Drummond Community High School recently held their first Literacy Across Learning evening for parents, writes English teacher Jo Moore. Imaginatively titled 'I’m A Parent, Help Me Out Here!', the main purpose of the event was to help parents understand and engage with the role literacy will play under the new Curriculum for Excellence. However, it also gave staff a perfect opportunity to showcase some of the excellent work students have been producing this session.
The evening began with a presentation from the literacy expert Bill Boyd (check out his blog for lots of great advice and links to useful literacy resources at literacyadvisor.wordpress.com). Bill discussed the meaning of literacy in a 21st-century context and really set the scene for the workshops and displays that followed. He briefed parents on the new definition of 'text', and made some interesting and thought-provoking comments about the changes we all need to make in our approaches to improving literacy.
Next came a performance from 'Drummond Players' and 'Make It In Music' – two groups from our Wider Achievement Opportunities who meet every Wednesday afternoon. These activities were planned around the Outcomes and Experiences with a focus on literacy. The 'Drummond Players' premiered the openings of plays they have written themselves which will be performed later in the year.
Parents then visited workshops to experience literacy in the classroom. The workshops – run by staff and students – included creative writing, bilingual story telling, musical notation and blogging. These were followed by a visit to a 'marketplace' featuring examples of literacy work from across the school. Parents and students also took away free reading materials provided by a generous donation from the Scottish Book Trust.
Turnout was fantastic – this was certainly one of our most successful events and feedback from those who attended has been very positive. Parents found the evening informative and entertaining, and it answered several questions they had about Curriculum for Excellence and Literacy across Learning. We hope it also provided information on how parents can support their youngsters at home.
As for the Literacy group at Drummond, the event let us showcase some of the hard work we have been involved in this session and I think we all felt a sense of pride at what we have achieved so far.