http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/ en emily.newbon@talk21.com Copyright 2008 2008-05-17T22:15:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/make-yourself-at-home1/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/make-yourself-at-home1/#When:01:43:00Z First, some explanation about how membership works on schoolswork.co.uk. If you’re not a member, you can’t create a new post on the blog, but you can comment on an existing posting. However, your comment will need to be approved by one of the editors at schoolswork.co.uk before it shows up on the site. This can take anywhere between a few minutes to a few hours (or days if we’re really busy!). We do this to prevent inappropriate or offensive material being posted. If you register as a member, you can comment on existing posts and create your own new posts, but they will need to be approved in the same way. Members can be upgraded to authors at any time. Authors can post immediately on the site without waiting for approval. We are happy to upgrade members to authors if you’ve posted a couple of times or if you or your organisation are known to us. We hope you understand the need to have some restrictions to safeguard the site in this way. This site will be updated regularly, with helpful resources and ideas, as well as links and events that are coming up. It would really help us if you could be our eyes and ears where you are and let us know of things we should know about. We’d also love to see this being a place where you can connect with other schools workers near you that you didn’t even know were there before! Coming soon will be a locator map showing areas where our different members are based. If you haven’t registered yet, please click on the little glowing orange word in the top right hand corner of the page and introduce yourself to us! Other 2007-12-17T01:43:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/vox-pops-coming-soon/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/vox-pops-coming-soon/#When:22:15:00Z We are planning on doing some street interviews with people to upload to schoolswork.co.uk chatting to people about what they believe.  If you have any ideas of questions that you would find helpful in your work (i.e. what’s something that would be really useful in that assembly you’ve got coming up, or your next RE lesson). Topics could be on anything, from truth to suffering to worship to toothpaste (?!). Please could you add your suggestion in the ‘leave a comment’ box under this post. Thanks! Your contributions are appreciated, and hopefully will be worth your while once we get lots of lovely short vids for you to use! Secondary 2008-05-17T22:15:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/green-is-good/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/green-is-good/#When:17:19:00Z http://www.wearewhatwedo.org really interesting site (bought to you by the makers of the ‘I am not a plastic bag’ bag and the books ‘change the world for a fiver’ and ‘change the world 9-5’ a good challenge to set people. you can sign up to the site and click on different actions that you have done to make the world a better place ------------ http://www.zeropointzero.co.uk another cool site, a bit like we are what we do, social networking and also here you can choose to do actions too it’s split into five areas * fight poverty * go green * make peace * cure illness * share culture and easy to navigate catch you with more green stuff soon :) Secondary 2008-05-16T17:19:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/cool-vid/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/cool-vid/#When:17:07:00Z http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FuGFmAM4Ls check it out. nuff said Primary 2008-05-16T17:07:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/podcast/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/podcast/#When:08:48:00Z ...if you select to ‘listen now’, an ipod graphic will appear in the top left hand corner of your screen. The episode you want to listen to won’t always be at the top and you may have to scroll down to the one you want. Other 2008-05-16T08:48:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/explore/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/explore/#When:09:46:00Z exploRE is, i think, a partnership between YFC and Youth Aplha which has produced the youth alpha material but as a credible lessons. seriously the amount of time this has just taken off my hands!! woop- gonna see next week what my teachers think! Secondary 2008-05-14T09:46:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/help-mystery-schools-work-conference/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/help-mystery-schools-work-conference/#When:08:40:00Z I’ve got this booked in my diary, but can’t find any information about it? Can any one help? Other 2008-05-14T08:40:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/difficult-kids-coming-to-church/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/difficult-kids-coming-to-church/#When:11:09:00Z We have a group of up to 10 young people from year 7 and 8 who come along to church of their own accord each week.  They come in and often disappear down to the toilets or into another room in the church building which means every week starts on a bad note with me chasing after them and bringing them back to the main church until we can go out together.  However when they are in the service they will often shout inappropriately and swear and also generally turn up with a back of sweets or cans of red bull each.  Their behaviour is very hard to manage and their attention span is not much better. We have found that structured sessions are sometimes very good and short activities so they don’t get bored work well some weeks, however other weeks there have obviously been other things happening outside that trigger behaviour that means even when i have something planned they would normally enjoy my role becomes crowd control.  Although I have the backing of the church there are few people with any expertise in working with children with these issues so it tends to just get left in my hands. Does anyone have any suggestions of the type of work I could try and pursue with them, or has anyone had similar experiences so I can be reassured that my efforts are not for nothing.  Most weeks I come out feeling drained, unhappy and horse from having to try and be heard. To quote the old poem, when they are good, they are very very good, but when they are bad they’re awful!!! The current plan is trying to do a combination of anger management and self worth with them.  Does this seem appropriate? Secondary 2008-05-13T11:09:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/the-prodigal-farmer/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/the-prodigal-farmer/#When:10:59:00Z The 5th in the ‘Farmer Andy’ series. This time it is a newly updated version of the Prodigal Son. If you would like a copy of any of the Farmer Andy videos, please email me at andy@yoyotrust.org.uk with a postal address. Hope you enjoy!! Secondary 2008-05-13T10:59:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/mend-the-gap/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/mend-the-gap/#When:22:46:00Z I just bought my copy tonight so am yet to read, but here’s a brief descr. and some reviews: As society rapidly alters, the gap between young and old threatens to become a deep fracture in the heart of families, communities - and churches. Resisting simplistic solutions, Jason Gardner deftly analyses the reasons for the growing generation gap, including the role of the church. He provides practical steps forward for church leaders, youthworkers and parents. Underpinning this hopeful book is an unshaking belief in Christ’s burning ability to inspire a ‘whole big bad beautiful mix of people to follow him, regardless of their age.’ Jason offers a vision of an intergenerational church where people of all ages worship together, learning with and from each other...you need to read it. Jenny Baker A compelling insight into the challenges of creating and cherishing multi-generational church. Jill Rowe Jason has not only given us a theological and cultural critique of the church’s relationship with young people, but real world strategies for putting it right. Chris Curtis Read more here. So how can this help our thinking about schools work and introducing young people to a community where all generations communicate and potentially share life together? How can we introduce them to the rich diversity of ages, and the wisdom they will find there? Possibly something ordinarily inaccessible for many of them… Other 2008-05-12T22:46:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/fresh-the-conference/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/fresh-the-conference/#When:14:23:00Z This exciting event is to help prepare sixth-form students (both lower and upper), and those currently on ‘year out’ programmes for university.  It is to be held on Saturday 21 June at St Paul’s Church Centre in Northey Avenue, Cheam.  We are working in partnership with Krish Kandiah (Evangelical Alliance) and IVP Publishers to coincide with Krish’s recently published book ‘Fresh’.  This is a fantastic book providing 5 weeks of inspiration for new students covering Faith, Relationships, Evangelism, Study and Holiness.  Krish will be speaking on some of the content in his book and we also have a student union worker from the University of Greenwich coming to give some practical advice on accommodation, money management etc, and there might just be some cooking tips thrown in!  As many of you will know, going to University is an exciting time, but it can also be very challenging, especially for Christians.  It would be great if you could encourage any students that you know to come along to the event where they will be encouraged and challenged to live for Jesus in their new surroundings.  Please contact me (details on flyer) for further information or to book. You can download a flyer here. 16+ 2008-05-12T14:23:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/green-again/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/green-again/#When:01:59:00Z I’m totally more than blessed to have a fantastic team to run cafe with - all whom bring different skills. Waderific (Tom Wade) was a legend and put together an amazing chapel time which introduced fairtrade, us as consumers and our impact on other people in the world. He put together an amazing presentation which made it come alive and then Claire did a really brilliant art workshop. The workshop went down a storm. We’d been donated some cool reusable shopping bags which our young people sprayed through stencils onto. Stencils are pretty easy to make but time consuming. Here’s how we made our reusbale ones: 1. either draw designs or print off images you want to use. Remember that you need to be able to cut them out without everything falling apart so keep lots of white space. 2. I lamintated the designs ( but you don’t have to) 3. Then on the back of the designs, stick double sided tape but don’t remove the waxy paper from the second side. 4. Flip the design back over and using a craft knife cut out all of the bits of the design that you want to spray through. 5. Place a thick piece of card inside the clothing/bag you are about to decorate so that paint doesn’t bleed through. Now your ready to place the stencil. 6. Ensure the fabric is flat and peel off the waxy paper from the double sided tape. Press the stencil down firmly. 7. Mask of any areas around the stencil that you want to keep clean (the spray cans go a lot farther than you think they will.......) 8. make sure you have the right safety stuff - gloves/masks etc (we did ours outside so we weren’t in a confined space) then spray away keeping the can about 30 - 50 centimetres from the design and spraying lightly in even strokes. Keep going til your happy with the amount of coverage. 9. Wait a minute or so for the pain to dry before removing the stencil. If you don’t want to use spray paint, fabric paint or acrylic is also fine and dandy. Enjoy Woowhooo! Other 2008-05-12T01:59:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/adult-world-help/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/adult-world-help/#When:08:49:00Z I have been asked to take a year 13 tutor time on entering the adult world, as it’s their last session. Not got much time to plan this so hoping some one has some ideas that have already worked, or that I could adapt? Thanks, Andrea Secondary 2008-05-09T08:49:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/god-still-speaks-through-donkeys/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/god-still-speaks-through-donkeys/#When:08:23:00Z There you are, up on stage holding a huge oversized-overstuffed Eye-ore. “Good morning! This is a donkey…do you know what a donkey says? That’s right! EEE—aahh! This donkey’s name is Bradley, and he is going to tell you about the time Jesus rode into Jerusalem.” The donkey-puppet begins to relay the story. The workers/teachers/helpers sit back…they walk in and out with kids who have to ‘go’…in the back they chat about lunch, last night, and the kid who just picked his nose. Only the little ears are listening to the story. The workers have heard it a gazillion times, and besides, who has time to pay attention to a story about a donkey when Jimmy just ran out of the room? At the end, the children are all waving palm leaves and singing “Hosanna” while the workers hover by waiting to grab the first kid who pokes someone with a palm leaf. I am not sure when or where or even how we learn to cross the line… at what point we decide the Bible story is just for the kids. What did you teach this week? What did you hear this week? What did God teach you…or what were you so busy hoping the kids would grasp, that you forgot to grab it for yourself? I know it can be chaotic when working with children, but He wants to speak; if we would just learn to listen Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths ~Psalm 25:4~ Primary 2008-05-09T08:23:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/lightlive/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/lightlive/#When:15:05:00Z LightLive, the online service that puts Bible-based learning material at the fingertips of children’s and youth workers, went live today. We’d love you to have a look at it and then pass the news around your networks / those in your church. http://www.lightlive.org Wayne Dixon Primary, Secondary 2008-05-08T15:05:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/czech-bible-project/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/czech-bible-project/#When:18:08:00Z I have a friend who is a great inspiration to me as he has a lot of patience and a great deal of determination. He’s spent the last 15 years transalting the Bible into Czech. He’s taught me a bit about Czech history and it is really intriguing to find out how the Christian story and the importance of having a new Bible translation is linked. There’s an 8 minute video on YouTube that I found really interesting.  A great resource for a discussion starter - it made me realise how much i take for granted having so many Bible translations in English and having the freedom to talk about God and faith. I cannot imagine what it must’ve been like in the communist era http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_J8GbiUMo0 hope it’s useful to you. Other 2008-05-07T18:08:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/going-green/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/going-green/#When:12:45:00Z On Monday I i got on the bus to central London to have a look around a market run by the Slow Food movement. I got myself some beautiful food and drink and found out some great information for a chapel service that I’ll be running on saturday. We’re doing a series called ‘The Bigger Picture” which this week wil focus on what we as individuals can do to help improve the environment anyway, enough waffling...it really made me think about how I can make a positive change to events that we run as an organisation and which companies we use - not only those with positive ethics who are concerned about their clients and workers, but also practical matters ...here are a couple of things that are pretty interesting - could be used for school fetes, youth events,enterprise weeks, fundraisers etc… a really cool company that makes carrier bag alternatives - you can get your logos printed on (I’m thinking about running a logo design competition with logos to encourage green living) http://www.gogreenbags.com the slow food movement is cool too - getting us to think about the opposite of fast food, recipe sharing and soul food stylee http://www.slowfood.com polystyrene is wrong - i was very excited to see food trays made from palm leaves - very funky and would be good for food events. They are microwave safe too, so no worries about heating up snackage and nasties being released into your food as you do with plastic containers http://www.thewholeleafco.com this site is pure goodness but i’m loving the disposable starch cutlery and wooden cutlery. niceness http://www.ecomundi.co.uk ok that’d my eco-rant over for today. watch out, more to come :) Secondary 2008-05-07T12:45:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/examattack1/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/examattack1/#When:13:48:00Z http://www.examattack.org.uk has been put together by Ben Rolfe based on a presentation I give in local schools which continues to be well received by pupils, staff and parents. There’s other bits and pieces linked to the site - some schools have put a link from their website to ‘Examattack’. Those in year 11 might find ‘Life Actually’ by Jenny Baker a really good read. see link on examattack website and recently the Good Book company have prodcued a resource geared for church young people that looks great. It’s called: ‘Don’t Panic The Ultimate Exam Survival Kit’ http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/dontpanic Best wishes Wayne Dixon Secondary 2008-05-06T13:48:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/escape-from-exam-mania/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/escape-from-exam-mania/#When:15:37:00Z Share your ideas on creating a stress free environment either in a school/church/somewhere else where young people can find space for themselves. Maybe it’s an exercise on relaxation, a mediation perhaps, or a fun cafe where the ‘e’ word isn’t allowed! There is the other side of the coin though, where some young people don’t even realise their exams are round the corner! We might be doing them a favour in encouraging them to open their books, make a plan to revise the right topics and help them put together a revision guide that is realistic for them.  How about developing a creative space without mobiles, msn and bebo, where young people are inspired to get down to some revision? Anybody having any success with this, we’d love to hear from you! Anyway, here’s a thread to discuss exam time and how we can be used by God to bless young people through our work… Secondary, 16+ 2008-05-02T15:37:00+00:00 http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/anger-management/ http://schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/anger-management/#When:12:02:00Z Pychotherapist, Nick Luxmoore has written this latest book out of such experiences of young people in schools struggling with their emotions and experiences. In each chapter you’ll recognise the characters you see around school and are guided to the issues behind what’s being presented and offered ways to explore them. It’s a really easy read and is more ‘learning by story’ than text book example, theory and practice. It also demystifies the counseling process and encourages you to just have a go at understanding, sagely it also talks about the potential costs. I love that it isn’t a series of success stories and that letting go of unfinished business is just part of dealing with the brokenness of some young lives. It’s also encouraging to read about other peoples work and think, oh I do/say/work it like that. It covers a whole host of topics along the way - identity,envy, disappointment, loss, emptiness and more.It’s the slightly random price of £14.24 on Amazon today and I would say worth every penny. I’ve already thought of two people to pass copies onto and want to recommend it to a head teacher. If you’re easily offended by the colourful language young people are inclined to use then it’s probably not for you - maybe along with this area of work!?! I’m also off to buy his book “Feeling Like Crap, Young People and the Meaning of Self Esteem”. It’s inspiring to read something so real and exciting to think about it’s potential. Secondary, 16+, SEN 2008-05-02T12:02:00+00:00