A Right Good Rights Respecting Open Day
On Wednesday 3rd October 2018 Riverbank held its first open day of the session. The theme for the open day was a Rights Respecting one with emphasis on the rights of children.
It was very heartening to see so many parents attending either at the morning or afternoon session. Some parents actually attended both sessions.
The idea of children’s rights was well-discussed and worked on in a number of different ways throughout the school. From the right to an education, to the right to clean water, the children worked in class with their teachers and parents and carers to explore the rights of the child.
In the morning Primary 2s focused on Articles 7 & 8 which is about having the right to a name and a nationality, and the right to an identity. In the afternoon they focused on Article 29 which is all about developing a child’s personality and talents.
“P2 looked at the right to an identity in the morning. We made a Riverbank passport, found our national flags and coloured them, shared our likes and dislikes and played guess who with our class mates photos.
In the afternoon we focused on the right for their education to develop their talents and abilities. We had different stations were they were able to showcase various talents such as construction for engineers, crafts table for budding artists, writing table for future authors and miming cards for the actors in the class. We also completed a job to show what we wanted to be when we grow up.”
The Primary 2 Slideshow can be seen below.
Miss Cody’s Primary 4 class also explored a number of rights related topics during the Open Day.
“Our focus for the morning was discussing needs and wants. We watched a video about children who went shopping with their parents and the children wanted toys and chocolate but the parents were sticking to the shopping list. In groups the pupils discussed and answered questions about the video and related it to how they themselves act in a shop.
The pupils, along with their parents, sorted cards into categories of needs and wants. Some groups also added their own needs such as love and family which they felt were important too.
In the afternoon the children learnt about UNICEF and the work they do to ensure that all children live a healthy and happy life. In groups the pupils had to sort cards into the problem, affect on a child and the solution or the way in which UNICEF help all children.”
In the short slideshow below, Miss Cody has provided us with some examples of the tasks the pupils in P4C carried out during the Open Day.
P6R, Miss Rowley’s class, spent quite a bit of their time working on tasks around Article 28 – The right to an education. They also looked at Article 6 – every child has a right to life. Governments must do all they can to make sure that children survive and develop to their full potential. They also quizzed their parents on their knowledge of the UNCRC. This linked with Article 42 – Governments should make the Convention known to children and adults.
“AM: We enjoyed our right to live and grow in a healthy way (Article 6) and our right to an education (Article 28) this morning in football. We played games designed to develop our footwork skills. We also did a race against the clock completing a table about wants and needs. Needs are related to our rights.
PM: We enjoyed our right to an education (article 28) and the right that states that everyone should know about the rights of the child (Article 42). We did a UNCRC quiz with our adults, testing their knowledge of the right of the child, and did our own illustrations for the rights we have been learning about today.”
Below, we have some photographs of the activities P6R participated in on the Open Day.
Miss Ambler’s class, P3A, focused their lessons on wants and needs during the morning session and in the afternoon, they were taking a careful look at friendship.
“In one activity we used Argos catalogues to create needs and wants sheets, with a focus on things to make us safe and healthy. We also looked at the uses of water and remembered that we are lucky to have access to fresh water every day. Some children also played a spelling “BANG” game and a numeracy game to show what we have been learning in these areas.
In the afternoon, we read a book called “The Friendly Day” and drew/wrote about how we could be a good friend to people in the class, at playtime and in the dinner hall.”
It was good to see so many parents engaging with their children in the class lessons on the Open Day.
Below is a slideshow of photographs from Miss Ambler’s class on the Open Day.
P7B, Mr Boulind’s class worked on Articles 24 and 28. These focus on health and education.
“The children were looking at the importance of 3 rights that children have:
The Right to an Education.
The Right to Nutrition.
The Right to Clean Water.
The children carried out a number of workshops where the looked at children’s right to clean water and the problems that there are for many children in the world to obtain clean water.We examined how we could identify natural water sources as well as the multiple uses that rivers could have around the world and the pressure on them form pollution. We also carried out a workshop and discussion looking at how we uses water at home and how as a city Aberdeen uses its water.”
The slideshow below shows many of the tasks carried out in P7B on the Open Day.
Miss Watson’s class – P5W looked at their Rights within the community in the morning and in the afternoon they focused on linking their Rights to the Wellbeing, SHANARRI indicators. Wow! What a task.
“For the open morning we linked with our topic and we talked about the rights and responsibilities that we have when it comes to our local community. We know no-one can take our Rights from us, but we, also, know we have to be responsible for looking after our community. We had 5 different stations (park, school, bin, the hub and the library).
For the open afternoon we linked our rights to the wellbeing indicators (SHANARRI) and talked about what makes us feel all these things and how we can improve them if needed. We then linked specific rights to each indicator and discussed why these where important.”
As always, we have a short slideshow of photographs from Miss Watson’s class.
Primary 3D – Mrs Dinesh’s class, in the morning, focused was on needs and wants. They spoke about what it needs and wants meant, they sorted examples in small groups and then drew pictures of our own needs and wants.
In the afternoon, they explored the right to a place to live and shelter and then they drew their ideal house with the things they might need and want in it.
Miss Littler’s class – P5L – Also, looked at needs and wants in the community as well as linking the SHANNARI indicators for well being to the Rights.
“Here is what Primary 5L did in the open morning/afternoon and a brief description of what we were learning.
As part of Our Caring World topic we explored the rights and responsibilities we have in our local community. We focused on areas we visit most often and discussed with our peers and parents how we can be responsible and get the most out of our community.
We have been learning what SHANARRI means and how it can link to our rights. We have explored what SHANNARI means to us, creating our own posters displaying how our needs are being met.
You will find below this some photos from Miss Littler’s class.
Our Rights Respecting Open Day was a Right Good Event and we would like to thank all parents and carers for their support in attending the event and joining in with their children in class. A special mention to P6R’s parents and carers for being brave enough to participate in the quiz in class.
Well done everyone!
UNCRC / RRSA
Article 1 – Everyone under the age of 18 has all the rights in the Convention.
Article 2 – The Convention applies to everyone: whatever their race, religion or abilities, whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from.
Article 3 – The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all things that affect children.