Family ICT Project

Eleven families attended the second session of the family ICT project at Stepney Green Maths Computing and Science College yesterday afternoon.

Families learned how to set up and animate a Powerpoint Presentation. Most children knew how to do it and they were teaching their parents.

Each family has been loaned a camera over the holidays to take pictures of their family. When families come back in January they will create a powerpoint presentation.

Assemblies at Smithy Street

Children at Smithy Street were very excited about the family homework this morning. Ben from the Stepney Partnership came in to do two assemblies across year groups. One boy said he was going to write his own Christmas Carol for the family homework!

Family ICT Project

Around 10 families attended the first session of the Family ICT Project which takes place at Stepney Green.

Families from Halley, Redlands, Smithy Street and Stepney Green learned how to use a digital camera.

Next week the families will learn how to create a powerpoint presentation.

Watch Doctor Who to help you with your homework

The family homework across the partnership schools is all about Christmas 'Past and Present'.
We would like you to find out about a Victorian Christmas.

What better way to do this than to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special on the 25th December!

The episode is going to be based on Charles Dickens' famous book - the Christmas Carol.

Christmas Family Homework

The next Family Homework will be going out over the next 3 weeks. It is themed around Christmas Past and Christmas Present.

The Christmas Past section is about finding out about a Victorian Christmas. A great website to visit is www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas

The Christmas Present asks families to write a story or a play about what your family are doing over the holiday period. You are the real life Eastenders!

Finally the homework encourages families to get out and about over the holidays with lots of ideas including visiting a museum, ice skating and looking at Christmas lights.

Family Homework

The Stepney Partnership is busy getting the next Family Homework ready. This one is going to be themed around 'Christmas Past - Christmas Present'. As usual there will be lots of suggested activities that families can do together over the holidays.

Watch out for family homework coming out in the next couple of weeks. And thanks to Ben Jonson School for creating it!

Year 5 Family Taster Day at Stepney Green

"I feel more confident because I know what and how school is going to be like in secondary school" said a Year 5 student from Ben Jonson.

14 families across the partnership primary schools attended the Year 5 Family Taster Day at Stepney Green Maths Computing and Science College today. The families started by playing Carrom and board games in the library, before doing lessons in ICT, Music and Science. The day finished with a tasty lunch in the main hall - one parent even wanted the recipe for the Roast Beef!

Parents loved the day too and thought it was helpful for both them and their child, "It helped my son and myself to understand what secondary school is like, my son is very excited and gained confidence to attending secondary school".

A great day - big thanks to the Year 8 boys who showed the families around and the teachers who gave excellent lessons.

Let's Get Cooking!

Over 30 people from 10 families across Stepney Partnership schools came together today for the 'Let's Get Cooking' Event at Halley. Each family had to make a main course, desert or smoothy - there was tasting, judging - and winners! Click below for some photos. Masterchef here we come...

African Drumming

Over 50 children and parents come to an amazing African drumming workshop in the hall at Stepney Green. What a magnificent noise, and all in rhythm too! The workshop was part of Stepney Partnership's half-term activities for Black History Month. Check out the photos by clicking below...

Museum of London Docklands

Over 30 children and parents from across Stepney Partnership schools went to the Museum of London (Docklands) over half-term. The highlight was playing hide and seek in 'Sailortown' and listening to Abdul Miah the Indian sailor with tales of his travels. The trip was part of Stepney Partnership's activities for Black History Month. See photos below...

Let's Get Cooking Event at Halley

Halley School are inviting families from across the partnership to take part in a 'Let’s Get Cooking' event on Thursday 11 November after school. The event is to help families to make healthy packed lunches. Three families from each partner school are invited! The event will be like the TV programme Ready Steady Cook - families will have to make healthy packed lunches from the available ingredients!

'Just One Thing'

This year the Stepney Partnership will bring together specific staff from the partnership schools (Ben Jonson, Cayley, Halley, Redlands, Smithy Street and Stepney Green Maths Computing & Science College). The aim is for staff to meet their counterparts in other schools, and then to agree ‘JUST ONE THING’ they will do together in the future. It doesn’t have to be big or complex…something simple that encourages sharing of knowledge, resources, and/or information across the partnership.

The first meeting on the 12th October brought together Attendance Lead Contacts across the partnership. It was a great meeting! Staff agreed to share a wide range of practical resources like posters, leaflets and ways of working. The next meeting is for people responsible for 'Transition' from each school.

Family Homework - Black History Month

Stepney Partnership schools are working together to give children and families exciting homework so that families, friends and neighbours can learn together. The next family homework is all about Black History Month, and is for October half-term

1) Become a family biographer -
Does someone in your family, or friends or neighbours come from somewhere else in the world? Were they born there? You (and your brothers and sisters) could interview this person to find out why they came to Stepney/London. Make it more interesting by finding an older person —maybe older than your parents. If there are a number of you doing this you could share out the jobs eg an interviewer, a note taker, a photographer (or portrait artist!) as well as the ‘official biographer’!

2) Take a family trip

London has people from all corners of the world. Take a family trip over half-term to discover the history and people of London.

3) Cook some carribbean food

There are large numbers of people who live in London, who come from, or their families came from, the Caribbean. Caribbean food is delicious! Find some recipes for Caribbean food (go to the Ideas Store or search the internet). When you have found something to try, plan the shopping—you might have to go to some different shops to find unusual ingredients, although Sainsbury will stock most things.

These are just ideas you can do anything you want, as long as you do it together as a family.

Get ready for Father's Story Week 2011!

Fathers from across the partnership school loved 'Father's Story Week' last year! Hundreds of Dads took part in activities including a Dad's Olympics, portrait painting, a paper aeroplane making competition and lots more.

Now it is time to sign up and start planning for Father's Story Week 2011 (13-19 June). Visit the Father's Story Week website for more information.

Pictures show Fathers from Redlands Primary School.

Family Trips over Half-Term

We have three FREE family activities coming up over half-term linked to the theme of Black History Month:

1) Saturday 23 October Family trip to Half Moon Theatre to watch Handa's Surprise with puppets, African instruments and songs

2) Tuesday 26 October Family trip to Museum of London - find out about the history of London in a fun museum, great for all ages.

3) Wednesday 27 October - Family music and dance workshop by Iroko Theatre at Stepney Green School

To sign up, see posters in school.

Family Scrapbooks

It was great to see so many children bring in their family scrap books from the summer holidays. Before the summer holidays, each child across the partnership received a blank scrapbook, glue stick and family map before the summer holidays.

The aim of the family homework was to encourage parents and children to spend time learning together, and to get out and about in their local area. The family scrap books had everything from bus/train tickets, photos, drawings, writing, leaves and even pebbles from the beach!

Stepney Partnership schools will be setting a family homework six times during the school year to try to involve parents in their children’s learning. The next homework will be about Black History Month in October.

“My Mum helped me write in my scrapbook, and my Dad helped me to stick in pictures and come with pictures to draw” (Redland’s child)

“I learned how to help my daughter with her homework, and how I can make it fun so that she want to take part more” (Halley parent)

“I learned that we can do so many things as a family” (Redland’s child)

Welcome back!

Stepney Partnership would like to welcome back families to the new year in it six schools - Ben Jonson, Cayley, Halley, Redlands, Smithy Street and Stepney Green Maths Computing and Science College. We have lots of fun family activities planned this year across the partnership schools.

Stepney Partnership Family Fun Day

What an amazing day at Stepney Green yesterday! Hundreds of Stepney Partnership children and parents came along to participate in activities including bouncy castles, climbing wall, cookery, arts and craft activities and Somali dancing.

Big congratulations to Ben Jonson who won both the childrens' and the teachers' football tournaments!

Stepney Partnership Family Map

Before the end of term, every child across the partnership is going to receive a family map of their local area, scrap book and glue stick for a summer holiday project.

We are looking for families to keep a scrap book to remember all the places they visit over the summer holidays.

Children and parents can write, draw and stick things in their scrap book.

We are asking for children to bring their scrap book back in September to share with other children, teachers and families

This week is Father's Story Week

Redlands and Smithy Street have organised loads of activities for Father's Story Week! Both schools have set family homeworks which involve Dads or male carers and role models. On Thursday, Dads of children across all the year groups are invited into take part in fun activities and to find out what their children are doing in class, including a paper aeroplane making competition and a Dads Olympics!

We made a splash!

Over 100 people from Stepney Partnership schools headed down yesterday to Shadwell Basin for an excellent family fun day. Families had the chance to try canoeing, kayaking, climbing and rope walking. There were bouncy castles, face painting and a "pirates club" for younger children. Check out the photos below, and you can see how much fun everyone had!

Olympic Park Tour

Wow that must be the world's biggest building site! 15 families from across the partnership schools went on a bus tour of the Olympic Park in Stratford today. Thankfully we stayed inside the bus for the tour, because the weather was awful!

We saw loads of things including the Olympic stadium, the Aquatic Centre, the Athlete's Village and the Velodrome. Apparently earlier on in the construction project, they had 4 giant washing machines that they used to clean all the soil from the site (the site was polluted from old industrial use). I hope the tour guide wasn't making that up!

Dads speaks to school staff across Tower Hamlets!

The Stepney Partnership attended a seminar about how to involve Fathers in school life yesterday. Two Stepney Partnership Dads, M.Rasel from Redlands and Naim from Halley, shared their family scrap books and their experiences - they got lots of applause!

It was a really informative afternoon, some of the advice coming from the day included:

• Schools need to be flexible with timings when organising events for Fathers - it's good to have lots of options - mornings, afternoons and weekends



• Fathers need to have lots of advance warning so they can book time off work



• 'Pester power' from kids is really important - if the children are excited about an activity they will pester their Dads to come.
  


• Dads like really practical activities with their children
  


• Letters home should go to Mums, Dads and Carers - research has shown that more Fathers will turn up if letters are addressed to them

Family cooking workshops at Stepney Green

Pizza, shepards pie, apple crumble, biscuits are all on the menu for the family cooking workshops at Stepney Green.

Four workshops are taking place, and families from across the Stepney Partnership schools are invited. The workshops are led by the head cook at Stepney Green.

Trips over half-term

The Stepney Partnership has organised loads of family trips for half-term week in June:

Mile End Park
Wednesday 2 June - Messy play and mud sculpting
Friday 4 June - Pond dipping

Olympic Park Tour
Tuesday 1 June - take a tour of the Olympic Park Consruction site

Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity Centre
Saturday 5 June - Family Fun Day

Families can sign up in their school.

Getting ready for Father's Story Week

Stepney Partnership schools are getting ready for Father's Story Week (June 14-18), is an exciting initiative from the Fatherhood Institute all about involving Dads in their children's learning.

Staff from Stepney Partnership schools helped the Fatherhood Institute to shape this national project.

Over the coming weeks on this blog, we will share what the schools are doing....

Redlands schools is organising a special ‘family homework’ during that week which will encourage children across all years to do something with their Fathers at home, most of the ideas are inspired by the Fatherhood Institute website.

Year 6 Transition Project at Half Moon Theatre

The children had an amazing time at the Year 6 Transition project at Half Moon Theatre this week. Sixteen children from across four primary schools took part in drama workshops, activities and games all week to prepare for going to secondary school. Three Year 7 boys from Stepney Green joined us on the final day. Parents joined us on Monday and Friday.

Children said the best thing was making friends and playing with children from other primary schools...."Meeting new people has been very helpful to me because I met them them and didn't want to play with them but when I played the activities they were very funny and active"

Everyone received a certificate for taking part. Check out some photos below.

Toads, Lizards, Waterworms, Spiders and lots more...

What a beautiful day. We are were so lucky with the weather as 9 Redlands Dads walked with their Reception/Year 1 children to the Ecology Centre at Mile End Park. The Park Rangers led two activities - pond dipping and mini-beast hunting. We found so many different animals!

Each family got a disposable camera so they could have pictures to remember the day.

Once Upon A Tiger

An amazing Saturday which ended up at Half Moon Young People's Theatre. We started off with about 30 people from Stepney Partnership schools making tiger masks at the hall in Stepney Green. Then we walked a couple of minutes down to the Half Moon Theatre and watched an amazing play called "Once Upon A Tiger". The play was about time-travel and had an actor who spoke Korean through out.

Centre of the Cell

Over 40 of us took the short walk to 'Centre of the Cell' in Whitechapel today. The show lasted an hour, and was really exciting. We learned all about how cells work, and we walked past a real life labatory.

To visit Centre of the Cell you need to visit their website, or ring the phone number 0207 882 2564

http://www.centreofthecell.org/