Category Archives: Events

Join the ‘Commonwealth Class’

The BBC, the British Council and the Commonwealth Secretariat have joined forces to bring you Commonwealth Class, an exciting new opportunity for schools.

Commonwealth Class is a special initiative that provides teaching resources, online debates and interactive activities for schools to mark the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It celebrates the values of the Commonwealth and connects schools and young people as they learn about how to be active, responsible global citizens as part of the Commonwealth family.

The Commonwealth Class education pack is an exciting resource designed to teach young people about Commonwealth values such as rights and responsibilities, protection of the environment, respect for others and what people need to lead healthy lives free from poverty.
Produced by the British Council, the resource pack contains cross-curricular activities, short films and discussion guides with learning outcomes that link to key skills, curriculum subjects and Commonwealth values. Activities include what qualities you need to be a successful Commonwealth athlete, and an exploration of the route of the Queen’s Baton Relay which will visit all 71 countries and territories taking part in the 2014 games.

Get set for 2014 and download the British Council Commonwealth Class education pack today.

BBC online debates
Commonwealth Class partner, the BBC, is hosting a series of monthly online debates commencing this summer. The debates are intended to create a platform for schools in the UK and Commonwealth countries to teach and learn together.
The first debate in the series will take place on Thursday 13 June.
Visit Schools Online and sign up to Commonwealth Class for more resources and interactive activities that support lesson planning and teaching across the curriculum
And a week before the first debate you can visit the BBC’s Commonwealth Class website to find out how you can take part!

Glow TV – War Horse – Exclusive Launch 11 June, 11.00 am

Glow TV is delighted to be able to host the Exclusive Launch on Tuesday 11th June at 11am!

War Horse is the theatrical phenomenon that has taken the world by storm. At the heart of this awe-inspiring show are life-sized puppets which bring galloping, charging horses to life on stage. Now you are invited to a unique opportunity to meet one of these truly remarkable puppets up close at an exclusive launch event.

You are invited to see the central character, Joey, in action and discover first-hand how these “living, breathing steeds” are created and brought to life in what has become one of the most anticipated theatrical productions in years.

Joining us will be Finn Caldwell of Handspring Puppet Company and Associate Puppetry Director for War Horse, and Stephen Rebbeck (Managing Director for War Horse around the world)

The exhilarating story of a young man’s journey to find his beloved horse Joey, against the backdrop of World War One, is an incredibly powerful production. It’s a spectacle you need to see to believe!

Click here to sign up for this event.

International Literacy Day – Glow TV Friday 6 September

Remember to mark International Literacy Day and join us on Glow to celebrate literacy for all ages.

We are asking all those working in literacy in Scotland with children, young people and adults to come together through Glow to celebrate with storytelling, film and creativity.  We want to learn from each other and share our literacy practices so we are asking those who are more familiar with Glow to invite other learning groups to celebrate with them.

After the summer we will be showing you on Glow how to make our origami owl, offering some ideas for creative literacy and ways to get involved in the event.

Click here for information and resources.

Funding to help groups celebrate the 2014 Commonwealth Games

A new £4 million fund has opened which will help the people of Scotland celebrate their part in the Commonwealth before, during and after the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Celebrate‘ is a joint scheme developed by the Scottish Lottery Distributor’s Forum which is made up of Big Lottery Fund Scotland, Creative Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund and sportScotland.

Grants of between £500 to £10,000 are available to help communities across Scotland come together to hold arts, heritage, sports and local community celebrations of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The fund will also support communities to celebrate the diversity of the Commonwealth and create a legacy of community and Commonwealth connections.

Celebrate is open to

  • voluntary and community organisations
  • community councils
  • statutory bodies (such as schools, local authorities or health boards)

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until 12 December 2014. For more information, and to apply, visit the Celebrate website.

Authors Live – Tony Robinson, 6 June 11.00 am

Authors Live is stepping back in time with renowned popular historian, actor and author, Tony Robinson, to discover the strange secrets hidden in our Weird World of Wonders. Join us as we march through time with the Romans, Greeks and Egyptians and find out what made us Britons British. It’s history, but not as you know it!

To find out more and sign up for this event click here.
After watching the live webstream in the morning why not join us for an interactive question and answer session with Tony Robinson at 1.30 pm http://bit.ly/13kLxyI

The Big Strum!

Fife Council Youth Music Initiative is currently running a pilot project using the ukulele to teach singing and musicianship skills to primary teachers and their pupils.

The project, involving over 60 teachers from 35 primary schools, is being led by Ann Rae, primary music specialist and ukulele enthusiast who has led twilights for participating staff throughout the session.

To celebrate all that has been achieved by children and their teachers during the year, all schools involved in the project are being invited to attend one of three “Big Strums” – held during the day on Monday 17th June, in the Rothes Halls, Glenrothes. Children will enjoy a packed hour of singing and playing, supported by their teachers.

Each of the three Big Strum sessions will accommodate just under 600 young ukulele players at a time – surely a first for Fife, if not Scotland! – with support by Fife Youth Music Initiative through transport subsidies for schools.

Adding to the excitement will be a multi-media presentation including use of cameras relaying live pictures to a large screen, in partnership with the Creative Industries Department from Adam Smith College.

Pictured, are young ukulele players from Denend Primary School who are all looking forward to the event!

For more information, please contact Sandra Taylor, Music Co-ordinator, Sandra.taylor@fife.gov.uk Education and Learning Directorate, Fife Council.

Glow TV – Working in the Music Business, 5 June 2.00 pm

World of Work Wednesdays is back again!  This event will give you a great insight into the real world of the music industry. The UK music business employs 150,000 people and is worth £3.5billion to the UK economy. We’ve brought together experts from all aspects of the industry including a manager, a singer, a record producer and a marketing manager.

To find out more information and to sign up to watch, click here.

Scottish Learning Festival 2013

Registration is now open for this year’s Scottish Learning Festival (SLF), which takes place on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 September in the SECC, Glasgow.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning will give the opening address to SLF.

In addition, there will be the keynotes from the following international renowned speakers:

  • Prof Andy Hargreaves, Thomas Moore Brennan Chair, Lynch School of Education, University of Boston;
  • Dr Avis Glaze, Edu-quest International Inc. and former Chief Student Achievement Officer of Ontario; and
  • Dr Pasi Sahlberg, Director General, Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation, Finland.

As well as round table discussions led by:

  • Prof Petra Wend; and
  • Dr Bill Maxwell and partners.

The full programme of keynotes and seminars along with details of the range of additional activities are available on the SLF website.

Seminars which may be of interest

The M Factor

Finding their Voice: Engaging teenagers with poetry and debate through rap and performance

3-18 Curriculum Impact Reviews: Creativity 3-18

Launch of Education Scotland’s Building Capacity for Continuous Improvement strategy

Global Citizenship – Bringing It All Together

Learning experiences through Glow – Partnership working

Moving image education: Screening Shorts

Expressive arts: What’s on the third horizon?

English language class arts exhibition project: East Kilbride

Short & sweet: Short films as a route to developing modern foreign languages

Look, Capture, Create – B is for Biodiversity and Beauty, 4 June

During week 3 of the ‘Look, capture, create’ interdisciplinary learning experience we will be joined by a scientist/mathematician from Dundee University live in the Dundee Botanic Gardens to learn more about the importance of Scottish Biodiversity and how we can do simple things to help nature survive and grow. We will look in particular at the types and purposes of the beautiful patterns nature creates.

To sign up for this event, click here.
Find out more about this interdisciplinary learning experience below and visit the Look, Capture, Create Glow group here.