NATIONAL TALKING DAY IN KINDY CLASS

Today was National Talking Day at East Harptree Kindy class in Somerset. After their usual lesson, which, appropriately, was on the Teddy Bear Theme, twenty eight pre-school children sat down with a teddy each and talked about an adventure they would like to go on.

Of course, mouths and voices had to be warmed up first!

And the bears had to make themselves comfortable.

Sometimes it was hard to find things to say........

........but then the bear joined in and everything was OK.

There were all sorts of adventures!

It got very noisy with everyone talking at the same time ......

....... but everyone managed to speak for two minutes and everyone received Pudsey certificates.

Sponsor money will be collected in the next few days and added to the grand total to be presented to BBC Children In Need. We are very proud of the pre-school children for taking part and we thank their parents and teachers for all their support.

NATIONAL TALKING WEEK!

Principals, students, teachers and parents in drama classes around the country are in the middle of NATIONAL TALKING WEEK! aiming to raise tens of thousands of pounds for BBC Children In Need. Special edition T-shirts have been on sale, with all proceeds going to the charity.

In many classes, parents have thrown themselves into the fundraising too. York Principal, Lindsay Goakes, sent us this picture (below) of the cake Mattew's dad made to share with the class in Selby.

Fundraising activities will continue throughout November. This Friday, 18th November, a team from Head Office, led by, Training Supervisor, Becky Goodfield, will be in the audience at BBC Television Centre with a very big cheque!

Thank you to everyone who has taken part. Visit our website www.helenogrady.co.uk for full details.

BBC CHILDREN IN NEED 2011

Once again, this year, the Helen O'Grady Drama Academy is fundraising for BBC Children In Need. Wednesday 9th November sees the start of NATIONAL TALKING WEEK! across the UK, when students will be talking, in their classes, on a given topic, for an allocated amount of time.

Last year, through the sponsored talking, we raised more than £30,000 for the charity and were lucky enough to present a cheque, live on air, to Sir Terry Wogan.

Schools are getting involved too, with drama teachers running special classes to hear the children talk. The Academy's aim is to develop children's confidence and skill in verbal communication so what better way than talking to raise money for other children less fortunate than themselves?

For full information download a leaflet here and print a sponsor form to start raising money now. Full details are on the literature, with instructions of what to do with the money when you have raised it.

Thank you - on behalf of the Academy - for your help and an even bigger THANK YOU on behalf of BBC Children In need.

HUNTING IN GREAT YARMOUTH!

In Great Yarmouth, last week, children in Helen O'Grady classes were putting together a Mime to Music called 'The Hunt' and they looked pretty fearsome in their feathers and war paint!

Using specially written music, the children sharpened their spears, and packed their quivers with arrows, before setting off to find dinner! They were surprised to find another group in their path and looked pretty mean when they came face to face with them.

They pulled scary faces and looked threatening for a while before making friends and sharing their feast together.

Classes in Great Yarmouth are run by Norwich Principal, Gill Prins, and there are still places available for children between the ages of 5 and 11. Contact Gill on norwich@helenogrady.co.uk

NEW BRANCHES & NEW PRINCIPALS THIS TERM

September has seen the opening of several new Helen O'Grady branches, as well as a handful of new Principals taking over existing areas.

In Manila, in the Philippines, Monique and Vince Bunuan have had a great start introducing the unique Helen O'Grady programme to dozens of local children. Here they are above with the magnificent banner they are using to promote their classes. We are very proud of their opening classes and know they will spread the word very quickly.

New mum, Iesher Fitzmaurice Mendez (above), who gave birth to baby Zain at the beginning of August, took over the reins in the Staffordshire area. She has been teaching for the Academy for several years and jumped at the chance of becoming Principal. As well as making a great start with existing students, she has opened three new classes which have all started well.

In South West London, Melanie Moore has opened new studios as well as taking over some existing students. Although drama trained, Melanie was new to the programme and has taken the very structured lessons to heart. She is, as you can see below, very excited to be part of the network. In Northamptonshire, Gemma Knight has succeeded Sarah Moloney as Principal. Sarah was a hard act to follow but Gemma had worked with her for some time before the handover and the students remain in more than capable hands!

In the Herts-Cambs area, retiring Principal, Fiona Taylor, was more than happy to pass the business on to her former teacher, Lucinda Symonds, pictured below. Lucinda will continue to teach and work with her sister, Jessica, who will take most of the responsibility for administration and marketing the business. the Symonds sisters don't believe in doing things by halves! During the first weeks of term they were also planning a wedding. Lucinda married Tim Gray on 1st October. We wish them all the love luck and happiness they deserve.

Last new Principal to launch was Lisa Bennett in Southampton. Lisa, too, has taught for the Academy and is already building the numbers up in her own branch.

All the new Principals have started well and we wish them a long and successful association with the Academy.

EXCITEMENT AND SENERGY IN TAYFORTH!

Tayforth Principal, Barbara Brett, is very proud of one of her long term students who was chosen to be in an advert for the global energy services company - Senergy

Harry has been attending Helen O'Grady classes for over seven years and has recently joined Aardvark Casting, the company's in-house casting agency.

You can see him in the video here on You Tube

Congratulations Harry!

BACK TO SCHOOL - WHATEVER YOUR AGE!

All over the country, drama students of all ages are jumping for joy at the thought of returning to class!
In Scotland and Ireland, classes have already been running for two weeks, in England and Wales term starts this week. In Europe, classes return at the end of the month.

It is a very exciting time for Principals, teachers and students. Dozens of new classes will be opening and hundreds of new students will be experiencing the unique Helen O'Grady programme for the first time. In these days of technology, we must remember to help our children and young people retain the skill of verbal communication. The Helen O'Grady programme taps into the natural interest children have in drama and channels it to help develop confident, articulate adults.

A child can now, in most places, join classes at the age of 3 and continue on the programme through to adulthood. Adult acting classes have proved very popular and are now becoming more widely available.

Visit our website http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/ for full details of classes in your area.

The curriculum this term is as varied and exciting as ever. Kindy Drama - for preschoolers - has themes ranging from 'My Teddy' to 'Bugs and Frogs'. Lower primary will be cats, rats, aliens and wooden puppets and Upper Primary have to deal with a volcano and a fiesta in a Mexican Village! There are the usual challenges for Youth Theatre, with published mini-scripts and whole class improvisations and a little light relief with new theatre games. The Adult classes are tailored to suit the needs of each particular group.

We, at the Academy, are looking forward to a brilliant term and, if you know someone who may benefit from - or simply love - our classes, please encourage them to get in touch. Full details of classes in your area are available on the website: http://www.helenogrady.co.uk/