Congratulations!

December 6, 2013 K. Mayer Leave a comment

The Game on Scotland team wishes to congratulate Louise Johnston from Torphichen Primary School, Bathgate, West Lothian who won the signed Libby Clegg poster donated by Team Scotland. Louise’s name was randomly selected from those 110 people who signed up to Game on Scotland in November.

There are many more opportunities to win through Game On Scotland from Art Competitions to visits from Athletes and Clyde . If you want to be kept in the loop about what’s on offer why not become part of the Game On Scotland family by signing up to our regular e-updates.

For other poster downloads please visit the Go Scotland website.

Competition, International Education, International partnerships, Literacy

Youth Leadership programme: 33Fifty

December 5, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

33Fifty is a leadership programme for young Commonwealth citizens aged between 18 and 25. Devised by a partnership of the Royal Commonwealth Society and social enterprise Common Purpose, the programme aims to develop young people to lead change and use the Commonwealth’s networks to greater effect. The name of the initiative is derived from the statistics that 33 percent of the world’s population live in a Commonwealth nation or territory, and 50 per cent of those are under 25 years old.

The programme will involve participants in a range of practical activities in July 2014, focused around a challenge relating to an issue of importance to all Commonwealth countries – “what role does the youth of the Commonwealth need to play in progress towards low-carbon economies”.

Organisers are inviting young people, aged 18-25 on the 17th July 2014, to apply to become part of the programme. Applications must be submitted by the deadline of 16th March 2014. The programme will bring together 100 young people, from Scotland and from the wider Commonwealth, to investigate, discuss and prepare some conclusions on the key challenge issue. Participants will then present their responses to some of the senior politicians who have gathered in Glasgow for CG2014.

The programme has attracted funding from both Scottish Government and commercial sponsors. It forms part of the cultural legacy of CG2014, and was launched in Scotland last week by Shona Robison, Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport.

curriculum, Glow Meet, RME

Game On Scotland and RME – Glow CPD, 3 Dec @ 4pm

November 27, 2013 K. Mayer Leave a comment

On 3^rd December 2013 (4pm – 4.45pm) is the first of the Religious and Moral Education ‘Game On’ Glow Meets. This is a great opportunity for practitioners to link what they’re doing in RME with the incredible sporting and cultural spectacle which is the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. This will be a chance to discuss with colleagues across the country how RME is uniquely placed to explore a dizzying variety of issues linked to the Games – cultural, social, moral, philosophical – to name but a few…

So log on at GOS RME Glow Meet and take part in a stimulating and challenging discussion about how RME can lead on exploring the Games in Scotland’s educational establishments. Cultural diversity, moral issues in sport, taking part or winning, beliefs about sport and beliefs and sport –let’s get RME to the heart of the games!

So, join this unique training session from the comfort of your own chair… be a winner (participants will qualify for a Clyde Mascot visit) – make sure you’re there!

For your diary: Learning zone session for classes to get involved: 17 December, 11am.

If you have missed any of our previous Glow Meet sessions on the Queen’s Baton design, Talor Lawn Bowls production, literacy and the Games etc. why not catch up on it HERE.

Award, Game On Challenge, Games Legacy, Legacy 2014

Crown Primary School first across the line

November 25, 2013 User deactivated 2 Comments

Highland school recognised for Games-related learning

Crown Primary School in Inverness became the first education establishment to receive an official Game On Scotland plaque for their innovative learning initiatives using the Commonwealth Games as a context. Ms Shona Robison, Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport presented the award to the school today (Monday 25 November) in a special ceremony.

The school has embraced the Games as an exciting opportunity to deepen all of their learners’ understanding of what it means to be global citizens and the values of fairness and justice as well as a wide range of practical skills, from reporting to enterprise. The school also has an active sports culture that promotes health and wellbeing.

P7 pupils shared with the Minister how Scotland’s Games are inspiring their learning, including:

displays on Values work
Athletes’ Village Art Competition entries
storytelling from countries around the Commonwealth
Citizenship group work including a class world map tracking the Queen’s Baton Relay.

Ms Robison commented, “We are working hard to ensure that we grasp the unique opportunity that the Commonwealth Games will present in 2014 to inspire children and young people. One clear legacy of the Games is the chance to encourage young people to be the best they can be and the Game on Scotland programme offers a broad range of resources, information and opportunities to assist in learning.

I am delighted to be able to present this award to Crown Primary School. They are a true example of how schools can use The Commonwealth Games in a motivating, inspiring and fun context for learning across the curriculum. It has been a fantastic opportunity to see the young people embrace Scotland’s Games so enthusiastically and in such a positive way”

Alison Drever, Senior Education Officer at Education Scotland said: “It is fantastic to see such an innovative response to Game On Scotland and particularly the Game On Challenge. We know there are lots of schools who are demonstrating really creative approaches to using the Games as a context for learning and we look forward to awarding more plaques over the coming months.”

Schools in Scotland, and across the Commonwealth, are encouraged to upload their own Game On Challenge at www.gameonscotland.org – by doing so they will be eligible for a plaque of their own, as well as a range of other exciting benefits and rewards.

Glow Meet, International Education, partnership, The Commonwealth Class

Debating the Games

November 19, 2013 K. Mayer Leave a comment

Young Scots and Sri Lankans virtually met at the new building of the British Council in Colombo to engage in discussions about the Commonwealth Games and values.

14 -17 year old pupils at St Joseph’s Academy in Kilmarnock and Stonelaw High in Rutherglen linked up with Holy Trinity College in Kandy, and Colombo schools, Vishaka Vidyalaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa College, to discuss their educational and cultural links with HRH Prince Tunku Imran, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Education Scotland, with the support from the British Council, made the live exchange possible via the unique education tool Glow. The session supported the British Council’s Commonwealth Class programme that provides resources, online BBC debates and interactive activities for schools to mark the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Watch gain: If you have missed this session you can catch up on it here

Glow Meet, Queen's Baton Relay, Technologies

Learning Zone Glow Meet: The Queen’s Baton Design

November 15, 2013 K. Mayer Leave a comment

Join us on Tuesday, 26^th of November (11am – 12noon) for the second of our Game on Scotland Technologies Glow meets. (Glow meet sign-up: http://bit.ly/gostechnologieslearningzone)

This session allows learners to:

– hear from the Queen’s Baton designer Will Mitchell (4cDesign) & share their own a baton design ideas

– find out more about the challenges of producing lawn bowls from Grant Heron Taylor bowls

– learn how they can get involved in the Scottish Engineering Special Leaders Award from Angela Greene from Primary Engineers.

In order for your learners to get involved most effectively in this session why not:

– Set your class a baton design challenge

– Prepare a 2 minute pitch of your idea to Will Mitchell from 4cDesign (Dragons’ Den Style) on the day.

Please register for the glow meet before the 26^th Nov. We will aim to have as many schools as possible involved in the challenge. For more information email Kirsty McFaul (DO Technologies) kirsty.mcfaul@educationscotland.gov.uk

Watch again!

If you missed last week’s excellent presentations from Will Mitchell and Adam Best (Queen’s Baton Relay Team, Glasgow 2014) you can watch this again here

Active, Educational resources, Games Legacy, Glasgow 2014, International Education, Queen's Baton Relay

New projects: Xtrayard and Get Scotland Dancing

November 14, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Game On Scotland is delighted to announce that we have just added two more projects to the Other educational projects section of the site. From the outset we’ve been keen to create a one-stop-shop for teachers and educators interested in learning using the Games, and the curation of other projects is an important part of this process.

Xtrayard is an online platform that encourages young people to take part in physical activity and track it on a virtual route. To celebrate the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games they’ve re-created the Queen’s Baton Relay route, which will allow your learners to journey around the 70 nations and territories of the Commonwealth by taking part in physical activity and eating healthily.

Get Scotland Dancing is a celebration of dance and an invitation for every person in Scotland to join in. As a Commonwealth Games Legacy programme, Get Scotland Dancing aims to get more people dancing in Scotland in 2014 than ever before. There’ll be a lot of different parts to the initiative as it develops, but broadly speaking they’ll be increasing opportunities to dance, promoting mass participation and developing young talent.

These are just the latest projects to be added to an already full programme, but Game On Scotland is a live programme and more materials will be added all the time – sign up to the network to make sure you’re the first to know about new opportunities.

Educational resources, The Commonwealth Class

The Commonwealth Class – Education Pack

November 8, 2013 K. Mayer 2 Comments

The Commonwealth Class education pack is a flexible resource that can be used to support individual projects or joint curriculum work with a partner school.

For more information about opportunities and resources around the Commonwealth Class programme visit British Council Schools Online.

If you do not yet have a British Council Schools Online account we recommend that you register with them to gain access to other opportunities to develop the global dimension at your school including Connecting Classrooms, International School Award and Language Assistants.

The next BBC online debate will be held on Thursday 14 November to coincide with the Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013. The debate is a fantastic opportunity for your students to engage with their peers around the globe on the most vital challenges and opportunities facing young people today. You can contribute to the debate on the day by emailing comments to the BBC team at commonwealthclass@bbc.co.uk.

And finally, British Council are offering grants of £250 for schools to hold mini launch events on their site for other schools in their area. Events do not have to take any predetermined format but should be 2 hours long and schools should involve at least 10 teachers representing different schools in their area. The launch should be based on the script provided in the Commonwealth Class Education Pack. If you would like to hold a launch event please download and complete the Commonwealth_Class_Launch_Grant_Application and return to ryan.dunn@britishcouncil.org.

Games Legacy, Glow Meet, partnership

Join the Digital Commonwealth!

November 7, 2013 K. Mayer Leave a comment

Interested?-

– Then why not take part in the Digital Common Wealth Glow Meet on Tuesday 26th November at 1pm.

This will be an opportunity for those of you who want to participate in the schools’ programme to hear from the Digital Common Wealth team and some of the potential participants about ways to join in, and ask questions about the project. The deadline for submitting an indication of interest form is 29th November, therefore we hope to answer any last minute queries which you have as well. If you have already submitted an indication of interest form, it is a chance to meet other participants from across Scotland and join in the project discussions. You can respond to the conversations and post comments and questions in the chat box which appears during the Glow Meet.

Join the Glow meet here!

For more information pelase contact:

Alison McCandlish (Educational Coordinator – Digital Common Wealth Project): Alison.McCandlish@uws.ac.uk