Autumn brings Partner Teacher Visits
We are delighted that the 2009/10 school year has started with visits of partner teachers from a wide variety of countries to Ireland in order to further develop their WorldWise projects with Irish partners.
The visit to Castleblaney College by four teachers from their partner school, St Marys in Accra, Ghana, at the end of August was the first of the eighteen WorldWise partner teacher visits to take place this year. The visiting group of four teachers which included the Principal Mrs Doris Bramson, carried out an extensive programme both within the school and linking with the community. They also travelled to Dublin and visited the Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre and Dail Eireann. A key focus during the visit was the further development of their Partnership Agreement as a framework for their learning partnership.
Later in September Gort Community School hosted two teachers and the principal from their partner school, Tana Haik Secondary School, in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. As well as taking part in a packed week of activities with the students and teachers of Gort, all three teachers also participated in a WorldWise workshop for Irish teachers involved in school partnerships; their input during the day was of great value and provided us with a different perspectives on many of the issues we discussed. For more on the Gort/Tana Haik partnership, see their case study here and photos in our gallery
St Louis Secondary School in Monaghan then hosted three teachers from their partner school, St Louisville Secondary School in Nigeria, in October. The furthering of the partnership agreement between them has provided a clear vision for the future of the project that both schools can work from. The support of the Louis Network (operating in both Ireland and in West Africa, in Nigeria and Ghana) has also given additional structure and support to this project.
October also saw the arrival of two partner teachers from West Bengal - Asit Ghosh from Bratachari High School and Gargi Mukerjee from Aikitan Girls' School - to their partner school, John Scottus Secondary School in Dublin. Both teachers spent a over a week in Dublin, working with students and teachers and taking part in different class activities, such as a transition year module looking at the issue of human rights through drama. Asit and Gargi also travelled to Cork to meet with Irish teachers during a WorldWise workshop, and gave particularly helpful advice and input to those Irish schools also linking with Indian partners. The revised partnership agreement between the three schools makes provision for, amongst other things, a joint student conference focusing on the joint themes of gender equality and human rights, which will take place in Bratachari next February. See partnership agreement here.
We are now looking forward to visits in November and December from Mazongola Secondary School, Malawi to Dominican College Santa Sabina in Dublin, and Queen of the Rosary School in Sierra Leone to CBS Enniscorthy in Wexford. Check back for more news and reports of these visits soon!
