Saol – Nuacht na Scoileanna
September 14, 2012
Bandon Gaelscoil Opens
September 12, 2012
The new Bandon Gaelscoil opened its doors to pupils on Wednesday August 29th. Staff, pupils, parents and the wider school community were delighted with the new state of the art facilities. Twenty seven new Junior Infants started their primary education through the medium of Irish. The Gaelscoil also welcomed two new local teachers, Siobhán Ní Mhuimhneacháin and Cian Ó Floinn, giving the school a teaching staff of eight (six class teachers, a learning support teacher and a resource teacher). Over the next two years the Gaelscoil hopes to become a single stream school i.e. a teacher for each of the 8 mainstream classes. The process of applying for planning permission for two extra classrooms, to be built during the summer of 2013, is already in train.
Parents are particularly delighted with the success of the drive-through/set down traffic system. Fears of congestion at school times have proved unfounded helped in no small part by the fact that children may be dropped to school from 8.30am onwards where they are fully supervised in the Hall until classes begin at 9.20am.
Some of the Gaelscoil’s extensive range of extra-curricular activities have already commenced including Speech and Drama, Irish Dancing, Music lessons (piano, violin and guitar), Basketball, Table Tennis and Gaelic Football. This term’s Homework Club (Monday – Thursday 3-4pm) is also about to begin.
Príomhoide Seán Ó Láimhín prides himself on his open-door policy for parents and is available to discuss any issue of concern between 8.30am and 9.30am or between 3pm and 5pm each day.
Múinteoir Seán would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents who assisted with the moving process from the old premises to the new building. He also wishes to thank Carolyn O’Sullivan and the members of the Parents’ Association who cleaned the school in preparation for an Open Day on Sunday August 19thand who also provided the catering on the day.
Bígí linn ag forbairt na gaelscolaíochta in Iarthar Chorcaí.
Eolas/Information o Seán Ó Laimhín Príomhoide 023 8843378 or 087 2874252 or at gaelnabanndan@eircom.net.
Surge in numbers taking higher maths and Irish
September 12, 2012
Nearly half of all Junior Certificate students took higher-level maths this year and changes to the marking scheme have prompted another rise in numbers attempting higher Irish.
State Examinations Commission figures show that 48% sat higher-level maths, the highest since at least 2001. Although the SEC did not have earlier records yesterday, it could the first time higher-level candidates outnumber those who took ordinary-level exams, with just 7% sitting foundation level.
The new Project Maths syllabus was not being examined, except at 24 schools piloting the course, where students sat two entirely different papers, but its roll-out was cited by the SEC as an influence. “As increasing the uptake of maths at higher level is one of the explicit aims of Project Maths, this indication of a greater uptake is to be welcomed,” said the SEC.
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said he hoped the rise was an indication of an ongoing trend in the subject.
“This increase has occurred even without the ‘carrot’ of bonus points for maths, whose introduction at Leaving Certificate saw a large leap in the numbers opting for the higher-level paper,” said Mr Quinn.
However, the rise could signify a knock-on effect of the bonus points system, with students already seeing the benefits of sticking at higher level for the Leaving Cert in two or three years’ time, despite the additi-onal work involved. While there was a slight fall in higher-level uptake at the 24 pilot schools, almost exactly half — 1,207 of 2,418 — of their Junior Cert maths students took higher level, while 44% sat ordinary level and 6% took foundation maths.
The doubling of marks given for the optional oral Irish exam appears to have a continued effect, with more than half of this year’s 50,809 candidates in the subject taking higher level — 51.4% up from 49.5% and 48.5% in 2011 and 2010, respectively. Despite union directives that members should not examine students in their schools, eased slightly this year by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland, 7,388 students took the optional oral Irish test as part of their exam this year. This is a 72% increase on last year, and the 155 out of 730 second-level schools where the optional oral was offered compares to just 94 last year, 54 in 2010 — when 40% of marks were first awarded for the oral test — and only 24 in 2009.
Almost 40,000 sat higher-level science, a key target subject for the Government’s ambitions, although the numbers getting an honours grade slipped below four-in-five of higher-level candidates. With 76% of science candidates taking higher level, compared to 72% just two years ago, it could be encouraging for those hoping to have more students take science subjects to Leaving Cert.
There continues to be a high fail rate at French, although the 5.3% of higher-level and 11.6% of ordinary-level candidates getting an E, F, or no grade are lower than last year and 2010. Teachers’ Union of Ireland president Gerard Craughwell said that, while 34,757 sat French exams, the considerably lower numbers taking German (9,470), Spanish (6,698), and Italian add to concerns about relatively low numbers of language graduates in Ireland.
www.irishexaminer.com
An-tóir ar scrúdú béil
September 12, 2012
Schools too focused on religion and Irish
September 12, 2012
THE latest OECD ‘ Education at a Glance’ statistics report gives us a good opportunity to examine Ireland’s primary school curriculum in relief against the rest of the developed world.
The more you look at the report, the more it raises some telling questions about whether we are doing a good job of equipping our children for life outside of school, not just for when they leave but on a day- to- day basis. On a weekly basis we teach just one hour of science as against 2.5 hours of religion. And so much of third class is given over to preparation for First Communion and then sixth to Confirmation, that even this statistic is skewed upwards in favour of religion.
Although the majority of our schools are Catholic and thus sign up for the whole religious packet, there are ever fewer people attending Mass or declaring themselves as followers of the Church of Rome. Surely we can start cutting back on some of the time spent on religion in general and the preparation for these rites.
But it’s not just science that is the only practical subject that could benefit from a few hours re- allocated from within the traditional curriculum. Walk into any Irish primary school and you’ll be blinded by the number of signs and posters in the Irish language.
It seems that our schools bear the responsibility of being the last bastions of the Irish language outside of the Gaeltacht and government offices. Again, I feel too much time is given over to Irish and not enough to maths where our pupils consistently struggle. Ireland needs to become more outward- looking and less obsessed with losing its identity.
Modern languages play a key role in the building of our understanding of not just the markets we crave but of the people themselves that we wish to do business with. In my experience as a teacher of both French and German, a grounding in these two languages, as well as Spanish and Italian, makes all the difference to pupils arriving in post- primary school.
In what can only be described as short- sighted and a step backwards, last year Ruairi Quinn abolished the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative. Look it up on the internet and you’ll see how those backing its inception in 1998 described this “exciting” project operating through “drama, songs and games”. In 2012 it appears we no longer need to teach modern languages at primary level to “enhance selfesteem and confidence and enhance cultural awareness”. Personally, having taught English at primary level in Germany to children, aged 10, during the 1990s, I can vouch for the receptiveness of learners at this age.
STARTING with traditional English rhymes, we progressed to material I actually knew the words to, like Oasis and Blur! As I walked in the door they would automatically strike up “He lives in a house, a very big house in the country!” What impressed me most was that these children were not just comfortable middleclass Germans, but some who hailed from Croatia, Russia, Turkey and Bosnia too, and were already struggling with German.
What they excelled in most of all was role- playing Mr Smith serving Mrs Jones in the grocery shop or in a restaurant … because it was fun and meaningful.
Was the Irish initiative even implemented properly? Sadly, when queried on the initiative itself, primary teachers often admitted that they couldn’t fit in the extra period to teach a modern language such was the burden of the regular curriculum. Once it’s seen as “extra” to the established curriculum of religion, maths, English and Irish, any innovation is doomed.
Neil O’Callaghan is a German and French teacher
www.independent.ie
Small island schools facing cuts
September 12, 2012
Sir, –
Some years ago, as part of a recognition of the needs of small island primary schools which do not have an option to amalgamate with other schools nearby, the minimum school enrolment was reduced to eight pupils. It has only now come to light that the Department of Education is in the process of increasing this number back up to 17. Here in Inis Meáin the enrolment number dropped to six in 2011.
Although the enrolment number for 2012 is back at eight and we have had four births here in 18 months, the department moved immediately to remove the second teacher who has lived and worked all of her life on the island. Then, because the school board of management did not co-operate with the department’s redeployment plans, they had their extra 10 learning support hours taken away also, thereby depriving local children of a basic right that is available to pupils in every other school in the country. The second teacher was offered ridiculously unworkable redeployment options which could only be taken up if she were to relocate with her family to the mainland or to a neighbouring island.
Contrast this with the Minister’s U-turn in the case of Deis schools, when faced with the powerful lobby of Labour TDs threatening revolt. It appears that under Mr Quinn’s regime small offshore islands are now to downgrade to the status that obtained in the last century.
– Yours, etc,
TARLACH de BLÁCAM,
Inis Meáin,
Cuan na Gaillimhe.
www.irishtimes.com
#Gtuít: First ever Irish language tweetup
September 11, 2012
#Gtuít, the first ever Irish language tweetup will take place in The Culture Box, 12 Essex Street in Dublin’s Templebar on Thursday 27 September from 6-17.15 pm. Developments in technology as well as the success stories of Irish language campaigns online will be some of topics discussed at the open event which is free to the public.
Irish language news and information website, Gaelport.com is organising the event. It is timely that the event should take place as 2012 has been a phenomenal year for social media and a year where the Irish language community has really harnessed digital media to communicate with speakers across the globe, according to editor of Gaelport.com, Niamh Ní Shúilleabháin.
“We hope to give Irish speakers and those with an interest in digital media and technology the chance to network in person with those who use social networks on a daily basis to communicate as Gaeilge”, she notes.
The event is taking the format of a mash-up between a tweetup and information session but will be open not only to Twitter users but to users of other social networks such as Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ as well as users of the Irish languages own social network Abair Leat which was launched earlier this year.
“We are delighted that one of the founders of Abair leat, Mícheál Ó Foighil will speak at the Gtuít about the abair leat social network and he will also speak about Irish language college Coláiste Lurgan’s sensational success in bringing the Irish language to a new generation on YouTube”, she adds.
Emerging trends and developments on line will also be discussed by Fiachra Ó Marcaigh, Director of internet consultancy firm Amas.
“We hope that the #Gtuít will kick-start a discussion of the role of the Irish language in future technologies and that it will inspire new developers, bloggers, organisations to come together and create new Irish language digital projects in the future”, says Niamh.
An #Gtuít will take place from 6-7.15pm in the Culture Box in Templebar Thursday September 27th. All are invited to attend. Gtuíters wishing to tweet and blog from the #Gtuít are invited to use the #Gtuít hashtag on Twitter and on other social networks.
Gaelport.com is a digital media project of Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge and receives funding from Foras na Gaeilge. Gaelport.com wishes to acknowledge the support of the Templebar Cultural Trust in organising this event.
For further information contact Niamh Ní Shúilleabháin: 01 679 4780/0879624868 niamh@gaelport.com
www.gaelport.com/gtuit
Gaelcholáiste moves one step closer
September 10, 2012
The Gaelcholáiste Steering Committee is happy to report that the project is progressing rapidly towards opening a new All-Irish secondary school in Carrigaline, which is still on course for September 2014.
We met with Joan Russell, CEO of Cork County VEC, last Monday, 3rd September. She confirmed that the VEC were officially appointed by the Department of Education as Patron of the school, and therefore are the project managers for the development.
The VEC is in the process of selecting and commissioning the design team who will propose a design for the site, and hopefully agree it in principal with the planning authority over the next few months . The new Gaelscoil and Sonas school will be part of the same project and all three schools will be developed as one project.
When detailed plans are completed, they will be submitted for formal planning approval for the new Gael campus on the Ballinrea Road, Carrigaline. The budget is in place and we are confident that construction of the campus will commence in the course of 2013.
The VEC have confirmed that they will be advertising for places again early in the new year. All enrolments through the committee have been passed
on to the VEC also.
We will keep parents informed of any further developments as they happen.
gaelcholaistecarrigaline.blogspot.ie
Teacher college mergers aim to maintain standard
September 7, 2012
Tighter controls on numbers training to become teachers are needed to ensure the high standard of applicants is not reduced as jobs become more scarce.
The recommendation comes from an international group of experts. They have suggested that the 19 publicly funded colleges — which offer more than 40 teaching courses — be merged into six specialist education centres, and this plan has been approved by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn.
The review commissioned for him by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) was focused on improving pre-service training for primary and second-level teachers rather than cutting costs.
The recommendations include moves to have students of some smaller colleges take lectures in nearby larger colleges, while changes to overall governance might also occur.
The group said the standard of applicants for teacher training courses was among the highest in the world, but a lack of jobs may deter top people applying in future.
“Where there is an oversupply of teachers, with the consequent reduction in opportunities for employment, it may not be possible to continue to attract high calibre entrants into teaching,” the review panel wrote.
Despite a slight drop in the numbers graduating last year, the 3,463 who qualified as teachers was almost 600 more than in 2007. They have problems finding work as a result of cuts in schools, although rising pupil numbers and retirements may make more jobs available in coming years.
However, as well as over the numbers, concern was expressed — particularly in relation to second level — about the emergence of qualified teachers of subjects not needed by schools while there are shortages of teachers fully qualified to take maths or other subjects.
Instead, the group said, wider discussions should be required before colleges develop new teacher training courses.
“It is a waste of precious staff time and effort to develop programmes for which there is no national need,” the experts said.
The report of the review group, chaired by Pasi Sahlberg from Finland, also recommends use of more full-time research-focused lecturers over experienced teachers hired as part-time lecturers.
Mr Quinn has previously said it was wasteful to have 22 colleges, including 19 funded by the State, offering teacher training in a country of this size. Publishing the Sahlberg report, he said the collaborations would mean a smaller number of teacher training colleges would each offer early childhood, primary, post-primary, and adult education.
“We know from research that the quality of our education system can not exceed the quality of our teachers. This is why I am driving changes at both a structural and content level in teacher education.”
He has already sanctioned the extension of degrees for primary teaching from three to four-years and the postgraduate course for second-level teaching from a year to two.
Unions representing academic staff at the colleges called for detailed discussions on the changes before implementation. The Teachers’ Union of Ireland said the transfer of facilities would have significant cost implications.
Many of the proposed groupings are already in talks about mergers and some within the six recommended partnerships have strong existing ties.
Proposed connections
- Dublin City University, St Patrick’s College Dublin, and Mater Dei Institute of Education (in talks with Church of Ireland College of Education).
- Trinity College, Marino Institute of Education, University College Dublin, National College of Art and Design.
- NUI Maynooth and Froebel College, Dublin.
- University of Limerick, Mary Immaculate College, and Limerick Institute of Technology.
- University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology.
- NUI Galway and St Angela’s College Sligo.
www.irishexaminer.com
Gaelscoil an Chuilinn, dea-thoradh don Fhoras Pátrúnachta
September 7, 2012
