A zippy start

Idris al Balushi

Muscat, Sept 10
For students, the school assembly is often a tedious morning chore. The aim, however, is to provide structure to the students’ day in order to enhance their overall capacity to learn.
The morning exercises hold a wealth of benefits for students and teachers. For many teachers, these activities are essential for making students’ brains more alert in class.
Studies have revealed that these workouts significantly help in stimulating the brain and maximising the cognitive performance of students. Speaking to the Observer, Yusuf al Hattali, a physical education teacher, said that the morning assembly is not just a routine gathering, but an important milestone that provides students and teachers with an energetic and organised start. Al Hattali said students prepare themselves psychologically and mentally for learning. He explained that the more energetic and more joyful the assembly is, the more positively it impacts the psychology of students, contributing to increased concentration and participation in classrooms.
Al Hattali emphasises that the assembly represents an important platform for conveying moral, religious and educational messages, whether through speeches or mini-plays, in addition to the flag-raising ceremony and the chanting of the Royal Anthem, which reinforces national belonging in the students' souls.
Regarding how to ensure that the assembly remains interactive, he says the secret lies in diversity, by incorporating different exercises and competitions between classes, in addition to honours and motivation. This makes the assembly an event that students eagerly anticipate, rather than just a daily routine.
In this context, Dr Mona Mohammed, an emergency medicine specialist, emphasised that school assembly should not be viewed as a boring daily routine, but rather as an energetic start for both body and mind. The light exercises increase the oxygen supply to the brain, thereby improving students’ concentration and their ability to absorb lessons in classrooms. They reduce rates of lethargy and contribute to lowering the risks of obesity and chronic diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Moreover, the group activities offered during the assembly strengthen social bonds among students and provide them with teamwork and discipline skills.
In addition, morning assemblies serve as an invaluable opportunity to create an imaginative learning experience for students. This can be achieved by incorporating a variety of activities that cater to different learning preferences, such as short plays depicting historical events or celebrating festivals, inviting inspirational guest speakers, and showcasing outstanding student projects and ideas.
Lastly, perhaps the most paramount benefit of morning assemblies lies in the fact that it empowers students to identify their interests and topics. Students are given the right to propose certain ideas for segments during the morning assembly. This has many advantages. On the one hand, the student in charge of a specific educational segment in the school assembly will be tasked with researching the topic, fact-checking the content and ultimately presenting it. In return, students who attend these segments are often mentally aroused to hear more and left to critically think about the information provided. By extension, regardless of who is in charge of preparing the morning activities. All of this eventually positively cascades into the students' capacity to face the day on with more attentive minds.