Puppets a handy way to talk about cancer

LAUGHTER filled the air at Bletchington Public School yesterday when students had a visit by the McDonald’s Camp Quality puppets.

The visit was to support a year 1 student whose younger sister is undergoing treatment for cancer.

The puppet show aims to help inspire and educate children, providing them with a greater understanding of the challenges faced by children who are living with cancer.

Bletchington Public School principal Craig Booth said students in kindergarten through to year 2 were involved in the session.

“It was in support of this student and his family and also to help support him at school,” he said.

“It’s so the kids get a better understanding of what an insidious disease it is.”

While the student’s young sister is still in preschool, Mr Booth said he hoped yesterday’s session would prepare the children to accept and include any child that had undergone treatment.

The half-hour puppet show used laughter and role playing to help reduce the risk of possible peer teasing and exclusion when a child returns to school after treatment.

Mr Booth said the show gave students strategies to address teasing and to help be inclusive.

Camp Quality’s Chandra Franken took part in the show as puppet Kylie who had returned to school for the first day after months of treatment for cancer.

“If there’s something kids don’t understand they’ll just tease them about it,” she said.

“Our aim is to teach them through laughter, they learn through laughter and they will learn quicker.”

Camp Quality is a free school show that helps support approximately 900 children who are diagnosed with cancer each year.

nadine.morton@

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