February 16, 2010
We thought it might be some kind of alternative music festival, however NASA’s Sun-Earth Day celebrations are far from it!
For the past ten years, NASA has been coordinating education and public outreach events to highlight the importance of the Sun-Earth connection, with the aim of bringing the general public and the gigantic field of space closer together.
Having launched our cross-curricular Quest for… Space workshops this academic year, our interest has naturally been piqued by this highly inclusive effort to demystify and make the topic of space accessible for us all.
This year’s Sun-Earth Day focuses on electromagnetic force and magnetic storms - did you know that the Earth’s magnetic field is declining in strength by 5% every century? There are plenty of resources on their website, including loads of interesting facts about magnetism, podcasts, tips for amateur astronomers and even a Facebook group for those who are more likely to stare at a computer screen than into a telescope!
If you’re interested in having one of our Quest for… Space workshops, drop us an email or give us a call on 0844 800 2870.
Categories: Primary & Nursery Education News
Posted by: Freshwater Theatre Company @ 1:25 pm
February 4, 2010
Did you know that the island of St Lucia is home to 170 000 people?
Or that a third of them live in the capital city of Castries? 
I didn’t but the facilitators who run our Caribbean Story and St Lucia, An Overseas Locality workshops did! They are also well aware that St Lucia’s Independence Day is fast approaching and takes place on 22nd February every year.
Every May, St Lucia holds their famous St Lucia Jazz Festival, which has featured some really exciting and high profile acts such as Dionne Warwick, Smokey Robinson and Al Green in the past. This year’s line up includes Maxi Priest and Foreigner.
While browsing the official Government of St Lucia website, we were very envious to see that the average temperature all year round is 25 degrees! The Freshwater team have decided that we should definitely pop over on a “research” expedition, preferably in the first week of May!
We offer drama workshops for students of all ages to help celebrate St Lucia’s Independence Day. Give us a call on 0844 800 2870 or email us for further information.
Categories: Primary & Nursery Education News
Posted by: Freshwater Theatre Company @ 5:06 pm
November 4, 2009
The Cambridge Primary Review is the most in depth report to have been undertaken since the 1967 Plowden Report and has been hotly debated by the government (whose own report came out earlier this year), education professionals and teachers alike.
The 608 page report, which took three years of planning and consultation and another three years for collecting and analysing evidence, makes 75 recommendations, guided by 12 prospective aims and 13 principles for primary education.
Of particular interest to us here at Freshwater is the recommendation that the foundation stage should be extended to six years of age before formal, subject-based learning is introduced; this currently begins at age four or five. However, it does go on to say that whether or not the foundation stage is formally extended, the more important consideration is the quality and approach of the provision.
The summary booklet (available from the CPR website) states that “Children… need the opportunity to build their social skills, their language and their confidence. They do this best through structured play and talk, interacting with each other and with interested and stimulated adults.”
Of course, we completely agree that learning through play is immensely beneficial for people of all ages (you should see the office team when we get to play with the props!) but particularly for those under the age of six. This sensory, exciting and fun approach to learning is exactly what we offer in our workshops - especially the Early Years Story Hunts we offer. that are discussed in a bit more detail below.
Categories: Primary & Nursery Education News
Posted by: Freshwater Theatre Company @ 6:06 pm
October 20, 2009
We here at Freshwater Theatre Company have a love of geography and finding dramatic ways to make your topics more enjoyable and memorable for Foundation, KS1 and KS2 students, so we’re impressed to see that there is a social networking site out there for teachers who are interested in sharing ideas, discussions, resources and meeting up with other like-minded geography “champions”. What a brilliant way for geography teachers to connect with each other!
The Geographical Association also awards the Primary Geography Quality Mark for “primary schools who wish to achieve recognition for the quality and progress in geography leadership, curriculum development, learning and teaching in their school”. Their website has a wealth of information regarding geography for early years, primary and secondary school geography teachers.
We continue to bring geography alive for KS1 and KS2 throughout the Greater London and surrounding areas by using action-packed drama activities to explore such topics as Katie Morag’s An Island Home, Where in the World is Baxter Bear?, St Lucia - an Overseas Locality, An Indian Village (Chembakolli) and many more. We also offer bespoke sessions to explore any topic you might be studying.
If you are interested in the benefits of your pupils learning about geography through drama and practical exploration of the topic, please give us a call on 0844 800 2870 or email us.
Categories: Primary & Nursery Education News
Posted by: Freshwater Theatre Company @ 9:20 am
October 12, 2009
Remembrance Day is observed on or around the 11th November in countries all around the world from Australia to Bermuda and South Africa to Canada, to remember those who fought and sacrificed during the two World Wars, as well as those lost in more recent conflicts. The Royal British Legion says that “…with troops on duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other trouble spots around the world, Remembrance, and this two minute tribute, are as important as ever”.
Countries outside of the Commonwealth also honour the occasion. France celebrates Jour d’armistice (Armistice Day) on the 11th November and in the USA, Veterans’ Day is a federal and state public holiday.
Last year, we were warmly welcomed by schools around the UK for Remembrance Day events and helped many students explore what life was like as a child during the war in our Second World War drama workshop. One of the teachers we worked with told us “…it reinforced the topic of WW2 and in particular the focus on children’s lives during the war. Children were given the opportunity to use drama to extend their learning and empathise with life in Britain during WW2.”
We are looking forward to visiting more schools this Remembrance Day.
Categories: Primary & Nursery Education News
Posted by: Freshwater Theatre Company @ 10:13 am
October 9, 2009
The Lamb Inquiry, headed by the Chair of the Special Educational Consortium, Brian Lamb, has been investigating ways to improve parents’ confidence in the SEN assessment process. Two of the key issues that have been identified are: the need to identify learning difficulties as early as possible and, secondly, to understand the complex way in which these difficulties can impact on behaviour - for example students with SEN are eight times more likely to be excluded from school. You can follow the developments and read the related documents on the Department for Children, Schools and Families website.
Lorraine Petersen, of special needs organisation Nasen, welcomed the announcements but highlighted the importance of ensuring “…that all pupils have the highest quality teaching”, whether they attend mainstream or special needs schools. Read the full BBC article.
We regularly work with special needs schools around the UK and will be closely following the developments in this area. Our workshop leaders are in the lucky position of meeting new students with varied abilities and needs and enjoy the challenges and rewards this presents on a daily basis.
**The TES Special Needs London 2009 fair is coming up on 16th/17th October in North London - details can be found on the website.
Categories: Primary & Nursery Education News
Posted by: Freshwater Theatre Company @ 4:05 pm
In the same week that Gordon Brown pledged not to cut public spending on schools, staff at some nurseries are concerned that the restructuring of funding for nurseries in the UK could result in budget cuts and job losses, according to the BBC. However, the minimum part time nursery placement of 12.5 hours per week will be increased to 15 hours per week in 2010. Read the full story here.
Speaking of early years, teachers on the TES forums have been discussing ways to utilise the rather significant levels of energy of their new year one students, who have just crossed over from reception to KS1.
Of course we would suggest channeling this excess excitement into fun and educational drama activities but you can join the TES discussion here.
Categories: Primary & Nursery Education News
Posted by: Freshwater Theatre Company @ 3:57 pm
June 5, 2009
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Categories: Primary & Nursery Education News
Posted by: Freshwater Theatre Company @ 11:33 am
