We have a brilliant new offer to all customers who purchase a Promethean ACTIVboard+2 Interactive Whiteboard system before Dec 31st 2009.
Every purchase of ACTIVboard+2 systems (fixed height or height adjustable) will receive a free ActiView 322 Visualiser.
Put any object under Actiview'sgooseneck-mounted lens and lamp combinations and your treasures, text, even flora are projected in vivid detail on your ACTIVboard. Examine the smallest shell with automatic zoom and focus. Share your work with the entire classroom or build an image library of everyday objects and extraordinary finds for use in your lessons.
SOS GROUP was delighted to be invited back to the official opening of Pond Park Primary School on Friday 9th October. The school looked fantastic and we wish all well in their great new surroundings. Principal, Victor Spindler, invited Cecil Kirkwood OBE to officially open the new school 28 years after he opened the previous school. Guests were treated to a wonderful performance from the school choir.
Traffic came to a standstill today outside SOS GROUP as Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear crew tunred up for filming. The star of the hit BBC television series was in town recording for the current series.
SOS GROUP was thrilled to be invited to the official opening of Ashfield Girls' High School on Tuesday 29th September. This new state of the art school is a wonderful facility for the pupils and also the community of East Belfast. Guests were treated to performances from the School Choir and Rock Challenge 2009. Speeches were given by new principal Alison Mungavin and outgoing principal Adeline Dinsmore OBE before guests were able to take a tour of the fantastic new facilities.
SOS GROUP and Promethean will shortly be holding some local 'LoveYour Whiteboard' events across Northern Ireland. Regardless of what brand of interactive whiteboard you are using, and what subject areas you need support with, these free, local sessions will give you more confidence at the whiteboard, pass on some great timesaving tips and exchange exciting lesson ideas.
We want to show you how your interactive whiteboard and software could be used more effectively; saving you time in planning, teaching and assessing. Capture your students’ attention, rejuvenate topics and involving the whole class, without adding to your workload.
What’s more, we’ll be giving away free software trials, DVDs and magazine supplements with loads of ideas, suggestions and resources.
So what are you waiting for? Come along to one of our free ‘Love Your Whiteboard Roadshows after school hours. For more information visit www.PrometheanPlanet.com/LYWR or contact us on 028 9046 9047.
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This report was published in Daily Telegraph 07/07/09 claiming that a new study shows pupils benefit from improvements to dining rooms including the purchase of new furniture. For a selection of our dining hall furniture click here
Eating healthy school lunches in modern dining rooms can improve pupils' concentration by almost 20%, research has found.
A School Food Trust (SFT) study found that improving food and dining facilities had a positive effect on pupils' behaviour and meant they were better at working on their own.
Researchers made improvements such as introducing new healthy menus, holding taster sessions, redecorating the dining room and buying new furniture in seven secondary schools across England.
A further four schools were used as control schools, with no improvements made. They then assessed the results to see if the changes had an impact on learning and behaviour in the classroom after lunch.
Observers recorded pupil behaviour at the beginning of the study and then again 15 weeks later.
The study found that pupils at the schools where improvements had been made were 18% more likely to be "on task" (concentrating and engaged with learning) compared with those in the control schools.
Pupils in the schools which had seen improvements were also 14% less likely to be off-task than those in the control schools, it found.
The study said: "These findings have important implications for classroom teaching in secondary schools.
"If pupils are likely to be more on-task and less off-task for up to one third of the time, teaching is likely to run more smoothly with fewer disruptions.
"The net effect of these improvements in behaviour is likely to mean that more time is spent on achieving the objectives of the lesson and less time on activities or discipline needed to retain the pupils focus."
SOS GROUP is pleased to confirm that BM TRADA Certification Ltd has given its approval to the Quality Management System operated by our company and has issued our new certificate.
Back in 2005 SOS GROUPsoldTermoncanice Primary School over 20 Promethean Interactive Whiteboards. We installed and trained them on how to use them.....and they haven't looked back since. They have now reached the heights of creating a digital creative classroom, pupils creating animated videos and exploring the world of Apple iMacs including software such as garageband, imovies and idvd. They have also invested in our brilliant learner response devices ACTIVvote and ACTIVexpression. This is a school that is unquestionably committed to academic excellence through ICT
Apples Blooming In Granny’s Garden!!
TermoncanicePrimary School has a wide array of educational ICT equipment but as yet they haven’t got a machine that will travel back 20 years in time!!While my hair may be arctic blonde and the forehead looks like a page in an exercise book, fortunately the memory hasn’t gone…… yet!!
Back in 1989, when I started teaching , the old BBC computers were all the rage and Granny’s Garden was at the cutting edge of gaming technology in schools. A Computer disc looked like the microfilm in a spy movie. In time schools moved on to the Archimedes, the A3000 and the A500. Programmes such as Pendown and Our Facts were the forerunner for Word and Excel respectively.
When the PC’s arrived notice board’s were filled with lovely stories printed in coloured ink, each paragraph a different colour. In time, I, like many of my peers, reckoned I had the full capabilities of the computer sussed. Powerpoint, Excel, Textease, Paint etc were used in a variety of lessons. There was nothing knew to be learned… or so I thought!
When I was told by the principal Mr Seamus Coyle that I was getting an Interactive Whiteboard I said “Great!”, what I meant was “What’s on earth is an Interactive Whiteboard??”. ( having sussed the full potential of a PC I couldn’t admit the truth!!).The board arrived in my room in Easter 2005 and my class were spellbound by this technological marvel. One pupil was on the verge of tears when the installation was delayed by a day. In a short time all of the staff were smitten by my the IWB and were convinced of it’s benefits.
One year later all twenty two classrooms in Termoncanice had an interactive whiteboard. All the permanent members of staff are trained to at least Promethean Level 2 standard. I attained Level 3 in September 2008 and some other staff members are working towards this level. The boards and the training represent a huge commitment from the principal in terms of money and time. Prior to the new curriculum it showed the school placed ICT on a level footing with Mathematics and Literacy.
The IWB’s are only one part of Termoncanice’s commitment to academic excellence through ICT. We have invested in the Activ Voters and Active Expression voters which compliment the boards. The voting pods have tremendous learning potential for children across the curriculum. I have used them in end of term Maths tests, results are not only instant but they provide diagnostic information. I might even go as far as to say they made testing fun.
Termoncanice have a well equipped ICT suite so that children can spend some time every week learning other subjects though the use of ICT. The C2K platform has been used extensively in all lessons in a bid to make the learning context more interesting. Pupils have produced websites, movies, animations and composed their own music using the ICT equipment available to them.
ICT coordinator Mr Eamon Toner is a busy man. On a day to day basis he ensures that teachers not only avail of the superb computer suite but also the Bee Bots , Roamers and other control devices in the school. He has also spent the last two years as part of the Mediascape project. Eamon, his class and learning support teacher Miss Hilda Quinn, have been customizing PDA’s so that they can tell parts of The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch story when certain Hotspots are reached around the school. This project incorporates ICT, Literacy and Art. Kevin Coyle has been mentoring all participants through this exciting and challenging technological journey
Termoncanice lead a cluster of other schools in a pilot exploring the use of Apple Computers. The staff involved were trained in the use of the apple and given themes such as Bullying to explore via the Apple Mac. The results were excellent and shared between schools when they met together. Learning support teacher, and Vice Principal, Mary Harron used programmes such as Comic Life and I Can Animate to great effect. When Mrs Harron organised the SummerLiteracySchool in 2008 I was invited along to enhance the Literacy experience through ICT. Plays were filmed, animations of the American Civil War were created and an excellent Punch and Judy show was captured on film.
In the room next door to where I started teaching is the new Digital Creative Classroom. The room is equipped with 12 iMacs, a place where technology meets creativity. The IWB is connected to an iMac so that teachers can show the pupils how to avail of programmes such as iMovie, Garageband, iDVD etc. In the middle of the room an area has been provided to shoot movies and produce animations. The green wall allows the film editors to put a host of different backdrops into the finished product. A sound proof booth facilitates the creation of podcasts and will be the ideal location for final editing of movies and animations.
As Literacy coordinator I am excited about the potential for the subject in this room
ICT is embedded into the culture as well as the curriculum in Termoncanice. After twenty years it’s nice to see Apples blooming in Granny’s Garden!!
We have 60no nearly new Postura+ 350mmh in green to give away at a knockdown price of £13 each. These are ex-stock and available immediately. Our RRP on these chairs is £32 each, representing a saving of £19 on each chair. Contact sales now on 02890 736543.
SOS CELEBRATE 40 YEARS WITH RECORD SALES IN EDUCATION SECTOR
SOS Group, the local manufacturers and distributors of educational equipment and contract furniture for the public and private sectors, are celebrating their 40th Anniversary this week with the news that the last twelve months have been their most successful ever in the education sector.
This year has seen the company’s sales of furniture and equipment for schools, colleges and universities reach £3.25million.Recent successes have included the winning of contracts with Farrans Construction, Patton Construction and Heron Brothers tosupply and install over 200 Promethean interactive whiteboards to six new schools currently in construction.SOS has also won the contract to install the first SICO Insta-theatre in Northern Ireland at OakwoodIntegratedSchool, Dunmurry.The Insta-theatre is an innovative, full size performance theatre that folds conveniently into a pocket, or against a wall enabling schools to transform their assembly hall or gym into a professional theatre in minutes.
Commenting on their success in the education sector Phillip Walsh, Partner, SOS Group said
“We are delighted to have reached our 40th Anniversary and to be able to report a year of such outstanding success in the schools and third-level education sector.The educational furniture and equipment market has seen tremendous changes since the our business was first established back in 1961 and today technology, particularly internet based technology is transforming the way pupils learn and teachers teach at all stages in the education process.We have been able to establish our premier position in this marketplace by keeping pace with the technological developments and that is very much reflected in the highly technical nature of the contacts we have won over the past year”.
SOS Group was established in 1969 under its original name of Irish Schools Furniture, by former teacher Harry Walsh who nurtured it from a workshop on Barrack Street, Belfast to a state of the art manufacturing facility in the old Olympia Typewriter site on the Boucher Road. Showcase projects over the years have included Trinity College Library, Millennium Theatre, Derry and the National Maritime College of Ireland in Cork.
Harry Walsh died suddenly in 2002 but the business has continued to thrive in the hands of his sons Phillip and Chris. In 2005 the company moved to a purpose built manufacturing and distribution complex at Heron Road in the Belfast Harbour Estate. The company which has a total annual turnover of £4.2million employs a full time staff of 28.
Our last photo shoot was in Blackstaff Mill on a freezing winter's afternoon for our own home grown desking range. Today's photo shoot couldn't have been done in more contrasting weather as temperatures soared into the mid 20s. So where better to photograph our new 2tone range of desks than at the beach! The location was Seapark in Holywood, only a mile or so from our factory in Heron Road. More to come soon on our new range that marks our 40th year in business.
Link is a new chair we are pleased to add to our collection. It is suitable for indoor and outdoor use and stacks. Also available with arms.
Link
Extreme Extreme is a dynamic new chair which has been been selected for the Award Young and Design 2009 - Milan 2009. This innovative new design is a success because of its lightness and sturdiness.
It was great to be invited to the official opening of Orangefield Primary on June 19th. Principal, Ernie Long was joined at the opening by First Minister Peter Robinson and Lord Mayor Naomi Long.
Here is your chance to snap up a stylish classroom of our latest Heron Desks and Titan chairs for an incredible price of £975 + vat. These desks and chairs retail at a price of £2175 so this represents a saving of over half price! These desks come complete with baskets and are 590mm high. The Titan chairs are 310mmh and available in certain colours while stocks last. Contact sales immediately on 02890 736543.
Many thanks to Leaney PS for their kind invitation to their official school opening on Friday 12th June. This £2 million school build looks fantastic and is a wonderful addition to the Ballymoney area. Principal, Joe McConaghie, welcomed all the children, parents and guests to their special day. All pupils received commemorative medals to mark the historic occasion. Guests were treated to pupil performances from the school choir and foundation stage children. The official opening was carried out by Trudy Pollock MBE who is Chairperson on the Board of Governors.
Our new virtual catalogue is now online. Easy, instant access to any page with a hotlinked contents page so you can get straight to the bit you want at the click of a button.
Clear, large and readable pages every time - no matter what the screen size - because pages automatically enlarge to fill the screen (no need to fiddle around with zoom tools!).
Never lose the interesting bits! With easy-to-use ‘bookmark post-its’ you can instantly flip back to any page that caught your eye.
Pin-sharp print outs! Hit ‘print’ and the master PDF version of your brochure is the one that prints, so no bitmapping or blurriness!
Find the right content immediately! Easy search facility means you can use keywords to find just the stuff you're looking for.
On Thursday 4th June 2009, SOS GROUP celebrated 40 years in business. We celebrated the event with a celebration lunch at the Culloden Estate and Spa, attended by all staff, some long-standing customers and suppliers. To mark the occasion we had a prize draw with 40 great prizes to mark the years in business.
The sun shone and everyone claimed the day to be a success. Many of the guests left laden with prizes including a weekend in London, tickets to the Waterfont Hall, meals at Aldens Restaurant, Culloden Estate and Spa and the Slieve Donard Hotel, ACTIVexpression learner response devices and much more.
Magician, Horace Jay, entertained the guests with some magic tricks before lunch. Many thanks to everyone who attended and all of very generous suppliers who contributed to the day.
Congratulations to the SOS Group golf team who finished third at this year's Downshire Primary Golf Day at Rockmount Golf Club. The team consisted of Michael Jackson, Nigel Johnston, Trevor King and Harry Thompson. There was individual success for Harry Thompson, an ex-pupil of the school, who finished third overall with 38 points. Thanks to John Knaggs at Downshire Primary and their PTA for another great day. l-r Michael, Trevor, Nigel, Harry.
