76 replies to this topic

[neil mcdonald]

I did an assembly today - Head and Deputy at the back with all Year 9s. The hall was a bit chaotic before I started as half the seats are being used in the exams so many had to sit on the floor but as I did my assembly it was silent. I used the Blackadder final scene and three kids reading in flanders and we will remember them . Afterwards the Head of Year said he didn't know if it was okay to appluad the assembly with the content matter, and that he would not read the notices as it would feel wrong, but the kids applauded and many saw me to say they thought it was one of the best assemblies they had and that it really made them think about wearing the poppy and what it means. Those comments really touched me.

[Nichola Boughey]

I borrowed some inspiration from this forum and a large dose of family history to deliver the first ever Remembrance Day assemblies given by a History teacher in my school every day this week.

I talked about everyone having a story and how mine began with my grandparents - cue a huge screen ppt of various family photographs - and how my grandad got married at 22, had a child and went of to fight in El Alamein during WWII. I made the girls engage and really like my grandad and admittedly made it sound as though he came back safe and sound and that I had spent quality time with him. I then admitted to a white lie and explained how he died, a hero, in Egypt. I emphasised everything that he never got to do again, i.e. hold his wife, take his daughter to the park, meet my dad, walk my mum down the wedding aisle, never met his first grandchild, my sister, and then never met me - I'm told that I'm a lot like my grandad.

I finished at this point with automated slides of British casualties from WWI, WWII, Falklands, Gulf War and Iraq accompanied with David Gray's 'Meet me on the Other Side'.

For a non-Christian school I finished with a prayer and said that the girls should ask their families if they have someone to remember on Sunday for 2 minutes and if they didn't then they could borrow my grandad.

I've delivered assemblies before but never have I felt so emotional giving them (saved my sobbing til the last assembly was done yesterday) and never have I seen 1250 girls and 100 staff so quiet, engaged and effected by something I have said. SLT never stay to watch assemblies and the Headteacher watched from the back of the hall and I lost track of how many staff e-mailed, stopped me and hugged me in the corridor. Apparently it was all the students wanted to talk about - we sold out of poppies which has never been done before.

I am spending my Remembrance Day with the Yr. 10 pupils who took part in my Mariners' Park Project and residents from the local Merchant Navy Retirement Home - couldn't think of a better way to think about my grandad for 2 minutes!

[Andrew Field]

Sounds fantastic Nichola - you are an immense credit both to your school and your grandad. It is amazing how effective things like this become when it becomes personal. It means much more to you and it consequently means much more to the students.

[Nichola Boughey]

Thanks Andrew... the most poignant thing yesterday was when one of my Yr. 12s looked at me and said "this is why you do it isn't miss?" and when I asked her what she meant she said "teach History" - she summed me up!

[Jeremy H]

Just thought I'd bump this topic - I am down to lead an assembly on remembrance this week and there are some excellent ideas in here - thankyou all for making my preparation a lot easier!

Edited by Jeremy H, 02 November 2009 - 05:08 PM.

[Russel Tarr]

The MoD have just released some new resources here for use in lessons / assemblies.

It also has a link to this site, which I think is a fantastic idea for any school running a Battlefields trip.

This multicultural headstones image is also useful.

[John Perkins]

Not everyone will get an assembly for rememberance so I made this to be played in tutor bases. Quite proud of it really even though I know it is very primitive.

[Jeremy H]

Hi
I have just led the assembly - used Lesley's brilliant powerpoint and her script. I used the inspired idea which I also read here (Thanks Nicola and Russell) of telling the story of somebody who died in world war two as if they survived to open my assembly. Then just before the end of the assembly I confessed that I had not been telling the truth and told the Hall what had really happened to her (Noor Inayat Khan - an Indian SOE operative executed at Dachau).
I have had lots of very encouraging comments and people found the latter to be particularly effective.
I have updated Lesley's powerpoint and script and have attached to this post - you will see that I have focused on the Afghan conflict. I particularly tailored it to our local area and if you want to do the same then the bbc have a page here which lists the 229 who have fallen in the Afghan conflict so far.
Thanks again forum members - this kind of thread just illustrates why I spend such a long time browsing these pages!
Jeremy

Attached Files

•  remembrance assembly.ppt   2.33MB   905 downloads
•  remebrance assem script.doc   41K   746 downloads

Edited by Jeremy H, 05 November 2009 - 12:02 PM.

[neil mcdonald]

Hi
I have just led the assembly - used Lesley's brilliant powerpoint and her script. I used the inspired idea which I also read here (Thanks Nicola and Russell) of telling the story of somebody who died in world war two as if they survived to open my assembly. Then just before the end of the assembly I confessed that I had not been telling the truth and told the Hall what had really happened to her (Noor Inayat Khan - an Indian SOE operative executed at Dachau).
I have had lots of very encouraging comments and people found the latter to be particularly effective.
I have updated Lesley's powerpoint and script and have attached to this post - you will see that I have focused on the Afghan conflict. I particularly tailored it to our local area and if you want to do the same then the bbc have a page here which lists the 229 who have fallen in the Afghan conflict so far.
Thanks again forum members - this kind of thread just illustrates why I spend such a long time browsing these pages!
Jeremy

How tragic that the figure mentioned in the assembly powerpoint is already out of date.

[Sarah Bamford]

No assembly for me this year - so I have put together this videoherefor tutor time. The first 60 seconds are quite school specific but the rest might be of use - it is about Afghanistan. My video skills still leave a lot to be desired but had it not been for the inspiration of members of this forum I would never have attempted anything like this - so thank-you wise ones.. it is a bizarre situation to be the 'ICT expert' at school having gone from virtual luddite.. thank-you Andrew, Russell, Doug, Nick, Dan et al...

[Dafydd Humphreys]

I have just updated my Remembrance Video from last year, to devote a large section to Harry Patch, and included pictures of the latest bunch of teens to be killed fighting for god knows what in Afghanistan.



Comments welcome. It's about 10 minutes long.

[Sarah Bamford]

Daffydd - I couldn't get it to work - but I think it was your video last year that gave me the inspiration for the one I have done - very similar - almost to the point of plaigiarism - I would happily have used yours but wanted to personalise it to my school. I do hope you are not offended but see it as a compliment - I just wanted to play and see if I could do it.. probably nowhere near as well as you. Shame I can't get yours to work..

[Dafydd Humphreys]

Works now, it was still processing as I had just uploaded it.

[Sarah Bamford]

Dafydd - this is brilliant - very powerful and such a good balance. The two videos at once at Tyne Cot are particularly powerful. Thank-you.

[Karen Miller]

Not perfect but an updated one which I use in conjunction with youtube clips. There is a description of the five soldiers killed also but I can't find it for the moment. I'll check again later as our internal e-mails are down.
Karen

Attached Files

•  Remembrance 2009.ppt   1.13MB   714 downloads