Welcome from the Minister for Education, The Hon. Diallo Rabain JP, MP

Welcome to our fourth Learning First newsletter. In this monthly email, you will be able to learn about the work being undertaken in Bermuda to realise our vision that all students are educated to lead personally and professionally, compete locally, and contribute globally. 

This month, I want to thank the members of the community who came out to participate in covid-safe pop-up prototyping with design teams and offered their kind, helpful and specific feedback. I would also like to commend the Learning First design teams on the energy, critical thinking and creativity they have invested in their ideas, and their commitment to collaboration along the way.

It is only through working with you - teachers, students, parents, businesses and communities – that we can bring our vision to life and make sure that Bermudian young people can thrive in the 21st century. Look out for the details below on how to register for the zoom pop up prototypes this week!

Interested in joining online pop-up prototyping this week?

For those of you that were not able to participate in the recent sessions, the opportunity to engage in pop up prototyping continues this week. Be sure to sign up for the virtual pop ups using zoom that are happening this week as places are limited:

6pm - 7pm

Wednesday, 24 March & Thursday, 25 March

Register: http://bit.ly/LFPopUps21

Prototypes are mock-ups and test-runs that bring new ideas to life, and can take the form of role-plays, storyboards, models and even games. They help us make ideas seem real so we can find out more about how they could work.

Bermudians of Learning First and their ideas for transformation

In late 2020, people from across Bermuda put their hands up to participate in design teams to reimagine our education system. Since then, those teachers, principals, parents, young people, community members and businesses have been collaborating on new ideas and creating a groundswell for change.

You can find out who is participating in each of the six design teams here, and explore some of the ideas emerging through their storyboards too. 

If you would like to learn more about these ideas and how aspects of them could work in practice, register to join an online pop-up prototyping session this week: http://bit.ly/LFPopUps21

Deep Dive: 'Discovery Week'

In this idea developed by the Learning Environments design team, students collaborate with their teachers and experts within the community on a project to solve a ‘real-life’ problem. This might be a local problem in the community, or a global challenge that the students could help to address.

Through Discovery Week, students have an opportunity to learn beyond the four walls of school, take on new roles and responsibilities, develop new skills and knowledge, and demonstrate their learning through public exhibition of their work.
You can read the full storyboard here, along with other examples of ideas that are emerging so far.

Signature schools engagement
 

In April, we want to engage with as many people as possible about proposed ‘signatures’ for our senior schools. The signature learning programmes will enable students to follow their passions, talents and interests and develop the skills, knowledge, values and relationships needed to fulfil their career and further education aspirations. The details of the learning programme for each signature will be developed by School Design Teams during the next school year. But first we want to involve everyone in helping decide what these signatures should be. 

More information on opportunities to engage wth the proposed signatures will follow in a special eNews edition coming soon.

Interested in getting involved?

There are a number of ways you can participate in Learning First and help to redesign education in Bermuda.

• Follow Learning First on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to share your thoughts about the future of education in Bermuda
• Register to participate in this week's online pop-up prototyping sessions here: http://bit.ly/LFPopUps21
• Have your say on the proposed signatures for senior schools: follow Learning First on social media to keep informed and look out for an email arriving shortly about how you can get involved.

Thanks for reading and we look forward to sharing more with you next month!