|
In October Ms. Brown, Ms. Harrington, Ms Higgins and Ms. O’Hare took part in a Job Shadow programme in Southern Spain in a town called Úbeda. There they observed and learned about the Spanish education system and more particularly their provision for special education. They also enjoyed the good weather there! Course - Inclusion through the Arts Three staff attended this course in Malta in August 2023 . We learned how to use different mediums within the classroom to include all levels , ability , ethnic backgrounds and diverse needs . Examples being watercolours, the use of clay, mandela art and dot art . We had a wonderful time and had two very enjoyable cultural days . It was lovely to meet everyone involved in the course and we would highly recommend these programmes. Ms. Lyons and Ms. Nestor attended a course on “Digital Tools for Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Critical Thinking (4C’s)” from the 3rd - 7th of April in Lisbon.The focus of this course was to explore a vast range of digital tools to cater for students of all learning abilities. They learned that whilst digital tools are important to include in their teaching to promote the 4 C’s, they should be used as a tool and not used to completely replace organic teaching methods.
Ms.Higgins attended a training course on “Dyslexia and Inclusive Language” in Nafplio, Greece from 18th to 23rd July 2022. The focus was on creating a more inclusive environment for students with different levels of Dyslexia. She learned to see Dyslexia not as a disability but a different ability. Connie, Ms. Brown and Brid Grady went to Finland for our Erasmus trip. We learned about the Finnish Education System which was very interesting. We also discussed relaxation techniques for children and teachers in the classroom. Overall it was a very enjoyable course and the teachers were brilliant. Mr. Lyons, Mr. Maguire and Ms. Lynch travelled to Barcelona over the Easter holidays to engage in the course “We Are All Special”: Inclusion and Support for Students with Special Needs In and Out of the Classroom". This course provided them with an insight into how teachers can effectively ensure that they are creating an inclusive classroom that meets the needs of all students. This course also focused on conflict management, team building exercises, practising mindfulness in the classroom and the importance of effective differentiation. They look forward to sharing their new knowledge with their colleagues and implementing this learning into classrooms across the school. They also thoroughly enjoyed exploring the culture and attractions of Barcelona. Mr Woodhouse completed a course in ‘Successful Strategies for Teaching Students with Special Needs in Every Classroom’. The course took place in Florence, Italy. On this course he learned about European strategies in supporting children with special needs in the classroom. We gained knowledge on how schools in other countries support children with dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism, and have taken back key insights. This course also gave us an opportunity to tour the beautiful city of Florence and all of its attractions.  Last month Ms Brown attended an Erasmus course in Reykjavik, Iceland. There she attended a project management course( i.e. the Erasmus project). She also got a wonderful opportunity to visit an Icelandic primary school. There she was able to talk to the children and teachers. She also got to see the Icelandic curriculum in practice. During February midterm break 2022, Ms. Fowley and Michelle O Brien completed a course on designing inclusive learning environments to support all students, in Athens, Greece. This course highlighted the importance of diversity and differentiation, within a school environment. We improved our knowledge on differentiation, inclusion and diversity in schools. The aim of the course, was to give us new ideas to make our classes and schools more inclusive and to aim for variability rather than disability. It is hoped, to raise the achievement of all learners in inclusive education. It gave us, more ideas, to help us become even more welcoming to our students. We explored, embracing different students in our school and giving everyone access to the same opportunities. It was a very informative course and we came away with various new ideas. We explored the city, sampled Greek cuisine, learned about Greek culture and improved our historic knowledge of Ancient Greece. The valuable knowledge gained will benefit our pupils in our ever growing school. Thus, we can now incorporate this new learning into our everyday working life in St Ronan’s and share our new knowledge with our colleagues.
Ms Foley, Ms McKenna and Mr Phillips completed a course in ‘Successful Strategies for Teaching Students with Special Needs in Every Classroom’. The course took place in Florence, Italy. On this course we learned about European strategies in supporting children with special needs in the classroom. We gained knowledge on how schools in other countries support children with dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism, and have taken back key insights. This course also gave us an opportunity to tour the beautiful city of Florence and all of its attractions. |
