31 August 2007

Netherlands
The city of Castricum gets all children on the move

The The Class Moves! method will be implemented at all primary schools in the borough of Castricum from September 1. The method forms part of an integral package of measures to get 1400 children from 14 primary schools on the move. Municipality and health authority of Castricum launched the large-scale exercise project on august 31 2007.

The exercise project includes the deployment of exercise consultants at schools, a special young persons’ sports pass and the expansion of holiday activities for young people.

With these measures, the municipality and health authority intend to get to grips with obesity among young people. Research shows that the percentage of overweight primary school students in Castricum is twice the national average. A structural increase in exercise and a healthier eating pattern should help young people in Castricum to lay the foundations of good health.

The exercise project involves all children from year 6 up. The Castricum local authority and health authority have adopted an integral approach: the children are given the opportunity to learn consciously how to deal with exercise at school, at home and in the neighbourhood. The The Class Moves! method fits in well with this initiative. The method for primary education focuses especially on a healthy way of life. The material consists of a calendar which increases the childrens’ awareness of conscious exercise in a playful manner.

The Class Moves! is a great success at hundreds of primary schools in the Netherlands, and is also well known in other European countries. The Class Moves! even has 100% coverage in Scotland and Wales. In 2006, the publisher Fysio Educatief developed the follow-up, Move me! This method takes exercise into the child’s home situation. At present, the methods are being prepared for the use in special education.

29 March 2007

Celebration of movement at the Joop Westerweelschool
Proper activity was the main theme in launching The Class Moves!® and Move me! at the Joop Westerweelschool in Amsterdam. During the festivities parents, children and visitors were introduced to the methods of The Class Moves!® and Move me! The celebration of movement was organized as part of Jump-in, a large-scale project run by local health services and the municipality of Amsterdam, intended to promote sports and health at primary schools.

The Class Moves!® is developed for classroom situations in which the children need to let off steam after a difficult task. Move me! goes even further, as it is directed at individual children and brings the topic of movement into the pupil’s home situation. There were many families present during the presentation at the Joop Westerweel School. Parents and other family members participated enthusiastically in the model activities. This enabled them to experience just how much fun and how educational movement is, and to get involved in parent participation, which is part and parcel of the method.

22 March 2007

New training method The Class Moves!® in the Westland municipality
During an educational day for teachers in the Westland municipality, Elise Sijthoff introduced the new training for The Class Moves!®. The training shows how important a good level of activity is and how to let movement be a playful, interesting, and natural element in the classroom. The teachers were enthusiastic about the method based on relaxation, posture and movement, which lays the foundation for a healthier life.

In 1992 Elise Sijthoff initiated the method The Class Moves!®. The objective was to develop a playful programme for responsible and involved activity in primary schools. The programme takes the yearly calendar as its over-arching framework. This hangs in the classroom and is referred to in case the attention span is allowed to slacken for a moment.

During the training for about 60 teachers, Elise elaborated on the background of the method and on the many ways in which the material can be used to get the class involved in a variety of activities. In the training, the teacher’s command of the material is first and foremost: if they understand the setup and content of the calendar, then it is easy to call on the playful method whenever the class is eager for some relaxation. In the training, Elise shows how to address the themes and what possibilities of variation the calendar has to offer. After that, the teachers become acquainted with the importance of developing the basic skills, with the beneficial effects of, for example, concentration, posture and relaxation.

The new training method will be used to introduce new groups of teachers to the advantages of The Class Moves!®.

Translation for special schools
In Wales a new variation on The Class Moves!® has been developed. It is a publication specially adapted for the mentally handicapped. The edition was developed following the great success of The Class Moves!® in Wales. In 2002, the method was implemented in all Welsh primary schools.

At the moment specialists are working on a Dutch translation of the edition for mentally handicapped people. This is expected to be available for special schools facilities in the Netherlands in 2010.

Scotland, Germany and Belgium
In Scotland, the programme The Class Moves!® has been implemented in all primary schools. The method has been a great success and is now embarking on its third edition. The programme is also used in Germany. In 2000, Klasse in Bewegung!® was introduced to several dozen primary schools in Kreis Heinsberg. The German edition is also used in primary schools catering to the German-speaking community in Belgium.