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Newsletter September 2009Mandala

Contents                        

Welcome
Welcome to new schools
A new term - a new year. Time for some goal setting!
Evaluation
Update for KS3
Insight series
Register With Us

SueHello and welcome to our latest newsletter

The VisionWorks team have been on holiday too. We're now back refreshed and enthusiastic to promote emotional literacy, such a key aspect of education for our young people. Some of the media headline stories over the holidays just served to reinforce how important it is for all of us to learn and build effective life skills.

Best wishes, Sue Allen

Welcome

to all the schools embarking on the VisionWorks journey this year:

      welcome    The City Academy - Bristol
          Sir Robert Woodard School - Sussex
          South Wilts Grammar School - Wiltshire
          Gartree Community School - Lincolnshire
          Maesgwyn School - Aberdare,Wales
          Bedminster Down - Bristol
                                     Mawnan C of E VA Primary School - Falmouth
                                    The Berlin Brandenburg International School - Berlin

And also wishing continued success with all the other schools currently using our  programmes.

A new term - a new year. Time for some goal setting!

new termI don't know about you but I find that every September I go back to school full of good intentions. There is a feeling that if I start well, the rest of the academic year will simply fall into place.
 
So I colour code my timetable (and enjoy doing it...). I carefully divide my register and write class lists neatly and alphabetically; I seethe inwardly when a new pupil arrives and I am forced to write Clark after Williams. I plan my lessons, make sure I have the right exercise books, the right paper as well as the luxurious extras like scissors and glue. I choose my textbooks carefully and check the schemes of work.
 
Oh yes - this year I am in complete control.
 
But of course I'm not. Teaching isn't like that. There will always be more to do than we have time for; the pile of books waiting to be marked will grow, the reports will have to be written, the lesson you planned will over run.
 
And that's the beauty of teaching. We are dealing with people all day every day. People of different abilities, backgrounds, sexes, shapes, sizes. A microcosm of humanity is here and we are in the thick of it, helping, guiding, inspiring. And it doesn't get much more exciting than that!
 
So this year, instead of getting hung up on the finer details, I will take them in my stride. I've decided to set some wider goals like:
  • Help my students develop a love of the subject.
  • Always write a target when I mark a piece of work.
  • Greet every student with a smile as they come into the classroom.
  • Make relationships with students and colleagues more important than my to-do list.
And the funny thing about goals is that we often achieve them without giving them another thought. It is the setting of them that is powerful.
 
I'll let you know in July if I've been successful.                                        Janet Grant

Evaluation  

Last term we visited schools all over the UK to evaluate how the KS3 programme, It's OK Being Me, has been working for them. We spoke with both staff and students and we realised that doing this work is really making a difference in schools, in terms of improved relationships, raised empathy, greater listening skills and more bonded tutor groups.

With the impetus of a new school year, this trend will continue and when those pupils who began with VisionWorks in Year 7 reach the end of the 3 year programme, the effects of improved emotional literacy in schools will be far reaching.

  Update for KS3iobm cover

  Over the summer we have updated It's OK Being Me. The 2009 version
  includes some new material and some refinements. Many of the ideas came
  from talking with you about what works and what you'd like to see so many
  thanks for your input.

  Attention existing customers - we will be sending out the new CDs in the
  next week.

Insight series

The Insight seriesis a collection of short programmes, each 4 - 6 units, insightdesigned to help students explore key issues. Titles currently available are:
  • Managing Emotions
  • Bullying
  • Communication
  • Peer pressure
  • Family break-up
These programmes come with full teachers' notes and can be used in tutor time or as part of PHSE lessons. They offer a flexible modular way of introducing meaningful solutions to key issues. New titles will be added
to this list so keep visiting us at www.vision-works.net


Register with VisionWorks

If you haven't already registered you're missing out on a host of downloadable resources, assembly ideas and sample modules from our programmes. Register at www.vision-works.net
 
If you'd like to find out how VisionWorks could work for you call Sue Allen or Ruthie Alexander Morgan  on 01249 409001, email sue@vision-works net or ruthie@vision-works.net or visit our website www.vision-works.net

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