At the start of the year when we welcome new grade 8s to our school we meet with them as a group to both encourage have a successful learning experience this year through a "take and give". First we outline all the school has to offer beyond just at the classroom experience and we encourage them to "take" advantage of these opportunities. We also tell them that each of them has the ability to make our school a better place by what they "give" back to the school. We then challenge them to come up with a single word that describes what exactly they will "give".
We then have them create a simple poster consisting of a selfie, their first name, and their word using their iPad camera and Clips. We then collect the posters through AirDrop. We have worked with a group of up to 100 students and managed to get a finished product from everyone within 20 minutes of starting the hands on part of the activity.
We then take all the posters, print them and post them on a large rolling display board which we move around the school. It is amazing to see parents look over the display on parent-teacher night and students of all grade levels take time to find the pictures of friends and siblings.
I have attached my Keynote of instructions (feel free to edit).
January 13, 2025
Outstanding and creative “welcome to school” activity! So simple to create and very engaging. Really encourages students to be active members of your school community. Thanks so much for the idea - love it!
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