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Run out of ideas for the KS2/KS3 transition project?
Here, Allan Thomas from Gillott School talks to Tracy Tierney, our Secondary
ICT Consultant, about his experience in introducing a Healthy Eating Campaign.
In the summer of 2004 I began a pilot transition project with Holy Trinity School, which is our largest feeder school in Henley. This was on the subject of 'healthy eating' whereby the Year 6 students were involved in a variety of activities:
In Year 7 the project dovetailed nicely into unit 7.1 where the pupils produced
a PowerPoint slideshow describing the work they had undertaken in Year 6. To
do this they had access to the files they had created in Year 6. Also, when
they arrived in September they were met with a wall display of the healthy eating
posters outside the main computer room.
The management of the project was fairly straightforward. Meeting with primary
colleagues on two occasions there was a useful exchange of ideas and it was
possible to build the project comfortably into the Year 6 timetable. On two
occasions I was able to obtain cover to visit the primary school to take both
Year 6 groups when they were doing DTP. This was a help to primary colleagues
and allowed me to get to know next year's students.
All students were asked to e-mail their Excel and Publisher files to me in the
last week of the summer term. This went off without a hitch and offered the
primary school a chance to spend a lesson on e-mail. Unfortunately on opening
the Publisher files I discovered that they had been saved in a higher version
than the one used on my system. This oversight was easily rectified, by bringing
a colleague's new home computer into play.
Overall, I was delighted to become involved in a transition project. It gave
me an insight into the work of primary school colleagues and a welcome introduction
to year 6 students. The secondary phase went very smoothly; children were genuinely
excited about finding their work on the Gillotts' server and even more about
the wall display. One note of caution however, is that it is not advisable to
run the same topic in two successive years. This is because of the practice
of having a considerable number of Year 5 students spending their 5th and 6th
years in the same class. Next year we are therefore looking to alter the theme
slightly to the topic of 'food miles'. As this was a pilot I am also keen to
roll it out to most of our feeder schools.
Please contact me if you would like further details.
Allan Thomas
Gillott School
USEFUL WEBSITES
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/
www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/4_11/uptoyou/healthy/foodfitness.shtml
www.childrenfirst.nhs.uk/kids/health/healthy_eating/
www.vegsoc.org/
www.kids.organics.org/Active.htm
