Applications are now open to participate in FÉILTE 2023!

Applications should be received on or before Monday, 17 April 2023. 

For more information and an application form please click the link https://www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/feilte/feilte-2023/

FÉILTE is the teaching profession's annual teacher-led celebration which acknowledges the work that you do every day in your classroom. At FÉILTE, teachers gather with other teachers from primary, post-primary, and further education to share their passion for teaching, engage in mutual learning, and be inspired by colleagues and guest speakers alike. 

This year we are excited to announce a new direction for FÉILTE: We are taking our event to school! Our theme this year is Creativity in Action, and we hope that you will join us in celebrating the innovative and creative work of teachers and school leaders, in the familiar surroundings of a school setting. The name of the school will be shared with you shortly; so keep an eye on our website and social media pages for updates.

How do I get involved?

FÉILTE is open to all registered teachers. If you or your school have an idea or a methodology that other teachers may benefit from, we'd love you to join us and be part of this special day that celebrates teaching. 

Apply below to share your story about the practices you engage in, the ideas you have tried, and the things you would recommend to other teachers ... and become part of the shared experience that is FÉILTE! 

The Future Leaders Pathway Online Information Evening

24th April @ 6 pm

All future leaders interested in doing this postgraduate programme @WexfordEdCentre in collaboration with @MaynoothUni

Should complete their Registration to attend this session via this form: forms.office.com/e/BS6N6YWGTW

The South East Engineering Festival 2023 will take place March 6-10, and we in SETU Waterford and Carlow have a wide and diverse range of activities for your students to show them Engineering in action. We have a mixture of Engineering shows and workshops, challenges and competitions in SETU’s Carlow and Waterford campuses.  

We have events in person in both SETU Carlow, and Waterford, and for those who can’t come to SETU campuses, we also have online events and activities that you can do with your class in school. 

Events taking place are lectures, workshops and competitions which emphasise sustainability, positive climate change action, infrastructural design, careers and more. The events and competitions promote creative & critical thinking and are not just for students with an interest in Engineering.

Details of events and booking are below:

Careers in Engineering Talk

(Online Event)

A panel of varied Engineers from across the South East region will speak about their experiences in Engineering and their journey on their current career path. This is an inspiring session for students that will be led by a professional Engineer.

Register your interest here: https://engfest.ie/event/ty-sustainable-engineering-challenge/

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The Physics of Isaac Newton for Senior Cycle Students

(In-school visit)

This is an in-school visit with Gabriel Gallagher, a physics lecturer at SETU Waterford where students will look at Newton’s complex personality and fascinating life.

Register your interest here: https://engfest.ie/event/isaac-newton-talk-2/

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TY Engineering Week Quiz

(Location: SETU Waterford)

The Engineering Week Quiz returns in person this year in SETU, Waterford Main Auditorium in conjunction with Speed Quizzing Ireland. Schools can enter teams from TY and 5th year, for a fun, a speed-based quiz with questions based on science, maths, engineering, music and general knowledge.

Register your interest here: https://engfest.ie/event/__ty_engineering_quiz/

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Competitions

Bridge Design Competition

(Can be completed at home or in class)

This is an individual competition with some great prizes. The competition is aimed at Transition year students but anyone currently registered as a secondary school student in Ireland can enter

Pupils can download free software and work on their entries during the week. The software is simple to navigate and students will be able to instantly test their designs by running a simulation. 

Register your interest here: https://engfest.ie/event/bridge-design-competition/

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TY Sustainable Engineering Challenge

(Each school to run a team challenge in their own school in late February and then the winners from each school to come into SETU, Waterford Campus, Cork Rd. on Tuesday 7th March and compete against each other for the overall prize)

This challenge can help focus students on positive action towards Climate change by using creative, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills to come up with local, national and global solutions. With an emphasis on well-thought-out ideas and creativity rather than engineering knowledge or calculations. We seek to highlight the opportunities in engineering in the region for your students.  

Register your interest here: https://engfest.ie/event/ty-sustainable-engineering-challenge/

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The South East Engineering Festival 2023 - Full  programme and event booking is available at: https://engfest.ie/events/ 

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 Future Leaders Pathway Post Graduate Programme

September 2023

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Supporting Multilingual Classrooms – A training workshop

We are delighted to invite you or a school colleague to the training workshop,  Supporting Multilingual Classrooms, Wednesday 30^th November in Waterford Teachers’ Centre. The workshop is limited to 20 attendees who will receive sub-cover and travel expenses.

This training workshop will be facilitated by the world renowned Professor Terry Lamb, @DrTerryLamb,  who is Professor of Languages and Interdisciplinary Pedagogy at the University of Westminister.  Professor Lamb’s visit to Waterford is being sponsored by the European Centre for Modern Languages. This training workshop is only being delivered in Waterford Teachers’ Centre.

The workshop will address among other issues

• supporting teachers with language development, including the language of schooling, across the curriculum
• supporting teachers with how linguistically diverse learners  cope with the complexity of the classroom
• developing language-aware schools

A timetable and further details of the workshop will be sent later.

We expect a lot of interest in this workshop and we would advise that you book early. A waiting list will be created should the need arise.

Please book your place on this LINK:  https://www.wtc.ie/cpd-courses-2/primary-courses/1950-face-to-face-supporting-multilingual-classrooms.html

 A fun way for children and young people to explore opera (School Resource)

Wexford Education Support Centre are delighted that a fun new resource for children and young people is now available which captures some of the fun and magic that is Wexford Festival Opera, including a Virtual Tour of the theatre in the National Opera House.

Once Upon a Time in Wexford is written by Elizabeth McKiernan and Lucy Small, and takes you on a journey from the origins of the Wexford Festival Opera, through its unique traditions and shows children and young people, that opera is for everyone.

After researching and writing a history of the festival for children and sourcing images and historical texts, Elizabeth McKernan and Lucy Small engaged artist Mirona Mara who designed stunning, colourful illustrations for the interactive slideshow to create a visual and auditory feast. They worked alongside stage director Roberto Recchia to ensure that Once Upon a Time in Wexford is an interactive and fun experience and a reminder to young readers that opera has something to offer everyone.

Like some of our favourite stories, it opens with Once Upon A Time…

In this historic location, two doctors, a postman and a hotel owner created what is now an international opera festival.

Ove six fun and interactive chapters take a step back in time and behind the scenes of this internationally renowned festival

Written by Elizabeth McKiernan and Lucy Small, it takes you on a journey from the origins of the Wexford Festival Opera, through its unique traditions and shows children and young people, that opera is for everyone.

Once Upon a Time in Wexford is both an educational and fun way to relate the essence of the Wexford Festival Opera to a young audience.

An interactive slideshow with stunning, original illustrations by Mirona Mara, sound clips, fun facts and a description of opera and opera voices, it is a visual and auditory feast.

Like some of our favourite stories, it opens with Once Upon A Time…

In this historic location, two doctors, a postman and a hotel owner created what is now an international opera festival.

The scene is now set, the year is 1951; let the magic begin…

Chapter 1: What is Opera?

Download What is Opera presentation.

Chapter 2: Dr Tom Walsh and the First Festival

Download Dr. Tom Walsh and the First Festival presentation.

Chapter 3: The National Opera House

Download The National Opera House presentation.

Chapter 4: Wexford Tradition

Download Wexford Traditions presentation.

Chapter 5: Children and the Opera Festival

Download Children and the Opera Festival presentation.

Chapter 6: Fantastic Festival Facts

Download Fantastic Festival Facts presentation.

This full day seminar online is relevant to new and existing teachers of Junior Cycle RSE. It will outline curriculum content and teaching, learning and assessment methodologies, which aim to develop teacher confidence and knowledge in teaching RSE. Participants will explore materials and resources which will support teachers in the delivery of Junior Cycle RSE.

Booking only on www.sphe.ie

SID Ambassador Programme Open

An important aspect of anti-bullying prevention, wellbeing and internet safety in schools is the active involvement of students in building a positive school climate.

As a part of our Safer Internet Day campaign, Webwise is reaching out to post-primary students and encouraging and supporting them to address internet safety issues such as cyberbullying, online wellbeing, false information online, privacy, data protection and your rights online by leading awareness-raising campaigns in their clubs, schools, and communities.

We would love you to get involved! 

What’s Involved?

Anyone can nominate a Safer Internet Day (SID) Ambassador, you can even nominate yourself! We are looking for young people who have the passion to lead an internet safety awareness raising campaign in their school.

Online Training

Due to Covid19 restrictions on large gatherings the Safer Internet Day Ambassador Programme 2021 will take place online this year over a series of weekly webinars.

Webwise will provide online training to the youth ambassadors to empower them to lead safer internet campaigns in their schools. The programme will take place over December and January in the lead up to Safer Internet Day, 9^th February 2021. There will be 5 sessions and the topics for each session are:

The topics for each session are:

• Welcome to the Safer internet Day Ambassador Programme (Introductory session – December 2020)
• Managing Online Wellbeing & Resilience (January 2021)
• Youth Panel Showcase & Mentoring Session (January 2021)
• How to run an effective Safer Internet Day Campaign (January 2021)
• Special Guest panel Q&A Session (January 2021)

With each session building on the last the sessions will form a step-by-step guide for students on how to lead an effective internet safety awareness raising campaign. Given the impact of Covid19 on all our lives the focus for this year’s programme will be on online wellbeing and promoting online resilience. The peer-led element to the programme is key and the online programme will keep the brainstorming and smaller group discussions that students enjoyed and found most beneficial from previous trainings.

Teacher Training

Building on the success of the first ever teacher Safer Internet Day training session in 2020, Webwise will host one online training session for teachers who have students participating in the SID Ambassador Programme. This session will guide teachers on how best to support their students to lead their Safer Internet Day initiatives. Teachers of students that have been accepted onto the programme can sign up for the training in November. Info on this will be sent to teachers once all student applications have been processed.

Special Guest Panel Discussion

We are delighted to announce that radio and tv host Eoghan McDermott will take part in a panel Q&A session to discuss his experiences online and where you will also have an opportunity to ask how he looks after his wellbeing online. The panel discussion will also feature some other familiar Irish faces!

Why Join the Safer Internet Day Ambassador Programme?

Over 170,000 people joined us in celebrating Safer Internet Day across Ireland in 2020. Help us make Safer Internet Day 2021 an even bigger success by becoming a Safer Internet Day Ambassador.

Our Safer Internet Day Ambassador Programme is a peer to peer youth programme that gives students an opportunity to start an online safety campaign in their own school. The SID Ambassador Programme empowers students by providing them with opportunities to develop leadership, human relations, team building and communication skills. Students make a commitment to lead by example, demonstrate respect and responsibility and engage in community service. This is a great opportunity to work with students from across Ireland and help create a positive environment in schools and communities.

How many students can apply?

The application process for the Safer Internet Day Ambassador Programme is now open and will close 30^th October. You can apply by completing the application form here: docs.google.com/forms/SIDAMBASSADOR

Check out https://www.webwise.ie/trending/sid-ambassador-programme-open/ for more information