by Stacy Conner
Many elementary schools have school-wide assemblies where all the students gather for announcements, lectures, or special presentations or performances from guest speakers. These programs can be an excellent opportunity for the students and teachers to come together and share an experience as a school community. A school assembly program gives students a chance to practice proper etiquette as the member of an audience. Students love school assemblies because it gives them a break from their normal routine and have some fun.
As beneficial and exciting as school assemblies can be, the logistics of coordinating and scheduling school assemblies can be difficult. Many times the school principal is in charge of school assembly coordination and has found a system for smooth assembly planning. More often than not, however, the job of elementary school assembly coordinator is placed in the hands of a teacher, parent, or PTA committee. The job is "passed along" from year to year and many assembly planners find themselves starting from scratch at the beginning of the school year.
Here are a few suggestions for new (and experienced) assembly coordinators to help make your assembly planning easier. These suggestions come from real world experience of people who have planned school assemblies for elementary schools across Ohio:
#1. Ask For the Assembly Folder From Last Year
Almost every school has a folder where the school assembly coordinator or PTA has collected fliers, brochures, and advertisements from school assembly presenters. These folders may also contain notes, past contracts, and information about assemblies that your school has booked in the past. This folder is a great starting point when planning assemblies, but many times you have to ask the principal or past planner if you can borrow it. Do not be afraid to ask for notes or planning tips from past coordinators.
#2. Know What Your School Needs
When you begin your search for school assemblies, you will find that there are literally thousands of options available. These options can VERY quickly become overwhelming. You can avoid being overwhelmed by knowing what types of programs you are looking for. It is much easier to research assembly programs if you know you are looking for an "assembly for reading month" or "program with a Halloween theme". If you were not given any specific direction for program types, ask the principal or teachers what types of assembly programs they would like to brought to their school.
#3. Select Dates in Advance
You will save a lot of time and back and forth phone calls and emails if you know in advance what dates are good to schedule assemblies on at your school. Many times, schools must schedule assemblies around music class days, field trips, etc. It is always good to have one or two "alternate" dates for each program in case your first choice is not available in the presenter's schedule. Schedule a meeting with the school principal to pick good assembly dates BEFORE you call presenters.
#4. Timing is Everything
Once you pick the dates, also find out what times during the school day are best to schedule assembly programs, and whether your school can fit all your students into one assembly, or if you need to schedule two or more assemblies on the same day to accommodate everyone. When picking times, be sure to consider lunches, recess, and morning / afternoon kindergarten classes.
Be sure to keep detailed notes as you do your research and planning, this will make it easier to confirm and book programs when you make your final decisions. This will also give you the start of an "assembly folder" you can pass along to the next coordinator - they will thank you for it!
The website http://www.michiganschoolshows.com helps make planning school assemblies easy for hundreds of Michigan and Ohio schools every year. You can browse over 30 available elementary school assemblies by topic and program type, making it simple to schedule one school assembly or assemblies for the entire school year.
Article Source: Stacy_Connor
Used with permission by the author
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