11 minute read
Kids & Families
INTERVIEWS... FOCUS ON LEARNING
Voice Magazines recently had the pleasure of chatting to Sandra Smith, a secondary school maths teacher of 29 years standing. Sandra, who hails originally from Nottingham, has created a series of exercise books aimed primarily at 11 to 16 year olds but also suitable for a younger age range. We asked her what had inspired her and how these books could help children succeed both at school and in life. Talking to Sandra it is crystal clear that she is absolutely passionate about teaching and helping children to learn and grow…this is her WHY, her driving purpose and is what led to the creation of the books. The original idea of blank books with a contents page at the front, came to her back in November 2015 after she had asked the class she was teaching to locate a particular piece of work and saw how difficult that was for the children. Sandra jotted down that germ of an idea in a notebook, but it was November 2019 before she began to think about it again, and this time she realised that adding simple motivational quotes to each page would make the concept even stronger. In her own words, “it only takes one word or key phrase to inspire a child and sow the seeds for them to take charge of their own learning.” Focus Learn Book Company was born out of Sandra’s desire to get the exercise books published, printed and out to the people who need them - children.
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So what exactly are these exercise books, and how can they help children towards success?
They are very different to the traditional plain exercise books children currently use to write up their work, being A4 in size with striking covers, a contents page to enable the pupils (and teachers) to keep track of their work, and lined pages to assist with handwriting. The pages feature inspirational and motivational quotes such as, “Simple little daily habits create big success.” and “It’s OK to make mistakes, you can learn from them.” Sandra has used the books within her own teaching and says they make the children want to learn. As we are all too aware, children have missed a lot of classroom time over the past year or so due to COVID-19, and many schools will probably be providing children with ‘catch up work’ to do over the summer holidays. Using these exercise books with your children at home could help them to stay on track, as Sandra’s experience has shown that children respond in an overwhelmingly positive way to the design, layout, and motivational quotes, and actually enjoy using the books which helps the learning process. Currently available in Maths, Science and English, there are plans afoot to increase the range and Sandra’s dream is that one day every child will have access to the books, and they will be readily accessible in our high street bookshops.
COMPETITION TIME
WIN a set of Focus on Better Learning exercise books (Maths, English & Science)
To enter simply email the answer to the following question to info@voicemagazines.co.uk with the title ‘Focus Comp’, including your name and telephone number. What subject does Sandra Smith teach?
10% DISCOUNT
for Voice Customers
Using code: Focusbooks21 www.focuslanebookcompany.com Offer ends 31st July 2021
If you want to update your skills or try something new - Now is a great time to join a local course!
Over the last year many of us have changed the way we do things, at Derbyshire Adult Community Education we’ve rethought the courses we offer. We have both online and centre based courses available in the Autumn term. You can upskill and gain a qualification or have a go at one of our wide range of leisure classes. We have many courses to help improve your wellbeing or to help you get fit. Get inspired, make friends and start a new journey of discovery!
The first two weeks of September are for our FREE online taster sessions. These are an opportunity to find out more about some of the longer courses coming up this term. We have a number of new online courses that are ideal if you are living on your own, wanting to make new friends or thinking about first steps exercise including: Easy Meals for One, Chair Based Yoga, Creative Get Together and Lower Impact Zumba for Wellbeing. Our live online courses are delivered using freely available video conferencing software, either Zoom or Microsoft Teams. We make it as easy as possible for you to join a course, whatever device you have. You will be sent a link a few days before the course together with information about any resources you need for the course. Your tutor will guide you through the course activities
If you are thinking of getting back into learning try a FREE Making Choices workshop. The sessions can help you to choose what courses you would like to do in the future, increase your confidence and know your current level of skills in English, Maths and Digital Skills. Once you have completed your Making Choices, you can join our popular FREE maths and English courses. Classes are running online, in centre or with a mixture of online and classroom based learning. All our premises have been assessed to ensure that they are Covid safe. To find out more about these courses email:
making.choices@daces.derbyshire.gov.uk
You will receive a warm welcome at our online or centre based classes and we look forward to meeting you soon. To find out more about Derbyshire County Council Adult Community Education courses see our main advert or visit our website:
www.derbyshire.gov.uk/adulteducation
Love learning locally Autumn 2021 Courses and Free Tasters
We’re here to support you to learn with a wide range of online and centre-based courses.
Don’t miss out!
Try a FREE taster session during the week beginning Monday 13 September. You can book your place on a taster session and on our Autumn term leisure courses from Tuesday 31 August. All bookings are through our Eventbrite page derbyshireadulteducation.eventbrite.com
Look out for our Autumn Brochures!
To view our qualification and leisure brochures, find out more about our courses and how to book visit:
Sign up to Adult Community Education News at www.derbyshire.gov.uk – “subscribe for updates”
Find us on Eventbrite
HEALTH & BEAUTY NEW FUNDING PROVIDES FREE QUALIFICATIONS FOR ADULT LEARNERS
With the government continuing to offer more opportunities to retrain or upskill for free, now is the time to change your future.
With busy lifestyles and the worry that new qualifications are expensive, the idea of pursuing new ventures or make a lifelong dream become a reality is always left to the side for many adults.
But now with adult education high on the agenda for 2021 and beyond, there are many ways for anyone aged 19 and above to step back into education.
Bringing these opportunities to the local community, Vision West Nottinghamshire College is running a wide range of courses that are dedicated to helping adults back into training after the pandemic.
Offering both funded and part-funded training qualifications in areas such as healthcare, engineering, education and more, they are supporting both employed and unemployed adults back into the workplace or into a new career.
As a more flexible alternative, they are also offering free online courses ranging across key sectors such as business, childcare and health and social care; all of which result in a qualification equivalent to a GCSE or O-level.
So if you have recently thought about making a change to your career, now is the time to make anything possible.
To find out more visit www.wnc.ac.uk/adult or speak to a friendly advisor on 0808 100 3626 32 Don’t forget to mention Voice Magazines when responding to the Ads
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE.
RETRAIN AND UPSKILL WITH NEW GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Shipley Park might just be Rafa’s favourite place in the world. So he was delighted when David Robinson, who walks here often, offered to write up this fabulous walk for the magazine. Thank you David! The park is lovely, with a great variety of scenery, sights and countryside and this walk takes you on a well thought out route. Rafa loved the walk, as did Flake, and they gave it a big ‘paws up’!
3 mile walk around Shipley Country Park An easy walk for you and your dog. It shouldn’t take any more than 1 1/2 hours, but there are pleasant stops along the way. Most of the route is hard a track, but a good pair of walking boots are recommended.
1. Take the A6007 out of Heanor along the
Ilkeston Road. As you drive out of Marlpool you come to the Shipley Garden Centre. Only thirty yards after, turn right onto a country lane which takes you into The Field Village. 2. Park anywhere along the lane, avoiding blocking any driveway. It’s best during the week as weekends can be busy. Walk about 100 yards past the old red telephone box, then turn right onto a tarmac path. Walk another 200 yards until you come to a bridge with Osbornes
Pond on your left. Take the wooden walkway to your left down to the pond’s edge. Walk to the road and turn right. 3. Carry on up the road and before you get to
Derby Lodge, turn right onto Bell Lane. Walk down the lane ignoring any paths to your right.
Eventually, after 300 yards, after a 30 sign, turn left onto a clear gravel track with a wooden gate. Keep ahead and the path descends with a wooden gate right into a woodland glade. 4. When you walk out of the wooded area, keep on the track ignoring the narrower path on your right. Soon you will see Mapperley Reservoir on your right. A few yards later, there’s a wide expanse of greenery where you can relax for a while on the many benches and tables available. You can also look at the reservoir by its bankside.
5. If you do take a break, come back to the track, and carry on right. At the end, turn left and immediately through a barrier gate to walk uphill. As you level off, you pass through another barrier gate with a splendid Mock
Tudor Mansion on your right. As you descend down the slope there are nice views to your left. 6. You now come to Derby Lodge again. Here is a café with seated area and toilets. Do remember, however they are closed in winter and late autumn. Immediately, turn right after the lodge and gently rise uphill. After a few yards, you can if you wish, take the right driveway, and visit the site of The Old Shipley
Hall. Here there are plaques which tell you of the Miller Mundy Family who lived there from the 1800’s. Also admire the water tower to your right which is now residential. There’s ample space to relax here and take in the tranquillity of the area.
7. Come back onto the track and turn right. After 150 yards they split. Take the left path to walk through the gate and descend down a wooded glade. As you drop down, on your right was the site of the American Adventure Theme Park. It will soon be a new housing estate. 8. Again, you enter a wooded area and pass through a gate. The left driveway takes you to the picturesque Shipley Cricket Club and is well worth a five-minute visit. Come back and carry on left uphill and back into the village to your car.
