Sets the Tone for the Year
Going from a summer of fun and freedom to an orderly day filled with work is quite the sudden transition and the first school assembly of the year can help ease that process. Calling the students together in an orderly way, having an assembly with the interaction between the assembly hosts and students, as well as learning in a fun and constructive way all ease everyone back into school mode.
It’s a great combination when you think about it. The students are back in school but not in a formal class just yet while also learning and listening to teachers but in ways reminding them of summer fun. It’s like the middle ground before back into a more rigid schedule. We all know that the first few weeks of school can be tough; everyone is trying to get back into school mode. A first school assembly can be that olive branch between summer freedom and academic duties.
Opportunity to Address Common Problems
Every new year is an opportunity to better the schooling experience for everyone. What social or academic issues did you run into last year as a teacher? Was there a lot of bullying? Does diversity need to be addressed more explicitly? Perhaps something more academic needs an extra push during the first school assembly. If you know there is something you can nip in the bud before formal classes begin, the first school assembly is an excellent opportunity to that.
Take for example the Diversity Circus school assembly. It’s a circus-themed event teaching diversity to elementary school kids, specifically Kindergarten through 6th grade. Lessons like these are a great way to try and prevent cliques based on how people look or where they come from, stopping it from being an issue in later grades.
Another assembly program you could use is the Bully Shmully event. Bullying is a major issue for many schools and while on-going prevention is great throughout the school year, if you know that it has been an issue that carries through summer then, perhaps, you could use this for your first school assembly. The Bully Shmully assembly empowers victims of bullying with tools they can use to respond to situations they find themselves in. The program also deflates bullies by illustrating the issues with it, helping them to take personal responsibility for their actions. It’s character growth all around.
Programs like these helps ease students back into learning through fun activities rather than going from fun in the sun to a lesson plan, which they may not take to so easily.
Exercises to Ease into the School Year
Sometimes you need an assembly with a bit more action to get the students engaged again. Help them to refocus on using school to develop their dreams into actionable ambitions. Programs like Dare to Draw and Mr. Tay excel in that department.
Dare to Draw uses the student’s imagination and drawing to help them to visualize where they want to go in life. This can be especially handy as the first school assembly of the year when all students see before them in more work they have to do. Help them to focus on what academia is there for by helping them t confront or think of their goals and then see how to get there.
The First School Assembly Opportunity
Whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or student, it’s tough getting back to work. No one wants to do more than what is necessary at the beginning, ease back into the academic year. Even for teachers, a first school assembly is an opportunity to transition back. So, don’t think of planning your first school get-together as extra labor. Instead, it’s an opportunity to get back to business and making your classroom an easier place for both you and your students to work. Everyone is transitioning, let’s make it easier for all of us.
