LOCAL SCHOOL RECEIVES WORLDWISE GLOBAL SCHOOLS PASSPORT FOR THEIR WORK IN GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION
Students and teachers at a Waterford school have earned a national award for their work towards creating a better world. Ardscoil na Mara, Tramore received a Global Passport from WorldWise Global Schools at a conference in Dublin’s Iveagh House attended by Deputy Sean Fleming (TD), Minister of State with responsibility for Overseas Development and Diaspora.
The Global Passport recognises the school’s work exploring global issues such as migration & refugees, peace, conflict & stability, water & sanitation, identity & diversity and sustainable development just to name a few.
To earn the passport, students and teachers have studied the root causes of global injustices, raised awareness and taken action as global citizens to create a better future. For example, they organised an ERST Water for Life Campaign to raise money for UNICEF to help supply clean water to children in Gaza and they recently got awarded the status of Champion School of Sanctuary - a programme of learning, action and sharing, where welcome and inclusion is placed at the heart of the school’s identity.
Leading the work, Religion and English teacher Ms. Ashlee Hally and Religion teacher Mr. Kealan McLaughlin, said, ‘Global Citizenship Education is about really getting to the root of inequality and injustice in the world today and doing something about it! When teaching and learning about Global Citizenship the root causes of how the world works are essential. ’
6th year student and Deputy Head Girl, Charlotte Balfe said, ‘It was really interesting to make connections between the local community and the world. We have been doing so much in school and outside school initiatives with the Peace and Justice Group and School of Sanctuary group. It was really fun to engage with other committees, eg. The Sustainability Committee and Outdoor classroom, and teachers in school to get a feel of the whole school approach to GCE! We really enjoyed the project!
School Principal Mr. Pádriag Cawley was among management representatives from schools across Ireland who attended the conference. A total of 54 schools received WorldWise Global Passports for their commitment to building a better future for all.
The Programme Director of WorldWise Global Schools, Katie Chapple, said, ‘Congratulations to all on a successful year of wonderful events.’
WHAT IS WORLDWISE GLOBAL SCHOOLS? WorldWise Global Schools (WWGS) is Irish Aid’s national Global Citizenship Education programme for post-primary schools, providing a one-stop shop of training, funding, resources and guidance to engage in development education. WWGS is funded by Irish Aid and implemented by a consortium of Self Help Africa, Concern Worldwide, City of Dublin Education and Training Board Curriculum Development Unit, Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI), representing also the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), National Association of Principals and Deputies (NAPD) and The Ubuntu Network, School of Education, University of Limerick.
For more information, contact: info@worldwiseschools.ie