SEAL at Hovingham Primary School

Moving to new website.

2007-06-27T21:17:03+02:00

All further news and information about SEAL at Hovingham will be on
www.super-school.co.uk

When viewing any blog, please remember not to use the "next blog" facility as I have no control over what the next blog is. Please remember that children should always be supervised on the Internet.

Comments

Good to be me!

2007-04-02T10:27:51+02:00

"Good to be me", was an excellent theme to carry on the work started in "Going for Goals". During this previous theme all classes had put up targets for the children and all pupils were aware of the "Goals" they were aiming for. "Good to be me" has given us the opportunity to celebrate and recognise the progress the children have made towards these goals, but also to discuss that everyone has different talents and that we are all good at somethings and find other things more tricky. Year groups also looked at strategies to use when facing challenges, like breaking targets down into more achievable stages, and taking time out for relaxation.
Walking through school there were many displays which celebrated the childrens achievements, and the atmosphere and work on the walls in Nursery were super examples of this.
In Reception all the children had written and illustrated some work in Literacy about what they are good at, and this work was displayed on a display which Reception use for each new SEAL theme.
In Year 1 the children had talked during Circle Time, about their progress towards their goals and the way it made them feel to be able to recognise that they had learnt new skills and acquired new knowledge. In 1Red the children have a soft toy, called "Nothing", and each evening a different child takes the toy home, with a camera, and takes pictures of activites they enjoy doing at home with "Nothing." A lovely display is being created which shows "Nothing" enjoying being in each childs home with their family.
In Year 2 during Literacy we created a word web for the word "good", and then used it to help us write all the things that we were amazing, brilliant or even exceptional at! We have done circle times when we have been able to share with the class things that we feel we are good at, and have talked about other activities that we have to persevere at and find more difficult. In 2 Red the children have been able to watch their cars moving along their learning journeys towards their targets, and then when they have been approaching their targets they have each written a speech bubble about how proud their achievement makes them feel. On the last day of term the children were all very excited when they each got a balloon to take home to represent the targets written onto the balloons in the class, which they had achieved.
In Year 3 children have written compound sentences about what they are good at, and why they feel they are good at it. They also wrote lists of 10 interesting facts about me! This work was displayed on the walls around the boards with the work they had done for "Going for Goals".
Year 4 children continued to work hard trying to reach their targets and did alot of interesting work on the vikings, which they made into a shared class book. Their Circle Times also gave them an opportunity to reflect on all the good things about themselves.
During DT in Year 5, the children designed stencils that represented an activity that they felt they were good at and enjoyed. They then used their own stencils to print onto a banner that they are making to hang in the classroom.
Year 6, with SATs not long to go, have been working very hard on achieving their targets, and have also discussed strategies to help them stay relaxed and positive when learning feels challenging.
In the PDC (Pupil Development Unit), the children have all worked around the theme "Good to be me", looking at the assembly story for the theme. The children did pictures of the characters in the story and made masks. Children in KS2 used the masks to act out the story, while the children in KS1 talked about the story together.
In addition to all the work the school has done around the theme, "Good to be me", we also had a "Health Week", which focused on making our packed lunches healthier, and learning about a balanced diet, so that the children could make healthy choices about what they were eating. More information on the "Health Week" is on www.gethovinghamhealthy.blog.co.uk

Comments

Going for Goals.

2007-02-07T22:46:13+01:00

Going for Goals is the SEAL theme that we have been working on at Hovingham Primary this first half of the spring term. Throughout the whole school targets are now set every term for all the children in reading, writing and numeracy and these are displayed in the classrooms so that children are clear about what they need to do to achieve their targets. All the work we have done on "Going for Goals" has been excellent at reinforcing these targets to the children.
In Nursery ( Foundation 1) displays on the wall show the excellent progress that children are making at name writing, and both in the school entrance hall and in the classroom there are wonderful displays of the childrens art work in the style of Jackson Pollock. High expectations in nursery help the children to "Go for Goals."
In Reception (Foundation 2) displays show the children what the curricular targets are. There are also displays in the windows where children add their names when they have achieved their targets.

In Year 1 Target Ted is displayed with the childrens curriculum targets on balloons and the children know which target balloon they are aiming for. They had hoped to launch real balloon with messages attached to them about the goals they were going for, but unfortunately there wasn't enough wind, and so the balloons wouldn't take off.

In Year 2 Target Ted can be seen again holding balloons with all the childrens targets on. 2 Yellow have done some lovely displays with each child in a hot air ballooon which is taking off towards its goal.

In 2Red the children made cars which are travelling along their learning journeys towards their targets. Along the road they have written messages to help them reach their targets, such as "Listen", or "Be the best you can be!" All the cars have moved from the start line and are well on their way towards their targets now!

In Year 2 there is also a new display under their rainbow where all the children have made their balloons with messages which contain their personal goals to try and make the world a better place.

In Year 3 the children have typed their own aspirations to go in their display for "Going for Goals." The children in 3 Yellow have displayed in the class windows their learning maps and on their tables they all have their own individual goals with their targets written on them.

In Year 4 all the children are working hard towards their targets and know what their "next steps" towards achieving them are. The children in 4Y have made this colourful display which reminds everybody what their individual targets are.

Year 5 children and their parents have been taking part in a project which has included a visit to Leeds University- this has given the children a real sense of something to aim higher for. Targets have been set for all the children and these are displayed with a rocket theme. The children are able to see the star with their name on move further up the rocket towards the targets written on the planets.
In the shared area between the classes they have created another stunning display where the children have written about all the things they feel they achieve and succeed in.

The classrooms in Year 6 are now dominated by excellent working walls, which are all focusing on helping the children achieve the curriculum targets they have been set. In their cloakrooms the children have created super displays with their own personal targets displayed on lots of coloured footballs next to a goal. As the children achieve their goals their footballs will be moved into the nets!

A group of children, from year 1 up to year 6, visit the Pupil Development Centre for a session each week. All these children have made their own target cards which are on display in the PDC, and their is also a display with a football pitch which tracks the progress of each child towards their goal.

It has been a short half term, and many staff and children have suffered with colds and flu, but looking around the school it is clear to see that everyone is working very hard and striving to "be the best that they can be."

Comments

Year 5. Anti Bullying Raps.

2006-12-20T07:08:56+01:00

Comments

Year 2. Instructions on how to be a friend and what to do if you feel angry.

2006-12-20T06:39:45+01:00

For more examples visit www.2redathovingham.blog.co.uk

Comments

Getting on and Falling out.

2006-12-20T06:32:42+01:00

Getting on and Falling out is the second theme in SEAL and the whole school covered this during the second half of the Autumn term. We also did the Anti Bullying Theme during Anti Bullying week, and then continued to work on the two themes until the end of term.
In Nursery (Foundation 1) the children worked together to produce a fantastic dance based on the Snowman. Children from year 4 were also involved in the performance and the whole school and all the parents thought it was fantastic.
In Reception (Foundation 2) the children used the book, “I can say how I feel,” during Literacy, and talked a lot together about feelings and made a display all about their Emotions. The classes also did regular circle time, using the Ethos Statements, which had been selected to support the SEAL theme. The children in Reception worked together with the children in Year 1 to perform the “Wriggly Nativity”, learning lots of new songs, and putting on a performance for the rest of the school and the parents.

In Year 1 focused particularly on the “Getting on” element of the theme and did circle times about friendships. In 1Red they all helped to create a display with their own pictures and then a speech bubble about their friends. These were hung up on a washing line around the class. The classes also worked on the Traffic light model for problem solving and have the traffic lights up on display, so that if the children “fall out”, they can be reminded to- STOP, ( and calm down) TALK and LISTEN, and then DECIDE what to do and do it.
In Year 2 the children created 2 stunning “Friendship walls”, by creating a clay tile with their initials and one with their picture on, and then painting them with metallic paints.

In Literacy were doing instructions and so they were able to talk together and discuss friendship before writing superb instructions on how to be a good friend. They also wrote instructions for what to do if they felt angry, using the Traffic Light model for problem solving. The classes learnt a song called “The Angry Song”, which really helped them to explore the feeling of anger, why and what makes them angry, and how they can physically feel when they are angry. The song was the first in a series of songs that they learnt for their performance of “One Snowman at Hovingham”. The story is about a group of children who like to make snowmen, but one year there is only enough snow for them to make one, and the children all get very angry and argue about who is going to make the snowman. Then the sun comes out and tells them that if they don’t decide soon, the snow will all be melted away! So the children decide to work together and they make the best snowman ever! The children also made all the props for the show, snowflakes, masks and hats for everyone. All activities that involved sharing and helping each other. “One Snowman at Hovingham” was performed for the school and the parents, and a class DVD was also made, so that families who would like a copy will be able to have one.

In Year 3 the children worked together to produce a performance about Hanukah, which formed part of the Keystage 2 performance which looked at different celebrations that take place at this time of Year. The children explored the SEAL theme in regular circle times and SEAL posters are displayed in both year groups.
In Year 4 the children have built upon the work they started during the “New Beginnings” theme and the children took part in a range of group activities. They have a lovely display with children doing tasks such as “Building a bridge together”, or “Driving a bus!” The faces on the children in the pictures show clearly the sheer enjoyment that working as part of a group can give. The children in Year 4 also worked together to produce a performance all about the story of Divali, which the rest of the school and parents really enjoyed. Scenery was made for the play, with children creating a fantastic mosaic .
In Year 5 the children explored the theme of Getting on and falling out through role-play, and then through writing poems for anti bullying week. They also created a display of speech bubbles following lots of speaking and listening exploring anger and bullying. The year group all worked together to produce a superb performance celebrating Eid, which some excellent drama and catchy songs from Yousaf Islam.

In Year 6 some of the children were involved in a weeks project, at the Royal Armouries, called “Flashpoint”, which aims to help children through conflict and resolution work. The children all took part in a presentation at school where they were awarded certificates. During literacy the children have written and performed raps about anti bullying. Mr Ali, their learning mentor worked with the children to come up with the slogan, “See something, say something”. He created a video of children and staff across school also saying the slogan and talking about. The Race equality Council and School Council also added messages and it was shown during a KS2 Together Time. Children also wrote short dramas and put together a play looking at the story of “Humpty Dumpty,” from a different perspective, and they performed this for the children in KS1.The children in Year 6 all worked together on a performance about a “Victorian Christmas”.
Across the school now posters can be seen encouraging children to “Be the best, you can be.”

Comments

New Beginnings.

2006-12-10T21:12:41+01:00

In September 2006 at Hovingham Primary School, SEAL was introduced to the whole school. The following are notes and pictures from walking round school just before half term and talking to staff in all year groups.
In Nursery, Miss Plat reported that the children had been working on a topic- “Welcome to school”. The children had worked on booklets, and had also taken home booklets to share with their parents about “Welcome to my new school.” In Reception Mrs Kelsey talked about the “Myself” topic that the children had been doing, and also about work they had done through the Elmer story, which had focused on difference and similarities. Children in Reception and Nursery start the year with a staggered entry, so that staff can insure that children are settled in a few at a time. This meant that there had been less time for the cohort to work together on the theme in this 1^st half of term and they would therefore continue elements on New Beginnings into the 2^nd half too.

In year 1, the children have been using the rules from the PDC and have used the flags in the class. A positive reward system has been established which ensures that all children receive praise. Miss Green said that the classes took part in regular weekly circle times and that much of the theme had been covered then. The children had also worked in Art / DT on projects with a partner they don’t normally play with and Miss Green said that the children had enjoyed this opportunity and in some cases had continued to play with their new partner after the Art session.
In year 2 the children have established their own classroom rules, based on the titles of the Golden Rules stories. The Golden Rule stories were the focuses of several weeks of Literacy work in 2 red. The children have worked with a friend to make posters for each of the classroom rules, and these are also displayed on their class blog. Miss Fisher has started a blog for 2 Red as a trial to see the impact it has on the children’s learning, at present it is proving to be an excellent tool for motivating the children to write, and celebrating their successes.
Pictures of the children, with their writing about what they hope to achieve in Year 2 are displayed in 2Y. In 2R their pictures are displayed with their writing about what they would like to be when they grow up. The children have also created a Peace tree, with a leaf from every child with their idea for making the class / school a peaceful place. Every child also painted a section of the rainbow, and at the end of the rainbow there is a pot of gold for each class, on to this the children attach their pictures on a golden sun, when they achieve “Happy hour”.
Peace Tree in Year 2. Oct 2006.

In Year 3 the children have started work on negotiated their class rules, and a “Wish tree” is being made for each class.In Year 4 a display celebrates all the different things that the pupils are proud of being able to do well, and emphasises the fact that we are all good at different things. The children have also been working on completing tasks together as a group.

In year 5 the children have made a superb display, which celebrates diversity. All the children wrote about what was important to them, and have been able to share their work, and so they are all now more aware and understanding of the similarities and differences between each of them.

In year 6 a group of children made a New Beginning to their school year by visiting Lineham Farm, while the remaining children worked on a topic together. Displays encourage the children to “be the best they can be.”The SEAL posters are displayed throughout school, along with the Ethos statements.

Comments

Introducing SEAL.

2006-12-10T20:40:20+01:00

Following training and using the resources we began to deliver SEAL to Year 2 after the Autumn Half Term 2005.

2^nd Half Autumn Term 2005.

Getting on and falling out.

We did this theme through a weekly session on a Monday afternoon, and then reinforced the messages from the theme in Circle time and throughout the school day. The year group worked on making props together and learning songs for a performance that the Year group did for parents and children in school. The performance, “One Snowman at Hovingham”, adapted from a musical, “One Snowman at Sunset”, was a story that also contained the messages from the SEAL theme. The musical had a very good song called the “Angry Song”, which was an excellent way for us to look at anger and conflict resolution.

1^st Half Spring Term 2006.

Going for Goal.

Children in 2R thought of personal targets, which they put onto footballs, and we made a display with a goal at both ends of the class and the balls suspended from the ceiling, and later when they had achieved the goals, we moved the ball into the goal. Children in 2Y did a similar thing, but their goals were written onto darts that were heading for a dartboard. Both made good visual displays of the goals we had set, and showed the children that they had achieved their goal. The theme was delivered through some initial full sessions, and then through circle time and across the curriculum, and then a final session were we looked at our progress and moved the footballs into the goals.

2^nd Half of Spring term 2006

Good to be me.

Children talked about all the things that they had achieved and all the things that made them feel lucky. Following on from Book Week, we read books about “Harry” and when we read “Harry and the Dinosaurs go wild”, the story told them about a boy who made cards to raise money to help animals that were coming extinct. From this starting point we thpought about what we could do to help others. We looked at the work of Save the Children fund in schools in Pakistan, and thought about all the difference between the lives of children there, and here. The children then drew pictures of themselves, thinking about how lucky and special they are. These cards were made into 2 class cards that we sold in school and to parents and the children raised £150 for Save the Children fund.

1^st Half of Summer Term. – Relationships.

We covered this theme largely through Literacy and focused on the story of “The Rainbow Fish.” Children also did a lot of creative work, and PE sessions where they were allocated partners or put in unfamiliar groups. We talked about what it felt like to be away from their peers that they felt most comfortable with. We discussed strategies for making it easier to work with different children and how to make new friends. Children began to comment and notice that how they behaved affected how their relationships in class worked.

2^nd Half of Summer term. – Changes.

This topic seemed to follow on very well from the last theme and many children wanted to change the way they behaved to either make them more friends, or to improve their school work. The theme “Goals” also had begun to make the children aware of the fact that they did have control over some aspects of their lives. Our science topic fitted in well, and we discussed how the life cycle, is a change that we have no control over. Also within the context of the World cup we discussed what it was like for people to move countries, and connected this with Refugee week, talking about the changes these people would experience.

In summary we have greatly enjoyed the SEAL program. We have found it flexible to implement, sometimes doing a theme as regular stand-alone lesson, and sometimes through parts of the curriculum. During each theme we have referred back to the objectives throughout each school day, and also discussed it in Circle time. I feel that the children have gained a lot, and most children have shown an increased self confidence, better behaviour, and a more positive attitude to school and learning.

We are looking forward to introducing it across the school in September, and I believe that a whole school approach will have an even greater impact.

Comments