Click here for ⇒ Erasmus Blog
Please take the time to fill out our survey which is based on the 2017 – 2019 Erasmus project
Erasmus + News
On 27th September 2018 HFNS celebrated Erasmus day in school. We had a junior assembly and a senior assembly. We had all the projects on display from each mobility – Porquerolles, Cyprus and Galway. We also had a presentation based on Paris where Ms McKelvey and Mr Boggins went for the transnational meeting recently. We are half way through our project now and the next stop is Poland in October. The focus of our project in Poland and the work we do in our schools in preparation for the project is science, with a focus on the geography, flora and fauna of our islands. We’ll share our experience on the school website when we’re back. Here are a few memories of Erasmus day:
The Galway mobility took place in Mountbellew. An account by Mr Commins:
On Monday 14th May, we arrived into Galway City. After checking into our accommodation, which
was only a short walk from the iconic Eyre Square, we sat down for a bite to eat with our friends
from Poland, Sicily, France, Galway and Cyprus. The West of Ireland is not renowned for its sunshine
but we were blessed with glorious sunshine as we made our way around the city and Salthill via an
open-top bus tour. Having been in Galway numerous times over the years, it was a refreshing way to
view the place and learn about the history of one of the most popular cities in the country. Later that
evening, we met to discuss our plans for the week. This was followed by a lovely meal in the city
centre.
Tuesday morning saw us take a ramble into the countryside of County Galway. The bus journey to
Mountbellew National School was far from smooth but we arrived safe and sound! Here, we visited
a variety of classrooms and showed the children a video of all the work we had done on Mindfulness
in Holy Family. They particularly enjoyed partaking in some mindful eating! An excellent assembly in
the school hall featured a variety of singers, dancers and musicians while a rousing rendition of ‘The
Fields of Athenry’ was a great way to sign off!
From Mountbellew, we traveled to The Museum of Country Life in Turlough, County Mayo. Here we
learned all about how people from the countryside managed on a daily basis in times gone by. There
were brilliant artifacts on display and I think everyone took a lot from the experience. We travelled
back to Galway and indulged further in the local cuisine.
Wednesday morning meant it was my time to head back east. I really enjoyed my time in the west
sampling the Erasmus project.
Mr Hill, Ms Dempsey, Mr Byrne and Mr Boggins had a thoroughly enjoyable trip to Cyprus. We learned all about the music and literature of the partner countries, Poland, Sicily, France, Galway and Cyprus. The pupils welcomed the Irish teachers onto the stage in their school with a rendition of Molly Malone which was lovely. The workshops that took place enabled teachers to build technical skills in the use of online digital story making software. This learning was passed onto the other teachers of Holy Family a few weeks later during a school training workshop. There was also huge amounts of history taught to all teachers about the island of Cyprus. Visits to castles, tombs and an outdoor ancient theatre enriched the trip. The next destination for the Erasmus project is Mountbellew in Galway. The theme for this mobility is mental health on our islands. We are preparing projects and video for the exhibition in Mountbellew and we look forward to sharing all that we learn with our colleagues and pupils once the mobility has ended.
The visit to Porquerolles, France was a wonderful opportunity for teachers to gain experience in using technology and to learn about the statistics of the other islands involved in our Erasmus + STEAMM project. Teachers showcased the work which our pupils created and explored using maths and data prior to the presentation. The next mobility will have our pupils focus on literature and music from our islands. The work which we prepare will be showcased in Cyprus in March 2018. The continuing professional development of all teachers involved in the Erasmus + project enriches the teaching and learning that takes place in our school.
Photos of the Porquerolles trip which will showcase the work of the pupils from Galway, Dublin, Cyprus, Sicily, France and Poland will be uploaded here soon.
Click to open the results of the Parent survey
Click to open the results of the Pupil survey
Click to open the results of the Teacher survey
Some of the work being completed on Island life in preparation for the trip to Porquerolles Island off the South of France.
Click to open⇒ Statistics-of-Island-life-1
Our school welcomed eleven teachers to HFNS from around Europe on Friday 22nd September. There were teachers from Sicily, Cyprus, France, Poland and Galway. We received many compliments about the pupils and our lovely school.
We are beginning our project based on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths and Mental health now. More information about the Erasmus + project will be coming soon.
Parents, teachers and pupils will all be completing a short survey to help us track the results of the project. We thank you in advance for this.