Dear Parents,
Hello, this is Orgesa from Rise to Lead, part of my wider work through Configur Academy.
This week at Rise to Lead, our focus was on speaking clearly, helping children share their ideas so they can be heard and understood with confidence.
We practised three simple techniques:
speaking slowly
speaking loud enough
finishing sentences so ideas land clearly
The children used these skills throughout the session in a supportive, encouraging environment.
The Mystery Challenge
We began with a riddle prepared by one of the children. Once the answer was revealed, we opened our Mystery Box, which contained the challenge for the day.
Working in their teams, the children had to decide on three things:
Team name
Ribbon colour
Team superpower
They worked quickly and collaboratively, listening to one another and building on ideas.
Each team also chose their roles:
Speaker – presenting the team’s ideas
Time Boss – keeping the group on track
Gold Finder – spotting kindness, bravery, teamwork and good listening within the team
Team Creativity in Action
Here’s what the children came up with:
🟢 Green Team
Team name: The Avocados
Superpower: Whatever we touch turns green🔵 Blue Team
Team name: Ocean Girls
Superpower: We make everyone calm🔴 Red Team
Team name: The Red Winners
Superpower: We are kind, and we work as a team really well
As the teams presented their ideas, we saw some wonderful moments of confidence and creativity. One team even accompanied their presentation with a short team cheer and a little dance, which added a joyful and memorable touch.
Speaking Clearly in Front of Others
As each team shared their ideas, the children focused on clear voices, calm body language and confident starts. We talked about how small things, like where we place our hands, using open gestures, and beginning with a strong voice, can make a big difference.
The children then voted for the team they felt expressed their ideas most clearly (they could not vote for their own team). This week’s winners were the Ocean Girls (blue team), well done to them.
Celebrating Effort & Values
At the end of the session, three children were recognised for demonstrating our Rise to Lead values:
Courage to Try Award
Kind Teammate Award
Clear Communicator Award
These awards celebrate effort, bravery and behaviour, not perfection.
Building confidence, little by little - Pop Talk Time
We finished with Pop Talk, our quick-fire speaking game. The children were enthusiastic, supportive, and many volunteered to take part.
One child even volunteered to prepare the Pop Talk questions for our next session, which we’re very much looking forward to.
It was another calm, creative and confidence-building session, full of teamwork, imagination and growing voices.
Warm regards,
Orgesa
Founder, Rise to Lead
Configur Academy
Wesbite: www.risetolead.uk
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