Assemblies at Underley Garden – Autumn 1

At Underley Garden, we believe that we all have the potential to learn from everything we do and we believe that learning gives people the opportunity to ‘be all that they can be’. We are committed to providing broad, balanced, inclusive and accessible learning opportunities which include weekly assemblies. This is a great opportunity for learners to come together within their school buildings and explore a range of different topics.

During Autumn 1 we have looked at the following within our assemblies:

Week 1 – Welcome back and School Rules

Assembly began with a huge welcome back and an opportunity for learners to share any holiday news they had. The young people then had the opportunity to come up with their own school rules in groups. The rules ranged from not running in corridors to eating healthy snacks everyday. As a whole group we then read out the rules they had come up with and they put their thumbs up or down to decide if they thought the rule was a good or bad one for school. 

Week 2 – School Council 

The young people listened to what a school council is and why the student voice is important. They then came up with some ideas about what qualities make a good school councillor. They then had the opportunity to think about what they would like the school council to change for the school. Those who wanted to stand for student council elections then had the opportunity to fill out their application. Other learners have draw some pictures of the different things school council do and what they would like to request from school council.

Week 3 – Rosh Hashanah 

We introduced Rosh Hasanah to the learners, asking who had previous knowledge of this. The young people watched a video showing them the Jewish new year celebration. They then explored about the traditions those who practise Judaism followed, such as the significance of eating pomegranate, apple and honey for a sweet life. Learners then listened to the sound of a shofar to understand how the Jewish people woke up to during the celebration. A shofar is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram’s horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. The young people then had the opportunity to make and decorate their own shofar using party blowers or complete Rosh Hashanah related colouring, crosswords and word searches whilst trying the traditional foods, including challah bread made by Q4. 

Students had an assembly on the Jewish new year, they watched videos that discussed the traditions and why they do different things. They looked at the different foods, different religious parts and musical instruments. Students discussed the comparison to the UK new year.

Assembly was all about Jewish festival called Rosh Hashanah which is celebrated in autumn, the young people learnt all about why is it celebrated and what they do to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. The young people then designed Rosh Hashanah gift boxes.

Week 4 – Right vs Wrong 

In this weeks assembly, the young people discussed the difference between right vs wrong, looking at fact and fiction or using the moral compass. They looked at images such as helping someone up or stealing someone’s bag and had to decide if the decisions being made were right or wrong. They also looked at trickier scenarios to help them understand the concept of the moral compass such as doing something wrong but trying to make it right. They then listened to a variety of scenarios and stood up if they thought it was right or stayed seated if they thought it was wrong. They had opportunities to discuss their reasonings which was really great to hear why they thought certain decisions were right or wrong. Other learners listened to the interactive PowerPoint about “ok, or not ok”. They were given scenarios, and were asked if they feel this is ok or not ok. The scenarios included things such as bullying, name calling, copying homework, leaving friends out etc. All learners participated well, and took it in turns to say how they would feel in each scenario and whether it’s ok or not (kind or unkind behaviours).

Week 5 – Black History month 

The young people watched a video about the importance of Black History month and why we celebrate historical figures such as Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama. They then enjoyed a picture quiz where they needed to recognise famous black people and the reason why they are celebrated. They then engaged in a music quiz with songs from different decades, performed by black singers. They danced and sang to these songs, celebrating Black History month. This helped them recognise the black singers they knew and that many of the songs they enjoy are sang by black singers although they may not have realised it. 

In other parts of school, learners had a go at reading out loud when going through a PowerPoint of Significant Black figures from history. They then discussed Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, watching videos and learning about their story. LB shared his views about Rosa Parks with the class.

Week 6 – ADHD awareness month 

A great assembly looking into what ADHD is and what people with ADHD may struggle with. Learners then talked about how ADHD can be seen as a superpower due to their creativity and energy. We listed other traits of ADHD which can have positive outcomes. The young people then made orange awareness ribbons to help raise awareness, some of these are up on display around the school building.

Week 7 – Recycling week 

The young people watched a video about the importance of recycling and why we do it to help our planet. They then saw how each material is broken down and recycled. We explored the theme for recycling week which is ‘Rescue me’ and explained this meant rescuing items that usually go in the general waste that can actually be recycled. Learners engaged really well in an activity where they were showed different items and they worked as a team to decide which recycling bin they would go in. They then designed something that they could make out of a recyclable item to ‘rescue it’ such as an egg box planter or a toilet roll bird feeder. They got very creative with their ideas!

Week 8 – Diwali 

This was a lovely assembly, which the learners really enjoyed. The young people watched a video of a little girl celebrating Diwali and ask them to identify traditions they think that are included in Diwali. We then discussed what Diwali is and who is worshipped. We learned that Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights and is a five-day festival that celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. It is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists and explored the different traditions they each follow. The learners then used paper plates to design their own Diya lamps for the ‘festival of light’.