New leaflet on Early-immersion Education
January 13, 2012
What is it and what are the advantages? GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. have published a new bilingual leaflet to answer these questions, and printed copies of it will be sent out to schools via post in the coming week. You can download the leaflet here (along with plenty of other resources!) and you can request additional printed copies by contacting us: oifig@gaelscoileanna.ie or 01 8535195.
Féile Scoil Drámaíochta na Gaillimhe
January 13, 2012
Tús curtha le tógáil ‘Gaeláras Mhic Ardghail’
January 13, 2012
Grants for inter-school events available again!
January 13, 2012
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. provide grants to Irish-medium and Gaeltacht schools to organise inter-school events. These grants are in great demand.
We’re currently accepting grant applications. Applications will be processed in the order in which they are received, and according to the organisation’s limited budget, so be sure to make the most of this opportunity and submit the online application form to us ASAP!
Through this scheme, schools have an opportunity to organise an event of their choosing with other schools and GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. provides a maximum of €250 / £225 for an event with 2 schools participating, a maximum of €500 / £450 for an event with 3 schools participating and a maximum of €750 / €675 if there are 4 schools or more taking part. The grant is paid based on receipts. Schools can apply for funding for any and all kinds of events and we welcome applications from:
- Preschools and primary schools
- Primary schools
- Primary and Post Primary schools
- Post-Primary schools
There are photos in the gallery of some of the events funded through the scheme previously, and you can read the schools’ accounts of these events here. This grant scheme is funded by Foras na Gaeilge.
Inter-school events give Irish-medium and Gaeltacht schools important opportunities to create ties with other schools. From table quizzes to football blitzes, the various events promote communication and fun through the medium of Irish, something which benefits the school, the pupils and the whole school community. Further information on the scheme is available from the Development Officer, email cspainneach@gaelscoileanna.ie or call 01 8535193.
New Gaelscoil Opening in Tyrrelstown in 2012!
January 12, 2012
Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne – Nuacht na Scoile
January 12, 2012
Prioritise maths in primary school, says NCC report
January 12, 2012
THE education system should be overhauled with a much greater emphasis on maths in primary schools while the points systems should be abolished, a top government agency said yesterday.
The National Competitiveness Council’s (NCC) annual report calls for sweeping changes across the education system, as well as further reform of the public sector, more reductions in the cost of doing business and increased productivity in the private sector.
Other changes recommended in education include:
– Higher third-level fees.
– Reform of the Leaving Certificate.
– Further training for teachers throughout their careers.
“Primary school children in Ireland spend the second-highest amount of time in the classroom of all children in the OECD but receive the least amount of tuition in mathematics,” the report states.
At second level, the NCC claims the points system “distorts performance by encouraging students away from vital subjects such as maths and sciences in favour of subjects (perceived) as easier”.
“A new method of entry into third level, which is meritocratic and promotes problem solving and innovation… is required to replace the current system,” the report states.
Teachers should also undergo regular training, with “professional and in-service development” that is “frequent, continuing and progressive during a teacher’s career”.
Meanwhile, at third level, institutions “remain underfunded relative to institutions internationally”.
In response, the report recommends undergraduates “contribute a greater portion of the cost of their education”.
NCC chairman Don Thornhill — a former secretary general of the Department of Education — welcomed the changes currently being implemented but added that more needs to be done, especially with regard to the teaching of Irish.
“The elephant in the room is Irish. Giving a huge amount of time to teaching Irish doesn’t seem to have worked, and we have been doing that since 1922.
“Despite the economic importance of education, there has been a strong bias in the department to the social and cultural roles of education but you won’t have a vibrant social or cultural society if there is no work,” he added.
The report, which was co-authored by government thinktank Forfas, also recommends measures to reduce the cost of doing business in Ireland including the phasing out of subsidies for peat-generated electricity, a faster planning process, an accelerated re-evaluation process for commercial rates and further investment in broadband infrastructure.
This could be the last such report, as the two bodies involved may disappear. Forfas has been earmarked for integration with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, while the future of the NCC will be reviewed later this year.
Last night an education department spokesman defended its record. “The Department of Education gives the teaching and learning of maths high priority (and) has prioritised the rollout of a new maths curriculum — Project Maths — in second-level schools,” he said.
IRISH INDEPENDENT
Ten Week Plan for Leaving Certificate Irish Oral Exam
January 10, 2012
Workshops aimed at Irish teachers on the topic of the Irish Oral exam, directed by educational advisor Elaine Ní Neachtain, will take place next week in Mayo and Dublin.
The workshops will concentrate on the 2012 Irish Oral Exam. Teachers will receive training on the teaching resource Cuireadh Chun Cainte, and a ten week plan will be set out outlining the best way to prepare their students between now and exam time.
The first workshop will take place on Monday, 16 January 2012, from 6pm-7:30pm, in Castlebar Education Centre and the same workshop will take place in Dublin on Tuesday, 17 January 2012, in Áras Fhoras na Gaeilge, 7 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 between 5pm-6:30pm.
The workshops are organised by Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge and Comhar na Múinteoirí Gaeilge in association with Togra Mhaigh Eo Chonradh na Gaeilge. Reserve your place on this practical workshop by contacting 01 6398448.
A New Series for Leaving Cert Students available on Podcast
January 10, 2012
A New Year, a new school term and Raidió na Life 106.4FM is continuing its series for Leaving Cert students, Gaeilge na hArdteiste, with an emphasis on Oral Irish in the weeks ahead. Starting on Friday January 6th 2012 at 6.30pm, the Dublin-based Irish language station will broadcast eight programmes focusing on the Oral Irish exam, in particular on the new aspect of the exam, Describe a Picture-Series and Conversation.
The oral Irish test is of much greater importance in the Leaving Cert in the new syllabus. Marks have jumped from 150 to 240 for the 2012 exam. Another programme, concentrating on the Aural, Reading Comprehension and Composition, will follow. All programmes are available on podcast. Earlier programmes in the series, broadcast during the first term, are also available on podcast and individual students can listen at a time that suits them.
The first programme gives an overview of the new syllabus. Ten follow-on programmes then focus on the literature course. Two experts, who know the course inside-out, discuss part of the course on each programme. The poets Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Pádraig Mac Suibhne and Biddy Jenkinson, along with prose-writers Ré Ó Laighléis, Éibhlís Ní Dhuibhne , Deirdre Ní Ghrianna, and a host of other authors whose works feature on the new Leaving Cert syllabus, can be heard discussing their work. This is a great opportunity for Leaving Cert students to hear some of the poets and other authors reading their own work and explaining what inspired them. Teachers will find the programmes particularly useful – the variety of views will help provoke classroom discussion. This series, by the Scéal Eile production company, has been funded under the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s Sound & Vision Scheme for broadcast on Raidió na Life 106.4FM.
Further Information: Máiréad Uí Dhomhnaill: 087-7443037.
Coláiste Feirste – Latest newsletter
January 9, 2012
