The other day, I went along to drop my niece and nephew in school. As our vehicle approached the gates we heard drums being beaten and the most exhilarating chorus of children singing at the top of their voices. My niece and nephew began dancing before we even parked the car, even I was dancing unconsciously.
After we saw them in we stayed through the rest of the assembly because it brought a rush of dopamine that lasted us the whole day. Imagine the effect of a well-planned out assembly on the pupils and even you, the teacher, at the start of a new week.
As it is apparent, assemblies are important! It is necessary therefore to plan them out at the beginning of the school year. That is, scheduling them, preparing their budgets and assigning duties so that somebody is responsible for each assembly. Once the general plan for assemblies have been put in place, below are some necessary key points to help guide those assigned with the execution.
• Choose a theme for your assembly. Preferably one that follows the overall theme of the school year or one that correlates with activities within the time period.
• Prepare the following- a lists of activities, assign roles and duties, and draw up rules and regulation for the activities which should include duration, seating arrangements, permission guides, etc.
• Prepare and send out invitations (if it is that kind of assembly, you can send an invitation to the head teacher or principal). You can have the pupils design the invitations.
• Draw out a program of activities and time them so they fit into the assigned time.
• Cross check the preparations a day before the assembly. Ensure that everything needed is already available, that everyone is aware of their duties and that the equipment to be used are in a good state.
• On the day of the assembly ensure that all duty posts are properly manned for orderliness. Let those involved in the program be aware and ready to go up on cue, this is to ensure proper time management.
• Pay attention to the welcome and closing speeches. Make sure to acknowledge everyone that was involved in the assembly.
• You can distribute forms for your guest to give feedback about the assembly.
Assemblies should be fun and educative- “funducative”. Going forward, be deliberate about planning out the best assemblies with the most funducative activities.