Arabic Class for children
The Broomspring Arabic school is a voluntary organisation which caters for young people between the ages of 5 and 15 years. It has been established since 1995. The Arabic school provides a service for young people to enable them to gain skills in various fields such as, learning the Arabic language, History, Geography, Maths, etcetera. The Arabic school has quite a number of young people attending and we have a waiting list in place for any one who wishes to join to learn Arabic. The days of the Arabic school are as follows:- Wednesday 4.00pm - 6.30pm, Friday 5.00pm - 7.00pm, Saturday 2.00pm - 4.00pm. Anyone who lives within the area of Broomhall is welcome to join the Arabic School. ~ Hamdi Nasser.
Broomhall Women’s Group
Halal meals are served at the Broomhall Centre every Thursday or just come in for a cup of tea and a chat! A friendly atmosphere, warm welcome, Halal meat and poultry served from 12:30 till 4:00pm. Meals will be at a reasonable price of around £3.00. A different tasty dish for you to try each week.
Cookery class
The course is run by Marilyn Hill, an experienced cookery and sugarcraft tutor who has taught classes for the WEA for more than 10 years. The course takes place on Fridays at 1-3pm. The course is well supported by students from different ethnic backgrounds and with different levels of ability. The aim of the course is to give the students the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques associated with the preparation and cooking of a variety of different healthy dishes and for students to have the chance to try out new recipes. The course is supported with crèche facilities giving the students the opportunity to learn in a stress free environment. The course gives them confidence and the ability to exchange ideas and views with other students of different nationalities. ~ Marilyn Hill.
Dar ul Ilm Weekend School
Dar ul Ilm Weekend School is now into its fourth year. The school has proven to be very popular with the children both within the Broomhall community and beyond. Some children travel regularly from Darnall, Nether Edge and Hunters Bar to attend the school. The age range of the pupils is between 4 and 12 years. At the school the children are working very hard each week and are making excellent progress learning Arabic, Quraan, morals, manners and Islamic history. With much thanks and appreciation to Aminah (Umm Sakariyah), Kaltum, Alaa, Ayaat and Umm Mohannad who are the teachers in the school and have dedicated their Saturdays to this cause since we opened in December 2003. Without these sisters the school would not be enjoying it’s success. May Allah SWA reward them all. ~ Rasheeda Welsh.
English ESOL class
We started in the classroom opposite the office but as numbers increased we moved into the hall itself which allowed for much more adventurous use of space. The class is focused on speaking/listening but with texts and written exercises for homework and for language reinforcement/extension in class. The topics are taken from Skills for Life curriculum guide. Students enjoy the discussions and presentations which provide opportunity for useful Q/A practice. We do some role plays for particular language practice (apologising, seeking advice and information, making small talk). There is a very supportive friendliness which has been engendered by the students themselves, by the user friendly workspace which has enabled lots of mixing and movement, and the pleasant kitchen/coffee bar. ~ Myra Davis, ESOL Tutor, REEP (Refugee Education, Employment Project). Note: we run two other English ESOL classes each week.
Homework Clubs
The Homework Clubs continue to thrive. The laptop computers and educational games software we bought for the Juniors have proved to be very popular additions to the range of activities they undertake. The computer suite is as popular as ever and to alleviate the pressure on this resource we have bought 3 additional laptops, which we currently use only for word processing. We have wonderful support from our volunteers, many of them students, with 10 to 15 of them working with us on any one night. The knowledge that our volunteers bring to the Homework Club enables us to provide specialised help to some of the older Seniors (advice about careers in medicine and what the course requirements are, for instance). We have developed the one-to-one reading initiative with students and the Junior section. All the children now read regularly, usually with the same volunteer each week. We now have a respectable library for the children; this is very popular. ~ Polly Blacker and Tony Cornah.
Iranian Group
The Iranian group aims to bring together all Iranian (Persian), UK citizens and students, and non-Persian people who are interested in Persian (Iranian) culture and values. Iranian (Persian) traditional and national events are celebrated as well as the Islamic events. Events include: Persian New Year Day (Nowrouz), Winter Solstice (Yaldaa Night), Eid Celebrations, Muharram Festival. The Iranian Children´s Education Group is also embedded in The Iranian group. Weekly Farsi (Persian) classes run in the Broomhall centre to help children of Iranian families to learn Farsi (Persian) language. Interested children are taking official Farsi (Persian) exams at the end of educational year.
Iraqi Group
We are a group of Iraqis who are mostly British Citizens. We all live in this area. We are very grateful for this opportunity to use the Broomhall Centre mainly on Monday evenings for two hours for meetings to debate community issues and integration with the local community as well as remembering our beloved relatives back in Iraq. We also use the Centre for special occasions such as religious and social festivals. We may use the Centre in the future as an election centre for Iraqi nationals who live in the area.
Ladybird Crèche Service
We provide childcare citywide, including the OFSTED Registered Crèche within the Broomhall Centre, supporting training for community groups sponsored by a number of training projects. At Broomhall, courses are with the WEA and the Centre itself. Our friendly, qualified, CRB checked team care for children in a welcoming and caring environment whilst parents and carers study. You can contact us on 07931521664, 01142659419 and bamfordajr@aol.com for all your childcare needs.
Life Drawing
Life Drawing is an essential artistic practice, it develops technical skills, concentration, composition and helps generate ideas and much more. The Life Drawing group was established in July 2005. I feel it has been a success. This group is not taught, there is an informal approach to the sessions and it really helps people feel comfortable about coming when they can and not worrying about what they do. This has been visible in the range of people attending and the feedback I have received. In the course of the Academic year, there may be small events planned. Over the coming months we hope to make greater connections with the artistic community in Sheffield and bring some ideas and enthusiasm to Broomhall. ~ Duncan Brown.
Muslim / Christian Dialogues
On the first Sunday of every other month, from 2:30pm to 4:00pm, a different topic will be discussed. On Sunday 6th May, the subject will be 'The Position of Women according to the two Faiths'. Everyone is invited, in a spirit of enquiry and respect, to come along to listen and ask questions. You may write down a queston beforehand and post, email or bring it to the Centre. We hope to run a crèche so if you have young children, please phone for a place on 0114 272 9105.
Sahaja Yoga group
Our group is called Sahaja Yoga. It leads through meditation sessions to a great sense of peace and to self realisation. We get to deep meditative states where we can go beyond thought and time. Everyone can benefit whatever their religion or if they have none. It helps in everyday life and gives inner peace. You are welcome to come to our sessions which are on Wednesday evenings at 7.00pm in the Meeting room. It is completely free of charge. ~ Walter Sautzer.
Sheffield Samba Band
The band continues to meet at the centre every Tuesday evening, and plays at community events in and around Sheffield, most recently at the annual Lantern Parade. ~ Rosemary.
W.E.A. - Worker’s Educational Association
Our work with the Centre has grown during the years and the partnership is really good. I have held a number of meetings with Shirley Cameron and the communication flow has been pretty constant as we have struggled, always a healthy old struggle in adult education, to keep the crèche viable or to ensure that course numbers can sustain continuation. My thanks to Shirley for her help on both counts. As to the courses, the writers’ workshop has really taken off and continues to attract new students each term. The Arabic class for women has also gone well under the tutorial guidance of Majeda Talib. 2006/7 is not going to be an easy year for the WEA as we face cuts in our Learning and Skills Council funding and pressure to increase student fees. We have faced such problems before and I am confident that working with partners, such as the Broomhall Centre, will help us find a way through this one. ~ Jol Miskin, WEA Tutor Organiser.