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On Thursday, 12 May, Minister of Education Robbert Dijkgraaf informed the House of Representatives in a letter that he is taking measures to combat gender inequality in education. He based his policy in part on the exploratory study conducted by School & Safety in 2021. School & Safety now has a role to play in raising awareness that inequality between girls and boys at school can also lead to social insecurity.
From 9 to 31 May, it is School Garden Month, and from 14 April to 9 October, Floriade will take place in Almere. The two initiatives come together in a joint school gardening project by Almere and Amsterdam at Floriade: the Floriade School Garden.
Did you know that 1 in 7 children between the ages of 9 and 11 already has incipient hearing loss? VeiligheidNL has developed a lesson package for primary schools to teach children about their ears and hearing from an early age: the HoorToren. This lesson package is currently being renewed, and we could use your help with that.
This year, the Peuter4daagse, which originated several years ago in Heerlen in South Limburg, will become a nationwide event for the first time. In doing so, JOGG and the Royal Dutch Walking Association (KWbN) are joining forces, just as they previously did for the Avond4daagse Challenge and The Daily Mile. Margot Vandermeulen of KWbN explains why: “We hope that the positive attitude toward walking following the Peuter4daagse will stay with parents and toddlers.”
All primary schools and schools for (secondary) special education can register for the EU School Fruit and Vegetable Programme 2022-2023 from 9 May through 22 May 2022! EU School Fruit encourages children to eat fruit and vegetables together in the classroom. Approximately 3,000 schools will receive 3 portions of vegetables and fruit every week for 20 weeks for all pupils. And all of this is completely free thanks to funding from the European Union.
Are you wondering how, as a school principal, you can keep an eye on the well-being of colleagues? Or are you a Healthy School adviser and would like to hear how you can place more responsibility with schools? You can bring these and other questions about Well-being at School to the session on 31 May. The peer consultation is organized by the Trimbos Institute & Pharos.
Would you like to include more physical activity during or between regular lessons at your primary school? Then use energizers and active learning. Femke van Brussel, Dorien Dijk and Sarah Wouters wrote an article about this on allesoversport.nl In this article, you will learn which form of physical activity to use when and what it achieves. You will also get practical examples to get started at your school.
Since April, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre has had six Stepping Stones for schools that are on their way to a healthy school canteen, together with the corresponding School Canteen Scale and collection board. Schools can hang the six tiles for the different themes on their collection board.
We should not see movement as something we need to teach young children. Instead, as parents and schools, we should try to connect more with young children’s natural urge to play. That is what Theo de Groot, a physical education teacher in Rotterdam, says in an interview with Femke van Brussel and Sarah Wouters of Alles over sport.
The slogan for Week Against Bullying 2022 is ‘Just kidding! Surely that’s allowed?!’. Jokes are a lot of fun and create a sense of togetherness and connection. But jokes also have another side and can be hurtful. How do you deal with that and work together to create a positive atmosphere? That is what Week Against Bullying 2022 is about. The week runs from 26 to 30 September and is an initiative of the Stichting School & Veiligheid.
Would you like to start school gardening as a teacher? What do you want, what can you do, and what do you need? Or are you considering supporting schools with school gardening? Then sign up for the online School Garden Inspiration Session organised by the School Garden Alliance, on Monday, 16 May from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
What are the benefits and added value of an active school day in primary education? Femke van Brussel-Visser and Johan Koedijker of the Knowledge Centre for Sport & Physical Activity wrote an article about this for the Allesoversport website.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima opened the 10th edition of the King's Games on Friday, 22 April. At Poptahof Community School in Delft, the couple filled a large fitness meter together with a number of children. This marked the starting signal for the 2022 King's Games. The theme of this anniversary edition of the King's Games focuses on getting fit.
When working on a healthy lifestyle, it is important that pupils feel genuinely involved. When the municipality proposed working with young Lifestyle Ambassadors, the Montessori school in Venray was immediately enthusiastic. And what do you know? The municipality even has money available for plans devised by the pupils themselves.
On Tuesday 19 April, campaign ambassadors and their pupils officially launched Springlezend. Because language is the springboard for life, they did so by jumping in a monumental church in Hilversum filled with trampolines. They were joined by Ronald Snijders, Abdelkader Benali, Stine Jensen, Ronald Giphart and Anna Woltz.
Many municipalities encourage and support school gardening. With the 2022 Golden Carrot, the School Gardens Alliance and Jong Leren Eten are putting two municipalities in the spotlight, as inspiration for other municipalities and in appreciation of their support. Is school gardening already well organised in your municipality? Then you can nominate your municipality until 10 May.
Pupils from OBS Piet Mondriaan in Abcoude presented a collection of advice on nature in the Netherlands to Minister Van der Wal for Nature and Nitrogen on behalf of ten primary schools in the Netherlands. The minister accepted the advice just before the debate in the House of Representatives on the Netherlands’ position for the summit on the new UN Biodiversity Convention, to be held later this year in China.
The Western education system is too focused on (economic) performance and not focused enough on social skills and empathy. That is the conclusion reached by 300 international scientists. One of those scientists is Nienke van Atteveldt, who talks about it on Spraakmakers, the leading radio talk show on NPO Radio 1.
On 5 April, National Outdoor Classroom Day took place, an initiative of IVN Natuureducatie and Jantje Beton. But broadcaster KRO-NCRV also believes it is important for boys and girls to learn about nature and the importance of spending time outdoors from an early age. That is why KRO-NCRV, together with Jantje Beton ambassador and forest ranger Tim (known from Beestenbrigade on NPO Zappelin), is organising a special and unique outdoor lesson for pupils in nature. The winner will receive an outdoor lesson with forest ranger Tim. Entries can be submitted until and including 25 April.
Setting a goal helps people get moving. JOGG experienced this with The Daily Mile, among other initiatives. To get children moving in an appealing way, JOGG joined forces with Avond4daagse in 2021 (an initiative of the Royal Dutch Walking Association (KWbN)). Last year, The Daily Mile contributed to Avond4daagse – Home Edition (a special edition due to the coronavirus). This year, The Daily Mile is being supplemented with a genuine Avond4daagse Challenge.
From 9 to 31 May 2022, it’s happening: the School Garden Alliance is putting the school garden in the spotlight. All school garden supporters and schools in the Netherlands can take part in School Garden Month! Through fun activities, children learn more about sowing, caring for and harvesting plants. And, last but not least… tasting!
In the JOGG region of South Limburg, the first Toddler4Day was held in Heerlen in 2016. In 2021, a fifth-anniversary edition took place with 16 municipalities and 5,500 toddlers. This year there is a first: Toddler4Day is a national event for the first time. In addition, there is now cooperation with the Royal Dutch Walking Association (KWbN).
Teacher Tine from the Buitenveldert Montessori School in Amsterdam has been elected the first ‘Outdoor Lesson Teacher of the Year’. The teacher of year 7 was already declared the winner in the province of North Holland two weeks ago. Over the past few days, a professional jury and a children’s jury decided that Tine Nieboer, who takes her class to the Amsterdamse Bos every week, may carry the title of the best outdoor teacher in the Netherlands for a year. Tine received the accompanying trophy and the €2,000 prize for creating an outdoor classroom on National Outdoor Lesson Day on Tuesday, 5 April.
For the first time in the 90-year history of Veilig Verkeer Nederland, the traffic safety organization organized blind spot lessons last Friday for visually impaired and blind children. Accidents involving large vehicles such as buses, trucks and vans often have serious consequences for the other road user. Because of the size of a truck, the driver has limited visibility. Approximately ten people die each year in blind spot accidents (SWOV, 2016).
April 5 is National Outdoor Learning Day. On that day, the Outdoor Teacher of the Year will also be announced. Below is an overview of the 12 nominees. National Outdoor Learning Day and Outdoor Teacher of the Year are initiatives of Jantje Beton and IVN Nature Education.
Give social-emotional skills a structural place in the curriculum of primary and secondary education. This is the appeal made by 25 organizations from the fields of education, science, policy and society to the standing parliamentary committee on education, which will debate the curriculum on Wednesday, 6 April.
De Meerpaal is located in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in Zoetermeer and faces more than enough challenges. Yet the school has been a Healthy School for 10 years already, with no fewer than four theme certificates. Anja Hepp, Healthy School coordinator, explains how De Meerpaal manages to remain a Healthy School.
Media education is not an urgent topic among parents of children aged 0 to 6. For as many as three-quarters of parents, media education comes last—after healthy nutrition, getting enough exercise, social behavior and hygiene. This is shown by the tenth edition of the Iene Miene Media study 2022, which was presented at the start of the Media Ukkie Days (25 March to 1 April).
What could be more fun than a real chef in the classroom who gets children excited about food and everything related to it?! The pupils learn about the profession of chef and will prepare a dish together with the chef. This year, the Cooking in the Classroom event will take place from 16 to 18 May.
On Wednesday, 23 March 2022, the awards ceremony for the ‘Most Sporty Special Education School in the Netherlands’ and ‘Most Sporty Primary School in the Netherlands’ took place in Groningen. An expert jury selected SO de Hertog from Tiel as the winner in the category ‘Most Sporty Special Education School in the Netherlands’. In the category ‘Most Sporty Primary School in the Netherlands’, CBS Het Lichtpunt from Rhoon emerged as the winner. The KVLO, the Knowledge Centre for Sport & Physical Activity, NOC*NSF and Special Heroes Nederland organised this festive final day in collaboration with the Hanze University of Applied Sciences Institute for Sports Studies.