Mallow Maths and Science Primary Schools Initiative launched

Pictured at the launch of the Maths & Science Schools Initiative are primary school principals and teachers from the North Cork area on the 5th October.

Pictured at the launch of the Maths & Science Schools Initiative are primary school principals and teachers from the North Cork area on the 5th October.

The launch of the Mallow Maths and Science Primary Schools Initiative was held on Wednesday 5th October in the Mercy Centre.  The event, which was very well attended, was launched by Cllr Deirdre O’Brien, Chairperson of the Fermoy Municipal District who deputised for the County Mayor. Tom Cronin, Chairperson of the Innovation, Education and New Technologies Pillar of Mallow Development Partnership, welcomed those present which included representatives from Cork County Council, Mary Immaculate College in Limerick and the principals and teachers from the 13 schools in the Mallow and North Cork area who are taking part in the primary schools initiative. Mr Cronin said that the initiative was only possible thanks to the significant funding from the Economic Development Fund of Cork County Council who have continued to support the maths and science schools project in Mallow over the past six years.
Jerry Lynch, liaison officer for the schools and Mary Immaculate College, outlined the importance of the programme, both for the school children and the teachers. The maths and science workshops provided by Mary Immaculate College to the teachers greatly enable them to be at the cusp of new teaching methods in this area. The workshops increase confidence, techniques and showcases the fun side of teaching and learning in maths and science.
Dr Maeve Liston, Director of Enterprise and Community Engagement with Mary Immaculate College in Limerick explained that the main focus of the programme is to encourage and facilitate more child-led classwork, and ensuring an effective learning context through project work and problem solving. This will also address the transition from primary to secondary level education where project work and problem-solving is a key element of the new Junior Cycle Reform.  Michael Browne, Project Coordinator with Mary Immaculate College, visits the schools on a number of occasions during the school year to work with the children on their projects. Michael explained to those present that the children eagerly engage in planning their projects, using skills such as discussion, design, investigation and demonstration to achieve a successful outcome. The projects challenge the children to ‘think outside the box’ and encourage and facilitate the development of long term interest, understanding, knowledge and skills in STEM subjects in primary schools.
The current phase of the programme which was rolled out earlier in 2016 is well under way in each of the schools.   There has been very positive feedback from both teachers and students to the initiative. The students are currently working on projects to exhibit at the upcoming Munster Maths and Science Family Fair which will be held this Sunday at Mallow GAA Complex.  The fair attracts approx 4,000 -5,000 people each year and is FREE fun, family day out.  Exhibitors also include industry, academia, secondary schools., research and many more such as the Blackrock Observatory, Designer Minds, Blizzard Entertainment, Drive4Zero, Clever Mind Toys, Kostal to name but a few. The Maths and Science Schools initiative is key element of the long term goal of developing a community led schools programme and further positioning the wider Mallow area as a unique centre of future educational development involving all the relevant stakeholders.