IPPN

Last Updated: Friday, 25 June 2010 15:21

The eight year primary school cycle for 50,000 pupils will come to an end today (Friday 25th June) as they will bid farewell to their primary schools for the last time.  Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) President, Pat Goff said ‘For many parents, the summer holiday provides a slower pace with fun family outings.  This summer, perhaps parents could use the natural amenities around them to increase their children’s awareness and expand and develop their learning.  It is well documented that it is beneficial for children to engage in some educational activity over the summer’.

‘Ireland is a children’s paradise and has so much to offer.  This summer, parents can make a conscious decision to expose their children to recreational or educational experiences, which can be great fun for everyone involved.  This could include free or low cost activities such as visiting places in Ireland that are of cultural, historical or geographical interest. Children may have encountered many of these already through their school curriculum’ continued the IPPN President.

Mr Goff urged parents to focus on the simple things this summer. ‘Basic activities such as picnicking in a beauty spot, visiting an old ruin, organising a team game on the village green. A visit to the seaside can involve more than building sandcastles, it can be the catalyst for developing a lifelong interest in important areas such as renewable energy, erosion or global warming. This recession is offering us all both the opportunity and the reason to return to basics’.