Tag Archives: Education

LIT has confirmed its plans to open a new campus in Ennis on foot of a proposed capital investment of €0.75 million by Clare County Council. Located on Bindon Street in the town’s historic core, the new facility will enable a substantial increase in higher education activity in the town. Reflecting LIT’s regional development remit, the LIT Ennis campus will join LIT’s existing campuses at Clonmel and Thurles in County Tipperary; Moylish and Clare Street in Limerick City; and a new engineering-focused campus currently under development at Coonagh in Limerick. A total of six degree programmes in Social Care, Early Childhood Care and Education, and Marketing and Management are now available through the CAO at LIT in Ennis for September commencement. Possibilities for evening and professional learning will also be opened up. Commenting on the news, LIT President, Professor Vincent Cunnane said, “We are delighted to be able to progress our plans in Ennis. We intend to provide an expanded …

WITH Leaving Certificate students across the county preparing for the next stage of their lives, they would do well to listen to the advice of one Ennis-based woman who certainly knows a thing or two about studying. Christina Larkin has become the first Doctor of Nursing to graduate from University College Dublin. As she says herself, she was “a very average student” while in secondary school; however, at 46, she has gone on to graduate with the highest educational honour. Dr Larkin hopes that by sharing her story, it will show people that there are many ways of achieving what you want and that it is never too late to follow your dreams. “I am also quite excited to be speaking about my study at the Horatio Congress for European Psychiatric Nurses in the Faroe Islands in May. I have become a member of the European Violence in Psychiatry Research Group so I am looking forward to meeting other researchers …

Second-level teachers in Clare will protest outside their schools at lunchtime this Thursday but student class time will not be affected by the protest. The protest aims to highlight the need to maintain independent assessment of student attainment at Junior Cycle. It involves members of the ASTI and the TUI. Up to 27,000 second-level teachers across the country will participate. Peter Quinn, ASTI representative for Clare and a teacher at St. Flannan’s College said teachers fully support a move away from excessive reliance on written exams and want to see more focus in schools on practical, portfolio, and project work. “We want to maintain independent, external assessment in order to protect standards, equity, quality and fairness. Anything less has the potential to seriously undermine Junior Cycle education and to widen inequalities between students and schools. We cannot take this risk with our young people. “We appreciate the support we have received from parents and the community during this campaign,” he …

A wide-ranging survey of civil society organisations published this Thursday indicates that while Budget 2015 may have offered some positive measures for various social groups, it does not go far enough to restore or protect basic rights downgraded over several years of austerity. Despite the increases in welfare rates and payments, organisations working in areas right across society – social welfare, minorities, health, children, LGBT, women, disabled persons, education and older people – saw either no change or a reduction in accessibility to rights from Budget 2015, according to FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres). The survey was conducted by FLAC and its PILA project on some 39 organisations across all areas of society in the aftermath of Budget 2015. “These results show that groups do recognise that some efforts were bring made by Government, but it is interesting to note that there was no sense of elation or even cautious optimism across the 39 participating bodies. Most felt there was …

  THE first permanent extension since the initial construction of St Aidan’s School in Shannon has been opened for some weeks and was recently blessed by the Bishop of Killaloe Kieran O’Reilly. The new extension to the school consists of a main stream classroom, two resource rooms, staff toilets and an extended car park. Speaking this week, school principal Patrice Hayes said; “We had it blessed following the confirmation ceremony, it was a good opportunity for the Bishop who was confirming the children to bless it on the same day. The children actually moved into it in April. We only applied for it in September 2012 and it was ongoing all of last year.” She said that putting the extension in place had been quite a big project; “It’s one 80 metres squared classroom, a resource room, staff toilets and we also redesigned our existing car park. There was a lot of work.” The school is going to have a …

Four Clare primary and secondary schools have been awarded green flags for the first time bringing to 100 the number of local schools now holding the international award for environmental action. Run by An Taisce in partnership with local authorities throughout Ireland, the Green-Schools award scheme is an international environmental education programme and management system that acknowledges long-term, whole school action for the environment. St Patrick’s Comprehensive School in Shannon; Coore NS, Kilkishen NS and Scoil Mhuire in Meelick were presented with their very first green flag at a special An Taisce Green Schools Awards ceremony held in the Radisson Hotel in Galway recently. A further 32 schools successfully renewed their Green Flags following work on  new themes including energy, water, travel, biodiversity and global citizenship litter/waste. The schools include: Clondrinagh NS; Úlla Beag Preshool, Killaloe; Doolin NS.; Scoil Mhainchín, Ennistymon; Ennis Educate Together NS; St John Bosco Community College, Kildysart; St Senan’s Primary School, Kilrush; Lakyle NS, Whitegate; Moyasta …

ENNIS has been invaded by Vikings. However, this time it is not gold these Vikings were after but knowledge of how to set up Family Learning classes. 24 Norwegians visited Clare Family Learning Project work last week with their ultimate goal to set up Family Learning programmes in their region in Norway similar to what is being done locally in Clare. While here, the group gained valuable ideas through visiting classes in action, meeting parents who have already attended classes, and meeting family learning tutors and the partners that Clare Family Learning Project work with. The visitors from Nedre Eiker Municipality in Norway included 11 adult education teachers, two primary school principals, three kindergarten teachers, the head of all schools and kindergartens in the region, a volunteer co-ordinator, a cultural leader, a pedagogical leader and others interested in the notion of family learning. Principal of the Adult Learning Centre in Nedre Eiker Elizabeth Engeset visited the Clare Family Learning Project …

A CELEBRATION of adult learning will take place throughout the county next week. Aontas Adult Learner Week runs from Monday, until Saturday, March 1 and a host of events have been planned for venues all over Clare highlighting the benefits of adult education. Jacinta Davenport, Educational Guidance Counsellor with LCETB (Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board), based in the Adult Education Centre in Clonroad Business Park explained, “Aontas believes that all adults in Ireland should have equal access to learning opportunities, that adult learning has a hugely important role to play in the economic and social future of Ireland. We know that adult learners and adult learning centres do vital work on a daily basis.” In the last seven years, the festival has become a firm fixture on the adult learning calendar with events taking place nationwide, including anything from information sessions, taster workshops, sample lectures to small gatherings of people who love to learn. She added, “The Adult …