Coordinators' January Checklist
Well we are at the start of the second term of this academic year. Thanks for all your hard work so far in promoting, encouraging and supporting your school's progress with primary languages. Here is your January checklist. (You may want to look back at or refer to some time too at previous checklists this year: December, November , October, September.
Have you booked your free VLE support phone call and/or webinar with Will, oiur Network Support Coordinator? The phone call can take place at a time that suits you and focus on an aspect of the VLE that you want to explore or require support with.Contact him on william@primarylanguagesnetwork.co.uk .
Why not consider booking a free 20 minute input at a staff meeting with Will,as an introduction for all staff to the VLE and its tools? Contact him on william@primarylanguagesnetwork.co.uk.
Have you booked your free 1 2 1 consultancy yet with one of our associate teacher consultancy team? This meeting can take place in school or by phone and is a really valuable opportunity for you to discuss current school primary language teaching and learning and to set yourself achievable next steps and goals for primary languages in school. Just contact us via the website contact page to organise this.
Emilie Woodroffe has a new role within our organisation as the "Associate Teacher Coordinator. She will be visiting the associate schools both to observe the teaching and learning and to meet with the school MFL coordinators to discuss how we can enhance the associate teaching programme we provide in 49 of our network schools.
This month as coordinator:
- Here are our New Year's resolutions for our young language learners.Thanks to the associate teachers for this. A New Year's resolution
- January through to February half term is full of celebrations. Take a look in Seasonal Specials at all the materials and resources we offer you from Epiphany,January Sales and Maths to Pancake Day to St Valentine's Day.You may want to clip-board specific resources in to the year group folders in your school Userfiles for specific years to focus upon and then perhaps to share their work in scholl assemblies or on display boards. This blog post may help you too..."First Week Back Feeling"
- Why not consider linking personal information language and simple descriptions to "Pantomime" season? Here is the blogpost to help you with this "What a picture!What a photograph!
- Encourage all staff to use the Userfiles on the VLE as a very easy way to keep all types of evidence of progress in children's primary language work.Just contact Will, if you need him to talk through quickly how to upload evidence- sound files, photos of work, clips etcetra to this secure area. You can now all access the VLE via the MyLearning APP too, which makes uploading evidence incredibly quick and easy to do.
- Consider creating a progress in writing whole school display board.Carmelina created this one in the photo below with work in Autumn term from our VLE and also the PLN SOW across Year 3, 4, 5 and 6.Here is the original blogpost "Our shared communication wall"
- Take a look at the "Let's Write" addition in the Ready Made SoW for French and Spanish. We are creating writing worksheets based on each half term's focus that have creative elements within the tasks .The associates love the materials we have shared with them so far. You can access the Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 Spring 1 sheets in Ready Made French or Spanish Spring 1 and also in the Activities folders in the KS2 French or Spanish SoW Plus. (Spring 2 will be ready in next week or so... watch this space!)
Watch out for our new writing materials on the VLE linked to our PLN Ready Made French/Spanish SOW. Half termly creative writing opportunity pic.twitter.com/43nE0gLZLo
— Janet Lloyd (@JanetLloydnet) January 3, 2017
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- Why not begin to link your language learning across the curriculum? Our Cross Curricular Area (accessible from the Homepage on the VLE) and the thematic folders in the area have been updated and there is now an "At a glance chart" to help you select themes within folders. Plus our Yoga with French is going down really well and will continue this term too .Just contact Will on william@primarylanguagesnetwork.co.uk to discuss this further or to organise an afternoon session. Here is a blog post update on Yoga with French from last term. Yoga with French
Lancashire schools - have you considered attending or inviting another school to attend the introductory PLN meetings in Heysham on 24 January or Garstang on 31st January? More details here: Upcoming events
Our second Coordinators CPD afternoon is due to take place on Thursday 26 January. The focus will be reading and writing in primary languages and capturing evidence of progress. More details here: Upcoming events
Watch out for your email invite to the local network meetings in February or March, to be held in Sefton, St Helens, Warrington, Leigh ,Knowsley, Halton, West Cheshire,East Cheshire. Theme is "Spring in your step" and all staff will be welcome. Our focus will be on simple activities that link PE,Art,Drama and Dance with primary language learning. More details will follow here: Upcoming events
Please save the date! The annual conference is on 29 June 2017 at the Statham Lodge Hotel, Lymm,Warrington.Every network school is entitled to one free delegate place. Our keynote speakers are Therese Comfort and Daniel Alliot and our focus will be on "actively making progress in primary language learning".Watch out for emails inviting you to register for the event. Take a look at this short video of the PLN Conference 2016.