, which gave them a chance to explore the symbols and traditions of Judaism and consolidate what they had learnt the week before at the synagogue.
ACE Ambassador Lead David Read explained the purpose behind the project: “Our ACE recruits were able to share their knowledge of Judaism with Dan, who provided a practical avenue for learning.
“The children were tasked with building and decorating a Sukkah to honour the traditions around the Jewish festival of sukkot as the ARK aims to enhance its presence as a community space for Cliftonville’s residents.”
More information about the ACE programme can be found at https://www.northdown-tkat.org/about-us/ace-ambassadors/