Programme
Saturday 3rd Guests arrive
Sunday 4th work day 1 – Land-based team building activities at the Aztec Centre.
Monday 5th work day 2 – Learn a new language (Japanese) and cooking in a foreign language
Tuesday 6th work day 3 - Water based activities at the centre
Wednesday 7th work day 4 – Learn to play a musical instrument and perform a tune in a band
Thursday 8th work day 5 - teach each other a new skill / presentations to summarise the whole week
Friday 9th social day – trip to Stratford on Avon. Family experiences in the evening
Saturday 10th depart
Report
The Meeting in the UK was a big success. We specifically designed this meeting to be done by students with Special Needs of various kinds, using our usual definition of Special Needs as being any barrier to learning. As a result of this, two teachers per school attended the meeting and also most of the accommodation was in a local outdoor education centre rather than in families.
The aim of the week was for students to develop confidence and a can do attitude to life by engaging in a series of challenges – see above.
The first work day, Sunday, featured the students taking part in climbing, a high ropes course and a giant swing. There was snow on the ground and the weather was cold but this didn’t stop everyone from having a good time and everyone tried all the activities, even if they were a little scared of some of them. We finished the day by having a meal together. It was amazing how quickly everyone made friends during this day.
On Monday the group went to Pershore High School where they learned Japanese and also did some cooking – they made scones and other elements of a british afternoon tea.
On Tuesday, the group was back at the outdoor education centre where they did water based activities such as raft building, canoeing and sailing. Fortunately, the weather was a little warmer as everyone got at least a little wet. Again, everyone engaged well with the activities.
On Wednesday the group went to Ounsdale High School. They spent the day in the music department and learned how to play a variety of instruments to perform a pop song. At the end of the day they did a performance in the school hall to an invited audience.
The last work day was Thursday and everyone was back at Ounsdale. In the morning the group had to teach each other a new skill. We learned Russian and knot tying amongst other things. Later every student had to do a powerpoint slide about the week and what they had learned. They then had to present this to the whole group. It was very interesting for us all to find out what the students had enjoyed the most (usually the outdoor activities) and what they had learned about themselves. That evening the group attended the Pershore High School production.
Finally, on Friday, there was day of relaxation. The group travelled to Stratford and visited a science museum before having some free time. That evening, everyone was able to spend time in families to learn a little more about the English way of life
Overall this was a very successful week. The evaluation of student views can be found on the Powerpoint presentation (created by the students on the Thursday) below and also in the evaluation questionnaires. Also to be found below are some details of the staff professional development which took place and some photos from the week.
Saturday 3rd Guests arrive
Sunday 4th work day 1 – Land-based team building activities at the Aztec Centre.
Monday 5th work day 2 – Learn a new language (Japanese) and cooking in a foreign language
Tuesday 6th work day 3 - Water based activities at the centre
Wednesday 7th work day 4 – Learn to play a musical instrument and perform a tune in a band
Thursday 8th work day 5 - teach each other a new skill / presentations to summarise the whole week
Friday 9th social day – trip to Stratford on Avon. Family experiences in the evening
Saturday 10th depart
Report
The Meeting in the UK was a big success. We specifically designed this meeting to be done by students with Special Needs of various kinds, using our usual definition of Special Needs as being any barrier to learning. As a result of this, two teachers per school attended the meeting and also most of the accommodation was in a local outdoor education centre rather than in families.
The aim of the week was for students to develop confidence and a can do attitude to life by engaging in a series of challenges – see above.
The first work day, Sunday, featured the students taking part in climbing, a high ropes course and a giant swing. There was snow on the ground and the weather was cold but this didn’t stop everyone from having a good time and everyone tried all the activities, even if they were a little scared of some of them. We finished the day by having a meal together. It was amazing how quickly everyone made friends during this day.
On Monday the group went to Pershore High School where they learned Japanese and also did some cooking – they made scones and other elements of a british afternoon tea.
On Tuesday, the group was back at the outdoor education centre where they did water based activities such as raft building, canoeing and sailing. Fortunately, the weather was a little warmer as everyone got at least a little wet. Again, everyone engaged well with the activities.
On Wednesday the group went to Ounsdale High School. They spent the day in the music department and learned how to play a variety of instruments to perform a pop song. At the end of the day they did a performance in the school hall to an invited audience.
The last work day was Thursday and everyone was back at Ounsdale. In the morning the group had to teach each other a new skill. We learned Russian and knot tying amongst other things. Later every student had to do a powerpoint slide about the week and what they had learned. They then had to present this to the whole group. It was very interesting for us all to find out what the students had enjoyed the most (usually the outdoor activities) and what they had learned about themselves. That evening the group attended the Pershore High School production.
Finally, on Friday, there was day of relaxation. The group travelled to Stratford and visited a science museum before having some free time. That evening, everyone was able to spend time in families to learn a little more about the English way of life
Overall this was a very successful week. The evaluation of student views can be found on the Powerpoint presentation (created by the students on the Thursday) below and also in the evaluation questionnaires. Also to be found below are some details of the staff professional development which took place and some photos from the week.
uk_prof_dev_reports.docx |
student_presentations.ppt |