So often, when a new project is undertaken by a school, children and staff start off full of enthusiasm and good intentions (well most of them anyway!) This drive and energy gradually peters out, as staff fall off the wagon one by one, until only the keen NQT remains engaged. Sound familiar?
This was the situation we wanted to avoid. We had planned a motivating launch assembly to send children off, full of enthusiasm, on their Steps 2 Summit journey. But then what?
This led to the idea of writing an assembly to be used each half term. This way, it would keep the project fresh and serve as a way of motivating and engaging children and staff throughout the year.
Each assembly has:
- A specific summiteer skill at its heart
- A set of teacher notes to guide you through/use as a script
- A PowerPoint, complete with YouTube links, internet links as required
- Poignant timing (e.g. an assembly on coping with failure to increase ‘Persevering Pioneer’ skills, in those children who may need a little motivation when the going gets tough in assembly four.)
Yet again, out of the assemblies, grew something we were not expecting - six accompanying displays! It just made sense to have a visual reminder for children, parents, staff and visitors of the inspirational people and messages, introduced in each assembly.
We asked ourselves the most crucial question of all,
“How can we make this easy, with minimal workload for staff? “
The answer we came up with was to do the display for you!
Step 1: Find a spare display board in your hall or school entrance and put up your free Steps2Summit poster and the permanent resources that come with it. (This means that you only need to change a small proportion of the display each half term.)
Step 2: Find the specific resources you need for your chosen assembly (They are numbered 1-6) Very tricky, press print!
Step 3: Cut the display resources and simply attach to the display board (even better if you can get someone else to do it for you!) Use the picture example to replicate if desired, even a Year 6 child could do it!
As with all our resources, they are there to be used straight off the shelf, or, if you have the time/inclination/energy, they can be adapted for your school’s needs.
With any luck, it won’t be just the NQT who is still skipping around the playground with their class in tow at the end of the year. By the time you get to assembly 6, you really will be fuelling the imagination of future ‘Curious Climbers’.