Busy Bodies Adolescent Development Programme DVD Booklet Recently Updated [hse.ie]
- Published: 28 January 2011
The adolescent development programme, Busy Bodies has recently been updated and is available on line free of charge.
Busy Bodies was developed to support the teaching of the 5th and 6th class component of Relationships and Sexuality Education within the context of Social Personal and Health Education. Itwas produced by the HSE Health Promotion working in partnership with the RSE Support Service, the National Parents Council (Primary) and the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme.
Busy Bodies Adolescent Development Programme provides information on the physical and emotional changes that children may experience during puberty. The main aim of the resource is to reassure children that puberty is a normal part of growing up. Busy Bodies is a useful tool to help support both teachers and parents in providing information on puberty to children aged between 10 and 14.
Sharon Parkinson , Senior Health Promotion Officer, HSE Southsaid “I am sure that young people, parents and teachers will find this updated version of Busy Bodies a useful resource when communicating and answering questions that they may have about adolescent development”.
Full Story: www.hse.ie
Increase Investment in Education, Urges Finnish Academic
- Published: 28 January 2011
Press Release
Increase Investment in Education, Urges Finnish Academic
Dr Pasi Sahlberg, Education Consultant to the Finnish Government will urge the incoming government to radically increase investment in education despite the recession, when he addresses over 1,000 Primary School Principals at the Annual Conference of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN), in the Citywest Hotel today, Friday 28th January.
Finland invests over 7% of GDP every year in education. Ireland invests 4.6%. The result - Ireland has dropped from 5th to 17th place in the literacy stakes and languishes at 27th place in the numeracy stakes, when compared with other OECD countries. Dr Sahlberg acknowledges the high quality of teacher graduates, but warns that ‘over reliance on a committed and highly skilled teaching profession only serves to camouflage the lack of government investment, and will lead to a severe drop in levels of teacher and principal morale as disenchantment sets in. Corrective measures in the form of enhanced investment must be implemented now if this is not to happen’ continued Pasi.
‘The Irish are a very resilient people and the new Irish government must be brave and put its trust in the next generation to create a new ‘Celtic Tiger’ continues Dr Sahlberg. This can only be done if the next generation of entrepreneurs are given the raw material of knowledge, through education, to develop their skills base’ said Dr Sahlberg. ’In particular, the primary sector must be especially well resourced to ensure the foundation blocks are in place for the knowledge economy that will inevitably follow’ continued Pasi.
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early nineties, Finland experienced a severe recession similar to what we are currently experiencing in Ireland. The Finnish Government of the day bravely decided that increased investment in education was the roadmap to recovery. Result? Finland emerged quickly from recession, has a highly skilled workforce, and today boasts one of the finest education systems in the world. Is there a value in Ireland following a similar path? Dr Sahlberg firmly believes there is.
Dr Sahlberg will spend three days at the IPPN Conference, where he will engage with over 1,000 primary school principals in what is one of the biggest conferences for school leaders in Europe.
Must be an election - schools get funding [theecho.ie]
- Published: 27 January 2011
A NUMBER of schools across County Wexford were told yesterday (Tuesday) that, (by some miracle), they had been allocated funding for major works, but many more were left waiting another year for good news.
The CBS, Thomas Street, Wexford, has been granted funding for an extension and refurbishment and a process of appointing a design team is due to begin shortly.
Scoil Naomh Phadraig, Crossabeg’s extension and refurbishment plan is to go to complete tender. Presently many of the school’s 168 pupils have to be educated in prefabs.
Plans are in place for five new classrooms, a gym, three learning support classrooms, a new principals office, a new administration office, a library and storerooms etc. will be built.
These works will cost an expected €1.8m to complete.
A new on site Vocational College has been announced for Enniscorthy, while St. Aidan’s primary school is to progress to the planning stage with its plans for a €7.5m investment in an extension for the big school, while Coláiste Abbain in Adamstown’s extension and refurbishment works moved a step closer as these are also to go to planning stage.
To date plans for a new extension featuring 18 offices and classrooms for all the practical subjects have been completed Coláiste Abbain was built to accommodate 350 students, but only has 200 on its role today.
Full Story: www.theecho.ie
Isme calls for independent body to make State board appointments [IrishTimes]
- Published: 27 January 2011
AN INDEPENDENT commission to appoint people to State boards should be set up to prevent “political cronyism”, the small businesses group Isme has said.
The call came after 48 appointments were made by the Government to the boards of State bodies in the last 10 days, including 25 made by the Taoiseach. A further 10 appointments are expected to be made shortly.
Over the Christmas break, 90 such appointments were made.
The figures, released to Fine Gael TD Leo Varadkar yesterday, outlined details of appointments made between January 14th and 25th.
They showed Taoiseach Brian Cowen appointed 25 people to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), seven for the first time. In his capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs the Taoiseach is also likely to make 10 appointments to the Emigrant Services Advisory Committee shortly.
Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith made four appointments to the Bookmakers’ Appeals Committee.
Mary Hanafin, under her enterprise portfolio, made two appointments to Forfás and three to the National Competitiveness Council.
Former minister for transport Noel Dempsey appointed a new member to the board of the National Transport Authority.
In her capacity as Minister for Culture, Ms Hanafin made six appointments to the National Museum of Ireland, five of which were new.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Phoebe inspires group to fight school bullying [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 27 January 2011
A GROUP of students inspired by the life and death of Phoebe Prince has set up a group to fight bullying — and they hope to spread the message across the United States and beyond.
The group, backed by Phoebe’s aunt Eileen Moore, is calling itself Phoebe’s Messengers.
The message the students at the secondary school in Massachusetts — not Phoebe’s but one close by — want to spread is nothing less than to build communities free of bullying.
Phoebe, a 15-year-old originally from Co Clare who emigrated to the US, killed herself after suffering months of abuse at the hands of some students at her school in South Hadley. The first anniversary of her death was last week.
Her life and death is being compared to that of a 13-year-old girl from Longford, Chloe Coleman. Her grandfather claims that Chloe took her own life last week after being subjected to abuse and threats, verbal, physical and via text messages.
Students in Springfield, Massachusetts, joined this week with teachers and Ms Moore to launch Phoebe’s Messengers.
One student, Lorraine Switzer, created a pin which members of the group plan to wear.
"It’s a small sky-blue heart with ‘Phoebe’s Messengers’ abbreviated and white wings and kind of like a sense of hope, like the wings of hope," said Lorraine.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
