Elgregoe the Magician (Greg Britt), of Christchurch, is visiting Otago schools — with sidekicks such as Chester the lie-detecting chicken and his "posse of parrots and puppets" — in a bid to teach 5 to 12-year-olds how they can become part of the solution to bullying.
The long-time professional magician said he was inspired by a friend and school principal to transform his shows into an educational experience, blending humour and magical illusions with behavioural education.
Since then, more than 900,000 New Zealand children have been treated to his show, and this year thousands more will learn about the key elements needed to make bullying in schools disappear.
This year, the show focuses on making pupils heroes at school by teaching them honesty, empathy, resilience and how to find opportunities to help others build caring school communities.
Earlier this week, he visited Kaitangata and Stirling schools, and on Thursday he visited Sacred Heart and St Joseph’s Cathedral schools. Yesterday he visited George Street Normal School before heading to Maniototo Area School and St John’s School in Ranfurly on Monday.
