All posts by Ms Higgins

Catalyst: Inspiring Arts Ideas for Teachers

Struggle for confidence when teaching the arts? Looking for some fresh lesson ideas you can use across the curriculum? Catalyst is a programme of inspiring arts-based teacher training days running across the academic year.

Each Catalyst day is designed to help integrate the arts into your teaching practice. During the day you will work with professional artists and practitioners to build confidence in using the arts. Workshops will teach techniques and skills that you will feel confident to use across the curriculum.

The day will pass on interactive and innovative teaching ideas for P3 to P6. Each event will work with two art forms from: poetry, visual arts, drama, storytelling, dance and music.

There are a maximum of 30 places available per day so we strongly recommend booking soon as places fill up quickly. Catalyst 11.12 Booking Form

Thanks to generous funding from the Maaike McInnes Charitable Trust each day costs just £45 per person which includes lunch and a free copy of our 120 page Teachers Book.

Our Scotland dates for 2011/12 are:

25th April – Palace of Hollyrood, Edinburgh – Visual Art & Poetry

11th May – Aberdeen Arts Centre – Drama & Music

26th & 27th April – Dumfries House, Ayrshire – art forms tbc, call for more info

 For more information and to book please email catalyst@childrenandarts.org.uk or call 020 3326 2230

Fantastic Fife!

 

The 3 winners were:

Early Primary Category
Ben Easton (P4) King’s Road Primary School in Fife

Later Primary Category
Niamh Corkey (P6) Kirkcaldy West Primary School

Secondary Category
Molly Broadley (S6) Cults Academy

The four runners-up in each age category were:

Early Primary Category
Evyn Kelly (P1) Our Lady of the Missions Primary School in East Renfrewshire
Jasmine Scott (P3) Mauchline Primary School in East Ayrshire
Lily Childs (P4) Park Primary School in Argyll and Bute
Abby Taylor (P1) Burravoe Primary School in the Shetland Islands

Later Primary Category
Evie Campbel (P7) Robslee Primary School in East Renfrewshire
Lily Bircham (P7) St Madoes Primary in Perth and Kinross
Caroline Baillie (P7) Sandaig Primary School in Glasgow
Isla McMillan (P6) Eaglesham Primary School in East Renfrewshire

Secondary Category
Alexander Orr (S2) Cults Academy in Aberdeen City
Rowan Ah-See (S6) Cults Academy in Aberdeen City
Amy Galloway (S5) Auchmuty High School in Fife
Danuelle Jackson (S5) Carluke High School in South Lanarkshire

CPD opportunity- primary teachers

This one hour introductory session demonstrates how the ukulele can be successfully used to deliver the music curriculum to primary pupils by the class teacher. No previous musical or instrumental experience is required. The session is hands on with all present involved in learning to strum along to some simple well known tunes.

Participants will learn two chords and a simple strumming pattern on the ukulele, allowing them to accompany some well known songs and play along to a backing track – all within one hour!

Mon 23rd-Apr-12 4-5pm ASDARC

Fife Youth Music Initiative are looking for a limited number of schools to be involved in a “Ukulele in the Classroom” project in session 2012/13 which would include funding of instruments for one class and full training and support materials for the class teacher. More details of this funding opportunity will be discussed with staff attending the twilight session and expressions of interest can be registered at the end of the session or there after.

Queen Anne High School Mural Participants

When Visit Dunfermline and Dunfermline Athletic Football Team set the task of developing a mural to enhance the entrance to the East (Away) Stand at East End Park, four Advance Higher Art students from Queen Anne High School jumped at the chance.
As Anna Ginnerup Strachan, Rachael Robertson, Emily Stewart and Caitlin Stewart are all also studying photography they decided that would be the best medium to use to produce their mural.
The result is a vibrant collection of scenes from some of the most famous landmarks in the town. Featuring the Abbey, City Chambers, the Palace and the Glen Gates topped off with three amazing flying Dragon Gargoyles, the finished project really captures the essence of Dunfermline!

 

Fife Science Festival: Historic Scotland

Terrible Trebuchets

and Menacing

Mangonels!

Discover the science, technology and historybehind medieval warfare. What technology was

used to attack St Andrews Castle and how did it

work? Tour the castle then experiment with

working models of siege engines!

Science workshops for schools as part of Fife

Science Festival. St Andrews Castle, Fife, 8 & 9

March 2012. P4-P7 pupils. £2 per pupil; adults free.

To book a session contact Historic Scotland

Learning Services;

Tel: 0131 668 8736/8793

Email: hslearning@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/learning

 

Young Scot-calling all 11-26 year olds!

Young Scot are currently working with Creative Scotland, the national body for the arts in Scotland, in putting together a national strategy  to help even more young people take part in the arts!

The views, perspectives and experiences of young people are all important in shaping this strategy so Young Scot would like as many young people (11 – 26 year olds) as possible to complete the survey below

http://www.youngscotsayswho.org/consultation/Youth-Arts-Strategy

Those young people who complete the survey will be able to collect Young Scot Reward points and will have the opportunity to be entered into a free prize  draw to win a creative, artistic, or cultural experience of their choice.  A weekend pass for Beladrum? 10 hours free time in a local recording studio? A set of DJ-ing lessons? An art class? A cinema pass for a year?

Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre

Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre

 

Touring Shows Autumn 2012

Rapunzel-a new show

Welcome to Dame Gothel’s garden where you can let your hair down with Rapunzel.

Narrated by a wonderful frog this fun adaptation has all the elements of a traditional tale…the witch, the beautiful girl locked in a tall tower and, of course, the handsome prince who attempts to save Rapunzel….

The children were to totally wrapped up in the story and the frog was an absolute hero” – Sauchie Nursery

DIVING BELLE – a Magical Seaside Story

Join us as we dive into the magical world of Belle’s Carousel Café, Tom the lighthouse keeper and the glittering undersea life that surrounds these friends.

Everything seems fine and dandy, until one day a storm brews up!

Must Belle reveal her magical secret…

Watch out for that crab…

“The collective gasp that the children let out when Belle reveals her secret was so wonderful, can we book for next year please?”

Glenwood Nursery, Thornliebank

Impact and benefits of Curriculum for Excellence

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/resources/i/genericresource_tcm4688548.asp

http://www.engageforeducation.org/cfefilms

The Scottish Government has published four new short films on the Engage for Education website – three sector specific, featuring a nursery, primary and secondary school, and one combined – in which learners, parents and teachers describe in their own words the impact and benefits of Curriculum for Excellence.

The films contribute towards the Cabinet Secretary’s Curriculum for Excellence Action Plan 2011/12 commitment to develop new materials for parents which illustrate the benefits of Curriculum for Excellence, following calls for such resources from parents. They have been developed in co-operation with the National Parent Forum of Scotland and aim to show the types of impact and benefits that CfE is already having in early years, primary and early secondary settings across the country.

East End Park Mural Competition

Carnegie College Design and Digital Media students visited the home of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club to see their work installed on the wall of the east stand of East End Park. As part of their course work, their lecturer Colin Maxwell, asked the students to produce a graphic that they felt displayed the spirit of Dunfermline. The students chose to depict local heroes, past and present, who they felt represented the city.

World Education Games – Online event 6 – 8 March

The World Education Games are being held over three consecutive days (6th to 8th March)

www.worldeducationgames.com
 
This event is open to all Fife primary and secondary schools.

The organisers anticipate over 1.5 million students around the world linking up – this time through maths, spelling and science!

This is a free on-line event.

Schools can Register and practice using the activities from the 1st February onwards.