Bringing Science Alive in the Winter Garden...

Good morning, and happy Monday! What a fantastic half term we have had! Unfortunately February Freebie activities are now over for this year. We want to say a HUGE thanks to all the Learning Destinations and children and families who took part!

Fear not though, we will be BACK in the Winter Garden this Saturday 20th February bringing Science Alive with the help of the University of Sheffield Students Union and Sheffield Volunteering. 

Head down between 10am and 4pm to take part in lots of fun science themed activities, and don't forget your Passport to Learning!

BREAKING NEWS: Elephants spotted in Winter Garden...

As part of our fantastic February Freebie activities, we headed down to the Winter Garden this week to decorate the newest member of our team, our fantastic 'Herd of Sheffield' elephant.

Children and young people from across the city were invited to draw their favourite out of school activity and use it to help decorate our elephant,. We had archery, dancing, singing, playing the piano, trampolining, drawing, swimming and even medieval reenactment!

There were also a number of special elephant themed activities including mask making, a trivia trail, and a naming the elephant competition! Huge thanks to all the children and families that helped us.

The Sheffield Hallam University Outreach team were also in the Winter Garden showcasing the fantastic entries to their elephant design competition, and delivering some activities as part of their community week.

Our elephant, along with that belonging to Sheffield Hallam will form part of a special trail displayed around the city from July to September as part of the Herd of Sheffield, so keep your eyes peeled for more details soon!

The Sheffield CU Acorn Fund - from little acorns...

...great oaks grow!

We had a fantastic time at our schools seminar today! Huge thanks to Jane and Mike at Rowan School for hosting the meeting, and sharing their fantastic practice with other schools.

One of the topics of conversation was our CU Acorn Fund. The Sheffield CU Acorn Fund is awarded to groups of children and young people from any Sheffield Children’s University school to use to develop clubs and activities in school. The idea is that just like a tiny acorn grows into a huge oak tree, children and young people can use a small amount of money from the Acorn Fund to grow a wonderful club or activity in their school.

Students from Firth Park Academy receive their Acorn Fund cheque!

Back in the Autumn term, 25 groups of students from our CU schools put together successful bids to the Acorn Fund and were awarded with the funds requested to develop and deliver their own CU activities in school.

These clubs included Stop Motion Animation Club, Grow your own Cooking Club, Coding Club, Sewing Club and Cool Maths Club! Specially designed cheques are sent into schools to be presented to the children and young people who made the bid. The photo below shows Firth Park students being presented in school by their Headteacher!

This term, there will be a very special round of the Acorn Fund, which is supported by Sheffield Hallam University available exclusively to our CU schools. Details will be sent into school after the half term, and we look forward to receiving lots more applications and exciting ideas for CU clubs!

Using the Passport to Learning in Sheffield - the golden rules!

With less than a week until February Freebie activities begin, we thought it was a good time to share the golden rules of the Passport to Learning. To make sure your CU credits count towards your awards, and badges, just follow these 4 simple rules!

1. Learning Destination - the Passport to Learning can only be used at activities that take place at CU approved activity providers. Visit: www.sheffield.gov.uk/cu and click on 'Learning Destinations' for a full list. If someone is not on the list, tell them about us, and us about them!


2. Consent sticker - make sure the consent sticker is signed by a parent/carer before you take your Passport to any Learning Destination


3. Attendance Register - your name MUST be put on a CU attendance register at a Learning Destination in Sheffield. They send it to us and without it, we can't award your credits!


4. Diary Sheet - if you visit a Learning Destination beyond Sheffield you need to complete and return a diary sheet and we'll know to award your credits. You can download one here: www.sheffield.gov.uk/cu

REMEMBER: you do NOT need to register your Passport with the Sheffield CU central team, just take it along to a Learning Destination, make sure you add your name to the CU register and start working towards your first award!