Ireland

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Erasmus Plus HAPPENS Staff Attend Participative Research on Health and Wellness Conference at National University of Ireland, Galway

 

Conference Brochure Cover
Conference Brochure 2

Annie Asgard, the Irish coordinator of the Erasmus Plus HAPPENS Project from the Claddagh National School was invited to attend an international conference on Health Promotion Participatory Research Projects at the National University of Ireland in Galway in May 2017. She shared the Erasmus Plus HAPPENS Project with researchers from around the world as well as learned about participatory research projects taking place.

Here you can see the slideshow she presented to the conference. Dr. Siobhan O’Higgins, of NUIG, also attended the Claddagh National School Europe Day on May 9th.

 

Erasmus+ Festival Claddagh N.S. 9th May
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Erasmus+ Festival Claddagh N.S. 9th May

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We were honoured and delighted to welcome Mairéad McGuinness MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament, to the school as part of our celebrations to mark Europe Day and the successful completion of our two-year Erasmus+ project on health and well-being for both staff and students.

Ms. McGuinness spoke eloquently to the children, staff and parents about the founding dream of the European Union – all the countries of Europe working together peacefully for each other’s benefit – and asked them to remember its importance as they grow up.

She was also treated to a number of dances our children had learned as part of the Erasmus+ project, and some beautiful singing from the school choir. Not exactly a stuffy politician, Ms. McGuinness even joined our musicians Mr. Kelly, Ms. Fahy and Ms. Browne for an impromptu sing-song before she left! We were delighted to see that she later tweeted about how much she enjoyed visiting the school.

The pupils toured the wonderful displays celebrating all the work completed as part of the Erasmus+ project. We watched a great video which highlights all the activities and associated improvements to our health and fitness which have taken place in school thanks to the fantastic project. It was a great chance to celebrate and reflect on all we have achieved!

Claddagh N.S. Erasmus+ Project Highlights from erasmusplus.happens on Vimeo.

Claddagh Teachers and Pupils Erasmus+ Feedback from erasmusplus.happens on Vimeo.

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Claddagh National School Nature Walk — A Magical Mystery Nature Treasure Hunt Walk in Our (Unusually) Beautiful Weather

 

On Monday, May 8th, 2017 a wonderfully enthusiastic bunch of Claddagh National School Staff headed off on a magical mystery treasure hunt organised by our very own tour guide Mr. Joseph Walsh. He set out 15 difficult clues for our clever staff to find on the way to our Salthill Promendade which involved not only fitness, agility … look at Mr. Gabriel Farragher using all his core strength to bend down to look under the bench for the clues but also our mental energy to figure out some of the difficult clues!

Some staff chose to work on the difficult treasure hunt on their own while others worked in teams or pairs! They all did fantastic work and the winners were announced the following day at the Erasmus Plus HAPPENS Festival which was a celebration of Europe Day!

Well done to all our clever staff!! The prizes were food and beverage vouchers from our local restaurants! This was a terrific way to encourage us to get out in nature during a stressful busy time of year while also allowing us to be mindful of the nature around us and improve our mental health. Working together with our colleagues, having a laugh, improving our work / life balance and thinking laterally are all part of the core aims of the Erasmus Plus HAPPENS programme and this activity addressed all those objectives in a fun and active way.

The winners were:

3rd Prize: Mrs. Inez Riordan, Deputy Principal

2nd Prize: Mrs. Keira Glynn & Ms. Jennifer Lee

1st Prize: Mrs. Sara Grier

Healthy Herbs in Claddagh School
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Healthy Herbs in Claddagh School

Some of our teaching staff attended a Herbalism Workshop with Dott.ssa Maria Pia Cucino in which she outlined the benefits of some medicinal plants that grow in our latitude.

Mr. Farragher then taught a lesson to the 6th class children in Claddagh N.S. on the health benefits of the artichoke, mallow and hawthorn herbs.
The children of 6th class then conducted further research of their own on the benefits of these herbs.
They then completed a worksheet which outlined the information they had learned from the lesson.
We documented each stage of the lesson through photographs and then created a display for other classes in the school to view and learn from.
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Art & Relaxation – Claddagh NS

The Claddagh school staff were invited to create a piece of art today. We looked and responded to a painting by Wassily Kandinsky, The piece “In Blue” was painted in 1925 in Russia. We looked at the painting and participants  used words like, strong, straight, colourful, travel, angles and masculinity to describe this abstract piece. The teachers also could see images like tomato, rooster and light house in the painting.  Participants were then invited to paint a response to the painting, people painted a mix of abstract and representational work. They mixed colours as they were only offered the 3 primary colours and white. All participants enjoyed the time to sit, chat and create. It is a practice we could build into our term, perhaps once a term meet at lunch time just to sit, chat and create. I believe that creative practice not only allows a space to relax but also a space to connect with other participants.