The Reflection Room was set up by members of staff and members of the local community to show pupils the importance of the effects of World War One and the reasons behind Remembrance Day.
In the Reflection Room there were many different stations filled with stories of soldiers, games and War poems. The first station we came across was a game with cards laid out in a circle, and the aim of the activity was to see how easy it is to forgive somebody no matter what the situation may be. As we progressed through the game, we started to realise that it becomes hard to forgive and forget when the situation is as agonizing as World War One.
The second station that we approached was the story of a young soldier who fought for his country on the front line. The story of the young soldier tells us what the conditions were like in the trenches. Then we were informed that each soldier owned a small box and which they filled with letters they had received from family and friends back home. Every soldier was given a pocket sized bible which a lot of them kept on them at all times during the War. As a gift from Princess Anne, all soldiers received a brass engraved tin which contained tobacco and cigarettes for the older soldiers, the younger soldiers received sweets in their tin and all the nurses on the frontline received a tin of chocolates.
When reading the letters it put it into perspective that World War One did actually occur. Some letters were filled with light hearted jokes and others were filled with sad but loving words from the families back home. As we read through some more letters we both began to realise how important family and friends are in every day life and we shouldn’t take them for granted because we never know when we are going to lose them. As we progressed through the stations we came across a map of old Bridge of Weir, it was filled with black dots which represented the soldiers who died as a result of World War One. When looking at the dots we soon reslised that there was more than one dot on some of the houses. This signified that in a household there could of been more than one family member who fought for this country.
The last station we reached was a chance where you could write your own prayer/message to the troops that have fought and to the troops that are still fighting today. When reading many of the prayers and messages that some people had left it showed us how people still care about the fallen soldiers and will continue to care for wars that still take place today.
In conclusion, we really enjoyed the experience we were given and grateful for this opportunity. The Reflection Room was a great way to get the community involved with the school and with the pupils. We had a very informative afternoon but yet still very enjoyable.
Article - Honor Campbell & Fern Adams S3; Photographs - Matthew Dickie S6