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School Education Gateway Launch Conference Part

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School Education Gateway Interviews Conference

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Using sports to enhance the trust between your students Part.3

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Integration Course on Teacher Academy: Jana presents some concrete exercises you can use in your classroom in order to enhance the trust between your students and to foster the community building in your classroom. http://www.schooleducationgateway.eu

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Use sports and sports games to create a trusting environment

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Use sports and sports games to create a trusting environment

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Using sports to enhance the trust between your students Part.2

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Integration Course on Teacher Academy: Jana presents some concrete exercises you can use in your classroom in order to enhance the trust between your students and to foster the community building in your classroom. http://www.schooleducationgateway.eu

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2.4 Classroom activities to support newly arrived migrant students

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2.4 Classroom activities to support newly arrived migrant students

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In this section, Erika and Katja Kiesler, a special needs teacher who works with newly arrived migrant students, give you a lot of concrete ideas on classroom activities that are particularly suited to help newly arrived migrants in their learning. Erika also mentions sports games as a good activity for newly arrived migrant students.

Offer them practical activities (cooking, go to shops and name fruit and vegetables at a supermarket, go to the railway station and show them how to buy the train ticket);

Make them use computers, lapotops, videogames (that make them learn the language visioneducation.net look for football);

build teams for games and sports (group games, trust games);

Make them draw, paint, colour to express themselves without words;

Create competion activities, give them a buddy who can assist them;

Let them perform, use circle dancing, rhymes, songs (boys may not be allowed to touch girls);

Use storytelling, pantomimes;

Bring pets (useful for shy or traumatized children).

Erika mentions in particular the book “The More-Than-Just-Surviving Handbook: ELL for Every Classroom Teacher” as a useful book to get started.

Wolfgang presents examples of very interesting practical resources that will support you in your further planning of classroom activities:

1. www.teachingrefugees.com;

Canadian Teaching Refugees Website

Students from Refugee Backgrounds – A Guide for Teachers and Schools 2015

Building Connections

Do Self Care

Ask for Help

Welcoming Refugees in your Classroom

Welcoming Refugee Children to Your School Guide

NUT Refugee Teaching Resources

Recorded Webinar “Promoting a Culture of Welcome for Refugees in Schools: Approaches and Opportunities”

PowerPoint Slides from Webinar

Flucht und Trauma im Kontext Schule

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2.3 Supporting specific needs of newly arrived migrant students

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2.3 Supporting specific needs of newly arrived migrant students

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Newly arrived migrant students often have some very specific needs that you as a teacher cannot always support them with. Many newly arrived migrant students have lived through very difficult or even traumatic situations back in their home country or during their journey to Europe. Sometimes they do not feel safe yet about their present and future in the new country.
It is important to know your own boundaries of ability and responsibility and it is not your job to solve these issues for your students, it is essential that you know where you can refer them to the external support they need: you are not a psychologist that can deal with traumas. Have somebody to talk to.

Help your students already by creating a safe and welcoming classroom environment: let the children know that they are safe at school, create islands of safety that is rules, clear structures and routines, children and parents need to know the timetable, who is responsible for what; arrange for a non violent atmosphere in class (no violent music or pictures);

Usually they are nervous and stressed, aggressive and enraged, they need to calm down, find helpful exercises, like breathing or concentration exercises; make little intervals so that they can relax.

Give him an adult/social worker/teacher he can relate to with strong social competence;

Let them know they are ok in every situation, even when they cry or are upset; help them recreate their self-confidence;

Let them see beautiful things, pictures, songs, experiences...

Find the respources and competences he has,

Let them do something;

Let them dream about the future, let them paint their visions, so that they don' t focus on the past;

Never force them to speak about their past, only if they want to;

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2.1  Preparing yourself and your class for arrival of newly arrived migrant students

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2.1  Preparing yourself and your class for arrival of newly arrived migrant students

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Get information on the child and prepare some materials for him; prepare information for his parents;

Be mentally ready for the task: imagine the first days and weeks;

Prepare the classroom in a welcoming way;

Sensitize the class with a brainstorming about how he might be feeling in a new country;

Make him feel welcome, mention a word or a song he likes or show a picture of his country;

Learn to spell and pronouce well his name;

Introduce him to your class before his arrival (a picture? a video?)

Make the children learn a word or a phrase in his language;

Try to understand what the refugees lifestyle was, what caused them to be refugees;

Keep in mind that their life has been very chaotic, with no structure, they have lived with a lot of anxiety (everyday was about survival), give them time to adjust and be patient, try to find out what their needs are;

Some of them may have low level literacy skills, not only in English but in their first language as well; understand that that's not a cognitive issue but a skill issue; as they were often not socialized to school they first need to learn the basic school skills;

Get paraprofessional support (psychologist) if needed;

Give them the support they need to be successful in the academical environment;

Be realistic and don't expect too much;

Understand their backghround (how are the shelters where they live? Have they got the money to get to school? How was their school system?), you need to invest a little time inquiring;

Be a model of respect; don't allow the students to laugh.

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Hi everyone! I'm half Irish, half Italian. I teach Religion in a Primary School in Italy: I have 9 classes with children ranging from 6 to 11 years old. Many of them come from schoolsdifferent countries (India, China, Japan, Romania, Albania, Brasil, Philippines).
In Italy  Religion is taught in public  for its historical and cultural value and never in a devotional or doctrinal manner: the subjetc itself helps to instill understanding, tolerance and respect for diversity in a pluralistic society.

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1.5 Example of a community-based project

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1.5 Example of a community-based project

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INSPIRING INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY

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Last September school holidays newly arrived refugee and migrant families from Yennora and Fairfield public schools were treated to an unforgettable experience that included a lively, animated concert followed by a meet and greet with musicians. Close to 200 parents and children were able to get up close and personal with their favourite instruments and characters.

Many families had been in Australia a matter of months and for most it was the very first time they had ever seen an Orchestra. Children and parents were curious and excited about this new experience with one young child telling a musician about her new ambition, 'I want to do what you do'. This partnership with The Metropolitan Orchestra was an overwhelming success!

Bush Walking Excursion

In January and April of 2016 SPARK ran Bush Walking Excursions with newly arrived families. Over forty kids and parents took the train from Fairfield to Berry Island to go on, what was for many, their very first Bush Walk. Families spotted bush turkeys, water dragons and kookaburras before enjoying the view of the water and a picnic together. These excursions bring together families and aim to connect them with each other as well as wider Sydney.

Hundreds of children have benefited from our partnership with Circus Monoxide to deliver the Under One Big Top program. Over six weeks newly arrived and established children come together to work together, learn Circus skills and put on a performance for their families and class mates. Under One Big Top encourages the settlement of children to feel connected to their communities and develop a sense of belong to their school and peers.

Our partnership with Joining the Dots has resulted in an amazing event that has been held for the first time at any school world-wide. In January this year Fairfield Public School held a Welcome Dinner that invited over sixty newly arrived and established families, volunteers and staff to sit down and share a meal together.

Our hope is that by connecting communities we are building their capacity to be independent, happy and fulfilled members of Australian society. 'I am honoured to be part of this welcome dinner. This dinner is making me feel like part of a big happy family,' said one mother who had been in Australia less than 2 years.

Kids and Blokes

In March 2016 we were very excited to run the first 'Kids & Blokes' event that celebrates and honours men's relationship with their children. Over fifty-five kids and their dads, brothers and uncles came together to spend a special night together playing, sharing a meal and recognising the important role men play in the lives of their children. We love being able to work with and support newly arrived fathers in their transition into Australian life and are planning to run more events like this in the future.

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Activities - St Vincent de Paul Society NSW

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Last September school holidays newly arrived refugee and migrant families from Yennora and Fairfield public schools were treated to an unforgettable experience that included a lively, animated concert followed by a meet and greet with musicians. Close to 200 parents and children were able to get up close and personal with their favourite instruments and characters.

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1.4 Organising support within and outside of school

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1.4 Organising support within and outside of school

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Get in contact with teachers who teach refugees children, talk about problems, listen to suggestions; don't feel alone; if you need ask for the help of a psychologist/counsellor/doctor for your children.

Be patient.

Create projects where the language is not needed so much (sports, music, drama, performances, arts);

Organise a welcome day; tell everyone about the different cultures at school;

Teachers need to shape school for refugees and their needs by trying things out and experimenting: run langhuage classes for them.

Be realistic: it takes time, motivation, finances and collaboration to succeed;

Build up a set of resources to reuse and transform in time;

Offer them security and stability;

Identify and select good ideas and issues that are central to the needs of the school;

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Schools in different countries but also within the same country organize the integration of newly arrived migrant students very differently.
In some schools, the children are taught in seperate classes for a certain period of time or certain subjects, in others they are quickly integrated in classes together with the other students.
In this section, you will hear from Wolfgang Oelzant, one of our course moderators, who briefly outlines some of the main ways how the integration of newly arrived migrant students is organized in schools:

-SUBMERSION: children attend classes and regular lessons in the language commonly used at the school; no special support is provided to refugees children;

-INTEGRATION: children attend classes and lessons regularly, but they have additional classes in the language of the host country; you need additional finances and staff;

-PARALLEL: refugee children are taught in separate classes (mainly language and crucial topics) from the regular pupils for at least one year;

Getting an idea of all the different ways this is organised in schools around Europe will allow us to understand how we might be able to modify our own approach.

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“Schools create that important space, where teenagers, as soon as they arrive, can have a life perspective again”.

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“Schools create that important space, where teenagers, as soon as they arrive, can have a life perspective again”.

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1.2 Meeting the needs of newly arrived migrant students at school

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1.2 Meeting the needs of newly arrived migrant students at school

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The specific needs of newly arrived migrant students coming into schools are as diverse as the students themselves. However, their common experiences of fleeing their home country, often living through harrowing situations and losing loved-ones, sometimes coming from quite basic living conditions prior to arriving in schools, as well as the experience of being in a foreign place, does mean that this group of students often has some specific needs that we at school need to be aware of:

-learn the language in order to be successful academically; find interpreters when needed;
- learn the basic school skills (sit still, look at the teacherm hold a pencil), as some may have had little or interrupted school experience (because of war or lack of money); it's important to meet them where they are, find out how much they do know, give them the skills they need to be successful;
- get used to the school environment: try to connect with community organizations, to ensure that we are all on the same place and giving the students the same messages;
- everything is new to them, some of them don't know how to use the toilet flush, the sink, the stove...they also need to learn these skills, not only the academics;
-they need teachers who can be advocates for their needs (clothes, glasses...):
- they might bring with them feelings of loss and sadness about leaving their country, anxiety, depression, fear, anger....they might have experienced trauma; use sports, music, camping to help them make friends and release their feelings;
-make them feel valued members of the school community.

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1.1 Integrating Newly Arrived Migrant Students in Schools

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1.1 Integrating Newly Arrived Migrant Students in Schools

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Integrating newly arrived students in the school is a very challenging task for schools, as these students often have a quite different background than other students and need at least in the beginning a lot of additional support.

On top of that, even the most basic communication can be a huge challenge in the beginning. This is a task that you as a teacher cannot do alone, but you need your school management and other partners on board.  If you manage to get the outside support you or your students need, you already did a big job.

One big task for the whole school is to be curious about the background of their newly arrived migrant students and to create a welcoming and safe environment, where children who have often experienced very difficult situations in their past, can feel safe: teenagesrs that have been on the move need a daily structure that school can provide.

Working with newly arrived migrant is not only a huge challenge but can also be very rewarding and a big opportunity, as many children are very grateful that they can attend school and are eager to learn the new language quickly, thereby invigorating others and driving forward innovations such as a stronger focus on personalisation or innovative approaches to timetabling and use of school spaces.

There is no ready-made plan for all students: each school has to think on how to better cater for the specific needs each student has, who they are, what they bring along, how to help them reach their goals, and create an individualised programme of study.