posted by Tim Haines, Families Outside, Family Support Manager, Children and Young People

Families Outside are delighted to launch ‘My Diary’, a new resource which seeks to address the very real difficulties experienced by young children who have a loved one in jail. Written in the form of a diary, similar in style to ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’, the booklet takes the reader through the issues a child might face when a relative goes to prison, and is a useful resource for families and professionals.

The resource can be used for one to one support work with children, opening up discussion around issues surrounding imprisonment.  The sensitive and engaging way in which the subject matter is handled, also makes it ideal for more general use in Health and Wellbeing lessons around themes such as inclusion, feeling burdened by secrets and dealing with worries.

‘My Diary’ is available free of charge.  To receive copies please contact our Support and Information Helpline on 0800 254 0088.  The Helpline is also available if you have any questions around supporting children and families impacted by imprisonment.

The booklet is available now, but you are invited to attend the formal launch on Thursday 22^nd September, 5 – 7 pm, at the Scottish Story Telling Centre in Edinburgh.  To book your place please contact jonathan.goodfellow@familiesoutside.org.uk

If you have any thoughts or questions, I am more than happy to discuss.

Please do circulate the book launch to colleagues and other organisations who you think might be interested in this resource: http://www.familiesoutside.org.uk/kids-book-launch-2/

posted by Alita Spink, Schools and Learning Support Officer, Schools and Learning

Story writing competition now open!

What does the word ‘Belonging’ mean to you?

Open to teachers and students aged 7 to 14, put pen to paper and enter your stories and illustrations on the theme of ‘Belonging’ to our Commonwealth Class story writing competition.

The competition is a great way for you and your students to flex your creative muscles, add your voice to the Commonwealth’s rich storytelling heritage and, of course, be in with the chance of winning some fantastic prizes!

The deadline for all story submissions is 9:00 AM on Monday 14 November 2016. Make your way to Schools Online to find all the ingredients, such as top writing tips by the award winning author and former Children’s Laureate Anne Fine, you need to whip up a winning story, as well as a clear, step-by-step guide on how to enter the competition.

Find out how you can enter the competition

Prepare for the next Commonwealth debate

How can we make our planet a better place to live?
Join our next Commonwealth Class debate on Thursday 22 September to share ideas with students around the globe on how we can all play a part in protecting the environment. We will also have the privilege of welcoming to the debate Professor AbuBakr S Bahaj, Professor of Sustainable Energy at the University of Southampton in England, so have your questions at the ready!
In focus: protecting the environment
The Commonwealth believe working to manage ecosystems, preserving natural environments and producing renewable energy are essential to creating a sustainable world. Make your contribution today by exploring this value with your students and start shaping the environmentally conscious citizens of tomorrow
Environmental news hot off the press
What do legislation, trees and chickens all have in common? Explore how these very different things can all help protect the environment in the latest edition of First News. Students can also find out more about how the Commonwealth works to help protect our planet and cement their knowledge with the Commonwealth News Crossword.

More activities
Pump some energy into your lessons
Say hello to our latest teaching resource from Commonwealth Science Class. Created in collaboration with the Royal Society and designed to enhance your classes on renewable energy, it is jam-packed with activity ideas to help your students dig deeper into this crucial subject.

News website launched for young people
What is the Commonwealth? Which countries are part of the Commonwealth family? Disover this brand new website for young people that is sure to appeal to tech-savvy students aged 7 to 12 years. As well as being visually appealing, the website is the perfect way for students to learn about the Commonwealth and test their knowledge with a fun, interactive quiz. 

posted by Andy Garnett, Active Schools Lead Coordinator, Schools & Learning

Each year a selection of Angus schools take part in the UK Rock Challenge event. The secondary schools take part in a competition leading to a national final and the primary schools event (J-Rock) runs parallel to this on the evening but purely for the thrill of participating .The video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z54kjiEi8aQ illustrates the benefits of participation.

An open meeting/form will take place at Angus House on Thursday 22^nd September at Angus House 4.30-5.30pm when schools will be able to get more information regarding taking part, share ideas and discuss other aspects of the event. All schools are invited to send a representative, whether already committed to taking part or interested in doing so. Please contact Andy Garnett at garnetta@angus.gov.uk if you would like to attend.

posted by Alita Spink, Schools and Learning Support Officer, Schools and Learning

NEWS
• Vision 2030+ report from LfS National Implementation Group available for download
• Download LfS whole school self-evaluation and improvement framework
• Book up today for LfS seminars at the Scottish Learning Festival 2016
• Scotland’s Environment launch Citizen Science Portal
• OU, NIDOS and SCVO seminar on UN Sustainable Development Goals – 5th Oct
• Register for new series of Education Scotland LfS Practitioner Network events
• Stirling and Clackmannanshire LfS Showcase event – Tuesday 4th Oct
• Watch out for the global citizenship bus coming your way
• Get involved or donate tools to the men’s shed programme
• Beyond the Panda – book educational outreach sessions and resources
• Food science and sustainability day at Royal Highland Show – 10th September

posted by Margaret Thomson, Library Assistant, Arbroath High School

Thirteen pupils from Arbroath High School recently entered the Dundee Cake competition at this years’ Dundee Flower and Food Festival. The students,  who are all studying National 5 Practical Cake Craft, were required to make a rich fruit cake as part of their course. Under the guidance of the staff in the HE department they produced the traditional Scottish cake and submitted them to the festival. The staff from the department commented on how hard the pupils had worked to research the specific requirements of the cake, the ingredients and quantities, how to prepare and bake the cakes. They also had to learn the correct storage to keep the cakes fresh and safe to eat for the judges at the show. The competition was not a school based category and was open to all bakers from throughout Tayside. By 11am on the Friday morning the school had learnt of their success. Miss Kydd from the HE Department and a minibus full of pupils had travelled to the show for the day and they fed back the news that sixth year pupil, Victoria Melehova was placed second out of a healthy entry of 37 cakes. When told of the great news Victoria was surprised but very pleased as she received a prize of £30 to spend as she wishes. The cakes were then collected on the Sunday from the show and returned to the pupils for their own blind tasting led by Head Teacher, Mr Pandrich along with Mr Jukes and Mrs Cull.

The photograph shows the pupils, HE teacher and the cakes with Victoria at front right with her prize winning cake.

S6 Pupils names starting from front right: Victoria Melehova, Chloe Beattie, Emily Sellars, Andrew Lodge, Niamh McGonagle, Victoria Craik, Mrs Forbes, Suzanne Millar, Poppy Willox, Courtney Hughes

posted by Louise Kirby, YMI Coordinator, Schools & Learning

P1 – P3 classs teachers – Look out for these in your school!

KODALY RESOURCES

All angus schools were gifted a Kodaly resource box in August 2015 by Youth Music Initiative to support P1 – P3 follow up sessions of Kodaly.

This box includes – 

• 16 Coloured Floor Spots (4 of each colour)
• Stretchy Lycra Cloth
• NYCOS Active Learning Through Music DVD
• Early Years Flash Cards
• Rhythmically Moving CDs 1, 2 and 3
• Drumsticks
• Singing Games Early Years Book
• Singing Games Middle Years Books
• Set of Diatonic Boomwhackers.