Extra-curricular Opportunities at Primary Level

Fancy organising a workshop? Many NGOs have members of staff who do outreach and education visits to schools as part of their education programmes (when you contact them make sure to highlight the fact that you are looking for an educational workshop rather than a fundraising one! ).

Also, check out your local and regional DE centres which may have programmes of interest.

Better World Awards

Trócaire – April deadline

The annual Better World Award acknowledges the work that children do as they investigate, discuss and reflect on global justice issues in the classroom. Based on the work and energy that pupils invest in learning about global issues as part of the annual education theme explored as part of Trócaire’s Lenten campaign.

The award is open to all children in early years’ centres, and students from junior infants to sixth class in primary school. The entry should be submitted by a whole class or by a whole school.

To acknowledge their hard work, each child who enters will receive a Better World Award certificate and badge. Ten entries of special merit will also receive a fair-trade hamper. Entry ideas can include: art work or projects the children have made; create a display about the country featured and place it in the corridor where everyone can see it; letters, poems, prayers and stories the children have written; write and perform a song about the country and children in the Lenten pack; call a school assembly and role-play a situation that might occur in the focus country; record a video or photograph the children participating in the activities featured in the Lenten pack and send us in a DVD.

• Visit trocaire.org/better-world-award to find out more and to see samples of entries from previous years
• For entries and queries email lmccarthy@trocaire.ie

Global Citizenship (strand 6)

Green-Schools

Global Citizenship is the sixth theme of the Green-Schools programme. In previous themes you have explored issues such as Waste, Litter, Energy, Water, Travel and Biodiversity. Most of these themes would have related to issues in or near your school whereas Global Citizenship issues will cross international boundaries. This theme will enable you to discover how your work on the Green-Schools programme has, positively, influenced people and their local environments worldwide. As Global Citizenship is such a broad theme it links back to all the previous themes you have worked on, such as GS Litter and Waste, GS Energy, GC Water etc.

• The global citizenship action plan, 7 steps, curriculum links, activity sheets and more can be found atwww.greenschoolsireland.org/themes/global-citizenship.199.html
• To get involved in the Global Citizenship strand contact Birgit O Driscoll in Green-Schools Ireland atbodriscoll@eeu.antaisce.org or call (01) 4002202.

Our World Irish Aid Awards

Irish Aid, March

Established in 2005, the Our World awards aim to help Irish pupils learn about the developing world. In 2013 over 1,000 schools and 30,000 pupils aged 8-12 took part.

The popular programme explores how Irish Aid (Ireland’s overseas aid programme) is working to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to fight world poverty and to create a better future for children and their families in developing countries.

Each year a different MDG theme is chosen and pupils have opportunities to exhibit their class work at regional and national events across Ireland.

• Register for a teacher’s pack, or for any other enquiries, call (01) 5224834, or email ourworld@realyouth.ie
• Interactive, videos, teacher tips and guides, lesson plans and more ourworldirishaidawards.ie

Young Environmental Award

ECO-UNESCO, Aug – May

The Super Junior category (ages 10-12) are for projects which engage young people in taking some specific actions as a component of a personal development or educational project. It comprises self-directed and inter-disciplinary learning on an environmental issue related to any part of our environment. Projects on environmental issues must include the environmental, social and political causes and effects.

The ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards programme has been running since 1999 and facilitates an experiential and active environmental education learning experience where young people engage in a local environmental action project which will benefit themselves and their school and local community. The Awards honour the actions of young people who protect, conserve and enhance our local and global environment across ten award categories

• Training, timeline info and submission details can all be found at www.ecounesco.ie/young-environmentalist-award.html
• The programme integrates with the Geography, Science, SPHE, CSPE, Maths and Art syllabi
• The ten award categories are: Energy, Waste, Biodiversity, Water, Climate Change, Transport, Eco-Community Development, Eco-Enterprise, Eco-Art and Design, Eco-Health and Wellbeing
• For more info contact yea@ecounesco.ie or call (01) 662 5491
• The Awards support, compliment and rewards projects done as part of other programmes such as: Green/Eco-Schools, Gaisce Awards, Duke of Edinburgh Awards, IMPACT Awards, Young Social Innovators, BT Young Scientist

Photo credit: Amy Logan giving a class presentation on Climate Change. Photo: © Trócaire