London Olympics and the Olympic ideal
To celebrate London's successful bid to stage the Olympics in 2012 and to consider what this means
by Gordon and Ronni Lamont
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To celebrate London’s successful bid to stage the Olympics in 2012 and to consider what this means.
Preparation and materials
No special preparation is needed but you might like to have some sporting or other trophies to display and talk about.
Assembly
- Introduce the phrase London 2012 and ask what it means. Follow up by asking a few children if they know how old they will be in 2012.
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Ask if children know why the games are called The Olympic Games and how often they occur.
You might like to point out that although the original games took place in Olympia in the southwest of Greece, Mount Olympus, where the ancient Greeks thought their gods and goddesses lived is in Central Greece. Many travellers make the mistake of thinking that these two places are the same.
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Ask the children about their sporting interests and discuss briefly. Talk about the trophies if you have them.
- Point out that one reason why the London bid won was because it emphasized the importance of the Olympic Games in inspiring children and young people. Add that not everyone has to be interested in sport, you can be equally inspired to be the best you can at drama, dance, writing, mathematics, bee-keeping or anything. So although the Olympics are about sport and friendly competition between nations, they are also about something called an ideal. An ideal is something that people think is good and try to achieve, so the ideal of your school might be to bring the best out of everyone in every part of their education. The Olympic ideal includes this idea: to build a peaceful and better world by educating the youth of the world through sport and culture. Culture means all the arts and beliefs and customs of a group of people such as a country.
- End by saying that whether you consider yourself to be a sportsperson or not, the Olympic Games stand for bringing the best out in everyone.
Time for reflection
What do you want to be the best at?
How can you help yourself to be the best that you can be?
