On October 24th Castlebar Municipal District led by Cathaoirleach Michael Kilcoyne and Marie Crowley, Head of the Municipal District afforded a very special civic welcome to 12 European Erasmus visitors to Castlebar. The visitors were being hosted by St Angela’s NS and Breaffy NS.
Together with four partner schools in Madrid, Spain; Falkoping, Sweden; Berlin, Germany; and Fontanellato, Italy; our two local primary schools have embarked on an exciting European Erasmus+ project which aims to develop children’s Emotional Intelligence through the Visual Arts. The teachers visit each other’s schools and see at first hand the wonderful work being done through this Léargas funded project.
Erasmus+ projects aim to modernise and improve the quality of teaching, training and youth work across Europe, and to support the development, transfer and implementation of innovative practices. School staff gain first-hand knowledge of other European education systems, hone their professional skills and ensure their own continuous professional development. The benefits of being involved in such a project include 1. Improving teaching and learning 2.Expanding pupils’ horizons and raise their aspirations 3. Providing unique professional development experiences for school staff 4. Raising your school’s profile and 5. Connecting with stakeholder organisations, policymakers and the community.
Cllr Kilcoyne and the two school principals Nessa Maloney and George Moran, acknowledged the wonderful work being done to promote the project by the hugely creative and committed teachers in the schools and commended this generous spirit which allows children to be exposed to wonderful initiatives like this.
Both Principals thanked the Municipal District for this warm welcome which was also attended by Cllr Ger Deere and Cllr Blackie Gavin. The visitors were entertained by a great exposé to Irish culture and folklore through music, song and dance in both schools. They visited the Museum of Country Life in Turlough and Achill to enjoy the rich scenery, history and heritage in both places and naturally they experienced some fine local Irish hospitality.
Sincere thanks to Mayo Education Centre, Castlebar Municipal District, Turlough House Museum of Country Life, Gearóidín Ní Ghrúinéil, former Principal here who acted as our tour guide in Achill and Ms Máire English for all the extensive work and thought which went into the planning of the visit.