Please see the information below from Essex CU - lots of interesting destinations to visit and challenges for you to do. Remember to bring in your evidence in September to have your passport validated, or submit your work to Essex CU where they will validate it for you. Have a great summer!!
Below is the latest CU newsletter with information on how to gain extra hours over the Summer, recently added Holy Family School clubs and how to replace a lost passport. You will also find the two Essex CU Challenges for the summer - Harry Potter and Minibeasts. Bring your work, or photo evidence of your work, after the holidays so you can be awarded your learning credit, and don't forget the Summer Reading Challenge at your local library, there's 6 hours up for grabs if you complete all 6 books and are awarded your certificate.
Half Term Activities and New Learning Destinations to ExploreThe attached link provides a host of new learning destinations and some great Family Learning activities for you to try over the half term holiday. Please remember to check how many hours you can claim for these destinations and activites and send any evidence in to Mrs Palmer after half term for validation.
Letter and registration information are on the documents below. Please can you also let Mrs Palmer have your passport as soon as possible to validate your hours - thank you.
The dates of the next two graduation award evenings have been confirmed as;
Wednesday 21st March 2018
Wednesday 6th June 2018
If your child is eligible to receive the next level (or additional levels) of award, please ensure that their passport is up to date and hours are tallied in preparation of the Eventbrite registration process, details of which will follow as soon as they are available.
SurveyPlease can parents and children complete the online survey for Children's University. By completing this you will help to shape the future of the programme and also earn yourself an hour of Family Learning. Please click on the WWW link on the left to be taken straight to the survey page - thank you!
Essex Book Festival are running a story writing competition. The competition closes in February 2018 and will be judged in March 2018. Children will be awarded 3 hours in their passports for this activity after their entry has been submitted. Please see the link below for more details.
Essex Book FestivalWe are so excited to be involved with the Essex Book Festival in 2017. The Festival Programme is being launch in early January and as soon as we are able to let you have more details we will in touch. You might want to keep in touch with all their news through their website too.
Wicked Young Writers' AwardWe are pleased to announce that we are supporting the Wicked Young Writers Award 2017. This is a creative writing competition supported by our national Chancellor, Michael Morpurgo, and we are thrilled to offer the chance to include entries for this award in our Passport to Learning, validating the activity at 3 hours. Children can submit their entry individually or as a group.
RSPBThe RSPB is an official Learning Destination for the Children's UniversityTM Passport to Learning and The Wild Challenge is a Children's UniversityTM Learning Activity and earns passport stamps. For every award level of the Wild Challenge that is completed, learners receive a sticker worth 6 hours to add to their passport.
Lakeside Youth Theatre - ColchesterAre your CU Learners looking for a new challenge in the New Year! Did you know that the University of Essex, Colchester Campus, is home of the Lakeside Youth Theatre, also a CU Learning Destination.
Please remember that the club/Learning Destination must be accredited to the Children's University for your son/daughter's hours of attendance to count. If the Learning Destination is not accredited please speak to them to see if they would be interested. If they are happy you can complete a nomination form and send it back to the address listed. Once accredited, attendance hours can be added to your son/daughter's passport.
The first children to graduate from HFS
Below I am keeping a list of all local clubs that our children attend. If you are looking for something new for your child to try take a look.
1st Newlands Rainbows (based in Witham)
We are officially registered as Witham Newlands Rainbow Unit and are listed on the Children's University page under Braintree District, Rainbow Units.
Friends of Holy Family School have kindly paid for all of our pupils to become members of the Children's University. Foundation will get their passports later in the summer term when most of them are 5 years old. Please look at the information below to find out how the Children's University works and how your son/daughter can be involved. It's all about NEW learning that the children do. When you take your children on a trip, see if the venue is part of the Children's University. If it is your son/daughter will be able to get a stamp that counts towards their Bronze Award (30 hours). If it is not registered you can ask if they would be happy for you to nominate them. Most HFS run clubs are accredited. Look on the Parents section of our website - school clubs.
Your son/daughter will need to keep their passport in a safe place and take it with them when they attend/visit/participate in a children's University event or venue. If passports are lost a charge of £4.50 will be levied to get a replacement one. Only the hours that have been registered with HFS will be count. We aim to do this half termly. Keep your passport safe so no hours are lost.
Holidays and weekends can be a great time to explore and to try something new...to do something a little bit different.
There are lots of fabulous activities and learning opportunities in Essex where you will be able to collect stamps for your Passport to Learning.
Some of these activities are free and some have a cost and if you visit our Learning Destinations pages you will see where you can travel to with your Passport to Learning and collect learning stamps.
Legoland Offer
Passport holders aged 5-12 can gain 2 hours for either the Globe Trotter or Time Traveller Quests and also benefit from a reduced price entry. On completion of the Quest, Passports are stamped at Guest Services. Passport holders and up to 2 accompanying adults qualify for a reduced entry fee of £25 per person. To claim the discount, bookings must be made through using the phone number on the flyer. The passport will need to be shown at Admissions prior to entry. This cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and additional child tickets are at the standard rate.
Colchester Zoo
Colchester Zoo have now put together an new Activity Pack. Click hereand then scroll to the bottom of the page to find both activity packs. Children can also gain 2 hours in their Passports if they complete one of the 'egg' trails available to pick up at the Zoo during the Easter Holidays.
Colchester & Ipswich Museums
For information on events at Colchester and Ipswich Museums click here
On-line resources
Don't forget the activities that you can download for free including new Kingdom Code Clubs. Click here for more information.
Relevant Files for Download:
Here are some resource documents for download, to accompany the information on this page.
Look out for adverts in the free magazines that the children bring home before holidays of things to do. Many are free. See web-links below for ideas. There are lots more venues all around Essex that you can see on the general web-link to Learning Destination below too.
Chelmsford and Essex MuseumChelmsford Museum and The Essex Regiment Museum sit at the heart of Oaklands Park in Chelmsford. Galleries and displays are shared between our Victorian Mansion and stunning extension. With a variety of events and activities taking place through-out the year, there is something for all the family to enjoy.
Essex Police MuseumChildren aged 7-14 are able to collect in their Passports to Learning - the number of hours you are able to collect v aries – depending on the activity session and we'd encourage you to visit the website for further details.
Hyland's Park Scrapbook Safari Treasure TrailThe Scrapbook Safari starts at the Stables Visitor Centre. Children will be encouraged to take an active interest in the wildlife at the Park and to learn about the natural environment.
Braintree District MuseumA general visit to the Braintree District Museum will provide 1 hour of Children's University learning for your Passport. There are a number of other activities available at the Museum where you will also be able to collect learning stamps
Fusion LifestylesFusion Swimming Lessons follow the Amateur Swimming Association's (ASA) Learn to Swim Framework.
McGahan Lees Irish Dance AcademyChildren learn to Irish dance moving up through classes with more difficult choreography and have the opportunity to take part in Shows and competitions.
Valley Green Football ClubValley Green Youth Football Club was formed in 1971 to provide football for the local community in the Witham area. The club endeavours to provide this facility in a social environment that looks for active participation of its members and the local community.
Rascal's Theatre SchoolWitham - Springlodge Community Centre, Powers Hall End, Witham, Essex, CM8 2HE. Rascal's Theatre School sessions are combined performing arts classes. The time is equally divided between STREET DANCE, POP SINGING and DRAMA. The main focus of our school is on having FUN and for the students to build confidence and develop their performance skills in a positive and friendly environment.
If your child attends an activity that they or you think should be part of the Essex Children's University™, we'd like to hear from you. We won't always know what's available until somebody shows us. If we think the activity/organisation meets our standards we will register them as a Children's University™ Learning Destination where children can accumulate hours of learning. For more information on how to do this see the nomination form above.
The list of schools and organisations where Children's University™ learning is offered will grow and grow.
We will update our website regularly with details of new Learning Destinations as they are created.
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