Homework club to support school’s language policy
November 13, 2012
FOLLOWING the announcement last week that the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht had sanctioned a grant of €5,000 for a homework club in Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne, details of the scheme have been released this week.
A spokesperson for Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne, who manage the scheme which has been running in PCD for the past number of years with Government funding, said it was set up to support the school’s Irish Language policy.
“Through this scheme, students can avail of extra help with their homework after school,” the spokesperson explained. Pupils who are learning or improving their Irish are especially catered for and teachers and professional people provide this service.”
www.kerryman.ie
Faoiseamh maidir le cúntóir ranga Gaelscoile
November 9, 2012
Coláiste Feirste ag feitheamh ar bhus go fóill
November 9, 2012
Gaelgoir students learn from hurler ‘Gizzy’
November 8, 2012
Over 200 secondary school students gathered at Whites Hotel recently to hear of the advantages of the ‘cúpla focal’.
Buntáiste Breise na Gaeilge was the title of a range of seminars being held by Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge across the country, highlighting the advantages of the Irish language. A number of guest speakers spoke of the advantages which the Irish language has afforded them in their own careers. Special guest speaker on the day was Wexford hurling star Diarmuid ‘Gizzy’ Lyng, and he addressed the crowd of enthusiastic students on the benefits of our native language.
The goal of the event was to inspire the group of youngsters and motivate them to consider the Irish language when choosing their career path. Students were also given the opportunity to ask the speakers questions and to take part in lively debate on the issue of the language. Representatives from various third level institutes from all over the country were also present to give information on the variety of third level courses which they offer to students who wish to pursue a career through the medium of Irish.
Further information about these seminars is available from Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge at 01 679 4780 or by sending an e-mail to eolas@gaelport.com.
www.goreyguardian.ie
Pupils leave cramped school behind
November 7, 2012
Schoolchildren waved goodbye to cramped classrooms yesterday before a triumphant march into a spacious new state-of-the-art school.
Years of campaigning for the building finally came to end as hundreds of pupils of Gaelscoil Uí Ríordáin in Ballincollig, Co Cork, walked 3km from the old school in Coolroe, founded above a shop almost 30 years ago, for their first day of classes in the €4.5m purpose-built, 24-classroom, three-storey building in Carriganarra.
Education Minister Ruairí Quinn said he was delighted the school was now open to classes. There were emotional scenes as founding principal Gabriel Ó Cathasaigh led cheering pupils and their parents through the front door.
“We have a fantastic facility here — or Áras na Gaeilge as I like to call it,” he said.
“We have a special location where the Irish language can blossom. There is a huge demand for Irish here, and there is a huge amount of Irish to be heard in Ballincollig and this school will help in a big way.”
Vice-principal Bríd Ní Chonchubhair said that the space in the new school is “just unbelievable”. “It was very cramped in the old building,” she explained.
“But we have loads of space here now. Even in the corridors — you could have drama, ceoil, and craic outside there.”
Gaelscoil Uí Riordáin was founded in 1983 in a room above a small supermarket in Coolroe close to the former home of poet Seán Ó Ríordáin — for whom the school is named.
Mr Ó Cathasaigh was its first and only teacher, with 15 children in junior infants class. As Ballincollig grew and pupil numbers soared, the building was adapted to accommodate more classrooms, and several prefabs were added in recent years.
Today, the school has some 530 pupils and more than 26 teachers. The department of education was paying some €250,000 in rent for the Coolroe site. The need for a new building was recognised more than a decade ago. But despite three public calls by the government during the height of the building boom for potential sites for a new school, a suitable site failed to emerge.
The 1.2-hectare site in Carriganarra site was eventually deemed suitable by the Office of Public Works, but a deal to buy it wasn’t completed until 2009, with planning permission granted in 2010. Glenman Corporation was appointed the main contractors, with Healy Kelly Turner and Townsend as project managers to deliver the school under the department’s Rapid Build School Programme.
It has been designed to accommodate 750 pupils and it is expected that three new classes of up to 30 pupils will be accepted each year for the next three years. It boasts a general purpose hall, a library and resource rooms, three ball courts, and a junior play space.
The completion date of July was missed and minor snag delayed a September handover.
www.irishexaminer.com
Do Gaelscoileanna amount to educational apartheid?
November 6, 2012
My husband wants our daughter to go to the local Gaelscoil, but neither of us is great at Irish.
He seems to think it will give her the upper hand in learning languages. I’m not so sure. I do know some parents who have openly said they send their children to Gaelscoileanna so they don’t have to deal with non-nationals. Seems crazy. baby pickle, magicmum.com
I don’t think Gaelscoileanna should necessarily be fee-paying, but I do think that the same level of education should be afforded any child with special needs as is afforded to a child with no special needs. I have encountered many people who are sending their child to a Gaelscoil or Church of Ireland school as they won’t be associating with members of the Travelling community and, in the case of the Gaelscoil, are less likely to have someone with special needs. ackee123, magicmum.com
I’ve definitely come across the reasons outlined in the [‘Irish Times’] article for choosing a Gaelscoil. I’ve also come across people with a love for the language and a desire for their children to enjoy Irish in a way they didn’t at school. There are good Gaelscoileanna in our area. We ruled them out in part because it would be hypocritical for us to send our children, given how little we feel for the language. novbaby31, magicmum.com
In our Gaelscoil we have six special-needs assistants, numerous children with every kind of disability, both learning and physical, several support teachers and numerous families where one or both parents were not born in Ireland. Blood. Boiling! yurm, magicmum.com
www.irishtimes.com
Low uptake on patronage survey so far in Castlebar
November 6, 2012
With under a week left until the closing date for the survey on the future patronage of schools in Castlebar, the Department of Education is worried about the low uptake of the survey by parents.
Labour Party town councillor Harry Barrett told the Mayo Advertiser this week: “I’ve been in contact with Minister Quinn’s office about this during the week and they are concerned about the low uptake of the survey in Castlebar. A low turn out could skew the results and give a result that might not reflect the views of the majority. I urge all parents to take part in the survey and shape the future of their children’s schools.”
Castlebar is part of a small number of areas that were included in the initial survey phase and it can be completed on www.education.ie and the closing date is Thursday, November 8.
www.advertiser.ie/mayo
Prestigious Gael Linn quiz prize for St Mary’s Irish language students
November 5, 2012
Pupils from St. Mary’s Limavady have for many years entered teams in the quiz and have been successfully placed in the top positions.
This year has been no different with one of the school entry’s achieving runner up in the competition. Pupils from across Londonderry attended the Gael Linn Quiz held in the White Horse Hotel. The quiz which is organised by Gael Linn takes place each year and encourages the use of the Irish Language. The annual quiz forms one of many activities organised by Gael Linn with the main aim of fostering and promoting the Irish language and its heritage throughout Ireland as a living language and as an expression of identity.
Year 10 pupils, Eoin Mc Mahon, Liam Mc Guinness, Michael Donaghy and Matthew O’ Kane were delighted to take the prize and Head of Modern Languages at the school, Miss Cairns said that she was: “very proud of the boys on their achievement and it was events such as these that allows pupils to see the practical application of their skills when studying a language”
www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk
Spriocdháta Siansa Gael Linn ag teannadh linn
November 2, 2012
New song collection for children to be launched this weekend
November 2, 2012
Dominic Mac Giolla Bhríde of Gaoth Dobhair, sean-nós singer and 2009 winner of the Corn Uí Riada prize for sean-nós, has put his own take on some of the most well-loved traditional songs in Irish for children, with the help of dozens of children from the Donegal Gaeltacht.
Báidín Fheidhlimidh, Songs and Poems for Children, the new collection of music and poetry, commissioned by Ionad Oideachais Ghort an Choirce, will be launched this weekend at Oireachtas na Gaeilge in Letterkenny.
Brian O’Donnell, the singer and chef, will launch the book at Oireachtas na Gaeilge at 6:30 pm, Saturday, November 3rd, in Knockalla Suite in Mount Errigal Hotel in Letterkenny. The launch will be part of the Club na Féile na nÓg, which will begin at 5pm. As part of the launch, the children who took part in the project will sing and recite poems from the collection in a special concert.
“As teacher and parent, it’s been a vision of mine for years to have such a collection readily available and I’m now delighted to have these popular traditional songs and poems together in this fantastic book and CD,” said Bernadette Ní Dhuibhir of Ionad Oideachais Ghort an Choirce. “It will be a useful resource for teachers and parents throughout the country, which will help them pass on these songs and poems to the next generation.’
Well-known musicians Dónall O’Connor, Séamas O’Kane and Cathy Potter play as guests on the CD. But the children are the real stars on these recordings and they shine in such songs as A Nóra Bheag, Tá mo Chleamhnas á Dhéanamh; A stór, a Stór, a Ghrá; Och, Och, Mo Mhadadh Beag; Teidí Beag Álainn, Bhí Bríd ag Siúl sa Ghairdín Lá. In all, 58 children from the ages of 4 to 10, from 12 different Gaeltacht primary schools, took part in the recordings.
The book also contains a second CD of instrumental versions of the songs, allowing everyone to sing along with the music, karaoke-style, in school, at home or in the car. Dara McGee and Deirdre Brennan made the artwork for the book. The book will be available in book shops from early November.
www.donegaldemocrat.ie
