Northern Conference INTO Equality · PDF fileNorthern Conference INTO Equality Conference ... 16 •New school library for ... symbol in InTouch news sections. It

Issue No 135April/May 2013ISSN 1393-4813

Northern ConferenceINTO Equality Conference

INTO Summer CoursesSection 30 from NovemberProbation & Induction Plans

Congress 2013

InTouch April/May 2013

Sheila Nunan,GeneralSecretary, AnneFay, INTOPresident2012/13 andNoel Ward,Deputy GeneralSecretary andTreasurerlistening toMinister RuairíQuinn’s speechat Congress.

geNerAl SecretAry’S coMMeNt

Keeping in TouchInteractive dialogue with members, and key news items

world class education is built by qualityteachers professionally supported and resourced to do their job. e quality ofIrish teachers is recognised worldwide.e best entrants are attracted to the

profession and we train them well. But there isonly so much that quality teachers can do to makeup for under-investment.

Calls for improved education outcomes ring hollow against a failure to invest.

Expenditure per pupil at primary level is belowthe OECD average. Irish class sizes are among thehighest in the OECD. Vital teaching resources forspecial needs, newcomer, disadvantaged andTraveller children have been reduced. Ending theSummer Works Scheme and Minor Repairs Grantdefies logic.

e future is compromised by a governmentblindly clinging to the failing policy of ‘austerity

only’. is is compounded by the lack of anyenvisioning of what a post-austerity future mightlook like.

Taking the knife to education sells thisgeneration and the next short by failing to supporttheir talents and their development.

It is time the State funded the real costs of education and there are taxation choices whichwould allow government to do this.

It requires a government that sees education asa public good, an investment rather than a cost.

It requires a government that views teaching asa complex, demanding professional job.

But most of all, it requires a government that values teachers as an asset to be professionally supported and resourced to do their job.

An investmentnot a cost

A


Congress coverage pgs 35 to 44

3 EditorialEducation is an investment

7 What you need toknow• Congress 3013• 1913 Tapistry• Newsbriefs

9 • Induction and probation• Section 30 commencing• 10 things you should know

10 Connect• Congress 2013 – statistics• Gifts available for retiring

members• Tell us what you think.

Keep up-to-date via Facebook, Twitter, website or RSS feed

13 What’s Happening?• Incoming President and

Vice President14 • New CEC representative

for District XI• New official and interns

appointed15 • Employment Equality Act

• New application forms• INTO meetings with PDST

and Scotens• Roll books review

16 • New school library for Trim school

• Hero award for teacher• Explorer awards for Cork

schools17 • CMRF draw 2013 details

• Comhar Linn draw winners

18 Tributesto deceased members

19 Membership Plus• Save money with

shopping cards

20 INTO Learning• Summer programme 2013

21 • Trade union training

22 SolidaritySolidarity Fund at work inUganda

Keeping InTouch INTO News

InTouch General Editor: Sheila NunanEditor:Tom O’SullivanAssistant Editor: Lori KealyEditorial Assistants; Yvonne Kenny,

Ashling Lynch, Laura CrowleyAdvertising: Mary Bird Smyth, Ashling LynchDesign:David CookePhotography: Moya Nolan, Shutterstock

Correspondence to: e Editor, InTouch,INTO Head Office, Vere Foster House,35 Parnell Square, Dublin 1

Telephone: 01 804 7700Fax: 01 872 2462LoCall: 1850 708 708Email: [email protected]: http://www.into.ie

Contents

EqualityConference Report

on pgs 31–33

Arts educationp66

European developments in ECD p58Northern Conference

pgs 45 to 47

InTouch is published by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation anddistributed to members and educational institutions. InTouch is the most widelycirculated education magazine in Ireland. Articles published in InTouch are alsoavailable on our website www.into.ie

e views expressed in this journal are those of the individual authors and arenot necessarily endorsed by the INTO.

While every care has been taken to ensure that the information contained inthis publication is up to date and correct, no responsibility will be taken by the Irish

National Teachers’ Organisation for any error which might occur.Except where the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation has

formally negotiated agreements as part of its services tomembers, inclusion of an advertisement does not imply anyform of recommendation. While every effort is madeto ensure the reliability of advertisers, the INTOcannot accept liability for the quality ofgoods and services offered.

23 Health AdviceLooking after your eyes

24 Financial AdviceFree expert advice from theNational Consumer Agency

25 NCCA Updates• Reporting to parents• Sharing information with

post-primary schools

27 Education News• Post grad certificate on

ethical and multi-denominational education

• Arts in Education Charter• Ré nua don Oideachas Lán

Ghaeilge

28 Indoor SoccerTeachers soccertournament

29 Cumann na mBunscolHandball Exhibition Day

30 News Briefs• Yellow Flag Diversity

Programme is recruitingnew schools

• ink Ahead and recordyour end of life preferences

• Prim-Ed launch newworkbooks on literacy

31 Equality Conference• Mental Health and

Teaching33 •Religion and Ethos

35 Congress Reports• INTO President’s speech

36 • Speech from Minister• General Secretary’s response

37 • New delegates at Congress38 • Congress in pictures40 • Resolutions42 • Congress with kids43 • Vox pop44 • Congress in the Media

45 Northern Conference Successes and Challenges

46 • New chair for Northern Committee

• Presentation to longserving members

• Working with NUT andUTU

• Global Schoolroom47 • Snapshots from Northern

Conference48 • INTO Schools’ Concert

• Raising funds for Africanschools

49 National Children’sChoirMusical experience forchildren

51 ICT Tips from PDSTManaging your digitalfootprint

54 TransformingLunchtimesSiobhán Clarke writesabout Ransboro NSFriendship Squad

58 Early ChildhoodEducationEuropean Developments

62 The Show Must GoOn!Behaviour managementuncovered by Adie Clarke

66 Stem to SteamVital life skills are learnedthrough Arts educationargues Michael O’Reilly

70 SESE TipsPaddy Madden zooms inon reptiles

74 Reviewse Islander, music for tinwhistle, prayer assemblies forprimary schools and the CBIBook of the Year awards.

75 Resources from COGGDrámaíocht trí Ghaeilge

77 NoticeboardUpcoming events

78 Comhar LinnCrosswordPlus resources for theclassroom

79 Scoilnet PanelPlus other resources forschools

INTO Advice Finishing Touches

Probation and InductionPlans 9

Section 30 9

INto Summer Programme 20

equality conference 31

congress 2013 35

Northern conference 45

, On the cover

April/May 2013

Teaching Matters

Northern News


Newsdesk

Watch out for thissymbol in InTouchnews sections. Itmeans theresource referredto is available tomembers bothNorth and South

Congress 2013

Delegates at Congress 2013in Cork.Photographer: Moya Nolan

, Cover pic

Friendship Squad p54

Equality Conference

Insert in this issue from Dublin Zoo: How to draw animals.Have you ever wanted to draw a tiger, orang-utan, giraffe ormeerkat? This easy-to-follow step-by-step guide willteach you how’.

More than 850 members of the IrishNational Teachers' Organisationattended the 145th Annual Congressin Cork from 1 to 3 April. The delegatesrepresented 33,000 primary teachersin the south and 7,000 teachers in thenorth.

This year INTO Congress covered

many educational and industrialrelations issues. These included the LRCproposals on public service pay, fairtaxation, funding of schools, schoolleadership, small schools, special needsresource teaching, maternity leave, newentrant teachers, teacher employment,sick leave for teachers, school

evaluation and school amalgamation.Coverage of Congress is on pages 35

to 44 of this issue. An archive of thewebcasts of the public sessions, photosin the INTO Flickr account and otherCongress coverage is available on theINTO website under the In Focussection.

iIn the coming weeks, the INTOwill be meeting with student

representatives of the colleges ofeducation – St Patrick’s, MaryImmaculate, Marino Institute ofEducation, CICE and Froebel, to discusscurrent issues, including pay for NQTs,job prospects and the impact of theINTO ballot on the LRC proposals. Apodcast will also be prepared for studentsof Hibernia College.

iTeachers who have successfullyundertaken a course or modules

during the period 1 September 2011–1 August 2012 may be eligible for apartial refund of fees. Please refer toCircular 16/201 for full details. e

closing date for applications is Friday,26 April 2013 and no late applicationswill be accepted. All enquiries should bedirected to: e Administrator, TeacherFee Refund Scheme. Contact details areavailable on the front of the Circular.Applications forms and information areavailable on www.mie.ie/refundoffees.

iImportant dates fromCircular 13/2013 re staffing

arrangments for the 2013/2014

Mid-April 2013e Department is aiming to have the re-deployment panels published by Mid-April.Friday, 3 May 2013Schools that are applying for developing

posts on the basis of their projectedenrolments for September 201 should doso on or before Friday, May 201.Friday, 31 May 2013Schools with vacancies have until 1 Mayto fill their vacancies from the Redeploy-ment Panels. ereafter Panel Officerswill be appointed to facilitate redeploy-ment of surplus permanent/CID holdingteachers. May/June 2013 OnwardsSchools with base resource posts arelisted at Appendix C of the circular. NCSEapproved allocations should issue inMay/June 201. Schools unable to accesssurplus teaching capacity in these full-time base posts will be allocated mainly.Part-time temporary resource hours.

Schoolchildren and 1913 Tapestry

Congress dominated by payand conditions

NewS brIefS

At a ceremony in the National College ofArt and Design (NCAD), certificates fromNCAD and SIPTU were presented toschoolchildren who are involved in contributing pieces to a commemorativetapestry on the centenary of the 1913 lockout.

Photographed at the presentation tochildren from the Mater Dei NS, BasinLane in Dublin are Principal TeacherNoreen Flynn (right), with (from left) Mirjam Keune from the Artist in theClassroom programme, and teachersLeona O’Neill and Melissa Hogan. echildren’s work (samples in background)will be incorporated into a larger tapestrywhich is being prepared as a permanentmemorial of the lockout. A range of furtherevents is planned as part of the memorialto trade unionists affected by the lockoutwhich commenced in August 1913.


Keeping InTouch

On 19 March 2013, the General Secre-tary, Sheila Nunan met with theTeaching Council in relation to itsproposals for a pilot programme toexplore a New Model of Induction andProbation for Newly Qualified Teach-ers. The document was published bythe Teaching Council in late March.

Under the revised proposals, theCouncil is seeking to establish a vol-untary opt in pilot over the next twoschool years – 2013/14 and 2014/15 – inthe seven counties which traditionallyhave attracted the highest number ofnewly qualified teachers (Dublin,Cork, Galway, Limerick, Kildare, Meathand Wexford). Across those counties,the Council is proposing to involveapproximately 200 primary and 100post primary schools in the pilot pro-gramme. For those schools who optto participate in the pilot, it is pro-posed that there will be comprehen-sive and on going consultation, train-ing/professional development and aresearch bursary.

The General Secretary conveyed tothe Teaching Council, the viewswhich have already been expressed

by the INTO on this matter, empha-sising, in particular, the issues ofworkload and resources. In addition,the CEC has decided to disseminatethe document widely once it is pub-lished by the Council and consultwith INTO members in April/May be-fore making a formal response to theTeaching Council on the matter.

Please note that existing arrange-ments for probation and inductionwill continue in all nonpilot schools.

The Teaching Councilproposals, called'Droichead', outlinethe Council’sproposed modelof induction andprobation.It is available todownload fromthe INTO website.Details of theconsultationprocess withmembers willbe posted onthe websitewhen finalised.


Keeping InTouch

Teaching Councilproposals on inductionand probation

1The result of the ballot of INTO members onthe LRC proposals will be known on Tuesday 16

April. The Public Services Committee of ICTU willvote on the issue on 17 April and the CEC willconsider the outcome of that vote at its meetingon the 18 and 19 April next.

2 The Minister for Education and Skills RuairíQuinn announced at INTO Annual Congress

this year that he will be implementing Section 30of the Teaching Council Act which requires allteachers to be registered with the TeachingCouncil before they can be paid with effect from 1November 2013.

3 Panel lists for teachers on redeployment panelsbeginning with the main panel are due to issue

from the DES in the next few weeks. Details ofnumbers of teachers on the panels will be updatedon a regular basis as usual on the INTO website.

4Following on from Annual Congress and thepublication by the Teaching Council of

Droichead in relation to the induction of probationof new entrants to the teaching profession, theINTO will be holding a series of consultationmeetings with members around the country overthe coming weeks. Details will be posted on theINTO website.

5The INTO has welcomed the proposed changeto the Employment Equality Act whereby

discrimination on the grounds of sexualorientation, which was permitted under Section 37up to now, will be abolished.

6An innovative and exciting programme ofsummer course provision through the

INTO Professional Development Unit is nowavailable and details are published on page 20of this issue.

7David O’Sullivan has now been appointed asnew official in the INTO as well as 2 new interns

whose profiles appear on page 14 in this issue.

8Training sessions for newly appointed branchofficers and officers of the INTO Principals’ and

Deputy Principals’ Forum will be rolled out overthe coming weeks. Details are posted on the mainINTO website, the officer extranet and will also besent directly to branch and district secretaries.

9An archive of the webcast of the publicsessions of INTO Congress 2013 as well as

related documents are available now from the InFocus section of the INTO website.

10An archive of the sessions from the verysuccessful INTO Equality Conference 2013

are also available from the In Focus section of theINTO website.

10 ThINgS you should know

Section 30 tocommence on1 November

The Minister for Education andSkills Ruairí Quinn announced atAnnual Congress that Section 30 ofthe Teaching Council Act 2001 willcommence on 1 November 2013.

After 1 November when Section 30is commenced, teachers employedin State funded teaching positionsin recognised schools will have tobe registered with the TeachingCouncil in order to be paid fromstate funds.

This issue has been flagged by theINTO over the past number ofmonths on the INTO website, in theInTouch magazine and also by CECrepresentatives at branch meetings.

This is a very significant day inteaching and has been welcomed byboth the INTO and the TeachingCouncil.

Any teacher not already registeredis obliged to visit:www.teachingcouncil.ie for detailson the registration process.

10 InTouch April/May 2013

I dteagmháil

Have yousomething to say

about an article you have readin InTouch, or is there an issueon which you want tocommunicate with others?email [email protected] or writeto the editor, InTouch, INTO,Vere foster House, 35 ParnellSq, Dublin 1.

Mark all such communications‘for publication’ and give acontact telephone numberand your INTO membershipnumber.

A €50 book token will beawarded each month for theprize letter published. Longletters may be edited.

Tell us what you think …

Honorary membership of the INTO maybe conferred by branches under Rule 6Dwhich provides that teach-ers who have been mem-bers of a branch may beelected as honorary mem-bers after retirement withthe right to attend andspeak at the branch subsequently. ecurrent rate charged to branches for hon-orary membership is €8 per member peryear. A decision was taken by theCEC to commission a special giftto mark an award of honorarymembership. ere are now hon-orary membership certificates andengraved vases available from

Head Office. e vase engraved ‘INTOHonorary Member’ costs €0, price

includes delivery.

Retirement gifts andcertificatesere is a vase available engraved

‘INTO’ (costs €0), engraved Crosspens (€0), brooches (€1) and tie pins(€2) available for sale as retirement em-blems. To order a retirement gift, please

contact LindaJohnston or ElaineDaly at 018000, certifi-cates are free ofcharge and can be

ordered from the Membership Section ofthe INTO.

INTO honorary membership and retirement gifts

the INto school year wallplannerwill be distributed with the June issueof InTouch.

As soon as it becomes available adownloadable pdf of the planner willbe made available on the INto website.

District XIV INTOinvite you to the

INTO Presidential Dinner 2013to celebrate the election of

Brendan O’Sullivanas President of the INTO

Venue: Regency Airport Hotel,Swords Road, Dublin

Date: Saturday, 12 October 201

Ticket information fromNiall (District XIV Secretary)

Mobile: 08 6880Email: [email protected]

News on the move

Mobile website

m.into.ie

Enewsletter into.newsweaver.ie

YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW THE INTOON FACEBOOk AND TWITTER

www.facebook.com/INTONewsPage

http://twitter.com/INTOnews

School year planner

Connecting with CongressMore than 850 members attended Congress in Cork this year, many others participated online. e webcasts of the public sessions proved very popular with 443 viewing on Monday, 1,136 on Tuesday and 603 on Wednesday.

Speeches and resolutions wereloaded onto the INTO website as theybecame available and we had 2,557visitors to the main website on Monday,4,334 on Tuesday and 3,269 onWednesday. 314 of you caught up withMonday’s coverage on the mobile

website on Monday, 556 on Tuesdayand 520 on Wednesday.

e INTO conference app also keptmembers up to date with events. Wenow have 899 registered users of the app.

According to our Facebook page stats9,865 registered users engaged with ourpage over the three days and the postsreached 139,020 people. Twitterregistered 759 tweets on #into2013

anks again to all who attended and tothose of you who participated online.

Presidential Dinner2013

INTO Newse Irish National Teachers Organisation … who’s who, what’s new, and what’s happening

InTouch April/May 2013 1

The new vice president of the INTO isSeán Mc Mahon, Principal of Mullagh NSin Co Clare. Seán attended primary schoolin Coore NS and completed his secondaryeducation in the CBS Ennistymon, CoClare. He attended Mary Immaculate College of Education in Limerick, graduat-ing as a primary teacher in 1979.

Seán’s teaching career began in 1979 inRathdowney BNS, Co Laois. In 1980 hewas appointed to Annagh NS, MiltownMalbay, Co Clare, teaching third to sixthclass, in what was then a two teacherschool. This marked the beginning ofyears of campaigning for increased un-derstanding of and support for the criticalcontribution small rural schools make totheir communities and to Irish education.

During his teaching career, Seán attended UCG graduating with a Mastersin Rural and Community Development in1989. His thesis dealt with the implicationsof school amalgamations for rural com-munities. He also completed a H. Dip. inEducation – School Planning in UCG in 2004.

In 1990 Seán was appointed as teach-ing principal of Mullagh NS. He has beenactively involved in the INTO since the1980s and has represented Clare, Tipper-ary and Waterford on the CEC since 2007.Before that he was a member of the Prin-cipals’ and Deputy Principals’ Committee.He has also served as secretary and chair-person to the West Clare INTO Branch.

Seán is married to Gerardine who is alsoa primary teacher. They have five children.

The new president of the Irish NationalTeachers’ Organisation is Brendan O’Sullivan, Principal in Scoil Bhríde NS,Leixlip, Co Kildare.

Brendan is a native of Belturbet, Co Cavan where he attended primary school.He completed his secondary schooling at St Patrick’s College, Cavan, and subse-quently graduated from St Patrick’ College of Education, Drumcondra, as anational school teacher in 1974. In the1980s he attended UCD as a night studentwhere he studied history, politics andeconomics. He graduated with a B.A. inHistory and Politics in 1981 and later, anMA in Political Philosophy.

Brendan began his teaching career in

Scoil Bhríde, Leixlip, in 1974, a school ofwhich he is enormously proud, and wherehe remains to this day as principalteacher. He has a particular interest inspecial education having worked as alearning support teacher for a number of years and completed the GraduateDiploma in Special Education in StPatrick’s, Drumcondra in 2008. His otherinterests include the teaching of mathe-matics and music.

Brendan is a longtime member of theINTO and has represented North Dublinand Kildare on the Central ExecutiveCommittee since 2003. He is married toDeirdre, has three daughters, Róisín, Niamh and Siobhán and a son, Donal.

Brendan O’SullivanIncoming president 2013-2014

Sean McMahonIncoming vice president 2013-2014

New INTO president and vice president

Nuacht CMÉ


Brendan Horan is Principalof Cahir Boys NS in SouthTipperary. Brendan’sinvolvement in unionactivities dates back tostudent union activitieswhile attending MaryImmaculate College.Having graduated in 1989Brendan entered theprofession at a time of highNQT unemployment, lowpay and lack of resourcingin primary education. Hehas been branch secretaryof Cahir INTO from 1993-96 and 2001-2013. In thattime he has also been forumsecretary for SouthTipperary Principals’ and DeputyPrincipals’ Forum from 2007-2013and district treasurer from 2011-13.In conjunction with his activities atbranch and district level, Brendanserved on the Accounts Committeefrom 2007-2011.

Brendan HoranNew CEC Representative

for District XI

hazel O’Connor has been teachingfor the past five years in St Fiacc’s NSin graiguecullen in Carlow. A nativeof Carlow, hazel graduated from StPatrick’s College, Drumcondra, in2008 with a B.Ed (hons). Followingthis hazel pursued a Masters Degreein Primary Religious Education inSt Patrick’s College and Mater DeiInstitute, graduating with honoursin 2012.

hazel works as part of the sacramental team in her parish ofgraiguecullen/Killeshin and alsoworks on behalf of the Diocese ofKildare and Leighlin, aiding with thewriting of lenten and advent resources for primary schools. Shealso contributes to the national resources for Catholic Schools’ Week.

hazel is a member of NorthCarlow Branch and is a member of

the branch committee. She alsoworks with Carlow Special OlympicsClub and is part of the club’s ALPsgroup (Athlete Leadership Pro-gramme) which encourages athletesto develop their skills in communica-tion, volunteering and leadership.

Andrew Bowen is fromCarrigtwohill in Co Cork andis currently working in ScoilMhuire Naofa, CarrigtwohillCo Cork.

He attended ScoiI MhuireNaofa PS in Carrigtwohill andMidleton CBS secondaryschool. He received a BA(Hons) from UCC studyinghistory and geography.After his degree, hecompleted a PGCE Primaryin the University of Wales,Trinity Saint David.

Andrew has been active inthe INTO since qualifying asa primary teacher, and iscurrently a member of theMidleton Branch in DistrictXVI. He served as school staffrep, Midleton branch secretary

and vicechair of District XVI.He was a member of theCongress 2013 OrganisingCommittee.

He also works for the NCTEand the CESC delivering ICTcourses to teachers.

New interns appointedHazel O’Connor Andrew Bowen

David O’Sullivan appointedas new INTO official

A native of Birr, co offaly, David was recentlyappointed as a permanent official to Headoffice. Prior to taking up this position, heworked as a teacher for 12 years in Scoil NaMainistreach, celbridge, co Kildare. He was aspecial duties post holder and served asteachers’ representative on the board ofmanagement. David has previously beeninvolved in the structures of the INto at bothbranch and district level. He has served assecretary to District IX. From 2009-2011 he wasbranch organiser in the former Dublin WestBranch. In May 2010, he was elected to theequality committee as a representative forDistrict IX. In September 2011, he took upan internship in Headoffice. David’squalifications includea B.ed (1999),graduate Diplomain Primary Schoollanguage teaching –german (2004), MAin languageeducation (2007), Postgraduate Diploma ineducationalleadership (2010).

New to the team

SCOTENS discusses teacher educationRevised jobapplication forms

The standard application formsfor principal and teacher postshave been revised, followingconsultation with the INTO andother education partners. Theforms are available to downloadfrom the INTO website.

The INTO encourages all schools touse the Standard Forms, inelectronic form if possible, in orderto avoid unnecessary expense forapplicants.

The INTO has posted advice on theonline application process for postsunder the School Leadershipsection of the website.

INTO meets the PDST

INTO News


DES reviewing rollbooksThe DES has begun reviewing existing practice in relation to roll books and hasconvened a sub committee to consider thismatter. The INTO is represented on the sub-committee by Deirdre O'Connor, Senior Official. While the longer term aim of theDES is to put in place a primary pupil data-base, the DES is considering what can bedone, in the interim, to help simplify the re-quirements on primary schools in relationto maintaining the roll books, clárleabharetc. As part of these interim arrangementsthe DES will also examine the scope, if any,that can be given to schools at this stage touse electronic systems/packages as an al-ternative to using manual records. Anymember who has suggestions in relation tothis matter is asked to email [email protected] mark the email for the attention ofDeirdre.

OCOTOPupdate

Following initialconsultation with theeducation partnersand interest groups,including the INTO, theNEWB is now pilotinga revised One Child,One Team, One Planmodel in three areas.Two of these are inDEIS schools and onein a non-DEIS school.The outcome of thepilots will be reviewedover the summermonths with the viewto expanding theapplication of the model,revised as required, asearly as possible in the2013/2014 school year.

On Wednesday, 13 March, Senator IvanaBacik, Labour Group Leader andSpokesperson on Justice, introduced be-fore the Seanad the Employment Equality(Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2013. SenatorMary Moran, Labour Spokesperson on Education in the Seanad seconded the Bill.Senators including Senator Avril Power,Senator Catherine Zappone, Senator ColmBurke, Senator David Norris, Senator MarcMacSharry and Senator Séan Barrett,among others, spoke on the Bill. Represen-tatives from the INTO along with othertrade unions, ICTU and LGBT rights groupsattended the debate.

The Bill aims to amend Section 37(1) ofthe Employment Equality Act 1998 whichallows for a religious run institution to givemore favourable treatment to an employ-ee or prospective employee on the reli-gion ground in order to maintain the reli-gious ethos of the institution. The Act alsoprovides for a religious run institution totake action against an employee to pre-vent the undermining of the religiousethos. The amendment draws a distinctionbetween religious institutions which arestate funded and those that are not. It alsosets out that more favourable treatmentwould be discrimination where it is based

on any of the other grounds, and it isbased on a genuine, legitimate and justified occupational requirement. It also states that any action to prevent theundermining of the ethos will be discrimi-nation unless it is objectively justified asappropriate and necessary in the context of the employment. This will act as an important safeguard for LGBT employees,single parents, and others who currentlyface potential discrimination under Section 37. The INTO welcomes the intro-duction of this Bill and will follow closelythe passage of this Bill through to enactment.

Change proposed on Employment Equality Act

e Standing Conference of Teacher Educators North and South (SCOTENS) recently met inINTO Head Office to discuss current issues on teacher education provision.e INTO

Education Officer, Deirbhile NicCraith, is currently the teacher union representative on theconference, which also comprises representatives from the colleges of education at first and

second level.

INTO Education Officer, Deirbhile NicCraith and expresident, Noreen Flynn recently met with Joan Crowley

O'Sullivan, Director of the Professional DevelopmentSupport Team, and Ciara O’Donnell Deputy Director. emeeting discussed a range of current issues related to the

support PDST provides in schools. Full details of the PDSTprogramme are available on www.pdst.ie

The Lifetime Lab and the Marine Institute havepresented up to 1,000 3rd and 4th primary schoolstudents with the Explorers Certificate of Partici-pation recently after they had completed the Explorers’ Primary Marine Science Workshops heldat the Lifetime Lab, Cork from 11 – 22 March.

The Explorers Education Programme seeks todevelop an interest among primary school stu-dents on Ireland’s extensive 220 million acre ma-rine resource, one of the largest in the EU. Theprogramme and workshops are currently used byover 50 schools reaching over 5,000 studentsthroughout Ireland.

The programme aims to raise awareness and interest in Ireland’s marine resource, oceans andseashores through teaching cross curricular lessons

and activities. A wide variety of marine based lesson plans, activities and science experiments,including details on the Real Map of Ireland, canbe downloaded from www.explorers.ie. The Ex-plorers Education programme was developed bythe Marine Institute in collaboration with a num-ber of key partners including galway Atlantaquar-ia, Sealife Bray Aquarium, Blackrock EducationCentre, galway Education Centre and theLifetime Lab, Cork.

Schools awarded with the ExplorersEducation Certificate of Participation:

St Patrick’s BNS, gardiners hillCork Educate TogetherScoil Íosagain, FarranreeSt John’s gNS, Carrigaline

holy Cross MahonSt Luke’s NS, O’Mahony’s Ave, CorkglenFlesk NSEglantine gNS, DouglasScoil Maria AssumpthaOur Lady of Lourdes, BallinloughSundays Well BNSglasheen BNS

Scoil Mhuire JNSglasheen gNS

Scoil Mhuire gán SmalSt Anthonys BNS, BallinloughBeaumount gNSScoil an Spioraid Naoimh BNSScoil Oilibhéir

Local castle inspires schoollibrary

On 21 March St Mary’s National School in Trim Co Meath opened anew school library in the form of the Great Hall and dungeons of a

Norman castle. Pupils and staff were in costume for the official openingby Anne Fay, INTO President 2012/13. Visually stunning, the project is

the culmination of much hard work by the whole school communityand inspired by Trim Castle on its doorstep.

Pictured at the launch of the school library were: Mary O’Hare, teacher,Anne Fay, INTO President, Debby Walsh, Teacher, Cóilín Ó Coigligh,

Principal and pupils Ánna O’Hare, Cormack McGale and Grace NolanPhoto courtesy of David Moore Photography

Rathbeggan teacherreceives hero award

Mary Devine, Deputy Principal and second classteacher at Rathbeggan NS, Dunshaughlin, Co Meath,was presented with the first Hero Teacher Award ofOperation Transformation (RTE) by Kathryn omas.

e television crew arrived with Kathryn omasat Rathbeggan NS before school and surprised Maryin her classroom. e whole event came about be-cause of an email sent by past pupil Hannah Bow-man. Mary was interviewed by John Murray live onhis radio programme and heard pupils, past andpresent (including Nigel Crawford, Meath footballer)speak of her commitment to promoting sport. Shewas presented with a plaque and a great day was hadby pupils, staff and friends of Rathbeggan NS.

Mary is a very deserving winner due to the hugeamount of time she spends coaching football, rugby,golf, running and general sports fun. She is a locallegend! Well done Mary!

Cork pupils receive ‘Explorer’ certificates from Marine Institute

Nuacht CMÉ


Please support the INTO Annual Mem-bers’ Draw, help the Children’s Medicaland Research Foundation and be in with achance to win one of the following prizes;

1st prize: Toyota Auris2nd prize: €,000rd & th prizes: €2,000th & 6th prizes: €1,00th, 8th, th & 10th prizes: €1,000e proceeds from the 201 draw will

assist with the purchase of a Portable Ul-trasound machine called ‘Sequoia c12’.Ultrasound imaging, also called an ultra-sound scan or sonography, is a method ofobtaining images from different organsinside the body. It involves sending veryhigh frequency sound waves via a handheld probe on the skin through the body.

ese sound waves are reflected off inter-nal organs and bounce back to the probeand the computer part of the machinecreating an image of the organs. Ultra-sound images are captured in real timeand displayed on a television monitor.

e Sequoia will revolutionise thehospital’s ability to diagnose problemsimmediately and confidence even in themost difficult cases. Furthermore, iteliminates the need to move childrenfrom their beds.

Best practice and research/educational benefitse Children’s Medical and ResearchFoundation recognises that effectivetraining is essential to help patients and

staff. Valuable hands on experience in theoperation and supporting functions ofthis machine will be provided to hospitalstaff on a continuous basis.

TicketsTickets have been forwarded to yourINTO staff representative and cost €10each. Payment and ticket counterfoilsshould be returned to INTO Head Officeby Wednesday, June 201.

e draw will take place on Friday, June 201 in INTO Head Office.Please note the draw is open to INTOmembers only.

If you require further tickets or haveany queries, please contact GeorginaGlackin on (01) 80 .

St Pat’s Freshersthrough to finalUnder the management teamof Ronan O’Donnell, JackLarkin and Conor Finn (2ndyear students in St Pat’s) theladies made it through to thefinal of the Donaghy Cupagainst Sligo IT. At time ofprint the final was due to takeplace on 10 April. e teamgear is sponsored by INTO.

St Patrick’s College, DrumcondraLadies Freshers Team.

Comhar Linn draw winners –February 2013CAR – Toyota AurisCiara burgess, Gaelscoil Thulach na nÓg, Cilbríona, Dunbuinne,Co na Mí.

Cash €1,500emily Nolan, Assumption Junior bNS walkinstown, Dublin 12.

Weekends for two in Jury’s InnC.V. Mandos-Tynan, Clondalkin Dublin 22.Trish Nugent, St benedict’s Ongar NS, C/O Mary Mother of Hope NS,Littlepace, Clonee, Dublin 15.

Ciara Burgess,Comhar Linn drawcar winner inFebruary. Ciarateaches inGaelscoil ulachna nÓg, Dunbuinne,Co na Mí.

INTO News


INTO Members’ DrawPlease support – Great cause, great prizes! – Ticket price €10


Nuacht CMÉ

INto trIButeS

Christine CoughlanIt was with great shock and sorrow that we in ScoilBhríde heard of the untimely death ofour friend and colleague ChristineCoughlan (nee Carey) on 15 September2011.

Christine, a native of Murroe, CoLimerick, trained in Mary ImmaculateCollege from where she graduated in1979. her first teaching position in 1979brought her to Ballyfin NS, Co Laois.

Christine joined the staff of ScoilBhríde, Portlaoise, in 2002 as a resource teacher,initially sharing her time with Maryborough NS,Portlaoise. She was totally committed to the job of

teaching and ensured that each pupil under hercare reached their full potential. In hereyes every child was unique. Sherespected this uniqueness and this gaveher a remarkable patience with even themost challenging of situations. Christinechallenged her pupils with attainabletargets while building their self esteemand sense of achievement. She wasalways willing to try new methodologiesand was instrumental in piloting and

implementing an innovative program in school forchildren with dyspraxia, for which Scoil Bhrídewon a national award. She was gifted in the area

of ICT and used this gift to teach children lifeskills.Christine was an exceptional friend, loyal,generous of her time, kind hearted, sincere andobliging.

Christine battled her illness for nearly two yearswith the same strong will and determination withwhich she approached everything in life. Sadly thiswas not to be a battle she was to win.

While Christine’s passing is a great loss to us,her colleagues and friends, it is within her familythat this loss is greatest and to them we extendour heartfelt and deepest sympathy.

Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann. From her colleagues in Scoil Bhríde.

John ElstedJohn began his teaching career in his native Dungarvan in 1. Two years laterhe joined the staff of Scoil Mhuire Senior.

John was gifted musically, artisticallyand as a playwright. He fervently believedthe best way to acquire a language was touse it, enjoy it and make it a living lan-guage. He helped children to composeplays in both Irish and English. During hisfirst year in Scoil Mhuire he composed aplay called Na Taistealaithe. He also com-posed and arranged music to accompanyit. Children from the school performed theplay very successfully in the Leinster finalsof Scoildramaiochta in Athlone. On anoth-er occasion John ‘re-jigged’ Frank O’Con-nor’s famous short story e First Confes-sion – using his own quirky sense of hu-

mour to great effect. e children becameso enthused and engaged in John’s playsand sketches that they acquired compe-tence and confidence in using languagewhile having the best of fun. John empow-ered children and inspired them to believein themselves. As one child wrote of himafter his untimely death – “Mr Elsted be-lieved everyone has a talent”.

John was passionate about soccer. Hetrained and managed school soccer teamsfor both boys and girls. His teams enjoyedmany successes, winning county titles andnumerous six-a-side competitions.

It was John’s idea to mark the school’s2th anniversary by producing a com-memorative book. is treasured accountof Scoil Mhuire’s history is testament to

his creative talent and foresight. e size-able profit from this venture was donatedto the Samaritans.

We, his friends and colleagues will misshis unique sense of humour, his capacityfor fun and adventure, his ability to dis-cuss at an in-depth level all aspects of lifefrom politics to education, literature, film,art, music and sport. John has touchedand enriched our lives inso many ways.

Slán a chara agus in io-thlann Dé go gcastar sinnarís.

From the staff of ScoilMhuire Senior, Bally-many, Newbridge, CoKildare.

Rosaleen CannonOn 3 November 2011 Rosaleen Cannon,Deputy Principal of An Grianán NS, passedaway. Her untimely death after a two yearillness sent waves of shock and sorrowaround the village of Mount Temple and itsenvirons. Rosaleen was a gifted, dedicatedand much loved teacher and colleague,who put her heart and soul into her work.She was a leading light of learning in ourschool. We miss her dearly, remember herwith fondness and mourn her passing.

At her requiem mass pupils paid their re-spects to Ms Cannon with songs, prayersand a guard of honour. Her partner JamesMcManus from Athlone shared a very aptand moving eulogy. Hundreds of parents,pupils, past pupils, colleagues and friendsattended the funeral.

A native of Woodlawn, Ballinasloe, Ros-aleen graduated from Carysfort College ofEducation in 1979. She joined the staff ofAn Grianán NS in 1980 where she taught

for almost 31 years and was appointeddeputy principal in 1994.

There was tremendous mutual respectbetween Rosaleen and the parents and children of Mount Temple. Parents recog-nised her passion to provide the very besteducation for their children and thechildren always productive and creative in her class revelled in thejoy of learning. Through dedicatedhard work and working closely withthe parents Rosaleen enabled everychild in her care to reach their fullpotential. She never looked forpraise or recognition. The steadyprogress of the children was theonly reward she sought.

Rosaleen delighted in bringing the worldof nature and local history and geographyinto her classroom. She fostered a love ofreading and creative writing in all of thechildren she taught. As recognition of the

outstanding work Rosaleen achieved in the area of literacy, we have transformedher old classroom into a beautiful new junior library and dedicated it to her memory. Rosaleen loved sport and intro-duced basketball and swimming to our

school.Our school is very well re-

sourced in the area of special education. This is mainly becauseof Rosaleen’s keen interest, vastknowledge and huge involvementin special education. The work shedid in our school in the area ofspecial education was groundbreaking.

She loved a laugh and what we missmost is the twinkle in her eye, her smileand the laugh we all shared.

From her friends and colleagues in AnGrianán NS, Mount Temple, Moate, CoWestmeath.

1. Log on

Visit the Membership Plus website and

search for your chosen retailer (e.g.

Argos, Asda, Burton, Sainsbury’s,

Topshop, Boots, Currys, B&Q).

2. Click or call

Click on the web link on the offer

page or call the telephone number

provided to purchase your shopping

card.

3. Save

Receive your discount at the time of

purchasing your shopping card which

will then be sent to you in the post.

4. Go shopping

Use your shopping card in store

and save on top of sale prices

and promotions!

How do the shopping cards work?

Membership Plus – new – shopping cardsAfter member feedback, we have introduced away of letting you enjoy great discounts at your

favourite shops simply by purchasing a shoppingcard at a discount before you go out shopping.


INTO News

BeNeFItS

Membership Plus

e majority of the shopping cards are reloadable meaning you can save each time your top up!

Membership Plus brings you over 1,000 offers and discounts. The majorityof which are redeemed by presenting your Membership Plus card at thepoint of purchase.

The majority of the shopping cards arereloadable meaning you can reload your cardwhenever you like and receive your discounteach time.

Whether purchasing a shopping card as a giftor using it on your weekly grocery shop, you cansave hundreds each year!

To find out more about the shopping cards or

to view all the discounts available to you as aMembership Plus cardholder, visit theMembership Plus website by clicking on theMembership Plus button at www.into.ie.

Save each time you top up

Credit card charges apply. Postage charges apply however, once received, reloadable shopping cards can be reloaded with no further postage charges.

HSF Health Plan is Ireland’s leadinghealth cash plan provider offering sim-ple, affordable health cover for everydayhealthcare bills. It gives money back fora wide range of everyday healthcarecosts including GP, prescription, con-sultant, dental, optical, physiotherapy

and chiropody, along with grants forhospital stays, birth grants and worldwide accident cover.

For more information on all thehealthcare schemes available contactHSF health plan on LoCall 180 1 1.

INTO Learning is offering an extensiveprogramme of summer courses runningfrom 1 July to 2 August. For full detailsgo to www.intolearning.ie. Registrationand payment will be available from Monday, 1 May 201.

Online course titles include: INto designed coursesl Mathematics: Keeping Minds Sharp.l Supporting Literacy rough the

Arts.l Promoting and Supporting Positive

Behaviour in the Primary School.l Multiclass Teaching: Management,

Literacy and Numeracy Issues.l Unique and Equal: Social Justice and

Global Issues.

INto – Supported by PDSt technology(formerly Ncte)l Beyond 2020: Using Technology in the

Primary Classroom. l Using ICT to Support Literacy and

Numeracy for SEN Pupils.

INto – In collaboration with St Patrick’scollege Drumcondral Write to Read: Developing

Cross-Curricular Approaches to Reading and Writing.

on behalf of coláiste Mhuire, Marinol Teaching and Learning in the Early

Childhood setting.l Literacy in the Junior Classes.l OMG – Religious Diversity in the

Classroom.

on behalf of Setanta collegel PE at the Heart of an Integrated Curriculum.

on behalf of outside the Boxl Self Assessment and Learning Made Easy.l STOP, THINK, DO!

on behalf of Voluntary Servicesoverseas (VSo)l Supporting Sustainable Development

and Citizenship.

Face to Face Courses: 1– 5 Julyl An Gaeilge: Cumarsáid, Comhluadar

agus Craic (foirm iarratais le fáil arwww.intolearning.ie).Ionadaí:Coláiste Choilmcille, Indreabháin,Co na Gaillimhe; agusIonad and Bhlascaoid Mhóir,Dún Chaoin, Trá Lí, Co Chiarraí.

St Patrick’s college, Drumcondra(in association with INto) l Lessons Galore: Inspiring new ideas for

‘Hands On’ Science.

Continuing Professional Development(CPD) Packages for SchoolsINTO Learning has completed thedevelopment of four online CPDpackages. ese packages are designedto facilitate whole-staff professionaldevelopment and are titled as follows:l Child Protection.l Bookmaking (Visual Arts and Literacy).l Comprehension.l Literature Circles.

Go to www.intolearning.ie for furtherdetails and instructions for registration.Packages carry a design andadministration cost of €2 which willentitle schools to access the onlinemodule until the end of the school yearand to download the accompanyingresource folder for permanent access toits contents.

Summer Programme 2013

Pop Up PLCscheck them outMany valuable resources and strategieswere shared and discussed on the forumsof the PLCs that have run in 2012/201.

Samples of facilitator posts on thesediscussion forums are available on theProfessional Communities page of theINTO Learning website.

Have Your Say...INTO Learning welcomes suggestedtopics for future CPD packages.These suggestions should be sent to:[email protected] [email protected]

Heritage in Schools Scheme 2013

The heritage Council would like to thank INTO fortheir successful administration of the heritage inSchools scheme over the last decade. The schemehas now re-opened under the direct administrationof the heritage Council.

The scheme is unique in Ireland and provides apanel of over 165 diverse heritage specialists whowork directly with children in primary schoolsthroughout the country, at the request of theschool. The visit by the heritage specialist is part-funded by the school and the remaining costs arefunded by the heritage Council.

Visit the heritage in Schools website at www.heritageinschools.ie for further informationon the scheme and to book a heritage specialist.

Cornmarket Financial ServicesINTO Learning would like to thankCornmarket Group Financial Service Ltdfor their part sponsorship of the summer2013 online course programme.

CEOL online courses will run from September 201to June 201. Teachers on CEOL courses will haveaccess to course materials, resources and interactivesupport throughout the school year. You can find fulldetails on the CEOL page of www.intolearning.ie

CEOL online courses 2013/14


Nuacht CMÉ

Following on from last year’s verysuccessful principals’ seminars onSelection and Appointment Proceduresfor Principal Teachers’ and given thehuge volume of demand for more suchseminars, INTO Learning is hostingfurther principals’ seminars in 2013.

e aims of the seminars are:l To provide up to date and relevant

information to principals on topicalschool issues.

l To provide a forum for principals toshare information.

l To facilitate query and answersessions with our Legal andIndustrial Relations and Conditionsof Employment teams.

e themes for the 2013 seminarsinclude:l Seminar A: Selection and

Appointment Procedures forPrincipal Teachers

l and Seminar B: Leadership inChallenging Times

e aim of this seminar is:l To update principals on the procedures

relevant to the appointment of teachers.l To update principals on recent legisla-

tion and Equality Tribunal decisions inrelation to appointment procedures.

l To enable principals, in their role asmembers of selection boards, to man-age the appointment of teachers moreeffectively.

l To outline how the redeployment paneloperates – main and supplementarypanels.

Topics to be covered include the following:l Selection and appointment procedures.l e completion of the primary teacher

appointment/reappointment form.l Teaching Council registration.l Assessing whether the new teacher is a

‘new entrant’ for pension purposes.l Assessing whether the teacher is a

‘new appointee’ or a ‘new beneficiary’

for pay purposes etc.l Contract issues: permanent, fixed-term,

specific purpose, substitute etc.

Comments from the evaluations from thecourse participants last year included thefollowing:

“The speakers gave excellent and comprehensivepresentations which will be hugely beneficial”.

“really good informative seminar.” “excellent facility – well presented and informative

seminar.” “Very clear with lots of facts and guidelines.”

INTO Learning is offering two furthercourses on this topic:1. Wednesday, 1 May – Tullamore.2. ursday, 0 May – Waterford.

e DES has authorised the releaseof teachers to attend these seminars butunfortunately substitute cover is notprovided for such release.

INTO News


INTO seminars for principals2013

e aim of this seminar is:l To update principals on changes in

sick leave for teachers.l To enable principals to communicate

more effectively with the school com-munity, particularly in respect of diffi-cult issues.

l To discuss the prevention and man-agement of bullying amongst pupils.

Topics to be covered include the followingl Managing sick leave at school level in

accordance with new DES requirements.– Outline of the new provisions of

teachers in respect of sick leave in-cluding a review of the operation ofMedMark and the relevant DES cir-culars.

– e provision of advice on best prac-tice for principals on engagementwith staff with regard to sick leave.

l Managing difficult conversations/ef-fective communication.– Areas in which effective communi-

cation is important, for example inmanaging parental complaints orstaff relations issues.

– Key skills in managing difficult con-versations.

l Prevention and dealing with bullyingamongst pupils.– Current guidance on handling bully-

ing amongst pupils, including DEScirculars etc.

– Beat practice in dealing with bully-ing at school level, including interac-tion with parents.

INTO Learning is offering three furthercourses on this topic:1. Wednesday, 2 April – Mullingar2. ursday, 2 May – Galway. Wednesday, 8 May – Cork

Comments from previous seminars onthis topics include the following :

“Good interaction with participantsthroughout seminar”.

“Very informative and well presented”.

e DES has authorised the release ofteachers to attend these seminars butunfortunately substitute cover is not pro-vided for such release.

ese seminars are provided free ofcharge. However, a fully refundablebooking deposit of €0 will be chargedwith each application and is refundableon attendance, those that do not attendand do not cancel within 8 hours willnot be refunded.

e seminars will be presented byINTO officials and run from .0a.m. –.0p.m. Lunch and refreshments willalso be provided.

Please noteApplications can only be made online and payment can only be made using debit/credit card.

Places will be allocated strictly on a first come first served basis. To apply for a place on either seminar log onto:www.intolearning.ie. For any further queries email: [email protected]

Seminar B: Leadership in Challenging Times

Seminar A: Selection and Appointment Procedures for PrincipalTeachers

Making corporal punishment history withthe help of the INTO Solidarity Fund

When I signed up for a three week volun-teer placement for the summer of 2010, Inever thought it would bring me to thepoint of where I am now! As I sit here in anoffice, which looks out onto a lush greenbanana plantation, I remember clearly hownervous I was as I completed an applicationfor the Nurture Africa volunteer placement –known then as A-Z Children’s Charity. I wasteaching sixth class in Scoil Treasa, Fir-house, at the time and had only one year’steaching experience behind me. I thoughtthe placement would give me the opportu-nity to share what small teaching experi-ence I had and also enjoy an African coun-try with a group of like-minded people. Ihad no idea then I would end up falling inlove with Uganda and all it has to offer!

My original role with Nurture Africa wasas a volunteer teacher. I travelled to Ugan-da with many other teachers, nurses andgeneral skills workers to take part in a shortterm placement in a suburb of Kampalacalled Nansana. Uganda, on first impres-sions, was a blur of colour and noise, and Irecall how grateful I was that we were metat the airport by Nurture Africa coordina-tors who escorted us to what would be-come our home for the next three weeks!

The placement was an amazing experi-ence. I was based in a primary schoolcalled Jet Valley, where I learnt so muchfrom Ugandan teachers who have now become firm friends. The children werefantastic and incredibly well behaved inclass, despite the large numbers. Theywere always very eager to assist the‘muzungu’ (Ugandan word for foreigner)

as I struggled to come to grips with theheat, dust and my chalk covered clothes.Although the classroom had no windows,doors or the essential interactive white-board, I felt my teaching skills improvedhugely in that short space of time. My timein Jet Valley certainly cemented my lovefor teaching but it was the wide variety ofactivities I took part in during the place-ment which made me want to return toUganda the following year.

The following two summers I travelledwith Nurture Africa as a volunteer teachercoordinator. During these four months, I became familiar with the education system in Uganda, which is now adoptinga thematic approach to teaching. Althoughcorporal punishment became illegal inUganda in 2006, it is still the biggest chal-lenge we face as volunteer teachers. Corporal punishment is widely acceptedand expected by guardians and membersof the community. Ugandan teachersstruggle to gain support when they use alternative forms of discipline. For this reason, Nurture Africa is launching a ‘MakeCorporal Punishment History’ campaign,which is supported by the INTO SolidarityFund for the next three years. This projectis something I am very excited to work onduring my year long stay here. It involvesworking with local government leaders,school management committees, guardians,community groups and of course, the students themselves. Irish volunteer teacherswill be playing a vital role in this campaignduring the summer of 2013. Through ‘train-ing of trainers’ workshops, positive rein-

forcement demonstrations, and childrights education sessions in schools, thisyear’s volunteers will be able to make along term impact in the fight against corporal punishment here in Uganda.

I have been living in Uganda since July2012 and I will be here until August 2013.The experience so far has been unbeliev-able. On a professional level, I have gainedso much. Working with highly skilled staffin departments such as Education Enable-ment, Child Protection, Sustainable Liveli-hoods and Literacy have made a huge im-pact on how I view development work andthe ‘NGO world’. The Nurture Africa Pedi-atric Medical Centre is also on the samegrounds as the charity headquarters, so Ihave developed a deep understanding ofthe crucial link between educational andhealth issues which I never would have attained if not for my time here.

On a more personal level, the Ugandanpeople have made my experience here unforgettable, inspiring and thoroughlyenjoyable. It is something I would recom-mend to anyone who is interested in development work or who is eager to workin a vivacious, ambitious and buddingAfrican community.

For more information on volunteeringwith Nurture Africa for three weeks thisJuly or August, please go to www.nurtureafrica.ie or email Miriam, at [email protected]

Laura Nolan qualified in 2008 from StPatrick’s College and teaches in Scoil Treasa,Firhouse, Dublin.

Eva Beattie with children at Nurture Africa's resource centre in Kasengejje.

Cheryl Donaghy leads a reading groupat the Nurture Africa Children’s Library, Nansana.

SolIDArIty

Nuacht CMÉ


LOOKING AFTER YOUR EYESAge Related Macular Degeneration

Age Related Macular Degeneration orAMD is a condition that can affect youreyes as you get older, and is the leadingcause of blindness in Ireland. It affectsone in every ten people over the age of50 and one in five people over the age of 75 in Ireland. Early detection of thecondition and appropriate treatment andmanagement is the best option availableto people who are affected to prevent severe vision loss.

About AMDThe macula enables you to see fine detailand people with the advanced conditionwill often notice a blank patch or darkspot in the centre of their sight. Thismakes activities like reading, writing andrecognising small objects or faces verydifficult. Early detection of the disease isessential to allow prompt referral to aretinal specialist and potentially reducethe risk of severe vision loss. There aretwo forms – wet AMD and dry AMD. Mostsufferers have dry AMD which developsslowly. Wet AMD is more aggressive andaccounts for 90 per cent of blindnesscaused by the condition.

Diagnosing AMDIn the early stages you may be sensitiveto light or actually see lights that are notthere. This may cause some discomfortoccasionally, but otherwise macular degeneration is not painful. A simpletest, using an Amsler Grid can identifyearly symptoms of AMD. Older peopleare at higher risk of AMD, especiallythose with AMD diagnosed in one eyeand might be recommended to monitortheir vision at least once a week usingthe Amsler Grid. Patients are encouragedto look carefully at this grid, one eye at a time, to ensure that the lines do not appear bent or distorted and that thecentral dot remains visible. Another option is to look at the tiles in the bath-room, or a line in the centre of the roadin order to detect early distortion.

Prevention of AMDThe biggest risk factor for AMD is increas-ing age, generally affecting people overthe age of 50. There is a link betweenobesity, high blood pressure and highcholesterol and AMD – but smoking isthe biggest modifiable factor linked tothe disease. A balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, ahealthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise isone of the best ways to prevent AMD.

For information on treatment of AMD,you can contact Mater Private Eye CentreTel: 01 885 8392 or email: [email protected].

The above information is an educationalaid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treat-ments. Talk to your doctor or optometristbefore following any medical regime to seeif it is safe and effective for you.

Health Check offering discounts toINTO and retired members

For a brochure call 01 885 8257/01 8858258 or visit www.healthcheck.ie


INTO AdviceINTO advice for members on issues of importance

Distortion in anAmslet grid as seenby a person withAMD

free, expert advice from the National Consumer AgencyThe National Consumer Agency (NCA) is a statutorybody established by the Irish government toenforce consumer law and promote consumerrights. They represent the voice of the consumer,defend consumer interests and provide informationabout consumer rights and personalfinance.

Useful tools and information areavailable to help you get the mostfrom your money and help youmake smart decisions. Find outwhat exactly are your consumerrights and what to do if you have aproblem with a product or service?Information covers topics such as:l Buying goods, including what

to do if you buy a faulty productand information on shoppingfrom home.

l Understand rules on pricing andincludes information to help youif you are buying a car.

l Understand your rights andresponsibilities with services andcontracts, such as mobile phonecontracts.

l A step by step guide to buyinga home and information on mul-

ti-unitdevelopments. The NCA also have three checklistswhich provide reminder questions to ask whenyou are looking around for a property, finding outmore about the property and finding a solicitor.

l The NCA scams section highlights some of themost common scams and what to do if you thinkyou’ve been scammed.

l There is also lots of information on your rights asa passenger when you travel, from cancelled

flights, to damaged luggage.

The NCA also have responsibility formarket surveillance in respect ofthe safety of a wide range of non-food consumer products. Their rolesin relation to product safety includeenforcing product safetylegislation, investigatingcomplaints about unsafe products,carrying out surveillance activitiesand alerting consumers aboutunsafe products.

The NCA have a Disability LiaisonOfficer who acts as a point of contactfor individual with disabilities.

The web-pages are print-friendlyso you can print off relevant pageswhen required. You may also wishto subscribe to the NCA monthlyenewsletter and/or RSS feeds forregular updates and news.

Visit the website at www.nca.ie


Comhairle CMÉ

Sharing pupil information with post-primary schoolsInvitation to give feedback on an updated sixth class report card

Dr Sarah FitzPatrick, Deputy CEO, NCCA and Noel Loftus, Education Officer, NCCA.Visit the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment website at www.ncca.ie

What is the updated sixth class reportcard?Last year primary schools used children’s 6th classreport cards for the first time to transferinformation to post-primary schools.

The NCCA has now developed an updated 6thclass report card to make it more fit-for-purposewhen serving the dual role of reporting to parentsand transferring information to the child’s newpost-primary school.

Are primary schools required to use itthis year?No. This year we invite your school to use the up-dated 6th class report card to report to parents and

transfer information to the post-primary school. Afterwards, tell us what you thought about it

by completing a very short survey.Your feedback will help us finalise the

modifications to the 6th class report card before2014.

How do I access the updated sixthclass report card and the survey?l Visit www.ncca.ie/primaryreporting.l Select the option to use the Report Card Creator. l go to Step 1 to access the updated 6th class

report card.l Click on ‘Share your feedback’ to tell us what you

think

How is it different to the current sixthclass report card?The updated 6th class report card includesadditional information such as the child’s dateof birth, first language(s), and interests andachievements.

There is just one version of the updated reportcard; a school does not need to design thecontents of the report card that relate to children’slearning and development.

How will my feedback be used?Your feedback will inform a further update tothe 6th class report card that all schools will usenext year.


NewsdeskNews from the world of education and trade unionism, at home and abroad

key messages for schools from NCCA

Reporting to parents in primary school New options added to NCCA’s Report Card Creator

What is the Report Card Creator?e online Report Card Creator helps primary schools to create a report card forsharing information about the child’s learn-ing with parents. Schools who used it lastyear told us that they welcomed the Creator because it helped them to:l develop customised report cards from a

wide range of reporting formats andoptions. Some schools developed twoor more report cards to meet the needsof different classes;

l think about and decide on their uniquereporting needs and preferences. isincluded using rating scales or narrativeboxes or both; editing the language inthe report card to make it easier forparents to understand; adding other areas in the report card e.g. Verbal

maths;l move from printing blank report cards

and then filling them in by hand tocompleting them on computer.

What’s new for 2013?Watch out from early May for some newfeatures in the Report Card Creator atncca.ie/primaryreporting. ese optionswere developed following feedback fromschools and include options to:l customise your report cards over time

rather than having to complete the taskall in one go. Begin the task at one staffmeeting, save the unfinished reportcard, and complete it at a later stage;

l return to a report card you customisedearlier to make small changes withouthaving to ‘recreate’ the original;

l re-size the narrative boxes in the reportcard to create less or more space foryour comments;

l include further information on a child’sattendance i.e. ‘…… days present out of……… ’

l include the child’s name on the cover page;l insert a holding space for scanned

signatures of the principal and teacher.

How do I use the Report Card Creator?1. Visit ncca.ie/primaryreporting.2. Select the option to complete your

school’s report card(s) using the ReportCard Creator.

. Watch out for video tutorials, userguides, FAQs and sample report cards.

. Follow seven simple steps to createyour customised report card.


Newsdesk

Arts in Education CharterEnhancing children’s experience of the arts

A new initiative which will see reduced ticket pricesfor cultural events, the development of Arts RichSchools and encouragement of visits to cultural in-stitutions was launched in January by Jimmy Deeni-han, Minister for Arts, heritage and the gaeltachtand Ruairí Quinn, Minister for Education and Skills.The Charter places new responsibilities on govern-ment Departments, agencies, cultural institutionsand arts organisations in terms of providing andpromoting arts education to children and youngpeople. Some of the Arts in Education Charter commitments include:l Artists and arts organisations in receipt of tax-

payer funds will be expected to donate a smallamount of time each year to a local educationinitiative.

l Arts Rich Schools: The Arts Council will introducea national scheme which will incentivise andrecognise those schools which make the arts akey part of school life.

l Visits to museums and galleries: The nationalcultural institutions shall ensure that each student visits a national cultural institution atleast once in their second level school career.

l Reduced ticket prices: The National Theatre andthe National Concert hall will offer discounted

tickets to those in full-time primary, postprimary and third level education. These ticketsshall not cost more than €5 per event.

l Artists in Residence: The number of artists’residencies in colleges of education will beincreased.

l Curriculum design: The Arts Council will beconsulted by the National Council for Curriculumand Assessment on curriculum design.

A portal site for arts in education is to be devel-oped. In the meantime, the charter is available todownload from www.education.ie (Publicationssection)

Cuirfear tús le clár iarchéime nua,M.Oid. san Oideachas Lán-Ghaeilge igColáiste Mhuire gan Smál, Luimneach iMeán Fómhair 201. Beidh an clárcumaisc foghlama seo curtha ar fáil arbhonn páirtaimseartha thar thréimhsedhá bhliain acadúla, agus an chéadchohórt ag baint amach a gcéime i bh-fómhar na bliana 201.

Sa chlár nuálach seo, M. Oid. sanOideachas Lán-Ghaeilge, díreofar ar oide-olaíocht agus teoiric an tumoideachaisagus an dátheangachais ag tagairt go son-rach do riachtanais um fhorbairt ghair-miúil agus d’inniúlachtaí teangeolaíochtana múinteoirí i scoileanna Gaeltachta aguslán-Ghaeilge. Don chéad uair i bPoblachtna hÉireann, beidh clár ilchodach le sraithmodúl atá comhtháite, comhleanúnachagus idirghaolmhar curtha ar fáil le freastal

go sonrach ar oideoirí tumoideachais agusar ghairmithe eile a bhíonn ag obair iréimse an oideachais lán-Ghaeilge.

Beidh an fhoghlaim chumaisc marghné lárnach den chlár, i. cuid den chlárcurtha ar fáil ar líne agus an chuid eilecurtha ar fáil ar láthair ag an deireadhseachtaine – 6.0i.n. – .0i.n. ar anAoine agus .0r.n. – 12.0i.n. ar anSatharn. Cuirfear soláthar for-rochtanasan áireamh ag brath ar riachtanais namac léinn. Is é a bheidh i gceist le gnéfoghlama ar an láthair de mhodúil áirithená seimineár ar feadh deireadh seach-taine a reáchtálfar sa Ghaeltacht.

Beidh an clár curtha ar fáil ar bhonnuaireanta foghlaim-threoraithe, seimineárar líne agus ar láthair, taithí phraiticiúilagus scoil samhraidh. Mar thoradh ar angcur chuige cumaisc agus ar dhearadh an

chláir, beidh taighdeoirí tábhachtachaidirnáisiúnta i láthair agus pléifidh siadtorthaí agus saincheisteanna nua i réimsean tumoideachais, an oideachaisdhátheangaigh agus an dara teanga ar líneleis na mic léinn le linn an chláir.

Glacfar suas le fiche duine ar an gclársa bhliain acadúil 201/201. Glacfar leh-iarrataisí suas go dtí 1 Bealtaine 201.Tá an Chomhairle um OideachasGaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta(COGG) chun fiche scoláireacht dar lu-ach €2,000 in aghaidh na bliana gach bli-ain thar thréimhse dhá bhliain acadúla abhronnadh ar mhic léinn a chláróidh aran gclár seo sa bhliain 201/201.

Chun tuilleadh eolais a fháil, déanteagmháil le T.J. Ó Ceallaigh, Comhor-daitheoir an Chláir: T: 061 202,R: [email protected]

Ré nua don Oideachas Lán-GhaeilgeM.Oid san Oideachas Lán-Ghaeilge i gColáiste Mhuire gan Smál, Luimneach

Ethical and multi-denominational educationPostgraduate certificate course in St Patrick’s College

A new postgraduate certificate course in St Patrick’s CollegeDrumcondra was launched last year. It is the first of its kindin the State. e new Certificate in Ethical and Multi-denominational Education, accredited by Dublin City University,is run in partnership with Educate Together and was developedin response to a growing need to respect and celebrate thediversity of beliefs in our schools, both denominational andmulti-denominational.

is is a challenging and exciting area that is very much atthe forefront of educational debate and discussion. Withoutcurricular guidance, it’s not always easy for teachers and schoolstaff to address issues related to culture and belief sensitively,even when the best intentions are present.

e course will be delivered in blended format, enabling

teachers to learn online, with some sessions delivered onoccasional Saturdays through the year, seminar style.

e new postgraduate certificate course does not purportto have all the answers. In fact, it is far more occupied by thequestions and dilemmas this subject area generates. Dialogueand engagement are central to its four modules: Philosophiesof Ethical and Multi-denominational Education; DemocraticValues in Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy in EthicalEducation and Teacher as Ethical Leader.

e current cohort of students draws from across theeducation sectors, diverse school types and a range ofbackgrounds and experiences. e next entry to the courseis September 201. For further information, please visitwww.spd.dcu.ie/site/courses/Ins_Ethical.shtml

Almost 500 primary teachers participated in the Annual All Ireland Indoor Soccer Tournament organised by Limerick primary teachers in March.The competition attracted over 40 teams in thethree categories of Men’s Open, Women’s Open andMen’s Over 40.

In the final of the Men’s Open competition Tools

for Schools beat previous winners Cork. In the Women’s Open final Munster Lillies over-

came Rocky Rebels with a very impressive display inthe final.

In the Veteran’s competition, Limerick beat Raheny in a close fought final.

The organisers would like to acknowledge the

generous sponsorship by the INTO and Comhar LinnINTO Credit Union of the tournament and look forward to seeing participants again at next year’sevent.

Credit also to Ray Darcy, Eamonn O’Connell andLiam Dillon for their superb organisation of thetournament.

Tools for Schools: Back row: Damien Terry, Eoin Lawlor, GaryWinters. Front row: Neil McConville, Stephen Terry, ShaneO’Looney.

Cork: Back Row: Micheál Kearny, Breandán Ó Cathasaigh,Gabriel Ó Cathasaigh, Donal O’Sullivan. Front Row: GerryCoakley, Ciarán Ó Muircheartaigh, Alan Healy, Vincent Collins.

Rocky Rebels: Back Row: Grace Hilliard, Sinead O’Driscoll,Kathryn Brennan, Catriona Lane. Front Row: Rebecca Larkin,Tara Lyons, erese Howard.

Munster Lillies: Back Row: Mary Kennedy, Olivia Coomey, MarieCostello, Sandra Moran, Mary Coughlan. Front Row: Áine Carey,Denise Sexton, Alison Wholihan, Sharon Quinn, Laura Sullivan.

Raheny: Back Row: Paddy Courtney, Dermot Murphy, CiaránCoughlan, Pauric Phelan, Peter Molumby. Front row: JeromeMurphy, Charlie Keeney, Donal O’Donaghue, Mark McLoughlin.

Limerick: Back Row: Liam Dillon, Tom O’Dwyer, Barry Lordan,Michael O’Sullivan. Front row: John Touhy, Ciarán Crowe, JoeO’Sullivan.


Ócáidí Nuachta

Teacher indoor soccer tournament


Newsdesk

High standards fromregional winners onBoys’ HandballExhibition DayCumann na mBunscol newse Boys’ Handball Exhibition Day tookplace on Saturday 2 March. is was anon-competitive event with the emphasison participation and fun. e venue thisyear was Kingscourt Handball and Rac-quet Club, Kingscourt, Co Cavan.

Twenty four regional winners, from thefour provinces in Under 11 and Under 1age categories, singles and doubles, par-ticipated in the event. Games wereplayed in a Round Robin format and thestandard throughout the day in both agegroups was very high.

Great credit is due to KingscourtHandball and Racquetball Club who weremost helpful, friendly and hospitable –truly gave service with a smile.

Many thanks also to GAA Handballdevelopment officer, Darragh Daly, whoorganised the whole day at Kingscourtand who saw for himself the great workbeing done to promote handball amongprimary school pupils. Each participantwas presented with a provincial t-shirtand a handball.

e referees on the day have to becommended for their time, patience andsupport and most of all for their willing-ness to lend a hand. All participants onthe day demonstrated exemplary behav-iour and sportsmanship, both on and offthe court, and all parents, teachers andmentors should be justifiably proud.

In 2012 the National Parents’ Council –Primary delivered its first summer coursefor teachers on ‘Working with Parents tosupport their children’s learning’.

The NPC received very positive feed-back from the teachers who participatedin the course.

The course introduces participants tothe NPC and explores topics such asparents as partners in education. It alsodiscusses the current research regardingthe involvement of parents in theirchildren’s education. It looks at practicalapproaches for teachers and schools onhow to involve parents in their children’seducation. The final topic is on school selfevaluation with regard to parentalinvolvement.

Review of summer course “My name is Kathleen McKiernan and Iam in my third year as the home school community liaison (HSCL) teacher in HolyRosary PS, Oldcourt, Tallaght. I attendedthe summer course for teachers entitled‘Working with Parents to support theirchildren’s learning” run by the NPC from2 - 6 July 2012.

This was a very informative and enjoy-able week. The course content was veryvaried and interesting, especially the information we were given on the NPC itself, its structures and how it supportsparents and teachers in schools.

While I teach in a school whereparental involvement has always beencentral, I learned much from both the

tutors and the discussions within thegroup. The group, made up mostly ofclassroom teachers, was given veryuseful information and support on howto involve parents in their children’slearning. We explored some of theresearch to back this up and were givenlots of very practical ideas on how toimplement it.

The course succeeded in doing ‘whatit says on the tin’ and was very useful forboth classroom and HSCL teachers.”

The NPC are intending to run the summer courseagain this year from Monday 1 July to Friday 5July. For information please contact DeirdreSullivan, Training and Development Officer [email protected] or directly on 01-8874481.

Working with parents: NPC summer course


Ócáidí Nuachta

e Yellow Flag is currently recruiting newschools to participate in its programme to startSeptember 201. It is a practical school basedprogramme, which provides a framework to de-velop a school environmentwhere every child is valued andincluded and unfair racist bully-ing and discrimination is chal-lenged.

e programme, which worksthrough an eight practical stepmodel allowing schools to applythose steps to the day to day run-ning of the school, is a practicalscheme with an award incentive. On comple-tion of the eight steps and external assessment,the school is awarded its Yellow Flag at a ceremony of celebration involving students,teachers and education stakeholders.

e eight steps are:1. Intercultural and anti-racism training for staff

and management.2. Going beyond the school’s walls: Engaging with

the community.. Establishing a diversity committee.. Conducting an intercultural review.. Formulating an action plan for a

diverse school.6. Monitoring and evaluation and

information dissemination.. Curriculum work.8. Production of a diversity code and

anti-racist policy for the school.

Application forms and criteria informationare available on the Yellow Flag websitewww.yellowflag.ie.

e deadline for this round is 1 May 201.

Think Ahead is an initiative toguide members of the public indiscussing and recording theirpreferences around end of life.

Think Ahead was developed by theForum on End of Life in Ireland –an initiative of the Irish HospiceFoundation (IHF) – following ayear long public consultationprocess on issues surroundingdeath, dying and bereavement.The project involves peoplethinking about and recordingtheir preferences in the event ofan emergency, serious illness ordeath, when they may be unableto speak for themselves.

Think Ahead will engage allmembers of the public – youngand old, those who are healthyand those living with illness.Ideally, this is something that wewould do while healthy and thengo on with living our lives,revisiting our preferences over theyears to make sure that theycontinue to express our currentwishes.

In addition to enabling people toexpress their care preferences, theThink Ahead form will also allowpeople to record the location ofkey legal and financial documentsand approve the donation of theirorgans and a hospital post-mortem in the event of theirdeath. The Think Ahead form anduseful guidance and resources areavailable on the Think Aheadwebsite www.thinkahead.ie

The Irish Pharmacy Union andCitizens Information Board arepartner organisations and theproject is also supported by theLaw Reform Commission.

For more information seewww.thinkahead.ie or contactSarah Murphy: 01 679 3188.

Yellow Flag Diversity Programme

A new series of English workbooks designed totarget the key areas of literacy has been pub-lished by Prim-Ed. Each unit of each book pro-vides discrete activities in speaking and listen-ing, reading, comprehension, vocabulary devel-opment, spelling, grammar, writing, and edit-ing. e focus of each book is on units of workbuilt around a specific genre of writing.

Each book contains ten units of work, com-posed of two units each on the genres of proce-dural, recount, expositional, narrative and re-port writing. Each unit begins with a passagewritten in the specific genre and, after readingthis piece, children are guided in analysing anddiscussing the format and structure of thegenre. An expectation on using accurate vocab-ulary is emphasised from the beginning. Chil-dren then apply this knowledge while examin-ing the particular writing piece provided at thestart of the unit. Arising from this writing pieceand its theme, there are activities on speakingand listening at both class and partner level.Reading comprehension questions are based onensuring children can read for information, canread for understanding and can apply theknowledge they have read.

Each unit has specific sections on vocabulary,spelling and grammar activities. e writingproduction section requires children to applytheir knowledge of the genre to write a piece inthis format. Practice is provided in various skillsof writing and specific frameworks/ templatesare provided to guide children. ey then edittheir work, following a specific checklist re-minding them of the importance of self-editing.Finally, each unit has a comprehensive assess-ment of all the content covered in the unit. eunits of work are detailed, interest is sustained

by the variety of activities and the focus on thediscrete literacy elements. e children willhave opportunities to meet another unit on thesame genre later on in the book to revise, con-solidate and reinforce their knowledge of thegenre.

Each book is accompanied by a teacher manual which contains answers for all questions.is guide has added elements to supplementthe children’s books. A very useful scope-and-sequence chart shows the exact topics/conceptscovered. Integrative activities and cross-curric-ular activities are provided for integrating sci-ence, mathematics, the arts, SPHE and SESE. Aclass evaluation record can be found in eachguide. A wide range of photocopiable templatesinclude outline frameworks for each of the fivewriting formats, speaking and listening activi-ties and games, templates for vocabulary exten-sion and useful graphic organisers. ese helpchildren make connections between literacy elements, develop more complex thinking skillsand use visual representations to help memory.

Each Workbooks costs €6.. Visitwww.prim-ed.com for more information.

New English Workbook series from Prim-Ed

e theme on Friday afternoon was mentalhealth and teaching. e first speakerwas Sorcha Lowry of See Change, anorganisation that works to combat thestigma attached to mental healthdifficulties. She looked at what thedefinition of mental health was and howthe stigma manifests itself in relation topeople with mental health difficulties.She also outlined ways to recognise ifcolleagues were experiencing mental healthdifficulties and how support can beoffered by both principal teachers andcolleagues in the work situation.

is presentation was followed by JohnConaghan, Customer RelationshipManager with Carecall which providesthe Employee Assistance Service forteachers. e talk was entitled ‘Strengthand Resilience in the Workplace’ andoutlined how attitudes and goodemotional resilience is beneficial forschools and for staff. He then went on tooutline the services provided to teachersby Carecall. In closing, he spoke of thecontext in which teachers were seekingsupport from Carecall and how referralsthrough the telephone number arehandled when received.

is presentation was the followed byNora Hamill, Chairperson of INTO EqualityCommittee, who outlined the theme paperwhich had been prepared for the confer-ence on mental health. She spoke on thedefinition of mental health and mental

health difficulties, the legalposition in relation to discrimi-nation and equality for peoplewith mental health difficultiesas well as some practical waysin which colleagues can helpand support others who experience mental healthdifficulties.


Equality ConferenceNews and reports from Equality Conference 2013

Discussions on mental health andreligion in primary schools

Pictured left: Majella NíChonduibh, Equality Ctte andDeirdre O’Connor, EqualityOfficer.Below : Equality Ctte membersNora Hamill, Chairperson,Carmel Browne, District 7 andSarah Bradley, District 5.

The INTO Equality Conference 2013 was held on 8 and 9 March in the Strand Hotel in Limerick. The conference was organised by the INTO Equality Committee and the themes were ‘Mental Health andTeaching’ and ‘Religion and Ethos in Primary Schools’.The conference was opened by Anne Fay, INTO

President 2012/13, who emphasised the importance of the themes in the current context of teaching in Ireland. Deirdre O’Connor, INTO Equality Officer, outlined the context in which the Equality Committeeset about preparing for the conference and how theyhad chosen the themes.

Mental health and te achingAnne Fay, INTOPresident, JohnConaghan,CustomerRelationshipManager, Carecall,and Dr ClaireHayes at theEqualityConference inLimerick

is was followed by a presentationfrom Carmel Browne from the INTOEquality Committee who presented researchwhich had been carried out by the Com-mittee. is research consisted of semistructured interviews with a number ofteachers who had experience of mentalhealth difficulties. e research was pre-sented under themes including how teach-ers became aware that they had a mentalhealth difficulty, their experience of hav-ing a mental health difficulty in a school,including their experience of the supportof their principal teacher and colleagues.

Following this presentation delegateswere allocated into discussion groups.Members of the Equality Committee gavea short presentation on the theme ofmental health and then facilitated a discussion on a number of questions. epresentation summarised some of the issuesfrom the theme paper and the delegateswere then asked to discuss questions in-cluding their own experience of workingwith people with mental health difficulties

and also people’s views in relation to howmental health difficulties were dealt within schools as workplaces.

e final presentation of the eveningwas made by Dr Claire Hayes, Clinical

Director of Aware and the author of abook Stress Relief for Teachers, the CopingTriangle. Dr Hayes’ talk was entitled ‘Becoming aware, a pro-active approachto good mental health for teachers’ andconsisted of two parts 1) becoming awareof mental health difficulties and 2) givingteachers pro-active tips for how to dealwith stress in the workplace. She outlinedpractical strategies including asking for,getting and taking support, as well as using the coping resources that were outlined in her talk.

e discussion groups and presenta-tions were lively and there was a greatbuzz in the conference centre as delegatesdispersed. A small number of delegatesthen attended a one woman show byMarie O’Rourke entitled ‘6 + how theatre changed my life’, in which MsO’Rourke, a former teacher, outlined how her life had been turned around byattending the theatre. is proved to belively and stimulating end to a very interesting day.

Sheila Nunan, General Secretary, briefingdelegates at the Equality Conference.

Above: MarieO’Rourke,presenting her onewoman show‘565+’. Alsopictured is NoelWard, INTODeputy GeneralSecretary andTreasurer, alongwith otherdelegates at theconference.

Right: Delegatesenjoying debate ina discussion group


equality Conference

Thank you

The Equality Committee wishes tothank all those who contributed tothe conference including; l the guest speakers;l those who participated in the

research for the conferencethrough completing the surveyand taking part in interviews;

l Marie O’Rourke; l the staff of the Strand Hotel l Fast Lane AV; andl most of all, delegates who

attended and participated insuch numbers.

Mental health and te aching (continued)

Follow up

e material and presentations from the conference are allavailable on the INTO website under the conference tab.e Equality Committee will consider the outcome of theconference at its next meeting in May and plan for follow up work.

Additional pictures from the conference are available to view on the INTO Flickr library at www.flickr.com/photos/irishnationalteachersorganisation/


equality Conference

Saturday March saw consideration of issues in relation to religion and ethos inteaching at the Equality Conference. esession was opened in the morning by DrFionnula Waldron of St Patrick’s Collegeof Education, Drumcondra. Dr Waldronoutlined a comprehensive response to issues in relation to ethos in schools,pointing to the changing Ireland andchanging demographics of the country as an opportunity to consider issues ofethos in primary schools. She asked whatconstitutes ethos, and placed it in thespace of teachers’ vision of children andalso their own vision of themselves as ethical professionals. She highlighted thatshe believed that schools were uneasyspaces because of potential contradictionswhich exist for teacher, children, parentsand society due to the increased diversityin the system and other factors.

is presentation was followed byBrighid Cahalane, Vice Chair of theEquality Committee, who outlined thetheme paper which had been prepared onthe issues of religion and ethos in primaryschools for the conference. is paperhighlighted the development of patronagein primary schools and how religiousethos had become prevalent in the major-ity of Irish schools. She also highlightedthe changes in society which had resultedin the demands for divesting of schoolsand for more inclusive schools.

Her presentation was followed by DavidO’Sullivan, INTO Official, who presentedthe results of a survey carried out by theEquality Committee on the issues of reli-gion in primary schools. is survey fol-lowed on from a 2002 survey which had

been carried out by the Education Com-mittee. David presented the principalfindings of the research which includedconsideration of teachers’ willingness toteach religion, the time spent on thepreparation on sacraments and the preferred model of patronage in schoolsfrom teachers.

Delegates were also given an opportu-nity to discuss the matters raised in discussion groups, which again were facilitated by members of the EqualityCommittee, who gave a brief outline presentation to the delegates in their discussion groups and then discussed a number of scenarios. e scenarios discussed included a situation where ateacher was in a school that was to be divested. A further scenario discussed was where a teacher felt they had becomeuneasy with the ethos of the school andthe teaching of religion of which theywere not particularly of the faith. Bothquestions provoked lively discussion

which were not conclusive but demon-strated the strength of feeling with whichteachers approach the issue of both religion and ethos in primary schools.

e closing and key note address to theconference was given by Professor JohnCoolahan who acted as Chair of the AdvisoryCommittee in the Forum of Pluralism andPatronage. Professor Coolahan outlinedthe work of the Forum, highlighting in-creased diversity of school patronage as aproblem that requires a solution. He setout the approach taken by the Forum toissues around the divesting of primaryschools and he also gave recommendationswhich had been made by the Forum for allschools in relation to the promotion of in-clusivity at primary level. He noted thatissues about the divesting of schools werea work in progress, but outlined that thiswas a contemporary challenge and a civicresponsibility which needed to be takenon. He recognised the INTO’s role in responding to these changes.

Religion and Ethos

Sheila Nunan,General Secretary,FionnualaWaldron, StPatrick’s College,Anne Fay,President, and ProfJohn Coolahan,Chair of AdvisoryCommittee, Forumof Pluralism andPatronage,pictured at theconference.

Eleanor O’Dwyer, District 11,Equality Committee

Sorcha Lowry,See Change

David O’Sullivan,INTO Official

Tracie Tobin, District 13,Equality Committee

In her speech to INTO Annual Congress thisyear, INTO President Anne Fay rangedacross a wide variety of education and tradeunion issues. She said that her experienceover the course of her year as president hadbeen that, whether in large urban schools orsmall rural schools, whether north or southof the border, there had been a remarkableconsistency in the attitudes, fears and con-cerns expressed by INTO members. She saidthat teachers were anxious and worriedabout the future, about continuing cuts ineducation, and about the quality of the education service. She said there was greatanger at changes to terms and conditionsthat focus on saving money and not onmaking the education system better. Shesaid the government refuses to make bankspay for the crisis they caused, fails to get thewealthy to pay their fair share, and won’t address the serious issue of an equitabletaxation system.

On curricular issues, Anne said she welcomed the development of a new language curriculum for infants to secondclass, to be completed by autumn of nextyear. She said, however, that a revised lan-guage curriculum can only be implementedin our schools if accompanied by resourcesand teacher professional development.

Moving on to address the issue of bully-ing in schools, she said that schools werecontinually revising and improving anti-

bullying policies. She said, however, that requiring schools to document episodes ofbullying and inform the board of manage-ment, as outlined in the new DES actionplan, will only be worthwhile if schools areprovided with the resources to tackle theissue. This will also mean ensuring smallerclasses in primary schools.

Anne said that one of the welcome developments during the course of herpresidency had been that the INTO had organised three conferences on the rightsand wellbeing of teachers. These were theEducation Conference, broadly focused onwellbeing, a special conference on the issue of assaults on teachers, and the recent Equality Conference, addressing theissue of mental health. She also said that

the overemphasis of a business type accountability in schools is cheating children and young people out of the stimulating experience of being at school.

Addressing the issue of school leader-ship, she said that as a teaching principalherself, she was acutely aware of the con-stant juggling act required when teachinga class, leading teaching and learning in theschool, and managing a school. She saidnew roles and responsibilities are constantlybeing demanded of the teaching principal,as well as the administrative principal, withno additional resources. She said this situa-tion could not continue, as it was leading toa burn out of good school leaders.

In relation to Northern Ireland, she saidshe wanted to pay special tribute to ourmembers in the North. She said they hadsuffered a net pay cut in the last few yearsof between ten and fifteen percent, as wellas drastic changes to conditions. She saidshe wanted the Department to recognisethat schools for many communities are thehub around which other activities takeplace.

In conclusion, Anne said she was proud tobe a public servant, proud to be a teacherand proud to be a member of the INTO.

She said she wanted the work done during congress and after congress tostrengthen and invigorate the union, so asto face the many challenges that lie ahead.

Annual Congress 2013News and reports from Congress 2013

Proud to be a public servant

For more indepth coverage of Congress 2013, including full text of speeches, photographs and videos, please see https://www.into.ie/ROI/NewsEvents/Conferences/AnnualCongress/AnnualCongress2013/or click on the YouTube or Flickr icons on the main INTO webpage

Derry departsA special tribute was paid at Congress to Derry Keogh, chair-person of the INTO Standing Orders Committee (SOC), whicharranges the order of debate at Congress. Derry is a memberof Midleton branch, and has served on the SOC, both as secre-tary and chairperson, for a number of years. INTO PresidentAnne fay paid tribute to Derry’s hardworking and efficientmanner in dealing with the variety of demands which aremade at annual congress each year.

Cork women’s football teamOne of the highlights of Congress this year wasthe reception given to INTO members of the All-Ireland Cork women’s football team, who arecoached by Eamonn Ryan, a former principalfrom Cork. Three members of the team, whobetween them have 16 All-Ireland medals, wereapplauded at Congress when they brought theBrendan Martin Cup. (See photo on page 39)


In her response to the ministers’ speeches,INTO General Secretary Sheila Nunan saidthat if a nation’s greatness depends upon theeducation of its people, then the educationsystem depends on the quality of its teachers.She said that Ireland is lucky that it hasquality teachers who turn below average investment into above average outcomesfor children every day. She said, however,that she was calling for this to be recognisedby returning the voice of the primary teacherto the heart of education policy making.

Sheila said that teachers are looking at asystem that is crashing about them, devas-tated by the wrecking ball of austerity. Shealso said that the Department of Educationand Skills seems to have taken an authori-tarian approach which has come at a heavyprice. is has led to the marginalisationand alienation of honest, decent, hard-working teachers and the emergence of initiative fatigue. Sheila said that constantchange by hyper active policy makers is demoralising a dedicated, professionalteaching force. She also said that an everincreasing workload coupled with dimin-ishing resources is leading to a build up ofresentment, despair and anger. Sheila saidthat we must have a vision that looks atwhere the primary system is right now and,more importantly, where it needs to go.

Moving on she said, in relation to newly

qualified teachers, that we are training toomany teachers at present. She said Govern-ment policies are contributing to a lost gen-eration of young people, wasting the talentof today and storing up problems for thefuture. She called for a guarantee for everyteacher of a job for a year. She said thisshould be a real job, not unpaid or a lowpaid placement dressed up as an internship.

On promotions she said that we need tolook at rebuilding a career structure forteachers. She said that school leadership isfast becoming an undoable job. She alsosaid that if the inspection system is to deliver for children then the teachers haveto be supported, valued and respected. Shesaid that comments about teacher profes-

sionalism ring hollow against tick box sur-veys, drive by evaluations and bullet pointsummary reports. Sheila also addressed issues including the operation of boards ofmanagement, funding for education andthe abolition of maintenance grants forschools. She said that pluralism and diver-sity and patronage won’t alter large classesand under-funded schools. She said expen-diture per student in Ireland is below theOECD average, that Irish class sizes areamong the highest in the OECD and therehas been a 1% cut in teaching for childrenwith special needs. Sheila said the Govern-ment need to remember that education isnot just a cost but an investment and thatfinancial management training for princi-pals won’t make Government spending ofless than one euro per day per child stretchany further.

In conclusion, she said that attacks onPublic Sector pay levels, forcing living stan-dards down, was stagnating the economyeven further. She said that working togetherfor the good of ourselves and the good ofour schools was a key belief of the INTO.She also called for a country where everyonegets a fair deal, and everyone pays their fairshare. Sheila received sustained applausein a standing ovation after the delivery ofher address. It is available on the INTOwebsite under the Congress 201 button.

Focusing on the primary agendaIn his address to INTO Annual Congress 2013,Minister for Education and Skills RuairíQuinn focussed on issues related to primaryeducation and changes currently underway.

The Minister first touched briefly on theLRC proposals for an extension of the CrokePark Agreement, saying that he was awarethat the proposals were very challengingfor INTO members. He also said that organi-sations who had no role to play in industrialrelations had unhelpfully sought to under-mine the role played by trade unions. Hesaid, however, that as a member of Govern-ment, he would commend the proposals.

Moving on, the Minister acknowledgedthere were concerns that too much wasbeing asked of the system at present buthe said “we must find the right balance between transformative change and theretention of the best of the present system”.In a wide ranging speech the ministerspoke about literacy and numeracy and theresults of recent international tests. He alsosaid that the implementation of the literacyand numeracy strategy has been encour-aging to date. Moving on to school selfevaluation he said he believed its introduc-

tion would allow for the development of a shared focus on improvement. He alsosaid it will increase both the atonomy andaccountability of principals, teachers andboards of managements. He said it wouldbring about considerable change in theculture of schools.

Speaking on the issue of teacher unem-ployment he said there are still too manyunqualified and retired teachers working inprimary schools. He also said that INTOmembers who are principals must do more

to ensure that giving preference to newlyqualified teachers is put into practice atschool level. He also announced that Sec-tion 30 of the Teaching Council Act, whichrequires all teachers to be registered withthe Council, will be enacted from 1 Novem-ber 2013. The minister also confirmed thatSection 37(1) of the Employment EqualityAct would be amended to ensure thatLGBT people would not be deterred fromemployment. He also acknowledged thatthe INTO was the first group to call for theestablishment of a forum on school patron-age and that he wanted further movementin this area. The minister also spoke aboutthe recently launched action plan on bully-ing. He thanked the INTO for the construc-tive manner in which they had engagedwith the development of the action plan. Inconclusion, the minister announced thatthere would be a ministerial policy debateat the EU Council of Ministers in May underthe Irish Presidency. He also said that oneof the guest speakers would be ChristineBlower, Head of the European Trade UnionCommittee for Education and thanked theINTO for their role.

Strong response by General Secretary


INTO Congress 2013

Joanne GriffinMidleton Branch

As it was on my ‘wish list’ for the past few years to at-tend Congress, I was delighted when the opportunitypresented itself this year. To be honest, it was curios-ity as much as anything else, as I was keen to discoverfirst hand what exactly goes on during those threedays after Easter.

e whole experience certainly lived up to my ex-pectations. First and foremost, I believe that Congressthis year in particular, was a heated and emotive affair.Delegates from every corner of the country expressedtheir views vociferously on current pressing matterssuch as the Croke Park II proposals, cutbacks to SENpupils, workload of principals, performance manage-ment and changes to sick leave to name but a few.Two emergency motions were passed, which demon-strated the democratic workings of the Organisation.e Midleton branch also had a motion passed whichwas a source ofgreat pride to ourdelegates.

In conclusion, Iwould recommendCongress as aworthwhile experi-ence. It gave me agreater perspectiveand insight into theINTO as a profes-sional organisationand union as well asthe present issuesconcerning primaryeducation in 201.

Sheila MurphyTallaght Branch

Although I have always followed theevents of the INTO closely, this year wasthe first year I became really engagedwith the union. Having being spurred onby all the changes in recent years I decid-ed to join branch committee back in Sep-tember and put my name forward forCongress. I have to say I’m delighted I did.

Colleagues had assured me it was agreat way of meeting people and shar-ing ideas but I was still a bit scepticalabout giving up three days of my holi-days to sit in a hall and listen. I couldn’thave been more wrong.

From the get go the debate was livelyand meaningful. People weren’t afraidto get up and discuss the real issues thatwere affecting the union members, evenif they disagreed over how to solvethem. It made me aware of the diversityof problems facing schools around thecountry and how we all need to rally be-hind each other to deal with the issues athand. The enthusiasm with which dele-gates spoke about SEN, small schools,NQTs and of course the LRC agreementwas inspiring. Congress really showedme how the general members can influ-ence the future of the union and the di-rection it takes.

A personal highlight for me was the

empowering and rousing speech that ourgeneral secretary, Sheila Nunan, gave inresponse to Minister Quinn’s speech onthe Tuesday morning. She spoke withpassion and fiercely defended her mem-bers, leaving Minister Quinn under no il-lusions that teachers were going to be aneasy target.

Of course, there was also the socialside of Congress which was just as livelyas the debates! Each evening delegatesgot together to enjoy some down timeand it was great to see that colleagueswho were adversaries on the podiumcould laugh and joke together in the barafterwards.

I look forward to attending Congressnext year and would encourage every-body to come along and get involved!


INTO Congress 2013

New delegates at CongressDonna McNultyNavan Branch

As INTO rep for Yellow Furze NS in Beauparc, Navan,Co Meath, I put my name forward to attend Con-gress for the first time. Congress 2013 will probablybe remembered and may be summed up in onephrase: Croke Park II. Animated, impassioned andspirited are some words that could beused to describe this conference. how-ever, I would choose to describe it as in-formative, thought-provoking and in-teresting.

Over the three days I listened tomany opinions, motions and heartfeltstories of teachers and their views’from all around the island of Ireland,both north and south of the border.

Many other teachers will probablyask “What happened at Congress?”,“What was discussed?” The heated de-bates, the motions, the camaraderieand of course, the sociable chats after-wards, are all things that I will remem-ber from my first Congress! I have

learned many new things, met many interestingpeople and hopefully I will be back next year.

Ruairí Quinn might have been shown the redcard at Congress 2013, but don’t give the idea of go-ing to an INTO Congress the red card until you haveexperienced it. It’s an event I would recommend forevery teacher to attend at least once in their ca-reer. Sign up for Congress 2014 and come and seefor yourself!

Ciara CooteNavan Branch

This was my first year attending Congressand what a year to start! I gained a wealthof knowledge and experience over thethree days of Congress from enthusiasticINTO activists. I have been given a great in-

sight into the role of our tradeunion in the teaching professionand the hard work they are doing.

Many interesting debatestook place over the durationof Congress. Many were passion-ate, some heated, humorous,but most of all very informative. Iam looking forward to sharingthe various motions that werediscussed and the varied opin-ion in regard to the upcomingCroke Park ballot with my col-leagues. I will also try to instil thesame enthusiasm I witnessedhere at Congress amongst mystaff.

New INTO delegates Donna McNulty and Ciara Cootepictured at Annual Congress 2013


INTO Congress 2013

Congress inpictures

View more photos fromcongress onwww.flickr.com/photos/irishnationalteachersor-ganisation/


INTO Congress 2013


INTO Congress 2013

Economic crisis and taxationCongress:a. notes that;

(i) since the beginning of the current economic crisis, teachers and the education system havepaid a heavy price for the recklessness ofbankers, developers and their political allies;

(ii) adjustments in the public finances have beenweighted towards spending cuts rather than towards revenue raising;

(iii) general Government Revenue as a percentageof GDP in Ireland is significantly below the EU 27average;

b. recognises that progressive taxation measures, onincome and wealth, have the capacity to make a significant contribution to fiscal adjustment andshould do so;

c. demands that the government focuses more on revenue raising than on the cutting of public servicesin making fiscal adjustments;

d. endorses a range of measures on taxation, includingthose which follow, as contained in the ICTU Pre-Budget Submission 2013:(i) a new top rate of income tax of 48% for individual

incomes of over €100,000, or a correspondingincrease in USC for such individuals;

(ii) an increase in the minimum income tax payableby high earners (over €100,000) to 35%;

(iii) a reduction in the number of days for tax residency in respect of tax exiles/tax fugitives to90 days;

(iv) a 1% wealth tax;(v) a fair and progressive property tax;(vi) a greater contribution from profitable

corporations; and(vii) the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax

as already agreed in 10 EU countries.

Funding of primary educationCongress: a. reminds the Minister for education and Skills that Article 42.2 of

the Constitution states that “The State shall provide for free primary education”;

b. deplores the totally inadequate level of state funding of primaryeducation and the fact that many national schools find themselvesrunning up overdrafts in order to maintain minimum standardswithin their schools;

c. condemns the government decision:(i) to reduce the school capitation grant;(ii) to abolish the summer works scheme and the annual minor

works grant;d. instructs the CeC to:

(i) pursue all measures to secure the reversal of these cuts;(ii) demand the payment of ICT grants to all schools in order

to protect the investment made by the DeS in schools’ technological infrastructures.

School leadershipCongress, recognising the impact on the working lifeof school leaders of continuing cut backs in public expenditure and increasing bureaucratic demands onschools:a. demands that principal release days for teaching

principals be increased to one day per school week;b. condemns the non-payment of the minor works grant

to schools and calls for its immediate reinstatement;c. notes the unfair and disproportionate manner in

which the moratorium on promotion is impactingon some schools and calls for a negotiated alleviationto the moratorium for all schools;

d. calls for payment of the award for principal anddeputy principal teachers recommended by the second Benchmarking Body;

e. demands that any changes as part of any new CrokePark deal shall not increase the workload of principalteachers;

f. seeks a 12.5% increase in the ancillary grant forschools to provide the necessary support services toschools; and

g. demands that additional responsibility shall not beimposed on any school leader due to changes inVAT and RCT requirements on schools.

Small schools Congress: a. notes the absence of progress made by the CeC in relation to

implementing the objectives of the INTO with respect to smallschools, as agreed at the Special Congress on Small Schools, June 2012;

b. condemns the pressure that is being exerted on rural schools bythe revised staffing schedule;

c. demands that the staffing schedule be immediately revised withparticular reference to the protection of small schools and condemns retrospective changes to the schedule;

d. instructs the CeC to rigorously follow through on the task force/Special Congress recommendations to protect and support smallschools.

Combining resource hoursCongress demands that schools be allowed to com-bine, where appropriate, resource teaching hours,learning support hours and principal release days tocreate viable teaching posts of 25 hours.

Maternity/adoptive leaveCongress:a. notes the changes to maternity leave and adoptive leave in lieu

for teachers and SNAs as announced in budget 2013;b. condemns the budgetary changes to the maternity/adoptive leave

entitlements for teachers and the taxing of maternity benefit;c. calls on the CeC to:(i) investigate all legal avenue to challenge these changes;(ii) initiate an immediate campaign to reverse these changes.

Resolutions adopted in public session

New entrants’ payCongress:a. re-iterates the resolution passed

at Congress 2011 for a campaignto ensure that new entrants tothe teaching profession aretreated equally to other teachersin areas of pay parity, pensionparity, security of tenure and equal employmentconditions;

b. instructs the CEC to:; (i) ensure that in any future negotiations all current

and future teachers’ pay and conditions are protected;

(ii) immediately negotiate upward equalisation ofpay and conditions for those who have been appointed to teaching since 1st January 2011.

Special education provisionCongress:a. deplores cuts to SeN provision, including:

(i) the reduction of resource teaching hours by 15%;(ii) the very long delays in allocating resource teaching hours

after diagnosis;(iii) the recent NCSe announcement that newly diagnosed SeN

must now be addressed within existing resource hours untilthe following academic year;

(iv) the DeS expectation that diagnosed SeN can be catered forfrom within the school’s current resource teaching hours allocation;

b. instructs the CeC to vigorously negotiate with DeS and NCSe to ensure that where special education needs have been diagnosed,that resource teaching hours must be sanctioned within oneschool term.

Teacher unemploymentCongress acknowledging the employment crisis facing many members and potential members, instructs the CEC to negotiate with the DES to: a. immediately create employment opportunities for

non-permanent teachers (NPTs) by:(i) allowing permanent teachers to jobshare with NPTs;

(ii) extending current jobshare opportunities toprincipal and deputy principal teachers;

(iii) facilitating career breaks of less than one year’sduration;

b. allow NPTs to complete their probationary period injobshare positions.

School self evaluation Congress:a. notes with grave concern the business model approach to school

self-evaluation;b. demands that school self-evaluation:

(i) focus on teaching and learning rather than excessive paperwork; (ii) not increase the workload of teachers or principal teachers;(iii) not be dominated by the outcomes of standardised assess-

ments but maintain a balanced approach to pupil assessmentwhich supports the broad curriculum;

(iv) be accompanied by increased resources to underpin teachersupport for the national literacy and numeracy strategy.

AmalgamationCongress demands:a. that the CEC immediately initiate a review of

INTO/CPSMA/DES amalgamation of schools policy.This review to be in line with the recommendationsof the INTO Task Force on Small Schools Report andinclude, in particular, increased clarity regarding: (i) who initiates and leads the process;(ii) at what stage the process would automatically

commence in the case of a small school with anirreversible decline in pupil numbers;

(iii) the establishment of a range of incentiveswhere it is the preference of small schools toamalgamate.


INTO Congress 2013

‘Planning, teamwork, timetables and targets’. Nothese are not actually buzzwords attached to thenew SSE guidelines but are the various requirementsthat are involved when attending INTO annual congress with three children.

My wife Mary and I were fortunate and gratefulto be chosen as branch delegates for Tullamore andBirr/ Banagher respectfully. Being active at branchlevel and intensely interested (and concerned!) atdevelopments in our pay and working conditionsmeant the Crofton family uprooted on masse to Cork.

The INTO realise that taking children to Congressis the only option for some delegates to attend andso they have excellent arrangements in place. Emailsaplenty arrived to my home with the arrangementsfor the páistí from Cara in Head Office. Junior crèchewas upstairs in the hotel for little Harry aged 11 monthsand an Easter camp at Scoil Mhuire Banrion for Ciaraaged 5 and Alison aged 6. The Easter camp also sup-plied an activities timetable which was discussedand read excitedly in great anticipation – great lit-eracy and numeracy work included Minister Quinn!

After all the MAMMOTH packing and the trip down,it was fantastic to sign the kids into crèche/camp

and get stuck into congress business on day one.Little Harry took a bit of settling but that’s alwaysthe way with new situations and he’s much the bet-ter for the experience. A description of the eveningwould be one word with capital B – Busy! Collectchildren at eight after Congress finishes, check-in hotel,room service dinner – yum!, unpack, and sort bottles.

This is the pattern of how Congress continues forthe three days. That is until the phone rings! “HiNiall, this is Miriam from the Easter Camp, Ciara hashad a bit of an accident”. Poor thing had fallen in agame and had the souvenirs of a large bump on her

forehead, a cut and swollen lip and possible dam-aged front teeth – and all on the day of her fifthbirthday! The camp staff were fantastic in the waythey cared and looked after poor Ciara. We collectedher and were so lucky to get an immediate dentistappointment in Douglas with a Dr Clune. He was agenuinely lovely man with a lovely manner to ascared and worried five year old girl. Diagnosis –teeth wobbly, hopefully nothing major and thankGod for baby teeth! Have to mention that he wouldnot accept a penny from us and told us to enjoy theconference and Cork during our stay. It remindedme of the goodwill that principals and teachers giveon a daily basis. All real citizens of this country Minister!

The rest of Congress was thankfully calm from ourfamily point of view and managed to meet up withfellow delegates for a mineral or two at the Springsbar that night too. Sincere thanks to all involvedwith childcare and to the local organising commit-tee. I hope that this article shows to those interest-ed that attending congress with kids can be doneand can be a rewarding experience for all the family.

Niall Crofton, Birr/Banagher Branch.


INTO Congress 2013

Surviving Congress 2013 ... with kids!

I decided to attend some of the public ses-sion of Congress to see what further infor-mation I could get on the Croke Park IIAgreement as I was still quite undecided asto how I should vote after attend-ing the information night in Clon-mel. I was also going to use thisas a chance to catch up friendsfrom college and perhaps belucky enough to do a bit of net-working on the jobs front, as thematernity leave I had been luckyenough to secure is coming to anend. Also I grew up in a housewhere INTO matters mattered!

Initially I was overwhelmed bythe number of teachers who gaveup three days of their holidays to attendCongress. I was expecting that teacherswould be quite fired up over the proposedcuts coming down the line. Unfortunately,as I was a non-delegate, I couldn’t attendthe private sessions where Croke Park II wasbeing discussed. I didn’t get to witness the

full extent of people’s frustration and angerand I didn’t get the clarification I was seek-ing with regard to casting my own vote.

While I was expecting people to be pas-sionate about their pay and condi-tions, I was surprised at the depthof passion people were expressingover the issues that were affectingnot just themselves but the chil-dren they taught. For example,the cuts to resource hours, the in-crease in class size in small schoolsand the cuts to substitution cover.I was also taken back by the ragethat was expressed over the loss ofthe Minor Works Grant, which wasan issue that I didn’t realise had

such a knock on effect in schools.I was heartened by how supportive the

INTO were over the plight of NQTs. In fact,the issues pertaining to NQTs were spokenabout on a number of occasions, and thewhole union from the general secretary tothe ordinary member is in support of

equalisation of pay scales and securingpermanent job for NQTs. (It was good tohear 450 jobs were coming on stream forSeptember). After my experience of Con-gress I do think it would be worthwhile forall NQTs to join the union and attend theirlocal branch meetings to keep informedand, together with other members, securea better future for all teachers, as it is asmuch their responsibility to fight for equal-isation as it is for existing members.

Congress isn’t just about union matters.There was a trade exhibition, where I man-aged to get some free samples of bookswhich will hopefully be useful if and when Isecure future employment! However, I didn’t manage to win any of the greatprizes on offer like iPads, Kindles, weekendsaway etc. There is a social side to Congresswhich was very enjoyable – I met friendsfrom college and there were lots of mat-ters which had to be discussed at the bar!

Sinead Ryan

Education and teachers go hand in handI attended my second congress with nodoubt of the words that would be on thelips of every delegate. I knew the pro-ceedings would be framed by the govern-ment’s intention to cut the Public Sectorpay bill by €1 billion. this was certain tocause debate, anger and opinions ex-pressed on a national basis. large andsmall schools were represented, Principals,more experienced and newer teachershad their voices heard.

this debate was had, the anger andopinions were expressed, and I left corkglad it had turned out like that. In mymind, this important opportunity couldnot pass without real debate on the issue

of the croke Park Agreement. Althoughan opinion not popular withmedia commentary, I waspleased to see that delegatesdid not sit quietly for the Minis-ter for education and Skills. Itwas clear to me from viewingthe timing of the reactions, thatdelegates were for protectingeducation and teachers alike.

Furthermore, I was strength-ened by the general Secretary’sreply to the Minister. It was a truereflection of the floor to the finalsyllable. Although some media outletsomitted details, the general Secretary

could have only been left with a feelingthat, if making the same state-ments again, she would have themembership supporting her.

Despite the issue of publicsector negotiations, I took greatvalue from the fact that mo-tions were still passed on key is-sues. Delegates were there toprotect education, not justthemselves alone. unity wasclear, unity with colleagues,and unity in protection of theeducation system.

TJ Clare, District 14.

is year’s INTO congress was the first I have attend-ed in my teaching career and I was delighted to be in-vited by the Limerick City Branch.

Overall it was a positive experience and I felt verywelcome by all. As an unemployed NQT I found itinsightful and very informative. When it all ended Ifelt motivated and knowledgeable enough to gohome and inform other NQTs of what I learned.

e heated debates were the highlight of the con-gress; I think there should be more of these with lessrepetition. Listening to speeches in lecture formweren’t as effective as receiving information in the

debates where you heard diverse views. I was happy to see there was huge support for the

NQTs of Ireland. It was fantastic to see teachers of allages on many different pay scales worried and willingto fight for the future of NQTs teaching in Ireland.

It was comforting to know you’re a part of such aunited front. I would recommend other young teach-ers to go at least once in their life. I learned more inthose three days than I ever could from magazines ormeetings. It was a fantastic, worthwhile experience.

Christabel Lenihan, Limerick City Branch.

A non-delegate’s experience of Congress

Motivated by Congress


INTO Congress 2013

Unions deserve more respectBut surely the political elite could show these unionmembers a bit of respect and actually address theirfears and their concerns? Instead, in the case of theteachers’ conferences, Education Minister RuairíQuinn breezed into Cork, Wexford and galway thisweek with his posse of advisors to deliver threeprewritten speeches. This format does not workand the evidence is there that it is breeding con-tempt among the union members…Irish Daily Star – April 201

Miriam Donohoe: If we want the bestteachers then we'd better start show-ing respectIt is quite a while since my schooldays,but I still look back fondly on some of theteachers I was lucky enough to crosspaths with. In primary school, Sr Camillusstands out. She was a tough, oldfashionednun who ruled with an ‘iron fist’, but whowas a terrific teacher with a big heart.

Irish Independent – April 201

Primary teachers vote to form alliances ahead of any pay cutsPrimary teachers have voted overwhelm-ingly to form an alliance with other publicservice unions in anticipation of the gov-ernment legislating for pay cuts if the tradeunion movement rejects the Croke Park IIdeal. Delegates at the Irish National Teach-ers’ Organisation’s (INTO) 145th AnnualCongress in Cork voted in favour of a com-promise motion instructing the union'scentral executive committee to begin talksimmediately with the leadership of otherpublic service unions....

e Irish Times – April 201

Anti woman maternity leave cutscould face legal challengeTracie Tobin from Limerick told the Irish NationalTeachers’ Organisation Annual Congress that ma-ternity leave has regressed, having benefited fromincreases in statutory maternity leave from 18 to 26weeks between the births of her twins in 2004 andher fourth child in 2011

Irish Examiner – April 201

It wasn't a happy birthday for MinisterQuinn at the teachers’ conferencese INTO general secretary concluded bysaying the Department’s “hyper activepolicy makers” are contributing to a “lostgeneration” of young people by creatingfew opportunities for newly qualifiedteachers. She called on the minister to“leave teachers’ pensions alone” and per-suade the government to introduce a fair-er and more equitable taxation system...

Evening Echo – April 201

Teachers in vote to save small schoolsPrimary teachers have unanimously voted to pro-tect small schools as emotions ran high over the ef-fects that cuts are having. Two, three and fourteacher schools have been hit by an increase intheir pupil thresholds, meaning they must havegreater numbers of children to keep their staff.Teachers have accused Ruairí Quinn of manipulat-ing pupil teacher ratios to eradicate smallerschools, which they claim are vital to the social fab-ric of rural communities… general Secretary SheilaNunan yesterday said the leaking of some of thedetails in the report was ‘regrettable’ and said all ithas done is created fear among parents, studentsand teachers in isolated areas...

Irish Daily Mail – April 201

Taking the knife to education sells thenext generation says teaching unionINTO general secretary Sheila Nunan hastold Education Minister Ruairí Quinn that“taking the knife to education sells thenext generation short” at the teachingunion’s annual conference in Cork. Shealso said that a world class economy and afairer, more equal society can only bebuilt with a top-class education....

Irish Examiner – 2 April 201

Minister for Education urged to publish report on future of primaryschoolsMinister for Education Ruairí Quinn waschallenged by Irish National Teachers’ Organisation president Anne Fay to pub-lish a report commissioned on primary

schools amid growing fears that more than 1,000 schools with under 80 pupils or three teachers or fewer may face closure.

e Irish Times – 2 April 201

INTO anger over selective leaks byState as fear growsA major teachers’ union has hit out at “selective leaks” by Government amidmounting fears over the long-term futureof 1,000 small rural schools.

Irish Independent – 2 April 201

Furious teachers threaten to walk outon ministerINTO president Anne Fay said public servants arebattling a government that is making citizens bearthe cost of a crash caused by those who are nowbeing absolved through bankruptcy, both here andabroad. “The government refuses to make thebanks pay for the crisis they caused, fails to get thewealthy to pay their fair share, and won’t addressthe serious issue of fair taxation,” said Ms Fay.

Irish Examiner – 2 April 201

Schools caned for banks’ sinsINTO president Anne Fay told more than800 teachers at their annual conference atthe Silver Springs Moran Hotel in Corkyesterday that she shared their anger overeducation cutbacks.

Irish Sun – 2 April 201

Teachers’ pay for banking failuresFurious teachers yesterday hit out atthe government for targeting themwhile letting fatcat bankers walk away scot free.

Irish Daily Mirror – 2 April 201

teachers accuse government of breaking election promisesTeachers angered over education cutshave accused the government of breakingelection promises. Anne Fay, President ofthe Irish National Teachers' Organisation,told delegates schools were experiencingthe tightest squeeze for decades...

e Irish Times – 1 April 201

Drivetime – RTE Radio 1 – 1 April 201.Interview with Sheila Nunan on INTOCongress.

News at One – RTE Radio 1 – 1 April201. Interview with Noel Ward.

Lunchtime Show – Newstalk – 2 April201. Minister Ruairí Quinn commentsat INTO conference and Sheila Nunandiscusses conference.

Today with Pat Kenny – RTE Radio 1 –2 April 201. Feature on the issues facingteachers. Interview: Brendan O’Sullivan.

e Right Hook – Newstalk – 2 April 201INTO conference – Interview withNoel Ward.

Coleman at Large – Newstalk –2 April 201. Interview with Peter Mullan (INTO).

e Last Word – Today FM – 2 April 201.Sheila Nunan (INTO) discusses INTOCongress.

Morning Ireland – RTE Radio 1 – April201. e INTO is to challenge theminister's proposals on maternity leave.

Today with Pat Kenny – RTE Radio 1 – April 201. Interview with SheilaNunan

INTO Congress in the Media


INTO Congress 2013

Congress in the Papers

Congress on the Airwaves


Northern NewsNews from the world of education and trade unionism in Northern Ireland

Northern Conference 2013e INTO’s annual Northern Conferencewas held this year in Derry City on Friday,1 and Saturday, 2 March 201. e confer-ence was well attended by delegates fromall parts of the North, across all schoollevels and sectors. e conference washeld over two days in the City Hotel.

Guests to the conference includedchurch leaders, representatives of the employers, political parties and otherteacher unions. e conference providedan opportunity for teachers and other educational stakeholders to discuss anddebate the successes and challenges thatface the education system.

On Friday morning, the Education Minister John O’Dowd, addressed the con-ference. Minister O’Dowd spoke about thehigh quality of the teaching workforce andthe ongoing concerns about educationalunderachievement. e minister updateddelegates on the engagement between theINTO and the Department of Educationto address issues such as assessment, aschool closures agreement and refreshingthe teaching workforce.

Delegates and guests at the conferencealso heard speeches from Anne Fay, Presi-dent 2012/1, Mary Dorman, Chair, andGerry Murphy, Northern Secretary. eyinformed guests and delegates of the workthe INTO has undertaken on behalf ofmembers since the conference last year inrelation to the issues affecting schools andteachers. e delegates and guests werereminded that teachers work on averagean additional 11 unpaid hours each week.e northern secretary highlighted howthe workload agreement (TNC 2011/8)which has been designed to tackle exces-sive workloads and to protect membersfrom unreasonable requests.

Delegates debated and discussed howthe INTO could work to protect mem-bers’ terms and conditions in the face ofthe ongoing austerity programme. Dele-

gates unanimously condemned the cur-rent assessment procedures as burden-some and not fit for purpose. ey calledfor an end to the unregulated transfer

tests, and mandated the INTO to continueto engage with the DE to secure agreementsto protect members at all stages of theircareers.

Pictured at theNorthernConference wereAnne Fay,President, INTO;John O’Dowd,Minister forEducation,Northern Irelandand GerryMurphy, NorthernSecretary, INTO.

Sheila Nunan, General Secretary, INTO; Anne Fay, President, INTO; Mary Dorman,Chairperson, Northern Committee, Mark McTaggart, Vice Chairperson, NorthernCommittee, and Gerry Murphy, Northern Secretary, at the Northern Conference.

During the conference a presentation wasmade by Bridget Lyons on behalf of globalSchoolroom.

The global Schoolroom project works directly with teachers and communities tobuild a strong framework for high standardsof teacher education in underdevelopedcountries. Once in place, the global School-room programme is designed to be sus-tained by local networks.

Bridget Lyons, a retired teacher from Let-terkenny, spoke about how the programme

supports the training and professional de-velopment of the teaching workforce.

Bridget has worked on a three year programme that has seen teachers from Ire-land travel to North East India. The programmeis always keen to recruit teachers to the scheme.

Anyone wanting more informationshould visit www.globalschoolroom.net.Right: Nichola Pearce, AdelaideInsurance Services, Bridget Lyons,retired teacher; and NualaO’Donnell, Senior Official, INTO

IncomingChair

At the Northern Confer-ence Rita Fox was electedas incoming chair of theINTO Northern Com-mittee. Rita is a teachingprincipal in RecarrsonPrimary School on theoutskirts of Omagh.

Rita has considerableexperience representingmembers and the Organ-isation. Rita has been amember of the WesternEducation and LibraryBoard for ten years.

is is Rita’s secondterm as chair. When Ritaheld the post of chair tenyears ago a significant issue was the new cur-riculum and assessment.is will be very familiarterritory for her. Her experience of governanceand levels of autonomywill be invaluable as ESAis established.

INTO working with UTU

e INTO continues to work closelywith the Ulster Teachers’ Union(UTU). is partnership allows us torepresent teachers in all sectors ofeducation in Northern Ireland.

One area to benefit from this closepartnership working is SEN. Presi-dent of UTU, Diane Nugent, in heraddress to the conference, spokeabout the SEN capacity buildingdocument. She highlighted how thechanges might impact upon teachersin the classroom.

At the Northern Conference: MaryDorman, Southern Area

Representative, INTO; DianeNugent, President, UTU; and JohnDixon, Assistant Secretary, NUT.

Partnership with NUT

John Dixon, Assistant Secretary, National Union ofTeachers (NUT), addressed the conference. He spokeabout the partnership working between INTO, UTU,EIS and NUT. This has allowed facilities to be developedthat allow teachers to transfer trade union member-ship between all parts of Britain and Ireland.

He highlighted the challenges that face teachers inEngland with the growth of academies and the break-down of the central negotiating mechanisms for tradeunions. He contrasted the level of engagement withtrade unions between Michael Gove, Minister for Education in England and John O’Dowd, Minister forEducation Northern Ireland.

He told the conference how the NUT is looking at developing different structures and training pro-grammes to develop participation and strengthen theunion.

Presentation to long serving INTO membersOne of the highlights of the confer-ence was the presentation of INTOpins by Anne Fay, INTO President. INTOpins are presented to long servingmembers in recognition of a lifetimeof service to the Organisation. Thoseawarded pins at the conference wereTerry Pattison, South Armagh, MonaKelly, Rita Fox and Pat Morris, TyroneCentral, John O’hea, Lisburn and PeterMcNulty, Strabane.

Global Schoolroom

Gerry Murphy, Northern Secretary, INTO; JohnDixon, Assistant Secretary, NUT, and Mary

Dorman, Southern Area Representative, INTO.


Nuacht CMÉNortHerN IrelAND NeWS II


INTO NewsNortHerN IrelAND NeWS III

Delegates enjoyingconference

Snapshots from Northern Conference

Magdalena Beldowska, Art Competition winner

Frank Bunting Project Maracyclists.

e Swing Gals

INTO schools’ concerts at the William Kennedy International Piping Festival

Southern Area branches of the INTO,along with Northern Office, have agreedto sponsor a series of schools’ concerts atthe William Kennedy Piping Festival inArmagh this coming November. e festival is run by the Armagh Pipers’ Club,a long established voluntary organisationwhich promotes traditional Irish musicwith a particular focus on the uillean pipes.e club is currently thriving in terms ofmembership, with over 200 active pupilsfrom across every country in the Northand significant numbers from countiesMonaghan, Cavan and Louth, learning andplaying a variety of instruments.

e club will be well known to manyINTO members who have connections tothe club as parents of members, tutors or,indeed, as past members themselves.

e William Kennedy Festival, namedafter the famous Armagh piper and pipemaker, has become internationallyrenowned attracting top musicians fromacross the globe such as Liam O’Flynn,Donal Lunny, Fred Morrison, KarenCasey and Lunasa among many others.

e INTO are, for the first time, spon-soring two days of schools’ concertswhich will reach out to well over 800

pupils and their teachers from a numberof different schools in the southern areaand beyond. e concerts feature variousinternational pipers as well as local uilleanpipers and are an excellent introductionto the rich musical and cultural heritageof south Ulster and beyond for the manypupils who will attend the event.

Speaking on behalf of the WilliamKennedy Festival, Grainne Vallely, FestivalCoordinator said, “We are thrilled to havethe INTO on board to help us reach out

to the pupils from across all sectors of ed-ucation. is sponsorship will allow us tocontinue with our tradition of promotingcultural activity among young people. eINTO’s involvement means we can continue to offer these concerts to hundredsof children over two days in the very difficult current financial climate. ePipers’ Club and the festival organiserswould like to extend their thanks to thevarious branches of INTO, members ofyour union and the Northern Committeefor their sponsorship.”

Cathy Crozier, Northern CommitteePrimary Representative for the ArmaghArea, commented that, “INTO is delightedto be able to contribute to a world classfestival and, in particular, to sponsor anevent which is of direct benefit to schoolsand pupils from across the area. As aunion we are always looking for ways tocontribute to the promotion of learningand culture in schools and beyond andthis is an ideal opportunity to do that.”

The festival runs from 1 to 1 November201 and for those who have not been before it is a great opportunity to hearworld class music and to visit one of Ire-land’s most historic and beautiful cities.

St CIaran’s, Ballygawley to St Ciaran’s, Zambia!

Motorbike fanatic Frank McNelis is prepar-ing for the adventure of a lifetime as heplans to ride from Tyrone to Zambia toraise funds to build community facilitiesfor children and adults in the African shanty town of Mulenga.

The initiative is part of an ongoing venture by pupils and staff from St Ciaran’sCollege, Ballygawley and volunteers fromthe surrounding community, to help underprivileged in the town of 30,000 residents.

Frank will depart on his XT 600 Yahamafrom St Ciaran’s College, Ballygawley, on 22March on a journey that will last abouteight weeks, taking him through 20 coun-tries over approximately 10,000 miles. Atthe same time St Ciaran’s teacher PascalCanavan and 14 A Level students from thecollege will fly out to Zambia. The ‘St Ciaran’sPeregrini’ project began in 2009 and, aftera visit to Zambia, the volunteers chose tohelp the people of Mulenga which is rifewith poverty and social difficulties.

The solo trip will see Frank travel acrossEurope and down through the vast conti-

nent of Africa, from the snow capped Alpsto the heat of the Saharan desert.

Frank will have to inform the authoritieswhen he reaches each country on his rideand, in some, will need an armed guard toescort him through hostile territory. Thereis also the prospect of some very poor roadsurfaces along the way. He is aware of po-tential difficulties and although “a bit nerv-ous” he is “really looking forward” to theepic journey.

Ballygawley teacher, Pascal Canavandescribed the motorcyclist’s plan as“incredible”.

He said, “It is a huge logistical under-

taking and not without risks. It is incrediblewhat Frank is doing. The area is where SMA priest Fr P.J. Gormley from Augher isstationed. Various members of staff, pupilsand others have visited and worked on theproject since 2009, and this, our thirdschool trip, is planned to coincide with theofficial opening of the new nursery school(also called St Ciaran’s). People moved towork in the copper mines in Mulenga inthe 1970s but that work dried up. There is alot of poverty and we have been fundrais-ing and builders have gone out to helpbuild facilities in the locality. It is also awhole education for the students andchanges them in a very positive way.”

Frank will carry out the St Ciaran’s crestfor the new school and will keep all fully informed with an online blog (and twitteraccount) tracking his movement throughthe various countries. Clips of his journeywill also be posted on You Tube.

Anyone who wishes to donate to theSt Ciaran’s Peregrini or for moreinformation, log onto www.justgiving.com/stciaransperegrini


Nuacht CMÉ

NortHerN IrelAND NeWS IV

e National Children’s Choir, CórNáisiúnta na nÓg, was formed in 18 bySeán Creamer, then a music inspectorwith the Department of Education, to celebrate European Music Year.

Seán wanted to celebrate this excitingevent in a unique way – his idea was thatlarge groups of children from th, th or6th classes in primary schools would learnand perform a common repertoire. Heapproached teachers with the idea andthey willingly supported him and the National Children’s Choir began.

Since 18 over 100,000 children haveenjoyed the experience of singing with thechoir. is is a tribute to the dedication andcommitment of teachers all over the coun-try. Seán retired as the musical director ofthe NCC in 200 but the labour of lovewhich he began 2 years ago continues on atwo year rotation and he keeps a close eyeon its progress.

Choosing the repertoireOnce a repertoire has been performed,the musical directors: Órla Gillan, AnnePurcell and Mairéad Déiseach, spend longhours choosing a new repertoire, arrang-ing the 16 songs, recording the repertoireonto manuscript and teaching CDs.

During the first week in July 201 theywill facilitate a summer course for teach-ers to prepare them for the work ahead!

e repertoire is comprised of songs fromdifferent genres and over the years has included songs from Bach to the Beatles.In addition to exposing the children todifferent genres of music, the musical directors aim to improve children’s musicalexperience by including some challengingsongs in the repertoire e.g. two-part oreven three-part songs. A teaching CDwhich is distributed with the repertoireensures that the teaching of these songsdoes not prove a challenge for teachers.

AffiliationChildren from th, th or 6th classes canparticipate in the choir and affiliationtakes place in September. e AffiliationForm is available from the National Or-ganiser – Martina Williams – or can bedownloaded from the choir website:www.nationalchildrenschoir.org

Once affiliation is complete the nationalorganiser sorts the 8,000+ children intorehearsal groups and appoints area organ-isers. Assistant musical directors will liaisewith area organisers and rehearsals begin.Hundreds of teachers give of their time ina voluntary capacity to teach the repertoireto all pupils, regardless of the children’sbackgrounds or musical experience.

Rehearsals and performancesSchools in each area make halls available forrehearsal – without the generosity of the staffand students in these schools, rehearsalscould not happen. While learning the newsongs children eagerly anticipate the bustrip to another school and the opportunityto meet new friends and play in their yard!

e highlight of this musical experiencefor the children is performing the reper-toire in a ‘Regional Concert’ for their parents and families towards the end ofthe school year. is musical experience,while exposing the children to many different genres of music, also enables thechildren to experience the sheer joy of involvement in music and song.

After the regional concerts, children arechosen to represent their schools in a galaconcert in the National Concert Hall withthe National Children’s Choir Orchestra.is concert series provides a fitting con-clusion to the year’s work.

is year performances in the NationalConcert Hall will be on 2-2 May 201.

To obtain further information contact: Martina Williams, National Organiser NCC,Rossan, Aughavas, Co Leitrim.


Teaching mattersArticles and opinions on primary teaching, with tips and ideas for the classroom

A musical experience for children

Cór Náisiúnta na nÓg in the National Concert Hall

Schools’ ICT Census reminder

The Department of Education and Skills (DES)is inviting submissions to the latest census onthe use of ICT in teaching and learning. Thiscensus is a key instrument to gather data thatwill guide the new ICT Strategy for Schools. Aletter has been issued to all schools with re-gard to completion of the census by principalsand a selection of teachers. Your completionof the census will be deeply appreciated bythe DES.

e following courses are expectedto be on offer this summer, viaeducation centres or online, subjectto course approval for EPV days.

Face to facel Creating and Using ICT

Resources for Literacy.l Using Tablets and Online Tools

for Literacy and Numeracy.l Using ICT for Literacy and Nu-

meracy in Junior Classes. l Using Scratch to Develop Numer-

acy (NCTE/Lero).

onlinel Using the Interactive Whiteboard

to support Literacy (online).

Teaching Matters


Managingyour digital

footprint

If you or your school has a Facebook,Twitter or LinkedIn account, you are contributing to the size and content ofyour digital footprint through these services.In last month’s InTouch (page ), a relatedarticle looked at what your digital footprintis, and ways to discover how it is viewed.is is important because people’s viewsof you are influenced by your online pres-ence and you want them to see you atyour best. is article looks at ways youcan manage the online information youcreate in order to maintain a healthy digital footprint.

At your service?Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the‘big three’ online social media services.ey use the information you supply orshare in order to target advertising andgenerate revenue. Sometimes third partyapplications (apps) share information onyour behalf. ese apps require access toyour accounts but you have to authorisethis access. We'll look at these three socialmedia services and how to manage thisside of your digital footprint.

Taking controlAll social media sites have ‘help’ pages toassist you in managing your account buthere’s a quick guide to controlling whichapps access your information. Log in tocomplete the following:

Facebookl Click on the gear icon in the top bar.l Go into your ‘Account Settings’.l Click on ‘Apps’.l Click on ‘Edit’ if you would like to

fine-tune the level of access you wish toallow, or

l Click on the ‘X’ to remove them.l Confirm that you wish to remove the

app to complete the process.An example of such an app is a game youplay through your Facebook account. Youmight want to remove its access to youraccount as it is posting irrelevant product

information on your Facebook timeline.

twitterl Click on the gear icon in the top bar.l Go into your ‘Settings’.l Click on ‘Apps’.l Click on the ‘Revoke Access’ button

beside the app you wish to revoke.An example of such an app is one thatreads your tweets and re-broadcasts them.is could be an added, unwanted service.

linkedInl In the dropdown menu beside your

name, click on ‘Settings’.l Click on ‘Groups, Companies and

Applications’.l Click on ‘View your applications’.l Tick the box beside the application/s

you wish to remove.l Click the ‘Remove’ button.An example of such an app is a servicewhich shares your details with othersthrough LinkedIn. Remove this if you decide to stop sharing your details.

Get objective!When it comes to monitoring yourschool’s digital footprint, set aside sometime at a staff meeting. It’s always goodto involve teachers in the approach used,especially as some might be quite expertat managing their own social mediaaccounts.

You can monitor your own socialmedia accounts also. Why not get anobjective viewpoint of your own digitalfootprint? Ask a friend to review it foryou. ey can point out how it appears tosomeone from the outside.

Useful links for revoking access toappsFacebook: http://goo.gl/yTrTwitter: http://goo.gl/OZieLinkedIn: http://goo.gl/0RCs

Compiled by Fred Boss, PDST Technologyin Education (formerly NCTE).

Summer course update fromPDST Technology in Education

Cúrsaí Teagaisc

Transforming lunchtimesRansboro NS establish Friendship Squad Our Friendship Squad was born amidstmuch concern as a staff about unhappy,inharmonious break times and, in partic-ular, in an effort to keep a class with ongoing conflict issues occupied in ameaningful and enjoyable way duringlunchtime. We were weary spending our‘yard duty lunchtimes’ constantly mediatingin arguments and sanctioning children formisbehaviour. e issue of behaviour onthe yard was taking up a significantamount of our valuable time in school, asoften issues spilled over into the afternoonand demanded thorough investigationswhich, in turn, were sapping our energy asa staff.

We decided to take our concerns seri-ously and to set aside time for discussion,sharing of ideas and brainstorming in re-lation to this issue at a staff meeting. edecisions that came out of that staff meet-ing are among some of the most positivein my time here as principal. We were all

fully committed to finding a proactive so-lution to the issues presenting themselvesand after a lot of healthy debate and theflowing of many creative ideas, we decid-ed that we would set up a system on theyard that would keep children engaged inan inclusive and exciting manner. emain obstacle we faced was the good oldfinances!

We set about fundraising and with thehelp of parents, and huge dedication ofstaff and we raised a significant sum ofmoney, which we specifically targeted atthis project. We decided that oneparticular class (a class at the timestruggling with conflict and positive rela-tionships) would be our chosenclass to take responsibility for theco-ordination and running of ournewly christened ‘Friendship Squad’.At the time this fifth class were mostexcited by the prospect of this and itshone a very positive spotlight on them,

which in itself had a significant impact. We carefully researched equipment

that we felt would be durable, manageableand that would encourage inclusive play.We purchased a mix of the traditional andinexpensive equipment, for example, skipping ropes, French elastics, tennisracquets and soft balls along with excitingactivities such as foam frisbies, giant Poly-dron, large Connect and Jenga games,Hula Hoops, outdoor target games etc;

5e issue of behaviour on theyard was taking up a significantamount of our valuable time inschool, as often issues illedover into the afternoon6


Teaching Matters


Now that the Friendship Squad is wellestablished, a set routine has evolved. eteacher of the th class every year kindlyagrees to oversee the timetabling of theequipment and the development of a rotafor the children. e children in this classare invited to apply for a position on theFriendship Squad, thus highlighting thisvery important role in the school. In thelast three years every child in th class hasapplied! Eight children per day are on‘Friendship Squad Duty’, two on eachyard, and the activities on each yard arealternated on a weekly basis. e childrenon duty wear special Friendship Squad

bibs and caps. e th class teacher alsoteaches the th class children groupgames and the children are encouraged toplay these also with the Friendship Squad.

e Friendship Squad teach new games toyounger children, who can then initiatethese games themselves. Some dedicatedlessons are delivered to the fifth class ondealing with children in the yard and howto include a child that may appear lonelyetc. Our caretaker made special uprightwooden signs that say ‘Friendship Stop’and all children know that they can cometo this sign if they need company atlunchtime. e children also take respon-sibility for the care of the equipment andthus far, there has been minimal damageand/or wastage.

e Friendship Squad has transformedlunchtimes in our school. Teachers lookforward to yard duty and there is minimaltime spent now on resolving issues.Younger children are devastated if, forsome unexpected reason, the FriendshipSquad are late to the yard. ey look for-ward each day to the games and activitiesand the playground is a hive of activityand fun. e older children do a wonder-ful job and all around our positive schoolclimate is very evident by observing theyard at lunchtime. I would encourage anyschool, large or small, to give it a go! Formore information please see our schoolwebsite at www.ransboro.ie.

Siobhán Clarke is principal of RansboroNational School in Sligo.

5e Friendship Squadteach new games toyounger children,who can then initiatethese gamesthemselves6

Early childhood education European developments

Cúrsaí Teagaisc


There is increasing attention at national andinternational level on the importance ofquality early childhood care and educationservices for our youngest citizens. Withoutexploring how policy in Ireland developed,this article provides a brief overview of developments at EU level which will shapeIreland’s policy into the future.

“europe’s future will be based on smart, sustain-able and inclusive growth. Improving the qualityand effectiveness of education systems across theeU is essential to all three growth dimensions. Inthis context, early Childhood education and Care(eCeC) is the essential foundation for successful lifelong learning, social integration, personal development and later employability.”This is the opening statement of the

February 2011 European Commission com-munication on early childhood educationand care Providing all our children with thebest start for the world tomorrow. This com-munication marks a significant shift in Eu-ropean policy perspective on ECEC. Thisshift has been described as a move fromfocusing on “economic necessities to educational necessities”, (Rostgaard, 2011).The EU does not have competence in rela-tion to education policy which means thatthe authority to make law, develop and im-plement policy regarding education re-

mains with each EU member state. Howev-er, this is a key policy area for the EU andEuropean institutions such as the EuropeanCommission are taking an active role inpromoting cooperation and coordinationof national policy in relation to education.

The February 2011 communication onearly childhood education and care markedthe beginning of a series of activities whichwill conclude in 2014 with the publication ofmaterials designed to inform and guidegreater cohesion across member states inrelation to national policy in ECEC.

In the past, policy relating to ECEC wasprimarily focused on socio-economic con-siderations such as increasing employ-ment, gender equality and economic com-petitiveness and much of the debate cen-tred on the provision of childcare places.The Barcelona targets for childcare provi-sion were agreed by member states at asummit in Barcelona in 2002. Confirmingthe goal of full employment, the EuropeanCouncil agreed that member states shouldremove disincentives to female participa-tion in the labour market and strive to pro-vide childcare by 2010 to at least 90% ofchildren between three years old and themandatory school age and at least 33% ofchildren under three years of age. Whilst

this agenda is still an important considera-tion there has been a shift in policy withthe focus now on the impact of ECEC expe-riences on the lives of children, e.g., activat-ing citizenship, equality of educational opportunity, reduction of child poverty andsocial cohesion. (CoRe Report, 2011, EU Commission, 2011; Europe 2010, 2011). It isperhaps unsurprising that such evolution ofthinking has taken place given the evidenceof the integral relationship between earlylife experiences and lifelong achievements.

Adverse experiences in early childhoodhave long term repercussions in terms of individual health, wellbeing and achievementin all aspects of life and these individualconsequences also influence families, com-munities and wider society (Shonkoff et al,2012, Eurydice, 2009). Early interventions tomitigate or prevent children from adverseearly childhood are therefore identified asessential social investments. However, thecaveat common to all research findings isthat the quality of ECEC provision is a cleardeterminant of its effectiveness.

Following on from the February 2011communication on early childhood educa-tion and care, the European Council ofMinisters published a set of resolutions inMay 2011 that require the member states,

Thematic Working Group on Early Childhood Education

and care

Teaching Matters


together with the European Commission,to produce concrete outputs on ECEC. Inparticular, these resolutions focus on theneed to improve access and quality. As adirect response, a Thematic WorkingGroup (TWG) on early childhood educationand care has been established by the Directorate General Education and Culture.The group meets in Brussels using theopen method of coordination (OMC)which is a form of EU soft law, a process ofpolicymaking which does not lead to bind-ing EU legislative measures nor requiremember states to change their law, ratherit aims to spread best practices andachieve greater convergence towards themain EU goals. Generally, the OMC worksin stages. First, the Council of Ministersagrees on policy goals. Member states thentranslate these guidelines into nationaland regional policies. Thirdly, specificbenchmarks and indicators to measurebest practice are agreed upon. Finally, results are monitored and evaluated.

The TWG on ECEC has been establishedin the context of the education and train-ing 2020 work programme which is thestrategic framework for education policy atEuropean level and which clearly identifiesthe key role played by early childhood ed-

ucation and care in fostering and promot-ing lifelong learning. The broad agenda forthe working group is to explore the idea ofquality in ECEC and to establish agreementon a broad ‘framework’ for understandinghow to develop and implement quality inpractice in ECEC settings. To date, fourmeetings have taken place during whichthe scope of the work has been discussed.In order to develop a shared understand-ing amongst the EU member states ofwhat constitutes high quality ECEC provi-sion, the following five themes will struc-ture the work of the group: curriculum;workforce; governance (includes also is-sues of continuity of the provision be-tween care and education settings in splitsystems); accessibility; monitoring andevaluation. See chart above.

In addition to these themes, five overrid-

ing principles were identified; each of whichwould have an impact on the five themes:l the need to develop standards along-

side values;l the importance of encouraging diverse

provision;l the need to focus on both outcomes

and processes in designing high qualityECEC (including smooth transition fromearly childhood education and care services to primary school);

l the need to listen to the voice of the child;l the participation of parents (this was

broader than parents being informed ofpractice in a providers’ setting and included real contributions and a deepinvolvement in ECEC).The work of the TWG will be conducted

through a series of meetings and PeerLearning Activities (PLA) which are hostedby various member states. To date, PLAshave taken place focusing on curriculum(Hungary) and accessibility (Romania). Ireland will host a PLA on evaluation andmonitoring in May 2013 which will review arange of issues including inspection, research, data management and sharing.

Maresa Duignan represents the Depart-ment of Education and Skills on the TWG.

The recognition that quality matters in ECECextends beyond Europe and has become a policypriority in many countries throughout theworld. In 2007, the OECD Education PolicyCommittee established a Network on EarlyChildhood Education and Care. The Networkmeets bi-annually and aims to support thedevelopment of good practice in ECEC policy byproviding a forum in which countries can worktogether to develop and share best practice. In2012, steered by the Network, the OECD publishedStart Strong III: A Quality Toolbox for Early

Childhood Education and Care. The Quality Toolboxis intended to present practical solutions forthose with a role to play in encouraging qualityin ECEC. It presents five policy levers that arelikely to enhance quality, underpinned byinternational research and country experiences,together with supporting materials and toolsdesigned to help to improve ECEC services.These policy levers are:l setting out quality goals and regulations;l designing and implementing curriculum

and standards;

l improving workforce conditions, qualificationsand training;

l engaging families and communities; andl advancing data collection, research and

monitoring.

Theresa Ryan represents the Depart-ment of Education and Skills on the OECDNetwork. Further information and an onlineversion of Start Strong III can be seen onwww.oecd.org/education/school/earlychild-hoodeducationandcare.htm

The OECD Network

References/further readingl Council of the European Union (2010). Council

conclusions of 11 May 2010 on the social dimen-sion of education and training. Accessed fromhttp://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriS-erv.do?uri=OJ:C:2010:1:0002:000:EN:PDF

l Council of the European Union (2011). Councilconclusions on early childhood education andcare: providing all our children with the beststart for the world of tomorrow. Accessed fromhttp://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriS-erv.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:1:0008:0010:EN:PDF.

l European Commission (2010). Europe 2020. Astrategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive

growth. Accessed from http://eunec.vlor.be/detail_bestanden/doc01%20Europe%202020.pdf

l European Commission (2011). Early ChildhoodEducation and Care: Providing all our childrenwith the best start for the world of tomorrow. Accessed from http://ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/doc/childhoodcom_en.pdf.

l Eurydice (200) Early Childhood Education andCare in Europe: Tackling Social and CulturalInequalities. Accessed from: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/eurydice/documents/08EN.pdf

l Shonkoff, JP, Garner, AS, and the Committeeon Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family

Health, Committee on Early Childhood, Adop-tion, and Dependent Care, and Section on De-velopmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. e Life-long Effects of Early Childhood Adversity andToxic Stress. Pediatrics. 2012;12(1): e22–e21

l University of East London, Cass School of Edu-cation and University of Ghent, Department forSocial Welfare Studies (2011) CoRe CompetenceRequirements in Early Childhood Educationand Care. Public open tender EAC 1/200issued by the European Commission, Direc-torate-General for Education and Culture.Accessed from http://ec.europa.eu/education/more-information/doc/2011/core_en.pdf

Cúrsaí Teagaisc


The show must go on! Behaviour management uncoveredLessons, lessons and more lessons – somuch to do in so little time and all whilethe children attend perfectly, hanging onto your every pedagogical word! This maybe true in some parallel universe but as weknow, this is far from the reality of classroomteaching today. And there’s no box to tickon our end of month reports labelled: ‘lesson not competed due to challengingbehaviour’. According to the powers thatbe – The Show Must Go On!

So how can teachers begin to tackle thedilemma of managing disruptive behav-iours during lessons, against the pressureto complete lessons? It’s fair to say thatover the years we have all developed sometricks up our sleeves to call upon to amendunwanted behaviours. But which strate-gies can be employed effectively and withminimal disruption? Here are a few of mytop tips.

Appropriate behaviour:expect it!

This sounds obvious but it’s harder than itseems. I remember an eight year old boy afew years ago who, on his first day ofschool, proceeded to kick at the wall in thehall causing marks on the paintwork. Hewasn’t in my class but as I passed him I intervened. I approached him and in a kindvoice said “Hi, I’m Ms Clarke. You must benew here. I’m looking forward to getting toknow you. I don’t know what kind ofschool you were in before but in our beau-tiful school we don’t kick the walls.” Hestopped kicking the wall, looked at me andnever did it again. Later I discovered thathe was constantly kicking walls in his oldschool. Here instead of saying “Stop that!”or “What do you think you’re doing?” I hadapproached him with a kind yet definiteexpectation of “We don’t do that here.”

When it comes to appropriate behaviour,most theorists agree that in a classroomsetting:l About 70% of students will naturally

comply and attend to lessons. l Up to 10% of students can be potentially

disruptive.l The remaining 20% can go either way

through mimicry, noise level, etc.From this we can conclude that up to

90% of the class are probably with you as alesson is launched. So how do we get theother 10% on board? I think a good start

would be that teachers should often re-view classroom rules to remind students ofbehavioural expectations. I know whatyou’re thinking – we’ve done all that – butfor those 10%, reminding is needed. For example, the rule reminders for classroomwork time could be: l One voice in the room. l Listening – to information, for instructions,

etc.l Be ready – what do I need? Pencil,

rubber, dictionary, etc.l In position – sitting comfortably, gath-

ered in your group.l Do not disturb – work quietly – everyone

has the right to learn.l Need help? Hand up – and wait quietly –

Q/A? It takes about two minutes to go through

a list like this and in doing so, the founda-tions of expecting appropriate behaviourare laid.

The classroom door

Your next weapon is the classroom door.As a lesson proceeds you can count on thefact that one of those 10% of students, let’ssay her name is Jane, will try to crush yourexpectations by calling out, being noisy,etc. In behaviour management matters,timing is everything. As the attack from thestudent is launched the teacher must

move in quickly with a reminder of ‘onevoice in the room’ and continue teaching.If the student persists then the teachermust stop teaching immediately and momentarily and instruct the offender togo and stand at the door. I usually saysomething like, “Sorry children but Jane isforgetting our rule about one voice in theroom. Jane go to the door just to remindyourself. I will call you back in a minute,”and continue teaching. “Now where werewe?” Here I have given an instruction and Iam expecting Jane to go to the door. It’simportant to only leave the student at thedoor for about 30 seconds.

If the student does not go immediately tothe door the teacher moves to her desk,while teaching, and in a natural break has aquiet word like “Ah you just forgot that rule.Go on over to the door and just have a thinkfor a minute to remind yourself and then I’llcall you back.” The teacher then movesaway and continues with the lesson. If Janeis either enjoying the attention and/or hasher heels dug in and is going nowhere –we’ve all encountered one – the teacherswings by her desk again and briefly, yetdefinitely, tells her that this is only a little reminder but if she can’t go to the door nowthings will become much more serious. And,if students are clear about consequences inclass, Jane will know what that means andhopefully go to the door.

For the classroom door to work as a behaviour inhibiter, teachers need to beruthless in their compliance and followthrough with a consequence, where necessary. In my experience, even withquite difficult students, nine times out often the student will go to the door.

Once this strategy is employed studentsquickly get into the routine. In time theteacher can then move from telling a stu-dent to go to the door to merely pointingto a child and then pointing to the class-room door. Hence there is no further interruption in the lessons and the strategyis amended to a silent intervention usingmere hand signals. All teachers have aclassroom door, so why not give it a go!

Adie Clarke has had a varied career as a teacher, (AMI, Hon B.Ed), a Childand Adolescent Psychotherapist. (MSc), and as a Behaviour Management Con-sultant. She has 20 years’ experience working with schools, parents and variousother organisations both here and in Canada. She currently holds a teaching position at St Declan’s School, Ballsbridge – soon to be half time as a job sharingpost. Contact: [email protected]

Interestingobjects basket

This is a basket of items thatare, by and large, educational innature and also fun, aimed at theparticular class level. A student can choose aninteresting object and bring it to their desk. Contentscan include: small 3D puzzles, kaleidoscopes, soft tactiletoys, small jigsaws, a measuring implement such as atrundle wheel, miniature books, a set of faces and a mirror for identifying emotions, a compass, a quill andpaper, optical illusions, etc. It is important to choose ob-jects that are silent in nature so they will not disrupt theclassroom. The items can also be a taster for a future les-son, e.g. a rope knotted in cupids as a precursor to a fu-ture lesson on Egyptians. They can be offered to stu-dents in a number of ways:l To early finishers as a reward – for example: “When

you finish your maths questions you can dointeresting objects.”

l To students who have poor concentrationand/or low work production as an incentive –for example: “For every five questions answered you can have three minutes on in-teresting objects.”

l To unsettled students (particularly ASD stu-dents) as a form of timeout – for example:“It’s quite hard for you to stay on task – getyour work done – at the moment so go andget the squishy toy from the interesting objects basket for a few minutes and then wecan look at this work again.”

l To all students for the last five minutes ofwork time before playtime.In my experience, I have found the interest-

ing objects basket to be a marvel in the class-room in general and a formidable weaponagainst those students who resist work or makestatements such as “I hate maths,” “this willtake forever,” “I can’t do this,” etc.

The trick is to change the items regularly sothere is an element of mystery and surprise.good sources for objects include museum shopsand thrift stores or you can make your own tocompliment lessons. As teachers, we are natu-rally creative so get your thinking caps on whengathering your interesting objects basket!

Mystery box

Similar to the interesting objects basket in nature, the mystery box strategy enablesthe teacher to target a particular student or behaviour. here one item is chosen, forexample, a feather, and put into a box marked the mystery box before the students come into class. During themorning greeting and announcements the teacher says“here is our mystery box. I wonder what is in it today?” As work time proceeds the teacher chooses a child to go and seewhat is in the box. The choice can be:l A student that has been quiet during work time

for a change.l A student who has made a great effort at a

task.l A student with improved handwriting, etc.

The teacher should always tell the student why they were chosen for the mystery box. At circle time all the children get to see what is in the mystery box. The mystery box can also be integrated with a variety of curriculum areas e.g. cad atá sa bosca.This is a simple but effective class strategy.

As always, I encourage colleaguesto try out the strategies and if youfind a way that works for you, inyour classroom, feel free to shareyour version at [email protected] Thank you to those readerswho responded to my last articleoutlining the deck of cards strategy.Perhaps I will meet some of you atthe IATSE conference in June.


Teaching Matters

e interestingobjects basket can beused to reward andincentivise students.

Museum gift shops and thrift shops are an excellent source forboth interesting objects basket and mystery box

5 In behaviour managementmatters, timing iseverything 6

is push for reform and refocus stems,not alone from the belief that art educa-tion has an intrinsic value in its own right,but the belief that such art education promotes a wide variety of life skills crucial to success in general. is is alliedto changes in the belief that the arts arereserved only for people with ‘talent’ andthe understanding that, in the context oftoday’s job market, it is creative individualsthat are increasingly in demand. All busi-ness is struggling to find creative ways tostay in the market, in need of creative employees – arts education, it is argued,develops just such skilled individuals.CEOs around the world are identifyingcreativity as the most important leader-ship skill for the future. All list the followingskills as the most needed skills:l e ability to think creatively.l e ability to find solutions to challeng-

ing problems.l e ability to relate well to partners and

clients.l e ability to communicate effectively.l e ability to adapt to changing

markets and circumstances.e problem in education is that in-

creasingly children are no longer spend-ing their formative years honing this critical skill – they are spending too muchtime practicing so-called core skills fromSTEM subject areas. STEAM educationacknowledges that we are all creative andargues that developing this creativitythroughout life leads to better careers.

e arts encourage creativity in thatthey encourage children to think on theirfeet, to approach tasks in a variety ofways, to not only think outside the boxbut even to omit the box at times.

is might be exemplified by the following curriculum objectives:l to recite a monologue in a variety of

ways;

l to make a painting representing amemory; or

l to compose a new rhythm to enhance apiece of music.e arts develop confidence in that

they encourage children to convincinglydeliver a message to take command of astage as it were, to step outside comfortzones and to make and learn from mis-takes.

Consider these objectives in that context: l to perform a short piece of theatre with

confidence; l to present and talk about how you have

built a construction; or l to play a musical instrument as part of a

group.e arts are about problem solving.

All artistic creations are born through the process of solving particular problems/tasks. Higher order thinking skills, reason-ing, experimentation and understandingare all developed through process work asin objectives such as these: l to turn a piece of clay into a novel

character;l to create a dance that represents a

particular emotion, or l to dramatise a social issue.

e arts demand perseverance anddedication. In a world increasingly ob-sessed by e X Factor, the mistaken notion that instant success/fame is possible,this skill is sadly decreasing. Childrenlearn that playing Vivaldi the first timeyou pick up a violin is not an option. Byworking through art processes childrenlearn that the practice of various skills andtechniques is essential to achieving anysuccess. When children get to practicefollowing through with artistic endeavorsthat result in a finished product or per-formance, they learn to associate dedica-tion with a feeling of accomplishment.

ey practice developing healthy workhabits of being on time, respecting thecontributions of others, and putting effortinto the success of the final piece.

Consider how this is inherent in the following objectives: l to learn how to create a mono print; l to learn to play a traditional piece of

music on the recorder; or l to work with a small group to perform

a scene from a script.Work in the arts demands focus. Much

recent research has shown that participa-tion in all the arts subjects improves children’s ability to concentrate on tasksin all areas of their lives. In discussingtheir own and others visual art, writing,drama, dance or music children learnwhen to listen and when to contribute,they learn to balance these two key skills.Arts education also involves much nonverbal communication. rough experi-ences in drama and dance education, children learn the mechanics of body language and experience different ways of moving and how those movementscommunicate different emotions.

Consider the following few objectives in this context: l to look at and respond to a piece of art

from another culture;l to listen to a piece of music and write a

short poem about this; or l work with a small group to recount a

story using freeze framing.e arts involve the giving and receiv-

ing of constructive feedback. e givingand receiving of constructive feedbackabout a performance or about a piece of visual art is a regular part of any arts instruction. Children learn that feedbackis an integral part of learning, that it is notsomething to be offended by or to be taken personally and is actually somethinghelpful.

Cúrsaí Teagaisc


Stem to Vital life skills are learned through

Many education reformers around the world are currently focusing their attentionon the need for arts education and new research findings focus on the need to trainteachers in the delivery of arts programmes. The great education debate isbeginning to focus on what is being termed “adding the ‘A’ to STeM” or “changingSTeM to STeAM”. In case you don’t get the acronym, STEM is education that focuseson science, technology, economics and mathematics. The ‘A’ of course is Arts!

Teaching Matters


Steam Arts education argues Michael O’Reilly

e second strand units of all the artssubjects in the primary school curriculumfocus primarily on this aspect of arts education.

Arts education involves collaborationand accountability. Much art work canbe collaborative in nature. rough thearts, children practice working together,sharing responsibility, and compromisingwith others to accomplish a shared goal orobjective. When a child has a part to playin a rock group, in a group of muralpainters or a drama or dance production,they begin to understand that their con-tribution is necessary for the success ofthe group. rough these experienceschildren gain confidence and start tolearn that their contributions have valueeven if they don’t have a major role.

When children practice creating some-thing together they get used to the ideathat their actions affect others. ey learn that when they are not ready or noton-time, that other people are affected.rough the arts, children also learn thatit is important to admit a mistake andtake responsibility for it. Because mistakesare a vital part of the process of learningin the arts, children begin to see thatmistakes happen constantly. Weacknowledge them, learn from themand carry on; “don’t panic” – it is allpart of the process.

Consider the following few objectives inthis context: l to design and plan for a construction

based on a particular theme;l to work with a group to compose a

sound story to accompany a poem; or l to edit/redraft a piece of writing/poem.

Michael O’Reilly worked with both theNCCA and PCSP on the design and imple-mentation of the arts curricula. He currentlyworks as a shared learning support teacher,based in St Fintan’s NS, Lismacaffrey, CoWestmeath, as head of the Visual ArtsDepartment with Hibernia College, as anincareer course designer and as an authorwith Gill and MacMillan.

5e arts encouragecreativity in thatthey encouragechildren to thinkon their feet,to approach tasksin a variety of ways,to not only thinkoutside the boxbut even to omitthe box at times.6

Did you know?l A lizard can shed the lower portion of its tail if it is caught there by

a predator. It can re-grow this later!l In Irish folklore if a person licked an earc luachra (common lizard)

he would have a cure for burns.l The biggest reptile is the salt-water crocodile.l The largest turtle is the leatherback.l The fastest reptile is the spiny tailed iguana. It can run at a speed

of 20 miles an hour.l birds are believed to be descended from dinosaurs.l Alligator mothers look after their young for about a year.

Backgroundinformationreptiles areinvertebrates whichare:l cold-blooded,l possess lungs,l have dry scaly skin

or horny plates,l lay eggs on land.They evolved fromamphibians and arefound in everycontinent exceptAntarctica.

StudyingvertebratesAll vertebrates havethese commoncharacteristics:l Movement.l respiration.l Sensitivity.l Growth.l reproduction.l excretion.l Nutrition.

ClassificationThere are five groups of vertebrates: birds,reptiles, Mammals,fish, and Amphibians.

Indoorsl Give the children in groups laminated cards

with pictures of three mammals (include awhale), three fish, three amphibians, threereptiles and three birds. Also give eachgroup the five titles written on cards: Mammals, birds, reptiles, Amphibians andfish. They have to arrange them into thefive families or groups.

l Make a dinosaur lunch. You will need: shoe-box, oasis to fit box, tops of ferns, horsetailstems, piece of plastic, water, toy dinosaurs.Soak the oasis in water and arrange theplants to look like a miniature forest. Placein the plastic-lined box which is colouredgreen. Arrange the dinosaurs to peepthrough the foliage.

l Make a big dinosaur egg using papier mache.Make the paste by half filling a mug withflour. Mix a heaped dessert spoonful of saltinto the dry flour. Add water and stir untilthe mixture is the consistency of yoghurt. forthe centre of the egg scrunch newspaper into

a tight ball c. 30cm long and 25cm wide. Holdthis together with masking tape. Paste onstrips of newspaper c. 2.5cm wide until thenewspaper is completely covered with two orthree layers. Leave to dry and paint white.

l Make dinosaur masks and create dinosaurart. See www.tes.co.uk

Outdoorsl Mark out the length of the biggest dinosaur,

Argentinosaurus, (40m from head to tail) onthe school yard with chalk. Also mark outthe length of the biggest T. rex found –12.3m long and 4m tall.

l Plant a ‘dinosaur tree’ (Gingko biloba) in theschool grounds. This is the oldest species oftree on earth and comes from the time of thedinosaurs. It is a living fossil believed to be c. 200 million years on the planet.

l Grow other ‘dinosaur plants’ (ferns) in ashady part of the school grounds. whenplanting add generous amounts of leafmouldto the soil. Always water with rainwater.

Zoom in on reptilesActive learning indoors and outdoors

Aibreán/Bealtaine – Fócas ar reiptílíPaddy Madden continues his series of SESE tips


Cúrsaí Teagaisc

Irish ReptilesThere are two species of reptile found in Ireland, the commonlizard (Zootoca vivipara) and the slow-worm (Anguis fragilis). Theformer is native; the latter was introduced recently and is found onlyin the burren.

The common lizard is found on coastland, mountain and bog-land. They eat spiders, snails and

earthworms. Kestrels, stoats and minkprey on them. They need the sun’s heat to

keep warm and active so they musthibernate between October and March.This lizard is unusual among reptiles inthat it is viviparous, viz. it gives birth tolive young. See www.noticenature.ie/files/enfo/facTsheet/en/wL42%20Lizzards%20eng.pdf for more information.e slow-worm

e Gingko tree

Plantsanddinosaurmodelsmake aminiatureJurrasicPark

Animated T. Rex. and modelof hatching dinosaur eggs in

a nest. British NaturalHistory Museum

e author teaching children inBoolavogue NS using dinosaur

egg puppet

SUBgROUPS ChARACTERISTICS

Turtles,terrapins,tortoises

c. 300 species. All have shells. They are threatened withextinction in many places due to loss of habitat and beingkilled for food

Tuataras Only found in New Zealand, two species

Lizards,snakes,worm lizards

Largest group of reptiles. c. 7,000 species. Cannot survive incold climates. Most lizards have legs; snakes don’t. Lizardshave ears; snakes don’t

Crocodiles,alligators

c. 25 species. Crocodiles have pointed snouts; alligators haverounded snouts and are less aggressive. Both have eyes andears on top of head so that they can use these senses abovethe water’s surface while remaining submerged

Resourcesl Video on lizards and snakes:

www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/reptiles6287025/

l Dinosaur videos: www.scienceforkids.co.nz/videos.htm/

l facts on reptiles: www.ducksters.com/animals/reptiles.php

l Videos of reptiles: video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets-kids/reptiles-kids

l facts on dinosaurs:www.zoomdinosaurs.com

l Life in Cold blood: DVDnarrated by David Attenborough(BBC Natural History Unit,Animal Planet, 2008)

Paddy Madden lectures on SESE inthe Marino Institute of Education.He also gives short courses to wholestaffs on school gardening. His book,Go Wild at School, has recently been

reprinted. Available for €15 plus €3 p&p [email protected] His podcast on teachingabout summer: Programme 141,http://www.insideed.com, click Archives June 2012

Strands covered this month

Environmental awareness and care, Materi-als, Living things, Natural environments.

Buíochas doMarie Whelton(MIE) donaistriúchán

Literacy/Litearthact l Cold-blooded/Fuarfhuil-teach: A cold-blooded creaturecontrols its body temperatureexternally instead of internally.Rialaíonn créatúr fuarfhuil-teach a theocht choirp go seach-trach seachas go hinmheánach.l Scales/Gainní: in overlap-ping plates which cover thebodies of reptiles and fish. Plá-taí tanaí ina luí thar chiumhaisa chéile a chlúdaíonn coirpreiptílí agus iasc.l Predator/Creachadóir: Ananimal that kills and eats otheranimals in order to survive. Ain-mhí a mharaíonn agus a itheann

ainmhithe eile chun éféin a choinneáil beo.l Viviparous/Beobhreitheach:Giving birth to liveoffspring thatdeveloped inthe mother’s body.Sliocht beo a thabhairt ar ansaol, sliocht a forbraíodh ardtús i gcorp na máthar.l Adaptation/Oiriúnú:e process in which ananimal becomes better ableto survive in its environment.An próiseas trína n-éiríonnle hainmhí maireachtáil níosfearr ina thimpeallacht.


Teaching Matters

Monitor lizard(photograph pro-vided by Conall ÓBreacháin)

e Komodo Dragon, the world’s largest lizard. Photographkindly provided by Rory McDaid and Catherine Blanchard

e commonlizard

Alligator

Key areas to studyl Classificationl Habitatl Life cyclel foodl Place in food chain/webl Adaptationl Threats

This tin whistle tutor package, compiled byCathal Ó Catháin, a primary teacher and schoolprincipal with many years’ teaching experience,is eminently suitable for the modern classroom,

as it is supplied on a USb drive and can be loaded directly onto the school server or used in the classroomwith an interactive whiteboard.

It is a well structured programme, providing fourgraded levels, with level 1 suitable for complete beginners. each level contains a selection of eight familiar tunes, with a demo track and separate back-ing track provided for each tune. Staff notation and alphabetical notation can be displayed on the Iwb orprinted out for pupils to take away and practise individually. A fingering chart and teacher guidelinesare also included.

A free upgrade is in preparation, which will address

the ‘Composing’ strand of the primary school musiccurriculum, and will provide backing tracks and suggested starting points for children’s own composi-tions. The author also offers a free service of re-editingand re-mixing tracks to a school’s individual require-ments. This is a practical and comprehensive tin whistle course and is a very useful resource for any primary classroom. Tá leagan Gaeilge den phacáiste arfáil chomh maith.

is software package isproduced by Ceolta. Pricedat €20, it is available fromwww.ceolta.net t

Review by Christina NíDheaghaidh, St Martin dePorres NS, Tallaght, Dublin 24

Music for the ‘D’ tin whistle

Cúrsaí Teagaisc


Prayer assembliesfor primary schools

Veritas have recently published abook containing 40 ready-to-useprayer assemblies based onthemes from the academic andliturgical year. It is designed foruse by principals, teachers,school chaplains or parish work-ers who visit schools or class-rooms. Elaine Mahon and Mau-rice harmon have combined creativeideas for prayer in primary schools with aneasy-to-use format. The publication comeswith a CD of music to match each of theassemblies. It costs €14.99 and can be pur-chased from www.veritasbooksonline.com

Book reviews

The Islander is a translation of theclassic An tOileánach (12), the autobiography of the Blasket IslanderTomás O’Crohan. is version is a

complete and unabridged translation ofthe 2002 Irish language edition by Profes-sor Tomás Ó Coileáin. e translators,Garry Bannister and David Sowey, both ofwhom studied Irish under the late HarryLush, have collaborated on various trans-lation projects over the last 20 years.

In the context of the primary school,the narrative is ‘his-story’ at its best. InTomás’ own words, “I give thanks to Godthat He gave me the ability to observewhat I experienced, so that after I havegone, people will know what life was likein my time.” ough it is not a book to beleft on the library shelves, many of thestories will enhance the teacher’s effort todescribe the unique way of life on theBlaskets from the 1860s to the 120s.

ere are magnificent pen pictures offishing in currachs for a wide variety ofseafood, the clubbing of seals in very dangerous conditions and the collectionof ‘sea fruit’. In addition to fish, O’Cro-han’s diet included milk, butter, bread,rabbits and mutton. He harvested turf forfuel and remembers a time when therewas only one oven on the island, whichwas kept burning at all times. While cut-ting turf, the island poet often joined himto share his poetry and folklore.

e children will enjoy many of theevents of Tomás’ early childhood andboyhood. However, the tragedy of losingnine of his ten children, the stress of emigration and the unrelenting harshnessof a way of life that was not sustainablebeyond his own time is borne with stoicresilience and heroic resignation to God’swill. e book will also be very useful forteachers studying for the SCG and for

second and third level students of Irishand history.

Published by Gill & McMillan, ISBN9780717157945, e Islander’s RRP is€15.75 (paperback) or €32.50 (hard-back). t

Review by Julie Ryng, Scoil an AtharMaitiú, Togher, Co. Cork

e Islander is ‘his-story’ at its best

Ten titles will compete for the 23rd CbIbook of the Year Awards 2013. Thewinners will be announced on 8 May.The shortlisted titles are:

l The Terrible Thing That Happened toBarnaby Brocket by John boyne and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.

l The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan.l Hóng by Anna Heussaff.l Na Laochra is Lú by Laoise Ní Cléirigh and

illustrated by Steve Simpson.l Spellbound by Siobhán Parkinson and

illustrated by Olwyn whelan.

l Mise agus an Dragún by Patricia fordeand illustrated by Steve Simpson.

l Dark Warning by Marie Louisefitzpatrick.

l Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton.l This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers.l Grounded by Sheena wilkinson.founded in 1990, the CbI book of the YearAwards are the leading children’s bookawards in Ireland. Previous winners in-clude John boyne for his book The Boy inthe Striped Pyjamas; Chris Haughton for ABit Lost, Marie Louise fitzpatrick for There

and Kate Thompson for her books The NewPoliceman, Annan water and The Alchemist’s Apprentice.

CbI will again be working closely withreading groups from schools and librariesacross Ireland. Ten specially selected junior juries will choose the winner of theChildren’s Choice Award. five otherawards will be made in May also – Thebook of the Year Award, The eilís DillonAward for a first time author or illustrator,Honour Awards for fiction and Illustrationas well as a Judge’s Special Award. t

Labhraígí Amach!

Tacar 6 dhráma ghleoite atá satsraith Labhraígí Amach.Cabhraíonn an drámaíocht lehéisteacht, labhairt,léitheoireacht agus scríbh-neoireacht a chur i bhfeidhm imbealach chomhtháite sa seom-ra ranga. Oireann na drámaí seodo rang ina bhfuil éagsúlachtcumais mar go bhfuil páirteannascríofa do pháistí a bhfuil cumaiséagsúla léitheoireachta acu agusis féidir iad a chur ag léamh ag anleibhéal a oireann dóibh féin. Tácód le sonrú in inphrionta an leabhair, áita bhfeicfidh an múinteoir an leibhéaldeacrachta atá ag baint le gach carachtar ingan fhios do na páistí.

I Sándá agus an Ghrian tá Sándá agus achairde faoi ghruaim mar nach bhfuil aonghrian sa taobh acu den domhan – conasa thiocfaidh siad ar réiteach na faidhbe?Sa scéal Diarmaid de Bléine agus a Fhia-cail Iontach teastaíonn ó Dhiarmaid a fhi-acail a thaispeáint do gach duine ach tá sícaillte aige. Scéal Charles Lindbergh, arinne an chéad turas aonair trasna an At-lantaigh in eitleán atá i Lorg Lindbergh. TáRónán ag iarraidh a bhrioscaí a roinnt ar a

chairde i Lorg na mBrioscaí. Úsáideann séféin agus a chairde a gcuid scileanna mataleis an gnó a dhéanamh. Tá na cait agfoghlaim béasaí i Scoil na gCat ach táceacht níos luachmhaire le foghlaim nuaira chloiseann siad glór scáfar taobhamuigh den fhuinneog. Tá Stiofán agteacht chun dinnéir i Tá sin Samhnasachach ceapann Tomás agus Máire go bhfuilsé leadránach. Tá scéalta samhnasachaacu chun cúrsaí a dhéanamh níos suim-iúla.

Úsáid sa rang Úsáid na drámaí chun ‘Amharclann

Léitheoirí’ a chur ar siúl. Nuair abhíonn páistí ag léamh igcomhair lucht éisteachta,spreagtar iad chun anléitheoireacht a chleachtadh arísagus arís eile. Cabhraíonn seo leoléamh le mothú agus le líofacht.

Tabhair go leor ama do napáistí a gcuid línte a chleachtadhmar ghrúpa. Tabhair na páirtean-na deacra do léitheoirí maithe anchéad uair; ansin tabhair páistíeile isteach de réir mar a bhíonnsiad ag foghlaim ón a chéile.Spreagtar páistí chun tacú lenachéile sa léiriú agus saléitheoireacht.

Ar fáil Tá na drámaí oiriúnach do mheánrangan-na agus d’ardranganna. Ar fáil ówww.aisaonad.org áit a bhfuil ábhartacaíochta agus nótaí do mhúinteoirí.Praghas: €18 an tsraith.

Curtha le chéile ag BrídNí Dhonnchadha agusMáire Nic an Rí faoichoimirce COGG.

Teaching Matters


Drámaíocht trí Ghaeilge

Déan Dráma

Ceoldrámaí agus amhráin nuachumtha atása chnuasach seo. Tá sé dírithe ar rangan-na na naíonán go rang a haon/do ingaelscoileanna agus i scoileanna

Gaeltachta, ach ó tharla go bhfuil nascripteanna féin simplí le cuid mhórathráite, is féidir úsáid a bhaint as na drá-maí i scoileanna eile chomh maith. Tugtartreoracha soiléire maidir le cur i láthair nandrámaí, agus tá dlúthdhiosca ag baint legach dráma ar a bhfuil na hamhráin go léirchomh maith le fuaimrian na n-amhránchun cuidiú le páistí agus iad ag canadh.

Sa leabhar tál Dhá dhráma bunaithe ar scéalta

aitheanta agus dráma Nollag nuascríofa.l Nótaí don mhúinteoir maidir le léiriú,

stáitsiú, cultacha, seit agus roghnú nagcarachtar.

l Nodaireacht cheoil na n-amhrán feiliú-nach don phianó agus don ghiotár.

Úsáid sa rangl Inis ábhar agus cúlra an scéil do na

páistí, agus déan cur síos ar an suíomhagus ar na carachtair.

l Tá ardchaighdeán Gaeilge sa leabhar.Mínigh agus múin na nathanna caintedo na páistí roimh ré ionas go dtuigfidh

siad an dráma.l Déan forbairt ar na leaganacha cainte

saibhre nó deacra; lig do na páistí bealaíeile a aimsiú chun iad a chur in iúl, marshampla: “Tá mé stiúgtha leis an ocras”.(Jeaic) “Tá ocras orm”. “Tá mé lag leis anocras”. “Tá mé ag fáil bháis leis an ocras”.

l Seinn an dlúthdhiosca go minic mar isfearr go mór a fhoghlaimíonn páistí nahamhráin trí bheith ag éisteacht leo. Tána hamhráin an-simplí agus tar-raingteach; is fiú iad a mhúineadh munabhfuil an dráma féin á dhéanamh.

l Tabhair am do na páistí na línte afhoghlaim. Bíodh am ar leith ann chunna focail, an amhránaíocht agus an ceola chleachtadh.

Tá súil ag na húdair go rachaidh an leab-har seo chun tairbhe múinteoirí agus gogcabhróidh sé leo drámaí simplí,bríomhara a chur ar stáitse.

Ar fáil Tá Déan Dráma ar fáil ó Chló IarChonnchahta ar €0.00. ISBN: 8-1-06-60-.


Finishing TouchesResources for teachers, Noticeboard of Upcoming Events and the Comhar Linn Crossword

Maths Conference

Fifth conference on Researchin Mathematics Education –MEI5St Patrick’s College,Drumcondra, Dublin 9

Hosted by St Patrick’s College on abiennial basis, this is a conferencethat attracts those who are engagedin or have an interest in mathematicseducation at first, second and thirdlevels. Proceedings of previousconferences are available online atwww.spd.dcu.ie/mei

eme: ‘Mathematics Education:Crossing Boundaries’. will take placeon and 6 September 201.

Among the speakers who willdeliver keynote addresses are Dr SeanClose, Dr Gerry Shiel and AidanClerkin, Education Research Centre,St Patrick’s College; Prof Tinne HoffKjeldsen, Roskilde University,Denmark; Prof John Monaghan,University of Leeds and Prof JennyYoung-Loveridge, University ofWaikato, New Zealand.

Further information regardingsubmission of papers/or conferenceregistration at www.spd.dcu.ie/meior contact Ronan Ward [email protected]

BullyingThe Teachers Against Bullying helpline aims to helpteachers and principals who have been, or are being

bullied by member/s of school staff and/or inspectors and/orBOM. Contact Teresa McMahon at tel 01 2883062 (7 to 9 pm –Mondays and Wednesdays only)

Volunteers Neededgambia Ireland

Volunteers in Education(gIVE) are seeking volunteerteachers (retired, career breaketc) for a rewarding teachingexperience in The gambia atprimary/secondary level orskills centre.

6 weeks Jan/Feb or Feb/March 2014 (4 hours per day).

Info meeting: Saturday 11May at 2 pm in the Teachers’Club, Parnell Square, Dublin 1.

For more information pleaseemail [email protected] phone 087 2255040. Website:www.giveireland.ie

Copy you wish to have considered for publication in the June issue of InTouch should arrive inHead Office by 7 May 2013. The September issue deadline is 12 August 2013.

Sligo School ProjectDate: 18 May 2013. Theme: Democracy and School.Presenters include Brian Ruane (St Patrick’s College/

Centre for human Rights and Citizenship Education); Eva haas(Kapriole Free Democratic School Freiburg, germany) andNiklas gidion (Council of European Democratic EducationCommunity). Visit www.sligoschoolproject.ie/?page_id=997.

Copy date

the Inaugural National

Digital Education SummitAdvancing the role of ICT in preparing the workforce of tomorrow

ursday, 25 April 2013 – Croke Park, Dublin

Speakers and Topics include:i craig Munro, Strategic Director, Education Scotland, who are driving forward a

culture of change in Scottish education and are ensuring new technologies such asmobile devices are embedded into learning.

i Patricia Manson, Head of Technology Enhanced Learning Unit, EuropeanCommission. Modernising education and training systems and building theknowledge economy of the 21st century.

i Brendan o’Sullivan, INTO President, gerry Breslin, ASTI President and tom Boland,CEO of HEA will all reveal their vision for the digital school.

i Pat Keane, retired deputy principal, St Colman’s College, Claremorris. Theintroduction of the digital classroom in Claremorris and how it has gone downwith parents, teachers and students.

The registration fee for this summit is €295 plus VAT.Special discount of €30 off fee for INTO members. To avail of discount contact Jackie

Bryan [email protected] or 087-0557913

To review the full programme visit www.digitaleducation.ie

Did you knowThe Little Museum of Dublin runsa free Children’s Educational

Programme, ‘I Love Dublin’. Visit www.littlemuseum.ie/visit-the-museum/i-love-dublin-classes

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Nótaí Deiridh

Two pages of resources for the classroom, from training courses to helpful hints and useful links Diabetes IrelandThe National LunarWalk Series is Ireland’s

only nationwide Lunar walkseries with city walks takingplace under a full moon. Joinwith others for these night timewalks of varying distances andhelp raise much needed fundsfor Diabetes Ireland in theprocess.l galway: 25 April (10km walk).l Waterford: 16 May (10km)l Cork: 25 May (20km)l Dublin: 22 June (20km and

30km)

Women’s Mini Marathon

Join the Purple People and Runor Walk for Diabetes Ireland atthis year’s Mini Marathon on 3June.

For more information ondiabetes or on these events visitwww.diabetes.ie

Show Racism the Red CardSome of Ireland’s best-known footballers and GAAstars gathered at Croke Park on 1 March to launcha new education pack, aimed at tackling racism inschools and sports organisations.

e education pack, was developed by the anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card and isaimed at tackling racism in schools and sportsclubs. e pack includes written and video testi-monies from a host of well-known sportspeople.ose featured include Ireland internationals Seamus Coleman and Seán St. Ledger; GAA starsLee Chin, Barry Cahill and Cliona O’Connor; andLeinster and Ireland rugby player Seán O’Brien. epack also contains activities and exercises aimed atpromoting respect for diversity and informingyoung people about how to respond to racism.

Further information about the new education pack is availableat www.theredcard.ie. Sample video footage from the pack canbe seen at: www.youtube.com/theredcardire.

NAME:

ADDRESS:

A draw for 2 x £100 will be made from all correct entries.Simply complete the crossword and send it to InTouch, 35 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, before friday 24th May 2013

, Comhar Linn Crossword NO 147

Across

1. Is it ruby that's at the heart ofmanagement? (3)

3. butterfly identifying Hazel Lavery or LaGioconda, perhaps. (7,4)

8. fits out with eastern jokes. (6)9. wireless meat for an amateur listener.

(5,3)10. Trays scattered by a woodland deity. (5)11. Pick-me-up made by the Tin Co. (5)13. Type of fruit you can fool? That's about

right. (5)15. Sprinted to get a big bag to plunder. (7)16. was Uncas the last one to sport this

hairstyle? (7)20. where you can buy a rock in the south-

east. (5)21. The panache of loud Den. (5)23 & 24. IT crime one might curb by yelling.

(5,8)25. firearm used to dispel pilots. (6)26. Do the wets stay dirty with this form of

laundry? (3,8)27. with which to cut most taxes. (3)

Down

1 & 3d. It sounds like it's a dissertationconfirming the existence of the Hellenicrepublic that one finds in the kitchen! (11,5)

2. It takes a strange nun to aim for a peak.(8)

3. See 1 down.4. be anxious, or Venus might appear. (7)5. The doctor has one foot to move

aimlessly. (5)6. Part of the head in silver is feeling pain. (6)7. Vegetable that may turn up. (3)

12. from the lectern, Hale names amushroom. (11)

13. Deducts for unloading here. (5)14. run away with an eastern gait. (5)17. How to bait a cat with bread. (8)18. Does the plane figure on carrying no

horse? (7)19. Crop that is barely moveable. (6)22. Messrs. Keane and Pacino together are

most noble. (5)23. Many get gin cocktail to hang onto. (5)24. Note - that commercial is of poor quality.

(3)

Gordius - In Touch No. 146 March 2013

Across1. Mob 3. Megalomania 8. Unclog 9. Periodic table11. Elfin 13. Miler 15. Needful 16. Oversee 20. Haunt21. Spoil 23. Volga 24. Laminate 25. Oxford26. Preparation 27. The

Down1. Mountainous 2. Backbone 3. Moose 4. Asphalt5. Maine 6. Nod off 7. Arc 12. Never say die 13. Mouth 14.Rivet 17. Shell out 18. Current 19. Coombe 22. Linda 23.Vixen 24. Lop

Winners of Crossword no. 146Susan Hosford, Bishopstown, Cork; and Miriam Foley, Newport, Co. Tipperary

How we care

National Carers’ Week competitionNow entering its th year, National Carers’ Week201 promises to be a highlight of the year for manyof the organisations working with and supportingfamily carers throughout Ireland.

Since 2010 National Carers’ week has run a primary schools writing and art competition, usingthe rd /th class SPHE Curriculum – Strand; Myselfand My Family; specifically exploring the kinds ofthings that families can do together and how theycare for, love and support each other. e title of thecompetition ‘How We Care’ aims to raise awarenessof the caring we do every day for our family.

If you are interested in taking part in this year’scompetition, please email [email protected] or visitwww.carersweek.ie to download details about thecompetition and how to enter. You can also followon www.facebook.com/nationalcarersweek

Other key aspects of the week include hundreds ofevents for family carers throughout Ireland with theoverall objective being to raise awareness of familycarers in our community.

National Carers’ Week runs from 10 to 16 Juneand all primary schools are invited to take part.


Finishing Touches

… and your Comhar Linn Crossword!

Scoil Cholmcille, Liffordcloughfinns.comEngages readers with extensive use of images in what is a very modern lookingwebsite with a great blog. It proves whata very small school (30 to 40 pupils) cando through its website.

My favourite sitesNiamh kingston, Scoilnetuser submitted the followingthree websites.

Moo Crewmoocrew.ieEducational programme intended tobridge that nutritional gap by helpingchildren to learn about the importanceof the milk, yogurt and cheese foodgroup, in a fun way.

Kids National Geographickids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/Highly visual and so very ‘current’.

Our World Irish Awardshttp://ourworldirishaidawards.ie/Irish Aid programme to increaseprimary pupils’ awareness andunderstanding of global developmentissues.

The most accessed resources on Socilnet formid-March:

Gaeilge Labhairt Uimhreacha

schoolblog8.scoilnet.ie/numbers/display_cards_uimhreachaCártaí Taispeántais le pictiúir agus foclóir abhaineann le na huimhreacha 0-20.

Torthaí CártaI Taispeántais

schoolblog8.scoilnet.ie/fruit/display_cards_torthaiCártaí Taispeántais le pictiúir agus foclóir a bhainneann le torthaí

Fraction Bingo

wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Bingo%20-%20fractions%20v2.swfLearn about fractions through playing Bingo.

An Chistin

schoolblog8.scoilnet.ie/cistin/playing_cards_an_chistinTá cartaí le focal agus pictiúr orthu, cho0mh maithle cartaí le pictiúr amháin.

Infant Vocabulary Games

learninggamesforkids.com/preschool_games.htmlLetters, shapes, numbers and vocabulary games for infants.

Explore the Titanic

historyonthenet.com/Titanictreasure/treachery_on_the_titanic_start.htmExplore the Titanic while trying to solve a mystery.

Rainn agus Amhráin

resources.teachnet.ie/clane/2008/index.htmlSongs and rhymes based on curriculum topics.

Cyber Bullying

commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/screen-out-mean-2-3Lesson plan for SPHE

Horrid Henry and Moody Margaret

scoilnet.magicstudio.ie/interactive/view/111227Game to link correct words.

Birr Castle

birrcastle.comLearn about the Parsons family over the last 400 years.

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Winner of World BookDay competition

Congratulations toChristine Buckley, Anabla NS, Kilcummin,Killarney, Co Kerry,who was the winnerof The O’Brien Presscompetition for WorldBook Day featured inthe March issue of InTouch. Christinewins €100 worth ofchildren’s books forher school.

Documents

Northern Conference INTO Equality · PDF fileNorthern Conference INTO Equality Conference ... 16 •New school library for ... symbol in InTouch news sections. It