Actually, due to Covid-19, our Erasmus+ project has lost some of its steam!
Our pupil exchange trip to Malaga in Spain whch was planned for May had to be canecelled/postponed. Ms Brennan, Ms Taheny and Ms Burke were to bring 6 pupils from 5th class and 6 pupils from 6th class to visit our partner school in Granada and spend 7 nights there. All the work of arranging the trip had been done, flights and everything else booked and paid for - but, alas, it was all in vain. It was very disappointing for the pupils especially. It was such a long awaited trip - but these are the times we are currently living in - living alongside the threat of Covid-19.
Ms Brennan and Ms McAndrew were on a training trip to our partner school in Riga,Latvia in March. This coincided with the schools going in to lockdown and they cut the trip short by a day to return home. They had a training course on the use of light tables in early year's education. We have since purchased a light table and accessories which will be used in the infant classrooms during Aistear sessions.
The teachers who went to Norway in January already training in the use of portable digital projectors. We have purchased two of these for the school. Our school provided the first training course of the project in October of 2019 and that was in the use of Beebots in early years education. We have a good supply of Beebots and Bluebots for use in or school.
For now, we have the pleasure of having PACO the lion on vacation from Granada to our school. He is the mascot from the Spanish school. He even has his own passport which will be filled with photographs of him with the children that he visits in each of the partner countries. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, he will be admired by our pupils from a distance - he will have a place on a shelf in the classrooms he visits. He is especially looking forward to learning a new language!
Here is a link to the project website
Click HERE
We don't know about the possibility of travel from our country for the months ahead...maybe years? However the plan is there and the funding is in place for a pupil exchange to Spain for 20 pupils and 4 teachers. There are three more training trips for teachers planned also to our partner schools in Lithuania, Estonia and Spain.
Fingers crossed that the whole country will work together to follow the guidelines and keep us safe!
