Our staff were busy engaging in Erasmus opportunities during the summer holidays. Ms Giyazova, our Erasmus+ coordinator, travelled to Vienna to take part in job shadowing. Meanwhile, teachers Ms O'Sullivan, Ms Quinn and Ms Walsh travelled to Malta, Malaga and Florence to attend courses in AI and wellbeing. Here are some of the highlights from their training.
Our German and business teacher Yulia Giyazova recently completed a highly rewarding Erasmus+ Job Shadowing placement at AHS Wien West Gymnasium in Vienna, Austria.
The visit provided an excellent opportunity to gain insights into the Austrian education system, observe innovative language teaching methodologies, and see CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) in action. It was inspiring to witness creative approaches that encourage student engagement, communication, and language development.
A particular highlight was learning about the school's sports specialisation programme, which successfully combines academic excellence with athletic development.
Our home economics teacher Deirdre Quinn recently took part in the iDevelop course “Málaga Flavours of Sustainability: Exploring Culinary Heritage and Tourism".
A fantastic week of learning and new experiences, including:
- A visit to an orange & grapefruit farm
- Exploring olive oil production & tasting
- Practical cookery sessions
Deirdre also met teachers from across Europe, sharing ideas, experiences and teaching practices. A fantastic Erasmus+ experience, bringing new knowledge, skills and inspiration back to our home economics classroom!
Our IT teacher recently participated in this course in Valletta, Malta, to gain insights into the innovative use of AI in leadership and management in schools. An exciting week of learning, including Ethics and AI in Education, EU AI Law, Managing Change and Designing AI-based Evaluation Frameworks.
There was an opportunity to network with school leaders and teachers from Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Lithuania, Spain and Australia.
The course also included cultural activities such as museum and art gallery visits and boat tours.
Emotional Intelligence and Bullying Prevention. One of our additional educational needs teachers, Ms Walsh, travelled to Florence, Italy, recently to engage in training and collaboration with teachers from across Europe. The course covered valuable areas such as productive conflict, listening skills, emotional self-regulation, effective communication, and conflict mediation. This well-designed and practical course supported collaboration with teachers and school leaders from Belgium, Catalonia, Spain, Latvia, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia, Guadeloupe, and Ireland! This learning was complemented by trips to art galleries and opportunities to sample the local cuisine.