Category Archives: Languages and Literacy

Creative Learning at the Polish school

The School of Polish Language and Culture undertook their own Creative Learning Project.  They generously shared their Polish culture with Calder Primary in the form of musician Martin Gluch.  In contrast they were able  to experience some Scottish culture and historical context to the area they now live in with a day of workshops with storyteller and musician Gerry Durkin and a visit and education workshop at Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, Coatbridge. 

Here are some of the comments of what the pupils thought of these visits :

Bartosz  gr IV

It was a normal day at school, boring classes, a ton of homework and the loud noises outside of the class. I was just sitting and daydreaming about what I will do when I get home, but then a storyteller came in the school. Everyone got called up to the assembly area and the storyteller did what he does best, tell us some stories. The first one was called ‘The ghost of Dundee’. It was about a ghost in Dundee which scared people. But it had a twist. Every time the storyteller played a certain note the audience had to go ‘Oooooh’. I found the story very interesting. The storyteller sang a couple of songs and told more stories. The last one was about a boy that was born with a crew inside of a bellybutton. At the end the boy turned the screw and his bum fell off. Overall I really enjoyed it and it was a good laugh.

Szymon gr IV

27th April 2013 to Polish school came story teller. He spoke about Scotland legends. He played on guitar. He tell about scary and funny ghost. I never hear about Scotland legends. I think this is an interesting legends.

Agnieszka gr IV

On the 20th of April in Coatbridge. We’ve been there with the Polish school. I really like it. It was good. We’ve been learning about Victorians, it wasn’t that good but the best part was with the clothes we were dressing up as Victorians. It was really good. We’ve created a poster with a group. Was a really good poster and nice. I think it was fun and I really want to go there again.

Michal  gr IV

20th of April we left School of Polish Language and Culture. We were going to visit Summerlee Museum to see lots of displays of the past.

Firstly we arrived to Summer Lee. The journey took about 30 mins. When we entered the museum we entered a tram and took a short ride. After that we meet a lady that worked at Summer Lee. She told us the history of Summer Lee and showed us a fantastic powerpoint. Obviously, we did not go there without any point. We came to Summerlee to hear some of the Scottish history.

After that trip, I learned that Scotland had lots and lots of iron and coal. Shortly saying, Scotland was famous to me for having that lot of iron and coal, also they powered Scotland in materials.

I just didn’t like that they took children to work. If I had a chance, I would visit Summerlee again. It was fun.

Karolina  gr IV

On the 20th April, the older pupils of our school visited Summerlee museum. At around midday, we set off to the museum in Coatbridge. When we arrived, we had the privilege of going on a tram around the building. Following that, we met our guide who told us all about the Victorians and their culture. The Industrial Revolution, Queen Victoria and different aspects of their day-to-day life. We also dressed up and played with toys from that period. It was very fun. We even made posters complete with pictures and information.

All in all, I think it was great combining education with elements of fun.

Justyna gr IV

On the 20 of April our Polish school went to a Sumerlee museum.

We went on a historic train, kind of. It was a very short ride. We went to a Victorian museum for a presentation afterwards. Then we dressed like Victorians and played with Victorian toys. In our groups we made a poster. We had to work with the boys. Then we went for a couple of minutes to the park. Everyone enjoyed that.

It was a very fun trip because of the park at the end. I liked smelling the Victorian soap, it was stinky.

Andrzej gr IV

On the 20th April I went to Summerlee Heritage Centre with my friends in the Polish School of Language and Culture in Motherwell. We went to see a PowerPoint about the Victorians and we got a chance to experience what the life was like back then. The trip was quite enjoyable but I did not find it really interesting because I’ve already been there a couple of times.

Kacper gr IV

One day a funny guy came to my school and told to us many interesting legends and stories also, he was playing on guitar. His songs like about uncle Walter who killed his wife and others was good, but sometimes he was boring.

Jakub gr III

I enjoyed the trip to Summerlee because I thought it was interesting and fun. The tram ride was the best thing. I also enjoyed the dressing up and the play part. I learned a lot of new things about Victorians as well.

Marcin  gr III

Last week we were on a trip to Summerlee with the school.

We went in the building and the lady told us about how the children played, worked, dressed and done housework. It was fun because we could dress up as what they were wearing

Przemek  gr III

Last two week we were on a trip to Summerlee. I really enjoyed it. First we were on a train, it was full of fun and I made photos from my ipod. Next we studied stuff from the Victorian times, we also made big posters. And last we all have 10 minutes on the swing park. I really loved it and all the trip was awesome.

Kacper  gr III

Last Saturday me and my school went to the Summerlee Museum. We learned lots of things about the Victorian times. After that we dressed up as the Victorians. Finally we to play in the park and went back to school.

January update – news of courses and events

Using Shakespeare to Engage Boys -Globe Theatre

Friday 22 February 2013 at 17:00

Throughout the short course teachers will be supported by Shakespeare’s Globe’s educational specialist who has developed dynamic learning approaches to exploring Shakepeare’s plays with boys.

Their approach to supporting teachers will in turn aid secondary pupils to better understand characterization, themes and language.

Shakespeare’s Globe use a variety of techniques to explore and experiment with text; from the actor’s viewpoint and from the director’s, differing interpretations of the same play and interactive tasks to bring the text to life.

A short but specific focus of the day will be on Romeo and Juliet.
This opportunity is available in: Glasgow City
For further information, please contact shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk (Short Courses), or call 0141 270 8213, or visithttp://www.rcs.ac.uk/shortcourses/dramaadults/professionaldevelopment/. The deadline is Friday 22 February 2013 at 17:00.

Creative Leadership Symposium – How do we embed creativity into the core curriculum?

Thurs 21st Feb

The Arches
3pm-6pm
Free but ticketed – call 0141 565 1000 to reserve a place

How do we embed creativity into the core curriculum? How can we be responsive to the individual needs of students and learners? What is classroom inertia and how does creative practice offer a way of reimaging how a curriculum is offered?

Is it possible for artists, creative educators and teachers to work collaboratively to offer a more radical pedagogy measured by more than subject achievement? Who might lead this and does it work? Is it effective? What are the benefits of this approach? How might this impact on future pedagogical approaches?

For the culmination of their creative leadership project 100 Little Pennies, run by Gary Gardiner at Oakgrove Primary School in Glasgow, The Arches are hosting a symposium event, followed by drinks, nibbles and an opportunity to network.

Introduced by Dee Heddon (University of Glasgow), contributors include Gary Gardiner and Murray Wason (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), David Cameron (Director of The Real David Cameron LTD), Helen Nicholson (Professor of Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway) and Lesley Dunlop (Education Consultant).

David Cameron on Creativity and Education

GTCS has published an article on creativity by Educationalist David Cameron, Director, The Read David Cameron Ltd. It is an expanded version of his TEDx presentation from Buenos Aires and acknowledges some of our achievements in Scotland from 2012. 

GTCS article: http://bit.ly/shaping_the_inheritance

TEDx talk video on Creativity Portal: http://creativityportal.org.uk/?q=&c=,videos

Partnership Grants Scheme for Primary and Secondary Schools (UK)

The Royal Society has announced that its Partnership Grants programme has re-opend for applications.  

Through the programme, grants of between £250 and £3,000 are available to support teachers, scientists and engineers help develop science projects. The aim is to make the teaching of science more interesting within primary and secondary schools. Any UK primary or secondary school teacher or practising scientist/engineer can apply as long as the students involved in the project are between 5 and 18.  Since 2000, the scheme has awarded over £1.1 million to 660 schools. 

Examples of previously funded projects include: 

  • Netheard High School, Dereham (Norfolk) which received a grant of £2,488 for the whole school to explore the solar system at first hand. 

    ·         Alfred Sutton Primary School in Reading which received a grant of £953 to study the incubation, hatching and development of young bantam chicks.  

    The deadline for applications will be the 22nd February 2013. 

    http://royalsociety.org/education/partnership/

    Grants for School Trips (UK)The Eridge Trust, which is a charitable trust whose purpose is to encourage young people to enjoy and appreciate visual art, especially painting, has announced that the next deadline for its grant making programme is the 31st May 2013.  

    The Trust makes grants of up to £2,000 to schools, colleges and others for school trips to museums, galleries and centres of art at home and abroad. Grants are also made to UK museums and galleries for projects aimed at young people. Trips must be for students in schools or sixth form colleges in the maintained sector. In the past, the Trust has supported many different kinds of trips, mainly organised by individual schools, but also by groups of schools, education authorities and others. They have included day trips to local galleries, trips of a few days to major UK cities and trips of up to a week or more to European cities and regions. In addition, the Trust have given grants to museums to support school visits and to encourage university students to enjoy and make use of their local museum. 

    http://www.eridgetrust.co.uk/page2.htm

    Tesco Charity Community Awards (UK)

    The Tesco Charity Community Awards for grants for children’s welfare and/or children’s educations (including special needs schools) is now open for applications. 

    Through the Awards, one-off donations of between £500 and £4,000 are available to local projects that support children and their education and welfare. 

    Previous projects supported have included: 

    • Sensory garden or room projects
    • Outdoor classrooms
    • Breakfast and after school clubs
    • Holiday play-schemes
    • Part funding to purchase minibuses. 

    The closing date for applications will be the 31st January 2013. The Tesco Charity Trust has been in existence since 1987 and aims to provide approximately £600,000 in grants each year. In addition the Trust also provides grants to groups working with and supporting elderly people and/or adults and children with disabilities. 

    This funding stream is due to re-open for applications on the 1st February 2013 with an application deadline of the 31st March 2013. The Tesco Charity Trust Trustees also consider grant applications at their tri-annual meetings. These grants range between £4,000 and £25,000 and are to support local, national or international projects in areas where Tesco operate. 

    http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=121#ref_tescocharitytrust 

    Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund Opens for Applications (Scotland)

    The Scottish Government has announced that its new £10 million Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund is now open for applications.  

    The fund is part of the Scottish Government’s Commonwealth Games Legacy 2014 programme, will give communities across Scotland more and better places to be active.  Grants between £10,000 and £100,000 are available to help build or upgrade local facilities such as new bike or skate parks, outdoor adventure facilities, walking routes, or new projects within schools.  The fund is open to a wide range of not for profit organisations and educational establishments such as schools and colleges.  

    The fund is open until 2015 and the closing date for the first round of applications is the 1st February 2013. 

    http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/sportscotland/funding/Legacy2014ActivePlacesFund 

 

“The Fizzy Pop Fairies meet The Milk Fairies”

 

“The Fizzy Pop Fairies meet The Milk Fairies”

“An innovative and imaginative introduction to Health and Wellbeing”

With Health and Well being/Dental Health at the core of this project, Linda McCann has cleverly combined repetitive Rhyme, a Sing-along song, Stunning illustrations, Mesmerising Magic tricks with the Creative arts, to produce a captivating story/show for children from pre-school up to Primary 4.

 Fictional Tooth Fairies lead children on a voyage of discovery, where “magic stones” release healthy secrets,  where “magic milk disappears into thin air, where all things sweet and sickly, go into a magic bag and disappear quickly!  Linda’s inventive ideas and interactive approach, stimulates children to think about their own Health and Wellbeing/Dental Health, and actively encourages them to make healthier Food and Drink Choices.

“The Fizzy Pop Fairies” offers Schools/Communities an exciting way to kick start Health and Wellbeing programmes/projects and is an excellent tool for promoting existing School and Community initiatives: the 5 a day programme, subsidised school milk,  healthy tuck shops, growing your own fruit and vegetables, healthy school meals.   It re-inforces the work of the oral health visitors, promoting the existing tooth brushing scheme, free dental packs and the fluoride varnishing scheme.  Additionally, the inclusion of a 3D Puppet making workshop, enables children to explore and express what they have learnt in an imaginative and creative way, whilst providing the children with excellent tools to link up to other Curricular subjects through imaginative play/theatre performance, recording information by camera/video, or story creation, both within the classroom or further afield, through Glow Intranet. .  

 “ An excellent and very imaginative approach to healthy eating….. promoting dental care in an exciting and child centred way……. excellent”  Miss G. Lendrum/ Campie Primary Nursery

 “ The kids were talking about it for days.  Staff thought it was one of those very special experiences for children!”  Mrs. R Dickson Ullapool Primary School

 “ It was excellent, even better than I anticipated”  Dave Rex, Specialist Dietician for Health Promoting Schools, NHS Highlands

 For further information Please go to: www.fizzypopfairies.com  or to see the Fizzy Pops in action, please go to:   http://bit.ly/FizzyPopFairies

Canndhu Productions

e-mail: info@canndhu.com

www.fizzypopfairies.com

Tel: 01875 853 801

Mob: 07891 688361

December update

Opening up the Future of Education in Scotland: Toolkit for Creative Planning – http://bit.ly/_openingupthefuture

Education Scotland has launched a new strategic thinking kit, Promoting Innovative Practice and Transformative Change (PIPTC), to promote the visioning and planning needed for change as educational establishments and services address the challenges and priorities of today’s evolving education system. Read more and watch videos of how local authorities are using the toolkit at the link above. 

Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme Open Fund – http://bit.ly/_2014_Cultural_Fund

A fund of £4 million is available and individual artists, community-led groups and arts organisations are invited to apply for awards ranging from £20,000 up to £300,000. This fund is a major component in the development of the nationwide Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme and aims to enhance the Games experience for Scotland’s communities, spectators and visitors, promoting the best of Scotland’s culture alongside that of the Commonwealth.

Cineschool festival 2013

Cineschool ‘Directions’, Film Education’s  European Film Festival for schools, will take place from mid February until the end of March 2013.
 
There will be free screenings taking place UK-wide supported by online resources, as well as many in-cinema introductions and masterclasses.

Deepening the Practice

Wednesdays 6-8.30pm beginning 16th January 

Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR

A series of six twilight sessions aimed at experienced storytellers or those who have completed Starting with Stories 1 and 2, this course offers in-depth training in developing your own style of telling, crafting and selecting stories. Led by storyteller Ruth Kirkpatrick, whose extensive experience ranges from intimate community settings to the international stage, this course will offer practical insights, reflection, feedback and a chance to hone your storytelling expertise. For more information contact Gica Loening on gica@scottishstorytellingcentre.com or 0131 652 3272.  

Also from the Scottish Storytelling Centre :

Burns in Song – A Feast of Singing!
(Crafting Your Skills)

Fri 18 Jan, 2-5pm

The songs of Robert Burns continue to inspire singing of all kinds, auld and new. In the week before the bard’s birthday, access a wealth of songs and resources, learn some optional harmonies, and unpick the lingo! A creative and celebratory day, packed with useful material for song groups and classes, led by Christine Kydd, one of Scotland’s foremost singers, whose North East roots link to the Burns family tree.

£12/£10 (Network members)

General bookings: 0131 556 9579

Chantin’, Dancin’, Clappin’, and Tellin’: Accessible Routes into Music, Movement and Storymaking
(Crafting Your Skills)
Sat 2 Feb, 10.30am-4.30pm
A holistic and dynamic day offering practical and creative insights and strategies into music, voice, rhythm and story making for all ages. Pete Baynes (musician and animateur) and Allison Galbraith (storyteller) will share accessible techniques for tapping into our musicality, creativity and imagination, using step by step building blocks that can be used in all kinds of group settings. No experience in music or storytelling needed. Come prepared for serious fun!
£36/£30 (Network members)

General bookings: 0131 556 9579

Launch of the Scottish Education Awards

Posted: 05 Dec 2012 04:29 AM PST

The Scottish Education Awards were launched on Monday 3 December by Michael Russell, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning.  The awards celebrate the hard work and success in Scottish education.  They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in learning environments across Scotland.

Nominations for the 2013 awards can be submitted from now until 22 February 2013.  Please circulate and share this information with your networks.  For more information visit the Scottish Education Awards website.

two categories cover the development of creativity skills – the Enterprise and Employability Learning Awards for Primary and Secondary,

http://www.scottisheducationawards.org.uk/

The Education Resource Service in North Lanarkshire – adding to the cultural life of schools..

The Education Resource Service in North Lanarkshire exists primarily to support learning and teaching in educational establishments across the authority.  This is done in a number of ways.  

The ERS provides a range of resources from topic boxes to artefacts to DVDs and CPD.  A catalogue is produced annually which details exactly what is available to borrow.  ERS Brochure 2013

The team of Children and Young People’s Librarians support educational establishments across North Lanarkshire with all sorts of innovative extravaganzas. CYPLs provide library based support and advice to schools. See this document Libraries Supporting Learning for some examples. ERS Libraries Supporting Learning

The ERS has a blog which you can follow which is updated regularly with interesting projects and possible uses for resources to support the curriculum in many creative ways.

For further information, please contact the ERS at the following address:

Education Resource Service
c/o Clyde Valley High School
Castlehill Road
Wishaw
ML2 0LS

Tel: 01698 403510
Email: ersmail@northlan.gov.uk
Blog: http://ersnlc.wordpress.com

Handa's Surprise Storybag

Gerry Durkin Training Events

Kirk O’Shotts Primary School was visited by storyteller,  Gerry Durkin on Monday 30 April who ran separate staff and parent workshops. Both workshops received positive feedback. Gerry gave a number of useful pointers for developing storytelling for children of all ages. A few of these will be listed below, underneath the following picture gallery:

Tips for storytelling:

  • storytelling is particularly beneficial for ‘hard to reach’ children and those that are visual learners
  • you may use books as a visual stimulus, but adapt the story or make up your own
  • children love to join in, so choose stories with lots of repetition
  • settle children into a storytelling session with a familiar song, rhyme or piece of music that they can join in with
  • be imaginative when choosing your storytelling environment, try to make it different from the norm if possible, i.e. outside, multi-purpose room, etc.
  • use different pace and noise level of stories to energise and then calm children down again
  • sourcing stories can be done via Google, going to hear another storyteller, your own experiences, adapting existing stories
  • bring in a social or behavioural aspect to your stories to provoke meaningful discussion at the end of the story
  • don’t over-use props as they may just distract from the story… allow pupils to use their imagination and create pictures and images in their minds
  • prepare your stories in advance so that you can tell them confidently to your children
  • relax and enjoy the experience

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