“I really enjoyed the Summer School and the best activity was the Club challenge” says Jacob.

“I had a great time at Summer School because the activities were fun. The mentors were very helpful and taught me a lot. Pete is very funny!” says Fahim

Ruhuz says “Its the best Summer School I’ve been to because I had fun with my friends and learnt a lot from the mentors.”

Lianne from St. James says ” I really enjoyed the Study Centre Summer School-I really enjoyed going to Brixworth Country Park!!”

“It was really great-I want to come again!” Michael from St. James.

“It was really, really fun. It has built up my confidence-can I come next year?” says Clara.

“I really loved it at the Summer School!” says Rebecca.

” I learnt a lot at the Summer School and it was really fun!!” says Laura from St. James.

 

Year 5 and 6 pupils from St James Primary School kicked off the Saints Study Centre’s Summer School on Monday 28th July. This year our holiday programme has been funded by Northamptonshire County Council through their Youth Small Grant Fund.   The learning programme is designed to motivate and encourage pupils to develop skills in numeracy, literacy, ICT, team building and study skills, incorporating the governments Every Child Matters agenda.

On Monday the young learners made a name badge using Publisher, they took part in a tag rugby session led by Saints community coaches and using the player maths cards solved a number of maths problems as a team.  In the afternoon, they started their Club Challenge which involved them being the owner of a sports club. They had to design a stadium, pick players for their team, choose a manager and mascot, design a home and away kit, compose a chant for their supporters to sing and a club motto, design a club badge and an anti- racism slogan. This involved producing all their work using a variety of ICT skills.

On Tuesday morning the children finished off their Club Challenges. They also visited the Saints shop to complete a maths activity and do some shopping! In the afternoon the children enjoyed an hour splashing around at a local swimming pool.

Yesterday involved a trip to Brixworth Country Park to play team games and take part in an orienteering activity led by Pete, an Educational Ranger. The children worked extremely well in teams to complete team building tasks and navigate around the country park collecting clues as they went.

Today the children are back in the Study Centre making Lego buggies and using Robolab technology. Firstly,  the children are challenged to make their buggies turn 360 degrees, then move the buggy up the corridor stopping between the door frames. The buggy then has to be parked in the Study Centre Robolab garage. The activity is then finished off with a Robolab Grand Prix, testing their speed and design. This afternoon, the children will compile a Photostory on the computers using all the photographs taken over the past four days.

During the presentation evening, we asked all parents to fill in a feedback form which is used to improve the programme that the centre offers in future. We like to find out whether the young person’s time at the Saints Study Centre has been a fun and educational experience. Here are some of the comments:

“They would both always talk about the positive things they had been doing.”

“Ryan has taken up reading as a passion since coming to the study centre. He no longer looks at reading as a chore.”

“The most positive thing is that it has broadened his horizons and allowed him to interact with new people.”

“It has improved his confidence and well being. It has given him something to look forward to.”

“He always came home smiling and talking about what he had done, this is something he wouldn’t always do.”

“She has become a lot more confident doing her school work.”

“It was encouraging to see Ethan keen to do extra studies.”

“He looked forward to going every week. He enjoyed showing off the pieces of work he brought home and saying ‘ I did this myself’.”

“It helped him think for himself and promoted self confidence.”

“It helped her understand that education isn’t just about school.”

“The study centre has given her more confidence and a better understanding towards education.”

Thank you to all parents who gave up their time to fill in the questionnaire.

Last night the Saints Study Centre held its Celebration Evening for all the young learners who have taken part in the Playing for Success programme this term.  Those who have taken part in our daytime programmes were also invited to the event.

Young learners from the following schools attended:

Mereway Community College

Simon de Senlis Primary

St Andrews Primary

St Gregorys Primary

Bellinge Primary

Briar Hill Primary

Queen Eleanor Primary 

Hunsbury Park Primary

Thomas Becket Secondary

and the FullBack boys.

The children were firstly introduced to the audience through a short video of them running out of the tunnel like a Saints player.  The young learners were then presented with a goody bag from the Saints Community Dept and a certificate of achievement by Saints players, Mark Hopley, Paul Diggin and of course, Bernie the mascot.  Over 400 parents, carers, teachers and relatives watched proudly as their children received their awards. 

The audience were also treated to a demonstration of circus skills by Kevin Burke the County Jester, who explained the educational benefits to the young learners in learning circus skills at the study centre.  A group of young learners were then picked out from the audience to demonstrate the skills they had acquired to the audience.  Finally, a special performance by the young learners of their plate spinning, Diablo work, flower stick throwing, and juggling skills took place as they faced the players for the finale. 

A wonderful evening was had by all!

Just to remind all young learners and their families that our Summer 2008 Presentation Evening is being held in the Rodber Suite, N.R.F.C. this evening starting promptly at 7pm. The children will be awarded certificates for their achievements by Saints players and be given goody bags full of suprises! We look forward to seeing you all there!

Last week saw the final sessions for all those who have attended the Study Centre for Playing for Success this term. The activity we planned was a player interview, however, due to the recently increased training schedule of the Saints players, there were none available at the required times. Consequently, a number of ‘behind the scenes’ staff volunteered their time to be interviewed instead.

Professsional press conferences were held each evening allowing the children to ask a number of questions to the likes of Lenny Newman- the team manager, Kevin Buckby- the kitman who was also awarded Saints Clubman of the Year and Ross and Rowland- rugby coaches from the Community department. Lennie even bought in the two newly won trophies for the children to see!

Following the interview, the children produced a profile of their interviewee on the computers which encouraged them to develop their ICT skills as well as improve their listening and writing abilities.

The children had a wonderful time and we would all like to thank everyone who gave up their time to make this experience possible for the young learners.

Last Friday (27th June) the Saints Study Centre held a Barclaycard Reward Day for Queen Eleanor Primary School. Sixteen students, all of which were being rewarded for their hard work, attendance and good behaviour in the classroom, came along to the study centre to take part in a number of activities. The children made name badges on the computers with Pete, an origami rugby kit with Jeanette and Vicki, went on a stadium tour where they were able to run out of the players tunnel like a Saints player and take part in a practical tag rugby session on the Saints training pitches delivered by a Saints community coach.

Throughout the day the children were accompanied by Barclaycard mentors who helped them with their work and encouraged them to have a go at all the activities. The five mentors were hearing impaired and gave the children an opportunity to experience alternative ways of communicating and learning some sign language.