Insealbhú an Choimisinéir Teanga nua
March 26, 2014
Dlí de réir briathair
March 26, 2014
Gaelscoil Dhochtúir Uí Shúilleabháin celebrating 20 years
March 26, 2014
- Aisling Ní Néill, príomhoide, Sean Óg Ó hÁilpín, aoi speisialta, Maeve Uí Chaoimh, ball bord bainistíochta, Adrian Healy, Méara An Sciobairín, Máire Céitinn, Cathaoirleach Bord Bainistíochta, Paidí Ó Lionáird, aoi speisialta
- Foireann na Scoile; Múinteoir Verona, Múinteoir Áine, Múinteoir Aisling (príomhoide), Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Múinteoir Leanne, Múinteoir Maeve, Múinteoir Clár
Comhghairdeas mór leis an scoil as gach rud atá bainte amach acu le 20 bliain anuas! Seo thíos scéal maidir leo a foilsíodh sa Southern Star:
It was two decades ago on March 15th that the Gaelscoil in Skibbereen had its humble first beginnings.
‘It started off in Townshend Street, where the Skibbereen Community Resource Centre is now, and moved to the campsite in Tragumna Road,’ said the principal, Aisling Ní Néill, who is hoping that Gaelscoil Dhochtúir Uí Shuilleabháin will one day have a permanent and purpose-built facility.
‘Our premises at Gortnacloghy, at the rear of Rossa College, is suitable for our needs at present,’ said Aisling, who was appointed principal in 2008, ‘because it is large enough to accommodate our 66 pupils, our three teachers, our two special education teachers, and our naíonra playschool, which accommodates up to 20 children and their four leaders.
‘When the school began there were just 21 pupils enrolled, but that number has increased year-on-year because of the growing interest in our Irish language and culture.
‘It is not just a West Cork phenomenon: the increase in popularity of Gaelscoileanna is evident right throughout the country.’
It has been proven that the most successful approach to learning a language is to be completely immersed in it. But that is just one of the reasons why these schools have become so popular: There is also an ethos in the smaller Gaelscoileanna that parents consider to be a good fit for their children.
Aisling said: ‘We are a Catholic primary school but we run an ethical education programme in tandem with that to cater for everybody regardless of their faith.
‘The ethical education programme is similar to the programme used in other multi-denominational schools, such as “Educate Together”, and gives pupils a broad introduction to other religions and cultures.
‘By being immersed in the language from their very first day the pupils learn the language and end up speaking the language without any great difficulty so it is, within a matter of weeks, very easy for them to do all of their subjects through the medium of Irish.
‘Parents initially worry that learning different subjects through Irish might be difficult,’ said Aisling, ‘but that is not the case because speaking Irish becomes second nature to them.’
But it is not just the curriculum that keeps them interested: extra-curricular activities, such as the puppetry club, the school choir, as well as learning the accordion, tin whistle and guitar are fun events that keep them happily chatting as Gaeilge.
‘Drama is a big part of the school’s extra-curricular programme: every year Gaelscoil Dhochtúir Uí Shuilleabháin puts on a drama performance as part of it Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations.
This year, the pupils performed in a competition, Coirm, in Fermoy and won two awards – one was for their use of props, and the second was for music.
The children and their parents made the puppets and anyone who has seen them has been struck by the fact that they are evocative of old Irish legends, such as the stories of Oisin and Tir na nÓg, as well as the ever popular Children of Lir and the Brown Bull of Cooley.
At Gaelscoil Dhochtúir Uí Shuilleabháin the children also have fun while learning about the environment and they are delighted to be working towards achieving their third Green Flag for water conservation.
The school has recently expanded its school garden courtesy of Rossa College. In time, the plot of land will be used to grow vegetables, as well as flowers to adorn the school.
According to the principal, Aisling Ní Néill, ‘the education of young people has evolved and changed over the last 20 years and today, I believe, it is more child-centred, more active and more inclusive than ever before.
‘Children learn how to work as part of a team and the school’s sports programme is a big part of that. The children also come to understand that learning goes beyond what can be found in books. They take an interest, not just in their school, their community and their environment, they also learn to take a world view too.
‘But for now we will be spending the next week or two preparing for our 20th anniversary celebrations,’ said Aisling.
All past parents, pupils and friends of Gaelscoil Dhochtúir Uí Shuilleabháin are welcome to gather at the school on Saturday, March 15th from 2pm until 5pm to celebrate the 20th anniversary.
The Cork sports personality, Sean Óg Ó hAilpín, and Paidí Ó Lionaird of TG4 fame will be the guest speakers on the day. It promises to be a relaxed social event with plenty of good food, drink and music to mark the occasion.
Jackie Keogh, Southern Star
Bored Games – cluichí i nGaeilge
March 26, 2014
Minister Quinn secures Cabinet approval for drafting of Admissions to Schools Bill
March 25, 2014
Bill will make the school enrolment process more structured, fair and transparent
The Government has today approved the drafting of the Education (Admissions to Schools) Bill 2014. This new legislation aims to ensure that the enrolment process in all primary and post-primary schools is inclusive, transparent and fair.
A key objective in designing a new regulatory framework for school admissions is to create greater confidence for parents that the criteria laid down by schools for enrolling pupils is consistent, reasonable and applied equitably across the board.
ESRI research shows that the majority of schools, around 80 per cent, admit all the pupils who apply for enrolment. In these cases, the new regulatory framework will have a marginal impact.
Where the new Bill will play an important role is in the 20 per cent of schools where there is over-subscription.
Minister Quinn said, “The aim of this new Bill is to inspire the same levels of confidence in the enrolment of pupils in schools as the CAO system inspires for those who are applying for limited places in third level colleges.”
“I believe that the vast majority of our schools are inclusive and welcoming places. The Admissions to Schools Bill will provide an over-arching framework to ensure that how schools decide on who is enrolled and who is refused a place in schools is more structured, fair and transparent.”
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection recently published its report on the Draft General Scheme; this followed public hearings at the committee involving parents and education partners among others. The recommendations from the Committee will be considered further in the context of the drafting of the Bill.
Among the provisions in the new Bill, will be a requirement for all schools to make an explicit statement in their admissions policy that they will not discriminate against an applicant for admission on the grounds of disability, special education needs, sexual orientation, family status, membership of the traveller community or race.
The Bill will also enable the National Council for Special Education in respect of children with special educational needs and the Child and Family Agency in respect of other children to designate a place for a child for whom no school place is available.
Garry Kasparov’s visit to Ireland, March 28th-30th, 2014
March 25, 2014
In October 2013 Garry Kasparov announced his candidacy for President of FIDE (Fédération Internationale des échecs or World Chess Federation). He plans to unseat 18-year incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, from Kalmykia, in the election that takes place in August 2014 during the Tromsø Chess Olympiad. To this end, the Irish Chess Union is proud to host Garry Kasparov on this historic two-day visit to Dublin from March 28th. Mr. Kasparov’s visit shall be focused on meeting Ireland and delegates from neighbouring countries to whom he will give details of his presidential programme as well as listening to issues from their home countries. He will also meet Ireland’s chess playing school children and a special meeting of Ireland’s finest and most dedicated chess enthusiasts.
During his visit he will greet chess playing children from Gaelscoileanna throughout Leinster for the annual Comórtas Fichille Cúige Laighean which will be held in the Mansion House on Friday, March 28th. During this tournament some of our young junior stars will be honoured. These are the under 12 Bernadette Stokes team who came home triumphant from the annual 4 Nations chess tournament last summer (Ireland, England, Scotland, & Wales); 13 year old Diana Mirza, Irish Women’s chess champion; 8 year old Daniel Dwyer, Bunratty Minors Champion and 8 year old Admira Kecskemeti, under 12 chess champion of Northern Ireland.
An Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore will attend, as will the Deputy Lord Mayor Dermot Lacey to honour chess playing children. This event will be entirely in Irish and we certainly hope for a few “foclaí” from Mr. Kasparov. Irish and Russian will be the only languages spoken in the Mansion House during this event. Fiachra Scannan and Daniel Dwyer will speak in Irish and Russian on behalf of the children. The secretary general of the ECU, Sava Stoisavljevic will meet the FIDE Delegates to discuss their involvement in European chess. Jan Callewaert (Belgium), president of the Kasparov Chess Foundation, Europe and a candidate as FIDE Deputy President in Kasparov’s ticket will also attend.
Garry Kasparov’s vision: “to elevate the game of chess from grassroots level; to spread the game in education as a cultural touchstone as well as a successful commercial sport.”
Pupils from Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha feature in Tourism Ireland video with Col. Chris Hadfield
March 25, 2014
Watch the video here!
John Spillane páirteach sa cheiliúradh i nGaelscoil an Ghoirt Álainn
March 25, 2014
Réiteach geallta ar cheist na méanscolaíochta i nDoire
March 25, 2014
Location, location, location
March 25, 2014
The school run could be minimised and fitness improved if new schools weren’t built in the wrong places.
Given his training as an architect, the Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn was bound to raise the profile of school design, as indeed he has done with architectural competitions for both primary and post-primary schools. But what if some of these fine new schools end up being built in the wrong places?
Far too often, sites are chosen for new schools with only scant consideration for how pupils are going to travel to and from these inspiring centres of learning. Will it be possible for them to walk or cycle – getting some useful exercise on the way – or will they have to be dropped off and collected by car? A key underlying issue in all of this is the rise in obesity among children and the importance of having well-located schools to help reverse this trend. All the research shows that factoring in the opportunity to walk or cycle to and from school is the best way to ensure a “floor level” of daily exercise.
But An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, has found that a “significant proportion” of the school projects that cross its desk are not addressing the official guidance on school travel issued by the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority (NTA). The Department of Education’s technical guidance document on site selection for new schools stresses the need for “safe access for all” and says “all traffic management and mobility issues should be considered during site identification and assessment” – in other words before a school site is chosen.
“This will include appropriate provision for school buses, pedestrian and bicycle access, staff and visitor parking, car set-down and pick-up provision. The site should accommodate, where possible, approaches from a number of directions to facilitate and promote diversity of modes of transport,” it says. The Department of Transport’s Smarter Travel programme pledges that schools and other community facilities would be accessible primarily by walking, cycling and publc transport. And the NTA’s Toolkit for School Travel seeks to reduce the number of children being chauffeured to school by car.
Given that the “school run” aggravates traffic congestion, many local authorities have similar policies. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council says: “School provision should be an integral part of the evolution of compact sustainable urban development where the opportunities to walk or cycle to school are maximised.” Yet the same council approved plans for a new Gaelscoil for the Ballyogan-Stepaside area, to be built on a relatively remote site that actually lies outside the catchment area it’s intended to serve. According to two parents of prospective pupils, this would result in children having to be driven to and from school every day.
In an appeal to An Bord Pleanála against the council’s decision, Brian Leeson and Helen O’Leary estimated that the additional private car trip demand generated by the 16-classroom school “may well exceed 220,000 trips” per year, with some parents doing two 14km round-trips per day, or 5,600km per year.
They say this “flies in the face” of the Smarter Travel programme as well as Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown’s policy that new schools should be located “close to the areas of greatest residential expansion,” in this case, “clusters of high-density ‘Celtic-Tiger’ era housing developments” in Ballyogan-Stepaside.
At present, Gaelscoil Sliabh Rua is housed in pre-fab buildings in Kiltiernan, to which most pupils are driven by car. But Leeson and O’Leary say relocating it to Carrickmines contradicts the council’s policy “to reduce reliance on car-based travel and to ensure more sustainable patterns of travel, transportation and development”.
A “mobility management plan” to encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport has been drawn up for the relocated school. But the appellants say these options wouldn’t work for most children and the plan included one bus route that “ceased operation in 2009 and another bus route that does not serve the feeder area”. However, a spokeswoman for the county council insists that the site, which the council owned and was now providing for Gaelscoil Sliabh Rua, “while not at the heart of Stepaside, has good pedestrian, cycle and public transport access. It is also adjacent to existing homes and adjoining a major proposed public recreational facility.”
She notes that the catchment area extends from Rathfarnham to Ballyogan Avenue, with the “vast bulk” of junior infants coming from an area south of the M50 corridor, centred on Ballyogan, Belarmine and Kilgobbin. “The actual school site lies only 150m outside the defined catchment but very close to these clusters”. Given that Gaelscoileanna are bound to have larger catchment areas than standard primary schools, one might expect the department to have a “sustainable travel” policy geared towards their needs. But it doesn’t. Rural children have their school buses, but urban children must depend on public transport – or their parents’ cars.
Another Gaelscoil in Co Wicklow is facing a very disruptive move that could also result in children having to be driven to school by car. Gaelscoil an Inbhir Mhóir has been operating for 15 years on a temporary site to the south of Arklow, Co Wicklow, in the midst of new suburbs built during the boom period.
The Department of Education now proposes to relocate the school to a permanent site north of the town, some 4.5km away, even though more than 86 per cent of the families with children being educated there actually live on the south side. Thus, almost none of them are likely to walk or cycle to school. Such “smarter travel” options wouldn’t be feasible because of the distance involved, the fact that the road approach to the school has no pavements or cycle paths and the only viable route from the south to the north side is congested, incorporating a busy bridge dangerous for cyclists, according to one parent, Conall O’Connor.
“Parents, teachers and the school board have overwhelmingly voted to reject this proposed move on account of the accessibility issues and intend to actively resist it,” says O’Connor. “Needless to say, there was no consultation with any of these stakeholders.” There’s another row in Co Limerick over plans to relocate Coláiste Chiaráin in Croom, with a projected 1,000 post-primary students, to an unzoned site, beyond the village’s development boundary and with “clear deficiencies in terms of footpaths, lighting, drainage and road infrastructure,” according to An Taisce.
Limerick Co Council, which is now considering the proposal, has a policy that schools should be built “in tandem with residential development [and] located where possible, in close proximity to other community services, and accessible by various modes of transport and have regard to the principles of social integration”.
The existing school on a six-acre site in Croom would be replaced by the proposed new school on a 20-acre site at Skagh. The principal, Noel Malone, has said that it “just wouldn’t work” to extend the existing premises: “For a school of 1,000, I don’t think that you could put a bottleneck [such as this] in the middle of a fairly built-up area.”
An Taisce maintains that the board of management has “not provided any evidence that the current site is not suitable” for expansion, rather than opting for a location 1.5km away in a “rural, unzoned area with no services”, based on a mobility management plan which it describes as “deficient” and warns of an appeal if it’s approved.
Niall Cussen, senior planner in the Department of the Environment, said some of these site selection problems had arisen “as we move from essentially an emergency response to a schools accommodation crisis to a more integrated plan-driven approach”.
A new manual on sustainable travel, due out soon from the Department of the Environment, should help to clarify matters.
www.Irishtimes.com
