Category Archives: Opportunities

CPD, Creative practitioners, Curriculum for Excellence, Education Scotland, Health and Wellbeing, Outdoor learning, Science, Secondary schools

Supporting Outdoor Learning in Secondary Schools (event)

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Saturday 1 March 2014, 9.30 am – 4.00 pm

St Joseph’s Academy, Kilmarnock

In the revised GTCS Standards for Career Long Professional Learning teachers are required to ‘understand and develop the most appropriate contexts for learning including outdoor learningand be able to apply appropriate pedagogies for these environments’. This event aims to support this and build confidence and capacity in the delivery of outdoor learning in secondary schools in particular within Broad General Education (S1-S3).

This is a free event open to secondary teachers in Scotland – in particular those who are starting out on their outdoor learning journey and wish to develop their confidence in taking the curriculum outdoors. There is an expectation that those who attend this event will be willing to share their learning with colleagues in their establishment.

Registering for this event: If you wish to attend this event please register online byWednesday 19 February @ https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VSCB9NP

Early registration is advised as this event is likely to be very popular. Workshop choices will be sent out mid-February.

If you would like further information about this event please contact: Fiona Cruickshanks, Development Officer, Outdoor Learning Fiona.Cruickshanks@educationscotland.gov.uk

Art and Design, Competition, Creative Partners, Creativity, resources, Technologies

My Place Photography Competition and new website

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Happy New Year! Happy new website!

The Scottish Civic Trust enters 2014 with a fresh new look on our websitewww.scottishcivictrust.org.uk with a dedicated area for the My Place Photography Competition click HERE to view now.

The My Place Photography microsite has lots of new features for all of your My Place Photography Competition entries.

There is a new member’s area for schools and teachers with a multiple image upload facility that automatically resizes your photographs, so no need to crop or cut before you submit.

Click HERE to register as a new member

Our resources section has lots of hints tips and help sheets on how to use the site and on how take make great photography.

Click HERE to view our competition resources

My Place Photography Competition is open to all school age children in Scotland; it is FREE to take part in and is a great way of getting out and about with young people, getting into your local cities, towns and villages and exploring your very own built environments through photography.

Click HERE for more information on the My Place Photography Competition

The competition closes on Friday 31 January so make sure to register and upload images as soon as they are ready.
Happy snapping from all at Scottish Civic Trust

Art, Art and Design, Competition, Creative Partners, Curriculum for Excellence, Health and Wellbeing, Primary schools, Secondary schools

On Your Marks! The MUSA Young Artist Award 2014

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Sport will be on everyone’s minds in 2014. The highs and the lows, the triumphs and the failures, the hard work, the dedication, the mixture of nations and cultures; all these aspects of international sport can inspire great art.

Your goal is to create a 2D or 3D artwork inspired by the sporting, artistic and ethnographic items collected by the University of St Andrews. You could be on track to win vouchers or art materials up to the value of £40 and see your work displayed at the University’s Gateway Galleries.

Free workshops for schools rooted in the Curriculum for Excellence take place at MUSA between 27thJanuary and 28th March examining the competition themes, giving children new artistic skills and preparing them for the competition.

For more details visit www.st-andrews.ac.uk/museum/art-competition

Competition closes Friday 28th March 2014.

To enquire about a school visit to MUSA contact:

Rebecca Prentice, Curatorial Trainee (Learning & Access), Tel. 01334 461663, Email museumlearning@st-andrews.ac.uk

Click below to download a poster with more information.

MUSA Young Artist Award 2014 poster

Creative Partners, Creative practitioners, Curriculum for Excellence, Funding, Opportunities, Primary schools, Science, Secondary schools, Social Studies

St Andrews Botanic Garden Free Transport for School Visits‏

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St Andrews Botanic Gardens have been fortunate in being awarded a grant from Fife Culture and Heritage Fund to cover the TOTAL cost of  your transport for educational visits to  Garden between now and the Easter Holidays.
They have lots of indoor and outdoor activities  which meet Curriculum for Excellence outcomes for all levels  in science, social studies,  maths, language and art. Their most popular activities are  Rainforest / Plant Lifecycles/ Seasons / Weather / Climates / Plant Growth / Grow your Own /Animal Homes / Wildlife Gardening / Conservation /Senses / Enterprise /  Dig for Victory / Egyptians / Tree-mendous Maths / Gruffalo Trail/ Pond Dipping and Minibeasts  and they are happy to devise activities to suit your requirements. See the attached programme for full details.
Charges for tutor-led visits are £3 for a half day (two activities, 10 am to 12 pm) or £4.50 for a full day (three activities, 10 am to 2 pm, including lunchbreak). They have an indoor Glass Class which takes up to 60 pupils, indoor facilities for lunch and refreshments are provided for accompanying staff and helpers.  You can also come for a free self-guided visit to the Glasshouses and Garden as a taster until the end of March 2014. There are tree trails and guide books and they can provide support materials to accompany your self-guided visit.
Creative Partners, Opportunities, Primary schools, Secondary schools, Young Scot

Nominations open for the Young Scot Awards 2014‏

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LET’S CELEBRATE SCOTLAND’S AMAZING YOUNG PEOPLE

We are on the lookout for young unsung heroes who have made a positive difference to the lives of others and their local community.

Nominate an inspirational young person aged 11-26 by the deadline 18th February.

Get the lowdown on the 11 award categories and online nomination form at: www.youngscotawards.co.uk

Let’s make the Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards 2014 the biggest celebration of young people this country has ever seen – but it’s in your hands so make sure to get your nomination in!

Follow #ysawards14 on Twitter for exclusive updates.
Competition, Literacy and English, Secondary schools, Technologies

Creative pupils invited to ‘impress’ at the Scottish School Media Awards

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Pupils attending Scotland’s secondary schools are being encouraged to submit their print or online ‘newspaper’ for the Scottish School Media Awards, with the best of the entries from Scotland’s young creative talent being revealed at a ceremony in Edinburgh on Friday 13 June.
The awards aim to encourage young people into careers in publishing and the creative industries, and are of particular interest to pupils who have an interest in writing, photography, design and business, giving them a unique opportunity to demonstrate their organisational skills, team work and creative flair, while gaining hands-on experience in managing a project from start to finish.
There are 14 categories, from outstanding features to the most exceptional finished magazine or newspaper. Pupils have until Wednesday 30 April to submit their entries, with the imPRESS judging panel looking for projects that have evidence of strong content and commercial thinking.
For more information and to register visit www.impressscotland.co.uk.
CPD, Creative Partners, Dance, Primary schools

CREATIVE LEARNING FOR PRIMARY TEACHERS / WHAT ABOUT DANCE?

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CPD Sessions this March for primary school teachers

We’re back from the festive break and raring to go with another term of fun and active CPD sessions for primary school teachers starting this March. In these sessions you can expect to take part in creative tasks and come away with fresh new ideas which can be adapted by you to deliver the Curriculum for Excellence in your classroom.

The important thing to remember about our sessions is that it’s not about teaching you to dance. It’s about helping you deliver the curriculum for excellence to your pupils in a fun way which will help them remember. It’s all about creative learning.

TESTIMONIALS

Primary teachers who have come to our sessions in the past had this to say…

“I have learned lots of useful ideas to take forward into the classroom. Gained more confidence in how to deliver a dance lesson”
Primary Teacher at Auchinleck Primary School

“Great ideas that could be easily adapted…Fantastic Training”
Primary Teacher from East Ayrshire Council

“Useful to have loads of ideas which I could then develop according to class/ideas etc. Liked how you can use a traditional dance as a starting point”
Primary Teacher at St Andrew’s Primary School

“Lots of useful ideas to use in practice also very helpful ideas of how to differentiate for different abilities”
Primary Teacher at New Cumnock Primary

“Teaching dance 20 odd years. Still getting lots of inspiration and ideas that I will take away and use tomorrow”
PE Specialist at Linlithgow Primary School

DATES

Nursery & Lower Primary

Basic Components of Dance
5 March 2014 (9.30am to 12.30pm)
@ a venue in Glasgow tbc – £40

Dance & Stories
5 March 2014 (1.30pm to 4.30pm)
@ a venue in Glasgow tbc – £40

Upper Primary

Basic Components of Dance
12 March (9.30am to 12.30pm)
@ a venue in Glasgow tbc – £40

Dance & Science (Making Science Physical)
12 March (1.30pm to 4.30pm)
@ a venue in Glasgow tbc – £40

Basic Components of Dance
19 March (9.30am to 12.30pm)
@ a venue in Glasgow tbc – £40

Dance & Numeracy (Let Numbers Dance off the Page)
19 March (1.30pm to 4.30pm)
@ a venue in Glasgow tbc – £40

BOOKING

Bookings can be made easily through our online booking form via the website

Alternatively you can email victoria@ydance.org or call the office on 0141 552 7712.

DISCOUNT

Feel free to contact us at any time with any questions you may have – we offer discounts for multiple bookings.

Competition, Creative Partners, Creative practitioners, Curriculum for Excellence, Glasgow2014, Literacy and English, Music, Opportunities, Primary schools, Secondary schools

Big Big Sing – Song Writing Competition

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Write a Commonwealth Games song! Big Big Sing is a nationwide celebration of singing that will inspire thousands of people to get singing in the lead up to and during Games Time.  As part of this project, Big Big Sing is running an exciting songwriting competition open to Primary and Secondary School pupils in Scotland.

Big Big Sing invites pupils to write a song inspired by the Commonwealth Games, pupils can work individually or as a class to write a song between three and five minutes in length.  With the games just around the corner there’s no shortage of inspiration for budding songwriters!

For more information click here.

CPD, Creative Partners, Early Years, Health and Wellbeing, Primary schools, Science, Secondary schools

The RHS and Growing Schools Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Courses for Spring 2014

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Available to teachers, support staff, school governors and others who are involved in teaching and inspiring children about plants gardening and keeping animals in school. A wide range of topics is available, encompassing the use and development of school grounds, thus providing practical experience, activities and ideas for utilising horticulture in all areas of the curriculum.

The aims of this Programme are:

  • To enthuse and support adults in developing and using gardens in school.
  • To support progression through the RHS Campaign for School Gardening benchmarking scheme, levels 1 to 5.
  • To encourage and advise teaching of the curriculum both inside and outside the classroom using, plants, gardens, animals, school grounds and environmental areas.
  • To improve knowledge and understanding of plants, gardening and raising animals in school.

For further details about the courses and to register your school for the RHS ‘Campaign for school gardening’ visit: rhs.org.uk/schoolgardening

CPD, Creative practitioners, Health and Wellbeing, Scotland Colleges

Free Webinar Series: Gonnae no dae that!

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‘Gonnae no dae that’ is a series five of webinars focusing on positive behaviour management strategies for working with younger students in college.  There is an expectation that there will be increased numbers of younger students working and learning in colleges and this series of webinars will focus on strategies to promote a positive response from and self-regulation in student behaviour.

Please click on the links below to view the programmes and book online: