Linaker Primary School & Children’s Centre ~ Day 2

The second, of three, full on days at Linaker Primary School and Children’s Centre, in Southport, in Sefton.

Today took the theme of travel, discovery, and exploration in to Key Stage One, for a couple of adventures with two groups of 60 Year 2, and then 60 Year 1, voyagers.

Discovery isn’t just about movement though. To discover, to contemplate, to consider, to question, to wonder ~ also takes a bit of standing still. That is something we, as human beings, can often overlook. In the world of education, too, we can sometimes forget the power, and potential, for “holding back”, for “waiting a while” before rushing onwards. The pressures of time, of timetables, of curriculum structures, of targets, can lead us, too easily, in to constantly “moving on”.

It was a joy to “not travel too far, geographically” with some intrepid children, and teachers, but to cover great distances in ideas, imaginations, and more wanderings in the wild wonders of words.

Linaker Primary School & Children’s Centre ~ Day 1

The first, of three, full on days at Linaker Primary School and Children’s Centres, a superb two, form entry, Primary School, Nursery and Children’s Centre in the heart of Southport, the seaside town in the north of the Borough of Sefton. The school provides for around 500 children aged between 3 and 11 and the centre is considered as one of the most successful in the north of England.

This three day project is taking place during the school’s annual Arts Week and the theme this year is “Discovery”. This topic also lends itself to looking at challenges. The children, and staff, at the the school are no strangers to exploration and challenge*.

The travels, today, happened in the company of two classes of adventurous Year 6 children for a long morning of discovery in some virtual worlds, followed by another trek in in the world of digits with two classes of Year 5 explorers.

Well done, all, for some powerful, brave, and inventive wandering in the world of words, and beyond!

Linaker is proud of its international links. At present they have links with schools in China, Canada and Ghana. The school is also a proud recipient of the International Schools Award, issued by the British Council in recognition of their commitment to global education. The school also welcomes, annually, Foreign Language Assistants from all over the world – recently from Sweden, Spain and China.

Linaker has had links with Long Menhao Primary School in Chongqing, China, since March 2008. Long Menhao is a primary school in Nan’an District and serves over 1000 students aged between 5 and 11 years of age. In 2008 both schools undertook a project on the theme of ‘Olympics’ and in November 2008 Linaker returned to China to share their achievements.

In November 2009 ten children from Linaker visited Long Menhao as part of the on-going programme of exchanges.

Linaker has had a link with Ekwaso Presby School, in Ghana, for nearly four years now. Over that time they have been involved in curriculum exchanges between children in both schools.

In 2008 the school undertook to help re-build the Primary School in the village. You can find out more about the village and the re-building of the school by visiting the website.

*That “up-for-a-challenge-ness-nicity” isn’t stopping soon either: six members of staff will be embarking on a trek to the North Pole next year!

A massive thank you to Colin Coleman, head teacher, and Nick Dempster, ICT Co-ordinator, for organising this visit.

In terms of ICT resources, the school are pretty well stocked too. Some of the technology they have at their disposal includes Year 5 and 6 all having their own iPads; there is also a class set of iPads for the other Year groups; The ICT suite is Apple Macs, there are 30 in the suite; a portable green screen; a radio room which can be operated by two or three children at a time; all classrooms have large (60″+) touch screen televisions; laptops throughout the school – enough for 1 between 2 in most classes and more cameras, flip cam recorders etc than you can shake a stick at!

Hampshire District 2 Headteachers’ Conference, Sandbanks

Together, we explored the progression that can be taken using artifacts and images, then we had a VERY hands-on, have-a-go-day with 22 headteachers, from the Hampshire District 2 Headteachers’ group, in the incredible setting of Sandbanks, near Poole. We had a fun filled investigation of how images, living texts and sound effects, can bring story (re-)telling alive. In groups, we set off in to the picturesque setting of Sandbanks in Poole, capturing scenes to support the telling of a tale, then returned to do some wizardry.

We were joined by colleagues from Barncroft Primary, Denmead School, Emsworth School, Fairfield Infant, Hartplain Infant, Horndean Infant School, Horndean Junior School, Mengham Infant, Mengham Junior, Mill Rythe Infant, Moreland Primary, Petersgate Infant, Purbrook Junior, Sharps Copse Primary, Springwood Infant, Springwood Junior,  St. Peters School, and Riders Infants, Queens Inclosure Primary School, St. James C of E Primary and The Federation of Millhill and Woodcroft.

Thank you to Sarah Court, headteacher of Mill Rythe Infant,

Tools explored today included;

Tiltshift Maker bringing miniature characters into life within the locality, or focusing on a significant portion within a landscape, or portrait.

Psykopaint, whisking photographs into paintings. Great artists styles can be stolen borrowed to enhance aspects of the photos. By darkening, hardlighting, multiplying, overlaying, and manipulating, different feelings, and messages, can be accentuated.

Tagxedo, playing with words, picking them up and juggling them. When used in its full screen (“player only”) mode, it means you can explore your carefully chosen collection of vocabulary, bringing it alive, as you speak.

Music can breathe life in to a story too. Chosen, and crafted carefully, an arrangement of sounds, and instruments, can bring out just the right sensations, and emotions, in a yarn. Soundation was the tool of choice for generating some stunning soundtracks which really enhanced the performances of the sagas.

CleVR creates still, and moving panoramas, from your photos… and a LOT more…