STRANMILLIS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

A College of Queen's University Belfast

News & Events

Year 3 Technology and Design students recently undertook a 5-day block of industrial placement, the purpose of which was to provide them with an opportunity to see different industrial processes and to experience the industrial/ engineering workplace. 

One student commented that the placement had allowed them “to engage in a whole wide range of activities throughout the week; I saw the whole process from design to methodology to actual testing and manufacture”.  During the placement the students spent time observing and having conversations with those working in their host organisation in order to gain an appreciation of the work being done there.  In addition the placements gave the students an insight into different industrial processes as well as an understanding of the typical skills, qualities and qualifications required by those working in industry. 

As a result of the placement the links between the world of work and education were made more real.   One student commented that it was important for them to see how their teaching could better prepare their pupils for the workplace, suggesting that this was difficult when students themselves are largely unsure of that sort of environment.   As a part of the placement the students were required to reflect on the linkage between world of work in industry and the curriculum, the focus being on three separate but yet related strands – ‘Technology and Design’, ‘STEM Education’ and ‘Learning for Life and Work’.

Perhaps the true value of the placement could be best summarised by one student who reported: “I’ve learned more than words could describe this week; it has been an experience that I will always remember.”

Student placement is only possible through the help and the support of the various industrial partners involved; to each of these organisations sincere thanks is expressed: Wrightbus Ltd (Ballymena); John Huddleston Engineering (Greyabbey); Pollock Lifts UK (Carrickfergus); BE Aerospace (Kilkeel); Currie Engineering (Garvagh) Ltd; Crane Stockham Valve Ltd (Castlereagh); Rapid International Ltd (Tandragee); Schrader Electronics Ltd (Antrim); and Moy Park Ltd (Craigavon).

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Friday 27th January saw a first for Stranmillis- an ‘Ultimate Frisbee’ coaching course!

Run by an organisation called ‘Irish Ultimate’, this is the first of the ‘Coach Education’ programmes to be run at Stran and it was a big hit with the participants. 

Originating in the USA in the late 1960s, Ultimate Frisbee is played indoors or outside by two equal sized teams, and the object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, similar to an end zone in American football or rugby. As in netball, players may not run while holding the Frisbee, but can pivot on one foot while looking for a team mate to pass to.

There was a mixed range of ability and experience on the Stranmillis course, with some participants having never held a Frisbee, while some played on a regular basis.  Adam and Sich from Irish Ultimate made the session extremely enjoyable to all, and by the end everyone was able to throw and catch the Frisbee correctly.  The aim of the course was to enable those who attended to get onto the coaching ladder of Ultimate Frisbee and encourage greater participation in the sport.

Over the following months, Stranmillis Sports Development will be running a number of other Coach Education courses which are open to both students and members of the public.  Anyone wishing to get involved should email Sports Development Intern Emma McCauley at e.mcauley@stran.ac.uk for more information.

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Stranmillis Business and Enterprise students Eryn Purdy, Gemma Smyth, Niamh McDaid and Joanne Bradley have been volunteering in the ‘Reach’ project in Sandy Row, mentoring a group of young adults. 

The project was set up to educate young Protestant adults who have no GCSEs. The aim of the project is to equip the young people with valuable qualifications that will enhance their opportunities for future employment.

During the mentoring process Stranmillis students linked with Young Enterprise and they have worked hard to help the young adults develop a mini business  who, proud of their culture, decided to promote the Sandy Row Community by producing calendars of historical murals and other landmarks in Sandy Row.

The young adults, accompanied by the Stranmillis students, went to the Ballymena Trade Fair to raise money for the calendar venture. They had produced a variety of products including bookmarks, Christmas cards and Santa stockings.  The trade fair was very successful and the Stranmillis students were incredibly proud that their ‘mentees’ achieved the accolade of ‘Best Newcomer’.

This is a fantastic achievement for both the Stranmillis students and the Sandy Row group; they are very much looking forward to their next event.  In February you can see the Stranmillis students with their group of young adults at the Connswater Trade Fair.

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Hannah Murray was presented with the Hastings Cup for academic excellence at the recent winter graduation ceremony. 

Hannah was given the award in recognition of achieving the highest mark in a Health and Leisure Studies dissertation.  In presenting the award Dr David McKee (programme leader for Health and Leisure Studies) commented that Hannah was an exemplary student who had a wonderful combination of good academic ability coupled to an outstanding commitment to her studies. 

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Congratulations to Sharon Kennedy (Year 2 BEd) on her appointment to the Northern Ireland Executive Committee of NASEN (National Association for Special Educational Needs). 

As a committee member Sharon will play an integral role in planning forthcoming NASEN events and in helping to represent student teachers’ views.

Sharon commented “I’m really looking forward to my involvement in the committee. I have been interested in special needs from an early age and hope to become more involved in this important area through my studies at Stranmillis and also through my work with NASEN.”

Valerie Steenson, President of NASEN NI, added her congratulations; “I’m really delighted that Sharon has joined us on the committee as one of our youngest ever members.  It’s vital that NASEN connects with student teachers and we look forward to Sharon’s input in the months ahead.”

Further information about NASEN NI and their upcoming Study Day to be held at Stranmillis on Saturday 24th March can be found at http://www.nasen.org.uk/nasen-ni/.  All are welcome to attend.

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Year 2 teacher education student Brian Simpson has set up his own homework club in New Mossley and he is hoping to recruit Stranmillis students as volunteers to help him run it:

“New Mossley homework club was started by three students from Stran: Andrew Nicholl, Brian Simpson and Lindsay Kelly. It is run in conjunction with New Mossley Presbyterian Church in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast, and is a free of charge service for those pupils seeking help and assistance with school work.

It is an informal club. When pupils arrive they are offered a cup of tea, soft drink and biscuits to make them feel at ease and relaxed. Then they have one-on-one tutoring with the student teachers from Stranmillis. The pupils are all of secondary school age and seem to be enjoying and engaging well with all aspects of the homework club. The pupils enjoy working with us as they can relate to us, and they benefit greatly from the one-to-one tuition.

Numbers are growing and we need more volunteers, as without them we cannot sustain the quality help that has been provided so far.  If you would be interested in volunteering for the homework club (and it’s always good to add this kind of thing to your CV!) please do not hesitate to contact me by email: BBS02@Stran.ac.uk.”

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Stephanie McIntyre, the College’s Student Support Intern, describes recent ‘outreach’ events at the South Eastern Regional College (SERC):

As part of its Widening Participation strategy Stranmillis University College has aimed to increase its profile within the Further Education (FE) sector. Students who attend FE can often feel that it is too difficult to gain a place at Stranmillis or they simply don’t know what the College offers. It is important, however, to demonstrate that coming to Stran is an achievable Higher Education option to consider.

In my role as Student Support intern I recently spent two days in the SERC on their Bangor, Downpatrick and Lisburn campuses meeting students who could potentially enter Stranmillis through a non-traditional route.  A College presence at a wider variety of events can for many demystify what Stranmillis does and what options are open to potential students. SERC students who attended obtained further insights into the Teacher Education, Early Childhood Education and Health and Leisure Studies courses.

Useful information and insights were provided by Stranmillis Student Ambassadors who were able to speak directly to potential new students and explain to them what it is really like to study in Stranmillis. Following the event SERC Careers Officer Shirley Moore remarked: “We very much appreciated Stranmillis giving up their time to support us. Feedback from our students was very positive”.

Over the next few months we will be providing current students with further opportunities to represent the College at similar events and to obtain formal accreditation for this through the College Additionality programme. So if you are a Stranmillis student and you feel you can spare a few hours to meet with the public to share your experiences of Stranmillis we would be pleased to hear from you. To register your interest please contact me by emailing me on S.McIntyre@stran.ac.uk .

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Two groups of Year 2 Primary students have been taking part in a planning and teaching exercise called Research Lesson Study (RLS).

This form of staff (and student) development, which originated in Japan and has become very popular in the USA, is a relatively new approach to professional learning based on detailed group planning, observation and analysis of lessons. The simple principle behind RLS is: if you want to improve teaching, the most effective place to do so is in the context of the classroom. Unlike during School Based Work, where the focus within a student’s lesson is often on ‘delivery’, the focus of RLS is mainly on investigating pupil learning and the development of their understanding of specific concepts.

A number of primary and post-primary schools in Northern Ireland have taken up the idea of RLS as part of their own staff development. Dr Pamela Moffett and Richard Greenwood made contact with two of these schools – Gilnahirk Primary School in Belfast and St Mark’s Primary School in Twinbrook- to pilot the use of RLS with Year 2 students who have a special interest in either numeracy or in history and geography aspects of the ‘World Around Us’. Three of the WAU students were visiting Erasmus students from Malta.

Having agreed the lessons to be taught with each of the teachers involved, the students worked in groups of five or six to plan and prepare the lessons. The numeracy groups taught lessons to P3 (data handling)  and P6 (factors), while the WAU groups taught lessons on rationing in WW2 to P4, the site of Belfast to P6 and life in Victorian schools to P7. The lessons were videoed using Flip cameras, ready for analysis back in College. Those students not teaching ‘up front’ made detailed observations of designated pupils to evaluate the success of the lessons in terms of pupil learning; in addition, many were also involved with the pupils in group discussions about what they were learning.

In both Gilnahirk and St Mark's the students’ planning and delivery was appreciated by all six teachers in whose classes the work was done. In feedback the students enjoyed the opportunity to plan lessons with their peers as well as having the experience of being out in schools and working with pupils in rather different way to what happens during their School Based Work placement.

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In Semester One Business and Enterprise students were busy keeping up to date with developments in the world of business.  All students had the opportunity to take part in a range of activities including industrial visits, guest lectures and enterprise activities.

A visit to Denman International in Bangor by Year 1 and Year 3 students provided an  insight into how globalisation has paid dividends for this local firm due to their innovative and enterprising business strategies, which include strengthening  their on-line selling and the further development of their export markets.

Year 1 and Year 2 students also visited Belfast City Airport where they had a very informative presentation which demonstrated how the enterpising strategies which this organisation has adopted in these recessionary times have enabled them to go from strength to strength.

Business and Entreprise students are actively encouraged to support all enterprise events in schools.   Students have helped to organise Young Enterprise events and some students have undertaken training  to become Young Enterprise  mentors. 

Guest speakers visiting Stranmillis continue to be of key importance to ensuring that students keep abreast of developments in the world of business.  There have been a wide range of speakers: Ms Angela McGowan , Chief Economist with the Northern Bank; Graham Finnegan from Grounded Coffee and Invest NI.

 

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Congratulations to all who took part in the Celebration of Christmas in Words & Music at St Bartholomew’s Church on Thursday 15th December.

A varied programme of music ranging from traditional carols sung by all, to more modern pieces sung by the choir and various ensembles and soloists, interspersed with readings by students, staff and other guests, helped the congregation reflect on the themes of the season. A special word of thanks goes to Jayne Moore, Frances Burgess and Norman Richardson for preparing the programme so expertly.

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Melanie McKee from the College’s Department of Health and PE reports on a ‘wild’ event held in the sports hall in the Orchard Building to celebrate the achievements of some local primary school children:

The achievements of the children who have been attending the ‘Wildcats Activ8’ club held at Stranmillis during semester two have been celebrated at a mini tournament and certificate presentation. The pupils, from Belvoir Park Primary School and Loughview Integrated Primary School, were each presented with a certificate by College Principal Dr. Heaslett, as well as a kit bag containing a water bottle, a piece of fruit, a t-shirt and an active diary.

The aim of the Wildcats Activ8 club was to enable children to develop their physical literacy skills and increase their enjoyment of physical activity. In addition, children made new friends and had lots of fun!

Stranmillis University College would like to thank and attribute the success of the Wildcats Activ8 club to the following key partners:

• Claire Watson and Alanah McCombe – Year 2 Health & Leisure students at Stranmillis University College
• Department of Health & PE - Stranmillis University College
• Mr McKnight & Miss Cartwirght – Loughview Integrated Primary School
• Mrs Watson & Mrs Carton – Belvoir Park Primary School
• Miss Ashleigh Whitley – Live Unltd.
• Mr Billy Body – Belfast Community Sports Development Network
• Mrs Anne Lowden - Sport Northern Ireland
• Mr Ryan Haire – Belfast City Council
• Mr Faron Morrison – Castlereagh Borough Council
• London 2012 team - Department of Culture, Arts & Leisure

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Diane Nugent (Park School) & Pat Bennett (St.Gerard’s ERC) reflect on a successful ‘Sharing Education’ ceramics workshop event at Stranmillis:

'In November 2011, Stranmillis University College hosted a ceramics workshop for Year 10 pupils from Park School  & Educational Resource Centre (ERC) and St. Gerard’s ERC.  The workshop was funded by the Sharing Education Programme (SEP2) and facilitated by local ceramicist, Eleanor Wheeler.

Park School & ERC Partnership is in its second year and is one of 12 successful partnerships in the second cohort of the SEP.  The schools’ partnership revolves around art activities and our vision is aimed at ‘raising self- esteem through art and design’.  To this end, the SEP2 leaders in each school have planned art projects and workshops involving pupils, parents, artists, BEd students and senior citizens.  We are delighted to facilitate experiences for BEd students in Stranmillis University College through the Additionality, Alternative Placement and Leadership in Teaching and Learning options.

The ceramics workshop was a great success and pupils were totally engrossed in their work.  Both school groups socialised easily, and new friendships were made.   The pupils enjoyed working in the fabulous Art and Design Facility in Stranmillis, and artist Eleanor provided a fun day for the pupils where they made imaginary animals, and then vessels with crazy faces. 

Stranmillis Senior Lecturer Denise Elliott dropped in on the workshop to talk to the pupils and admire their work. The children were delighted to hear her professional opinion on their efforts.   We are grateful to Denise for offering us the opportunity to work in the ceramics room and also for firing and storing the pupils’ finished work.

We look forward to working more with Denise and the Stranmillis students in the future.  Furthermore, as teachers we have enjoyed having students out in each of our classes who really add to pupil learning experiences and exhibit a high level of professionalism- Well Done!'

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Stranmillis University College has recently implemented its innovative Internship Programme. 

This is targeted at College students who have recently graduated and are preparing to enter the labour market.  The primary aim of the programme is to provide interns with meaningful experience through their involvement in projects which meet the business needs of the College and at the same time enhance the interns’ employability skills.

The two new interns, Stephanie and Emma, have written a statement about what they will be doing in the College throughout their internship and how they can help graduating students.

“Hello, my name is Stephanie McIntyre. I am very excited to announce that I am the new Student Support and Widening Access Intern in Stranmillis. I graduated from the BEd course in Business and Management Studies in July 2011. My office is located in the Student Support Centre.  I will be in my post until July 2012 and during my time at Stranmillis I will be carrying out duties such as:

• Promoting and administering relevant Student Support and Widening Access courses and activities.
• Developing web pages.
• Developing partnerships with relevant organisations.
• Undertaking specific project work.
 

“Hello, I’m Emma McCauley and I am the Sports Development Intern at Stranmillis this year.  I graduated with a BSc in Health and Leisure Studies in July and I am extremely excited to be given the opportunity to help promote and increase sport and physical activity within the campus.  During the course of the year I will be:

• Running several coach education weeks
• Introducing new and exciting sports onto the campus
• Running physical activity programmes
• Working with schools and community groups from the surrounding area
• Increasing knowledge of the health benefits of physical activity

Stephanie and Emma also say:

“Over the coming months you will be receiving emails from us about different opportunities that will give you the chance to gain qualifications and experiences that will set you apart from other candidates in future job interviews. We look forward to your involvement in these tasks and if you have any questions or ideas please do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to try and accommodate you.”

 

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The first of the CREDIT courses ‘Exploring skills in CREDIT’ was delivered on the 9th and 10th November to a group of 20 enthusiastic teachers from a variety of educational settings who gathered at St. Mary’s University College to begin an action-packed two day programme. 

The CREDIT project is funded by the International Fund for Ireland through its Sharing in Education Programme, which is managed by the Department of Education.

During Day One the focus was on setting the context in relation to Diversity and Mutual Understanding, and helping the teachers to develop a facilitative classroom setting and appropriate skills when dealing with sensitive issues. 

Stranmillis University College was the venue for the second day of the course which provided opportunities for the teachers to review a range of relevant curriculum resources and hear about case studies and examples of good practice in a number of schools. 

Active learning was central to the course delivery and teachers enjoyed participating in a range of interactive activities.  The puppet session caused great amusement and certainly proved to be very popular with the teachers!

On Thursday 1st December the teachers returned to Stranmillis University College for a follow-up day where they had the opportunity to engage with technology as a tool to develop education and diversity work and they presented their personal reflections and plans for the future with regards to further developing this work in school and beyond.

The course was considered very successful by all involved and participants commented that ‘it was very interesting’, ‘really enjoyable’, and ‘useful to hear of experiences in other schools and share ideas’.  Indeed one teacher remarked: “I have been inspired to re-imagine my class”.

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On Monday 14th November four final year B.Ed. students led an assembly at Friends' School, Lisburn as part of the school's programme of activities to mark Anti-Bullying Week 2011. 

The students (Hayley Spence, Emma Dines, Kathy Douglas and Aaron Davis) performed a challenging drama on the theme of cyber-bullying in front of the whole school, highlighting the dangers of cyber-bullying but also giving advice to pupils about how they can deal with this increasingly common problem- a recent DE research study has revealed that 17% of Year 9 pupils in Northern Ireland have been victims of cyber-bullying. 

All four students are taking the Year 4 Education Studies option in 'Contemporary Issues in Pastoral Care'.  Feedback from staff and pupils at Friends' School was very positive about the students' contribution. 

For more information about Anti-Bullying Week 2011 see http://www.niabf.org.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=15&Itemid=36

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Dr Noel Purdy, SEN Team Leader, reports on a new special education placement for Year 3 BEd students:

‘For the first time this year all Year 3 Primary and Post-Primary BEd students have spent a week in a special education setting.  In total 138 students spent five days (14-18th November) in 46 special schools (for children with moderate and severe learning difficulties) or special units attached to mainstream schools.  This placement forms an integral part of the Year 3 Education Studies module ‘Children with Special and Additional Needs’. 

This placement reflects the growing importance of special educational needs in the primary and post-primary classroom (whether mainstream or special) and offers students a valuable opportunity to see at first hand and to learn from the outstanding work which goes on in special units and schools every day.  The College is indebted to the schools for agreeing to host the students on such a worthwhile placement.

Feedback from the students on placement has been extremely positive, as their comments reflect:

‘It has been fantastic being out in the special schools.  It really brings special education to life.’

‘The teachers and classroom assistants are inspirational.  I have learnt so much just from watching and from trying out classroom strategies for myself.’

‘I was very apprehensive beforehand, but I quickly got stuck in and the week has just flown by.  I don’t want to leave!’

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Michael Ievers, Stranmillis Technology and Design lecturer and drama director, describes some recent successes by the College’s Drama Society:

"Stranmillis University College DramSoc's first outing into festival competition in 22 years has been rewarded with high critical acclaim for their production of ‘Permanent Deadweight’ by John P Rooney.

They finished as Runners-Up at Newtownabbey Drama Festival, winning the award for Best Direction, with Susannah Manning nominated for Best Actress.

They also finished as Runners-Up at Bangor & Ards Drama Festival, winning the coveted Audience Award, and with nomination for Best Direction; in addition all four actresses - Susannah Manning, Cheryl McAuley, Sarah Nelson and Tori White - won Certificates of Merit.

‘Permanent Deadweight’ is set in Ireland both in the present and in 1839, when times were hard and for many the workhouse was the only resort. It is a story of four girls trying to make a life for themselves in times and circumstances they do not yet fully understand.

On top of the festival successes, the production raised almost £350 for charity. The team would like to thank all those who came along to give their support!"

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Michael McCurley, coordinator of the College’s Lifelong Learning Creative Writing Group, reflects on the launch of two books by a member of his creative writing class....

‘Tuesday the 8th of November was indeed a night to remember for the crowd of around eighty people who gathered in the Conference Hall at Stranmillis to celebrate the launch of not one but two books by new author David Moore. We are happy to claim David as one of our own: a truly talented creative writing student from the Lifelong Learning programme, headed by Dr. Eamon Phoenix.

David, supported by family friends and former colleagues, read powerful excerpts from his collection of short stories titled ‘The Lion’s Mouth’. These stories reflect on some of the real situations and events experienced by himself and colleagues during the darker period of our recent history. He gives us an insider’s view of the terrors and satisfactions of life at the sharp end. There are also lighter tales, as he moves into the area of fiction, and it is here with his novel ‘The Abbot’, that David gives fuller rein to the creative impulse and allows himself to imagine the post conflict world of modern Northern Ireland, a world peopled by former enemies, now forced into new allegiances and dealing with international terrorism from Ballyclare!. A sequel novel is already in the final drafting. All this from a student who wanted a course on welding but deferred to his wife Elaine’s better judgement and chose creative writing!

This was a celebration in every sense… former colleagues and friends of David joined with new friends in the College and enjoyed the fine hospitality organised by our Domestic Bursar, Mrs Christine Nesbitt.

Speeches by Course Director, Eamon Phoenix and myself outlined the importance of the creative and healing process discovered through such effective writing impulses- a process which gives ownership to the events of our lives, events which would otherwise be lost to oblivion.

College Principal Dr. Anne Heaslett, in her final comments to the gathering, spoke of the importance of the state of ‘wellbeing’ which comes through learning. Her words were well chosen. I would also like to thank Vice Principals Dr. Clifford Boyd and Ms. Audrey Curry for their attendance and support of the event.

An area of the College’s web site will soon be set aside to showcase the work of those other excellent writers in the Creative Writing group.

Hopefully, more such celebration events will follow and we can once more celebrate an anthology of writers’ work in the coming months.’

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On Wednesday 9 November Stranmillis held its first International Day.  This event was organised to raise awareness amongst students of the University College’s many student mobility programmes and the theme of the day was Study Abroad: The Benefits.  

A large number of students from Year 2 of the BEd programme and Year 1 of the Early Childhood Studies and Health and Leisure Studies programmes attended and were warmly welcomed by Dr Heaslett (Principal). The keynote speaker was Dr Birte Simonsen from the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway who spoke inspiringly about the history of student exchange and the many advantages of contemporary student mobility programmes.  Another guest speaker was Karen McCormack from the British Council who provided details about the Study USA (SUSA) and Language Assistants programmes.  Our own Mrs Laurence Siberry (International Outreach Coordinator) and Dr George Beale (International Partnerships – Malaysia) spoke about current student mobility programmes offered by the University College and a considerable number of Year 4 students made interesting, informative and entertaining presentations about their previous study abroad experiences – of which there were many!  The event was organised by Dr Maureen Thatcher (Head of International Development) and the International team and concluded with a light lunch for all. 

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Malachy Doyle is a writer of books for children, best known for his beautifully written and illustrated picture books, as well as fiction and traditional tales for older children.

On his visit to Stranmillis in October, he talked to around 60 students about his experience as a writer for children, and his work in schools encouraging a love for reading. He’s a patron and strong supporter of the ‘Letterbox’ project that provides books and encouragement for children in care here in Northern Ireland

To see the wide range of Malachy’s wonderful books and find out more about the man himself, visit www.malachydoyle.com

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Stranmillis University College student Steven Park has been named as one of the winners of the Undergraduate Awards.

The Undergraduate Awards are a prestigious awards programme open to undergraduate students on the island of Ireland and, recently, the USA. There were 2,381 submissions to the 2011 Awards programme, of which only 23 winners were selected.

Steven, of Portadown Co Armagh, was awarded the Oscar Wilde Gold Medal for academic excellence by Guest of Honour, President Mary McAleese at the Undergraduate Awards Ceremony which took place at Dublin Castle on 28th October.
His essay, “Sectarian Bullying in Northern Ireland Primary Schools”, submitted as part of Dr Noel Purdy’s Year 4 module ‘Contemporary Issues in Pastoral Care’, was the winning submission in the Teacher Education category.

Having graduated from Stranmillis in July 2011 with a First Class BEd Honours degree in Primary Education, Steven is now teaching in Poyntzpass Primary School as a Primary 5/6 teacher.  He was also awarded the College’s Mahon Prize for being the top male student in the final year examinations.

Also highly commended by the judges was an essay by another recent BEd primary graduate. David Livingstone wrote an excellent essay on ‘Cyberbullying’, also in connection with Dr Purdy’s Pastoral Care module. In it he looked at the nature and incidence of cyberbullying, addressed its impact on children and offered a critical analysis of reactive and preventative intervention strategies for schools.  David has continued his interest in this subject by enrolling on the M.Ed. in Pastoral Care this year at Stranmillis.

The judging panel numbered 24 individuals, nearly all from higher education institutions across Ireland. Among them was Stranmillis' own Dr Brian Cummins.

The Undergraduate Awards programme was founded in 2008 by two Trinity College Dublin graduates, Oisin Hanrahan and Paddy Cosgrave. It is is open to students in their final or penultimate year on a degree course from every third level institution in Ireland as well as a selection of top universities in the UK, Canada and the USA. Corrected coursework that has achieved a high 2.1 grade or above can be entered into the 2012 awards programme from mid-November on the website: www.undergraduateawards.com.

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College Principal Dr. Anne Heaslett officially launched the first ‘Wildcats Activ8’ club at Stranmillis University College on Thursday 3rd November.

The club is co-ordinated by two Health & Leisure Studies students - Claire Watson and Alanah McCombe, and is funded by a youth initiative funding organisation called ‘Live UnLtd’.

Children from Belvoir Park Primary School and Loughview Integrated Primary School have been attending the club every week at the College. The aim of the Wildcats Activ8 club is to enable children to develop their physical literacy skills and increase their enjoyment of physical activity. In addition, children will make new friends and have lots of fun!

As can be seen below, the response to the Wildcats club by teachers and pupils was extremely positive:

“I get to do lots of different sports and have fun.” – Christopher, Loughview Integrated PS

“The coaches are really good and nice.” – Madison, Loughview Integrated PS

“The children really enjoy the club as they get to play games with the children from Belvoir Park PS and they look forward to going to Wildcats every week.” – Miss Cartwright, Loughview Integrated PS

“It’s fun and active – I love it.” – Taylor, Belvoir Park PS

“It’s exciting and good that you make new friends.” – Ben, Belvoir Park PS

“The children are very enthusiastic about the club and like to show other children their new games when they go back to school.” – Mrs Carton, Belvoir Park PS

The club is delivered by coaches provided by Belfast City Council, in partnership with Belfast Community Sports Development Network and Sport Northern Ireland. The network of  Wildcats Activ8 club has also been awarded the London 2012 Inspire mark.

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‘From using home computer down time to search for extra-terrestrial life, to asking amateurs to track comets with their back garden telescopes, the public are getting involved in a huge range of surveys and experiments’

(www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/citizenscience).

This is ‘citizen science’ and the Year 2 Science Interest Group are getting involved with it. A hugely important OU project called ‘Evolution Megalab’ has recently been looking at the common banded snail – and that’s the species that the students were surveying recently at the Tramore sand dunes in north-west Donegal (www.evolutionmegalab.org).

Thousands of  children, the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland, are becoming citizen scientists. Thousands of adults take part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch each year; children do something similar - the Big Schools’ Birdwatch (www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch). Children’s involvement with citizen science is growing exponentially, with such fantastic web-based projects like the iSpot biodiversity project (http://www.ispot.org.uk/) as well as a huge project called ‘Nature’s Calendar’ which monitors the effect of climate change on the seasons. (www.naturescalendar.org.uk).

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Three members of staff – George Beale, Pamela Moffett and Jayne Moore – have recently returned from a study visit to Italy.

They spent several days at the Centro Internazionale de Loris Malaguzzi in Reggio Emilia, northern Italy, where they attended lectures and workshops on the ‘Reggio Approach’ to early years education. They also visited infant-toddler centres and pre-schools in the city to experience the approach in practice.

The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education, and many preschool programs around the world have adopted a similar philosophy. One of its central ideas is that it is in the early years of development when children form who they are as individuals. The programme is based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children through a self-guided curriculum.

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Supporting Practice in the Early Years is a course for existing early years professionals in all sectors of provision. It aims to enable participants to understand and meet more fully the needs of the young child.

In October participants engaged in a workshop which explored creativity and the young child. Through practical and process-based learning the participants were able to broaden their knowledge and understanding of the creative needs of the young child. Particular emphasis was placed on how the practitioner can develop and enhance the creative potential of children and, importantly, how the professional may further reflect and develop all aspects of creativity in the young child.

The participants, who would not label themselves as ‘creative’, indeed ‘created’ their own unique pieces while also sharing lots of talk and laughs in this creative environment.

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Tuesday 25th October lunchtime saw our year 4 Music students put on a recital in the Music Department.

Although the audience was small, they were presented with music from a range of instruments which included piano, flute and tenor horn. This recital acted as a ‘practice’ for these students before their final recital in January 2012.

The pieces were all performed beautifully and each of the students was very happy with their performance; it has helped calm the nerves for the real thing in January!! The pieces ranged from Beethoven’s ‘Sonata in F minor’ to the classic ‘Over the Rainbow’. The audience that did attend all seemed to enjoy it as did the students who performed.

The students who took part were Jessica Jones, Hayley Spence, Hannah Penton, Nichola McCarroll and Suzanne O'Donnell.

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David Scott (BEd Business Studies Yr4) recently attended a study session in Strasbourg, north-east France, called: ‘Next Step: Taking youth participation and intercultural dialogue to the next level’, organised by European Fellowship and FIMCAP Europe. 

The study session took place at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg from 16th to 23rd October 2011 and aimed to empower participants to be involved in the leadership of multicultural projects in their youth organisations, with specific focus on intercultural projects that promote youth participation. Attending the session were 32 young people from 12 different countries, representing 13 youth organisations.

David has returned with many new ideas and approaches for youth work, which will help him to develop Boys’ Brigade Northern Ireland (BBNI) Under 26 Group ‘‘BB Connect’, which empowers, develops and connects young people throughout BBNI. It aims to retain, equip and support the young leaders of the Brigade and allow them to help make the decisions which shape the Brigade now and in the future.

He concluded that “All in all, it was an inspiring, challenging and empowering experience, which he would highly recommend to all young leaders, as it broadens perspectives and increases knowledge of effective youth work’.

The European Fellowship comprises Christian youth organisations from all over Europe. By uniting, serving and supporting them, the European Fellowship will assist its member organisations to accomplish their mission with young people in church and society. For more information, please visit http://www.europeanfellowship.org/

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Maths Week Ireland 2011 took place from 15th to 22nd October and Stranmillis was delighted to host international mathematician Dr Fernando Blasco who performed his Mathematics Magic Show, attended by primary and secondary school pupils from across Northern Ireland.

Students from Stranmillis also participated in the 2nd Belfast Street Maths Event on Saturday 22nd October, taking to the streets in front of Belfast City Hall to encourage the public to take part in fun maths activities.

Maths Week Ireland is an inclusive, all-island annual festival for the promotion of Maths. Now in its sixth year, Maths Week Ireland, which is coordinated by CALMAST at Waterford Institute of Technology, is a partnership of over 40 organisations and groups committed to promoting maths.

More information can be found at www.mathsweek.ie

 

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Last week Stranmillis was delighted to host the annual Young Enterprise ‘Start-Up’ workshops, as well as welcome ‘Jedi’ Jim Eastwood of BBC’s ‘The Apprentice’ fame.

At these events pupils from South-Eastern and Belfast ELB Schools came to Stranmillis to discover key information needed to begin and sustain their own Young Enterprise Company. In addition to the workshops the pupils were able to listen to Jim talk about important transferable business skills and were treated to some ‘insider gossip’ about Lord Sugar and what really happens in the Boardroom!

Jim was welcomed by Principal Dr Anne Heaslett who commended him for inspiring the next generation of young entrepreneurs. Following Jim’s presentation, the pupils had the opportunity to mix with pupils from other schools during the Company Programme Workshops and got to discuss their business ideas. The workshops were led by business volunteers, ably supported by Stranmillis Business and Enterprise Students.

Young Enterprise Northern Ireland (YENI) is a not-for-profit organisation whose main aim is to prepare young people for their future and for the benefit of the local economy. They build a connected world of young people, business volunteers and educators, inspiring each other to succeed through enterprise. Stranmillis is an active supporter of YENI with many of our students volunteering to deliver programmes in schools.

If you are interested in finding out more about the opportunities that exist to volunteer with Young Enterprise please send your details to f.odonovan@stran.ac.uk

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Year 3 students studying the module ‘Learning Through a Play Based Curriculum’ put theory into practice through working at different play stations in the new Early Years Play Centre in the Orchard Building on the Stranmillis campus. 

Students were required to identify the learning potential associated with sand, large floor maps, dough, the house and construction.  The book/quiet area was very popular as an ‘enabling environment’.

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From 26 to 28 September, the informal ‘Symposion Erasmus Network’ held three meetings at Stranmillis:
- A Steering Group Meeting
- An ‘Intensive Programme’ (PE) planning for application meeting
- A Comenius (Outdoor Education) planning for application meeting

Attending these meetings were 16 tutors from 10 partner universities: University College Sjaelland, Denmark; Linneaus University, Sweden; Thurgau University, Switzerland; Pädagogische Hochschule Weingarten, Germany; HAN, Netherlands;VIA University College, Aarhus, Denmark; Uber Austria Pädagogische Hochschule, Austria; IUFM Val de Loire, France;  Agder University College, Norway; and St Patrick’s Drumcondra, Ireland.

Joanne Gardiner was involved in the IP (PE) meeting while Richard Greenwood and Julian Greenwood were involved in the Comenius meeting. During these meetings applications were drawn up for submission to the European Commission; if these are successful, more Stranmillis UC staff and students will be able to get involved in international projects.

Laurence Siberry coordinated the meetings and attended the Steering Committee meeting while
George Beale hosted the history tutor, Hartmut Moos, from Switzerland, who was on an Erasmus staff mobility visit and who also attended the Comenius meeting.

All of these meetings proved very fruitful and the Steering Group were very pleased to welcome new members from Austria, France and the Republic of Ireland.  All were warmly invited to attend the next Symposion network meeting in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland in April 2012.

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On 23 September all 30 Erasmus and International students were invited to Botanic PS and St Bride’s PS to celebrate the European Day of Languages. The visits were hosted by by Nicola Hunter of Botanic (Stran graduate) and Sinead O’Prey from St Brides. Laurence Siberry visited both schools with NICILT representative, Jackie Neill, while Dr George Beale visited Botanic to support the students.

The students were invited to share their language and culture with all the children of the two schools to celebrate The European Day of Languages!  Both teachers had prepared their pupils for this visit and the children had carried out research on all the countries of origin of our incoming students.  They organised all the classes to be involved in activities with the visiting students.  The students’ professional contributions, supported by PowerPoint presentations and  video clips, were very well received by teachers and pupils.

The teachers’ comments were very enthusiastic :

“The students are an absolute credit to Stranmillis and to their home universities. It was a real pleasure to have had them. They were so helpful and the kids loved them- I'm getting brilliant feedback from everyone. So thank you so much!” (Nicola Hunter)

"Thanks so much!! All positive comments from the teachers today". (Sinead O’Prey)

The Erasmus and International students certainly made an impression on the schools and on the NICILT who is supporting the event in Northern Ireland!

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Classrooms Re-imagined: Education in Diversity and Inclusion for Teachers (CREDIT)

Stranmillis University College, in partnership with St. Mary’s University College, were delighted to have received funding from the International Fund for Ireland last year to establish the 'CREDIT' project, which aims to support the on-going professional development of teachers in developing community relations work. 

Two courses have been devised to serve existing teachers working in all phases and sectors, to help them develop skills and confidence in dealing with issues of diversity, inclusion and community cohesion in the classroom and on a whole-school basis.

The first of the courses, ‘Exploring Skills in CREDIT, is due to take place on 9 and 10 November in St. Mary’s and Stranmillis University Colleges respectively.  The course is already proving very popular, and based on the current level of correspondence with schools, we anticipate a further positive response for the ‘Extending Skills in CREDIT’ course which is due to be held in February and March 2012.

Late September saw the launch of the new CREDIT website which you can visit at www.stran.ac.uk/credit.  Further details about the project and the courses offered may be obtained from the website or by contacting Clare Martin, CREDIT Administrative Officer at credit@stran.ac.uk or telephone 90384530.

Dr Patricia Eaton, Project Director for CREDIT, stated that:

“This is a very exciting time for the CREDIT team as we see all of our plans come into fruition.  We are delighted with the website and the positive feedback we have received already and are looking forward to delivering our first course in November.”

 

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Students’ Union President Jonny Harper describes a very busy Freshers’ Week:

“On Monday 19th September, hundreds of first year students descended upon the Stranmillis campus for the beginning of Freshers’ Week 2011. Any nerves or anxieties were quickly put at ease by the Principal and by the Student Executive who provided a light hearted and informal introduction to College life.  A variety of campus tours led by different groups of students allowed the new Year 1 students to gain their bearings and to get to know their ‘second home’ for the next few years.  An evening’s entertainment, provided by the Students’ Union, in ‘Scholars’ Bar, provided a great end to a great first day and saw the beginning of many friendships which will last for years.

The rest of the week consisted of presentations given by the Students’ Union, Student Support and ATL to ensure the first year students were provided with enough information to help them get through their first few weeks- information about the College, the city of Belfast and their courses. The students also participated in Technology Enhanced Learning Sessions to get up to speed with using the IT facilities on campus and to create a video highlighting their impressions of their first few weeks of university life.

Along the way a lot of great nights were had in ‘Scholars’ and lots of fun was had during the daytime with the creation of a ‘LipDub’ video on the Wednesday afternoon (see separate story) and engagement with a couple of the Union clubs and societies on Thursday afternoon. The Christian Union also provided a week of entertainment for students including a trip to the bowling alley, an ice cream van and some team building and ice breaking games.

All in all it was a very successful and enjoyable first week back on campus and it is sure to have laid the foundations for a fantastic year both in the College and in the Students’ Union.”

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Students’ Union President Jonny Harper describes a unique and colourful event which took place during Freshers’ Week.

“Wednesday the 21st September 2011. A day that is sure to live long in the memory of each and every student who was on campus. Inspired by a video posted on Youtube by students at the University of British Colombia, Vancouver, our very own Students’ Union decided to undertake an ambitious project in creating a ‘LipDub’ video. Basically a LipDub video involves miming the singing of a song and then putting a music track over the top of it, but it’s so much more than that.

Stranmillis students are renowned for getting involved and for their creativity, and yet again they didn’t disappoint. The campus was awash with colour as students took to the pathways and stairwells dressed in some of the most bizarre clothing and costumes ever seen here. The project also allowed those with unique talents to showcase themselves, and during the course of the afternoon we witnessed longboarding, fire breathing, unicycling, gymnastics, dancing and even horse riding!

After some intensive post-production work, the video premiered to a packed ‘Scholars’ Bar on Wednesday night amidst a positively electric atmosphere. It is hard to believe how something as simple as singing and dancing can bring people together in such a positive way and can create an enormous sense of pride amongst the student population.

The video will be shown again in the drama theatre on Monday (26th September) at 1.10pm for all staff and students who may wish to see it. Failing that, search for it on YouTube some time soon.

A special thanks must go to the Security team who assisted greatly in controlling the flow of traffic during filming, to the porters who assisted around different parts of the campus, to former student Alan Duddy who controlled the sound for the day and to current student and member of the Student Executive Dave McComb who did an incredible job in editing and producing the video. But most of all a massive thank you must go out to every student who participated wholeheartedly in this project and helped make the Student Executive’s dream come true!”

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Natalie Barr from Lurgan is starting the BEd Primary degree course at Stran this year; she is heavily involved with fundraising for a school in Uganda.

Natalie’s sister Charlene suffered from Cystic Fybrosis and sadly died last year, aged 20, while waiting for a double lung transplant. While she was ill Charlene raised money to build ‘Hidden Treasures’ primary school near Kampala, Uganda. Natalie was present this year at the official opening of the new school.

She says: ‘When we were out in Uganda this summer we were all were so excited to see the impact Charlene’s vision is making and to see what continues to be accomplished through Charlene’s Project. I’m hoping to travel to Uganda every summer to help with teaching there.’

Natalie’s second great passion is hockey; she has captained Ulster and Ireland at Under 18 level and also captained her school, Lurgan College, to Ulster and all-Ireland schools titles. She hopes to use her hockey coaching skills to get the pupils at Hidden Treasures involved in sport as part of their educational experience.

To help her finance these aims, Natalie has entered the HSBC bursary scheme for students who wish to use their university experiences for the benefit of other people. If you would like to help Natalie get considered for the HSBC scheme, please log on to Facebook (or go to the Charlene’s Project website below) and vote for her before midnight on the 30th September! 

The full story and video about Charlene, Natalie and the Hidden Treasures school can be found at  www.charlenesproject.org .

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Damian O’Kane from Strabane, a Year 2 Primary BEd student, along with his dad and three sisters, have all become karate black belts and were featured on BBC’s ‘Newsline’ programme during the summer.

Damian tells the story of how his family got involved in the sport and how they all succeeded in gaining the black belts on the one day!

"In 2004, we travelled as a family to Canada for our annual holidays and while we were there
we decided that on our return to Northern Ireland we would take up a sport or activity that we could all do together. A few weeks after we got back we took the plunge and joined the ‘Wado Ryu’ karate club in Strabane. Initially 4 of us joined- my two sisters, Ciara (9) & Sinead (7) and myself (at that time 11) and my dad (at that time about 100!). We made progress although it was tough, especially at the start.

The sport is very disciplined and is about building respect for one another and the world around us. The idea that karate is about fighting is misplaced and in fact you will find that most people who train seriously in martial arts are among the least likely to be involved in any kind of violent incident- firstly because they are more aware of their surroundings and of situations as they develop, and secondly, if they find themselves in a situation they will often try to diffuse it if possible. Combat is a last resort that is never the preferred option.

After a year of training we were joined by my youngest sister when she turned six. In the meantime the rest of us had begun to compete in local and national competitions with some success. The training continued and with lots of effort we were all winning a new belt every 6 or 8 months. The training intensified and under the guidance of ‘senseis’ (teachers) Martin Devlin and Brian Mills we began training for our black belts at the beginning of 2010. For almost the next year and half we trained usually between 5 and 7 times a week and in March of this year we were all told that we were being invited to undergo grading for our black belts. It was a very tense time for all of us particularly because of the fact that although we were all members of the same club, we were also all members of the same family; although we never spoke about it, each of us was worried in case we didn't all get through. That would have been devastating for all of us. In the event, after a very intensive grading and after an anxious time waiting for the outcome the grading panel informed us that we had all succeeded in winning the coveted black belts. It was particularly gratifying for us since our mother and two grannies and granda were in the audience to witness the spectacle!

It is fantastic to have been part of something in which all of our family could be involved, and it turned out that we were the first family in Ireland to achieve so many black belts on the one day. This was a fact which was pointed out to us by BBC NI News, when shortly after the grading Ciaran Tourish (BBC reporter) visited us in Strabane and filmed a short broadcast which was shown on BBC News shortly afterwards. It is something that I'm sure we will all remember for the rest of our lives."

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On 17th September, three university colleges from the island of Ireland held a one-day conference at Stranmillis University College for teachers on the topic of ‘Spirituality in Education’.

The conference was part of a new research project investigating the opportunities and challenges for spiritual education in Primary and Post-Primary schools, North and South. It was led by Aostre Johnson, Professor of Education at St Michael's, Vermont, who has published widely in the field of children's spirituality.  The day involved a range of workshop-based sessions on experiential learning as well as some presentations on theoretical perspectives.

The event was part of a research project funded by the North-South teacher education agency SCOTENS. Over the next six months the teachers will attempt to implement some of Aostre's ideas into their own classrooms and will record their progress in a learning journal. The research team will then collate and analyse the data with a view to publishing their findings.

The core research team involves Bernadette Flanagan (All Hallows College), Aiveen Mullaly (Marino Institute) and James Nelson (Stranmillis University College).

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Congratulations to Alick Ford, a BEd Post-Primary Technology and Design student who graduated in July, whose innovative work on School Based Work has led to an article in a UK-wide professional publication ... and helped him get a job!!

Alick completed his year 4 school placement at Castle Tower School (Dunfane Campus), a special school in Ballymena for children with moderate learning difficulties. There he developed a range of video resources through which he was able successfully to prepare pupils (many with autism) for the experience of working in the school’s technology workshop. 

Alick evaluated the project and found that through the use of the video-modelling technology, the pupils became much less anxious and much more confident about being in the workshop, which in turn led to greater levels of enjoyment and enthusiasm for the subject. 

Alick has since been appointed to a job in Castle Tower teaching science for a year. He commented:
“The principal of Castle Tower was really impressed with the research and he has asked me to carry on with it this year as part of a project working with a local primary school.”

Alick’s article detailing his work, written in collaboration with College lecturer Noel Purdy, has just been published in Special, a regular professional publication of NASEN (National Association for Special Educational Needs); to read it in full, click on this link: http://www.nasen.org.uk/special-magazine-archive/

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Tracy Redmond (going into Year 4, Post-Primary) reflects on how she developed personally and professionally during a wonderful three week exchange trip to Doane Stuart School in New York State.

“While revising for Semester 1 exams over the Christmas period, an email popped into my Inbox… “Would you like to spend 3 weeks in Albany, New York??”  Yes!! I completed the application form and sent it off straight away.  What would be the chances of getting to spend half of my teaching practice on the other side of the Atlantic?  
I continued through my exams and there was no mention of the application. I thought about the hundreds of other applicants and reckoned I would never hear anything more of it.  But then- sure enough- I received an interview date and a number of topics to think about before the interview, such as cross-community experiences and cross-community education.  
The interview took place, and before I knew it, I received a phone call from Gail Eason to tell me that I was successful and was going to travel in the spring with a student from St Mary’s University College to Albany, New York.  I actually could not believe it.  (One thing I have remembered from that day forward – always send in that application, you just never know the outcome!!)

Three weeks of teaching in Doane Stuart School, Albany, was one of the best experiences of my life.  The school caters for around 300 pupils ranging from 3-year-olds to 18-year-olds.  The difference in teaching strategies between here and there was unbelievable, giving me a vast pile of new ideas for home.  Throughout the three weeks I got to stay with a family whose children went to the school.  They could not have been nicer, and I really got a feel for family life ‘stateside’. They took me on lots of different excursions– shopping, site-seeing, to the nearby lakes and to various sports activities.  The ‘Mom’ of the house was a screenwriter for films!!  What a very exciting insight I had.

Doane Stuart really made us feel like royalty for the entire duration of the stay.  We got to teach a wide age range of pupils in lots of different classrooms, and we got to participate in many extra-curricular activities.  I was taught how to play the guitar, and got to take part in many different sporting events such as cross -country, basketball and softball.  The excursions experienced by the young people are second to none, and the high level of involvement of families within the school is very impressive.

At the end of the three weeks we spent an extra few days in New York City, which was just the cherry on top of our amazing experience. 

I cannot put into words how much I developed as a teacher as well as a person because of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. All I can advise you is to fill out that application form- it’s definitely worth it!”

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The small percentage of male teachers in primary schools in Northern Ireland was highlighted in a ‘story’ featured on UTV’s evening news programme on Friday 2nd September in which Dr Colette Gray, Head of Research and member of the Early Childhood Education team,  was interviewed.

The UTV story followed a speech by Education Secretary Michael Gove on 30th August when he commented on the release of General Teaching Council statistics about teacher gender across the UK. Mr Gove said that nationally, more male teachers were needed, especially in primary schools, "to provide children who often lack male role models at home with male authority figures who can display both strength and sensitivity".

In Northern Ireland the proportion teachers of teachers at Secondary level is 67% female to 33% male, while in the Primary sector the figures are 85% female to 15% male. This low figure for male primary school teachers is still higher than in England (12%).

One argument raised about this issue is that the lack of male role models may be putting boys off school, fuelling the gender attainment gap. Colette Gray argued that while the quality of teaching, rather than gender, is the most important factor in a child’s education, male teachers can sometimes bring a ‘risk-taking’ element into the classroom and on the sports field that some female teachers may discourage. She said that given society is comprised of almost equal numbers of males and females it seems appropriate that this should be reflected in classrooms.

The UTV report ended by saying that an increasing number of men were applying to enter primary teaching, but a concerted effort was still needed to end this kind of inequality. Since 2005, Stranmillis has seen an increase in the number of male applicants seeking a place on the BEd programme. Each year at least 25% are successful in attaining a place.

Through their Widening Participation commitments Stranmillis University College has implemented a number of successful initiatives directed at increasing the numbers of males into teaching. One of these is a dedicated website www.maleteachers.co.uk . During 2011-12 this is being extensively re-developed in conjunction with a number of local key stakeholders. This site will provide a dedicated ‘one stop shop’ for males interested in teaching and will be the first of its type globally.

To see a video clip of the UTV Live story (until the end of September) go to:
http://www.u.tv/utvplayer/video/138932/113690/802e59f3-6bdd-4fa0-82c1-196f8331739a

To read more on the UK-wide picture, go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14748273

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Two very successful Open Days were held on Friday 26th August  and Tuesday 30th August at Stranmillis University College Halls of Residence when prospective students and their families had a chance to see round the College’s Halls facilities.

If you are looking for accommodation and you are interested in staying at Stranmillis University College Halls of Residence with like-minded students, please ring 028 9038 4251 to make an appointment or call at the Halls Office, Refectory Building to have a look around.

Stranmillis University College Halls of Residence have single study bedrooms available for the academic year 2011/12 for all students attending Queen’s University Belfast, St Mary’s University College, The University of Ulster and Belfast Metropolitan College.

Rooms are let for the academic year (33 weeks). The price includes breakfast, lunch, heating, lighting, free internet connection and use of all other university facilities i.e. the Library and Learning Resources area, clubs & societies, and the Students’ Union. Security staff are on duty on a 24 hour basis.

Prices are as follows:

£98 per week for a single standard bedroom

£138 per week for a single en-suite bedroom

£88 per week for a single self-catering bedroom  (breakfast and evening meal not included)

Come and have a look around our wonderful facilities on the beautiful 46 acre Stranmillis campus.

For more information, download a PDF copy of the College's new prospectus (click on the 'Prospectus' link on the home page)

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Congratulations to the Continuing Professional Development participants who recently completed a two day Fundamental Movement Skills Teachers’ Course led by Mrs Joanne Gardiner and Dr. David McKee.

The course is comprised of 12 hours of professional development certified by ‘Steps PD’ and is delivered through a combination of theory sessions and practical workshops. All participants successfully gained their certificates in the teaching of Fundamental Movement Skills.

The FMS course aims to provide teachers and Early Years providers with access to quality professional development, support materials and strategies that enable the effective delivery of Physical Development and Movement in the Early Years.

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Kylie Farrell, a graduate from the MA in ECS and winner of the MA Award for Excellence 2010 / 2011, recently completed an alternative teaching experience in Malawai.

Kylie, who gained a BA in Early Childhood Studies at Stran, commenced her MA on the full time pathway in 2010. During her Masters studies, she met another student, Diane Cussick who works as a teacher in Malawai. Having successfully completed her MA, Kylie then went to London South Bank to take a PGCE in Education. Here she was given the opportunity to arrange an alternative teaching experience outside of the UK, so she went out to teach with Diane in Malawai for 3 weeks in June.
 
Speaking about her award, Kylie said, “I am absolutely delighted about this and would like to say thank you to everyone in the Early Childhood Education Department. It means a lot to me”. She also added, “I have the Masters to thank for this or I would never have met Diane. She was absoloutly fantastic in the whole organisation of my trip.”
 
Dr Barbara McConnell, Programme Leader for the MA in ECS said, "We are delighted to hear that Kylie has won the MA award. Kylie was a member of the first full time cohort on the MA in ECS and it’s great to hear that she continued with her studies and went on to study for her PGCE. Although we did not set up the links with Malawai, it is a real testament to the calibre of students and their commitment to Early Years work that such links have developed naturally through the students."

For further information about the MA in ECS please contact b.mcconnell@stran.ac.uk .

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A group of final year BEd (Primary) students have undertaken a short course on outdoor learning in mathematics aimed at equipping them with the knowledge and skills required to plan an outdoor mathematics trail.

The course, which was led by Dr Pamela Moffett (Teacher Education, Primary), began with College-based seminars in which students explored the use of the outdoor environment as a real-life context for learning mathematics. Students then had the opportunity to put this theory into practice when they designed a mathematics trail using features within the grounds of Stranmillis University College and invited Primary 5 pupils from Stranmillis Primary School to participate in the trail activities.

Commenting on the benefits of outdoor learning in mathematics, one student noted, “It makes maths more relevant and useful for the children if they are using maths in ‘everyday life’. That’s why, when making the trail, we kept it as ‘real-life’ as possible. It also appeals to a wider range of learners, especially the kinaesthetic learners.” Another student stated, “This course has shown me that maths is everywhere and if we can show this to pupils, then it will give them a real context for their learning. The outdoors is a free and valuable resource that we as teachers should be making more use of.”

Overall, the primary school pupils enjoyed the experience of ‘doing maths outside’ and the students developed their competence and confidence in using the outdoor environment to support children’s learning.

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Forty-three early years practitioners received their certificates on successful completion of a six-week course- ‘Supporting Practice in the Early Years’- at an awards ceremony at Stranmillis University College on 21st June.

Practitioners from a diverse range of early years settings participated in the tailored course which aimed to improve early years practice by upskilling those working or volunteering in such settings.  Participants were encouraged to discuss and reflect on their practice and complete a reflective diary. Issues addressed over the 6 week period included: ‘Creating an Effective Early Years Environment’, ‘Play’, ‘Developing Relationships’ and ‘Creativity’.

One of the course coordinators, Paula Carlin, said that the course had proved to be a great success with all those who took part, with seven students also achieving the additional award of 20 CATS points, having undertaken an optional assessed element. Comments from students included; ‘The course was great, I got so much out of it’ and ‘I think differently now about children and how I do things’. Some students also expressed an interest in applying for the part-time BA in Early Childhood Studies degree as a result of their experience of the course in Stranmillis.

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Science lecturer Dr Julian Greenwood has been carrying out a research programme on a small seabird, the Black Guillemot, for over a quarter of a century, and recently one of his birds became a record-breaker!

The population of birds which he has been studying lives amongst the boats in the marina at Bangor. His work has shown exciting new information, particularly in relation to climate change. Every breeding season Julian is able to catch all the young birds (as well as some of the adult birds) and give them a uniquely-numbered metal ring as well as a plastic colour-ring whose number can be read with binoculars. Whilst many of the young birds stay to breed in Bangor themselves when three years old, some of them move further afield; ringing recoveries have come from Donegal, the Clyde in Scotland and Dublin. Recently, however, a little history was made when Julian recovered a bird that he had ringed as a chick on 6th July 1988. This twenty-three year old bird now holds the record for the longest-lived Black Guillemot in the British ringing scheme.

To read more about Julian’s research on the Black Guillemots, see his paper in British Wildlife, February 2010.

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On Thursday 16th June, Stranmillis University College staged a Community ‘TRY IT’ Sports Day.

The day was organised and run by the College’s Sports Development Unit in partnership with Belfast City Council. Four Belfast schools were invited to the day-  Blythefield Primary School, Downey House, Holy Rosary Primary School and Stranmillis Primary School.

A total of 170 primary seven children were given an opportunity to ‘TRY’ a range of different sports (badminton, basketball, cricket, gymnastics, football, hockey, multi skills, tennis and volleyball). These children are approaching an important stage as they enter secondary education, when the likelihood is they will choose their favourite sport to participate in through the rest of their school career. It is important that this decision is informed by experience, and this was the primary aim of the day.

Sports Development Officer Ian McGowan commented: “The TRY IT day was an excellent opportunity to showcase the wonderful sporting facilities that Stranmillis has to offer, in particular the facilities in the Orchard Building. The day was a resounding success and recognition must be given to all coaches, volunteers and sponsors- namely Gotto Sports and British Telecom- who made the day such a triumph.”

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Stranmillis Students’ Union representatives have handed over a cheque for almost £2000 to support the work of the Buddy Bear Trust school for conductive education in Dungannon.

During the year events such as a rag week, an X-Factor competition and their very own variety performance, “Stran’s Got Talent” were held in order to raise money for the charity which works mainly with pupils with cerebral palsy. The cheque was presented to Brendan McConville, Chairperson of the Trust, on a beautiful June afternoon in the College grounds.

Union representative Aaron Davis commented that the students look forward to some more charity fund-raising next year, as well as hopefully a long and prosperous relationship with Buddy Bear.

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Teachers from eight schools across Northern Ireland had the rare opportunity to chat with Tony Blair during a video conference at Stranmillis University College.

The teachers were participating in a one-day training event for the ‘Face to Faith’ programme run by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation (TBFF) which aims to facilitate inter-faith dialogue through video conferencing and online collaboration. During the session Mr Blair told the teachers: ‘Young people have an enormous appetite to learn about others who are different from them’ and he emphasised the positive value of enabling pupils to dialogue about faith issues and beliefs.

Jo Malone, UK Coordinator of TBFF, introduced teachers to the basics of video-conferencing as well as the learning materials and cooperative learning techniques at the heart of the programme.  During the day there were also international contributions from experienced inter-faith facilitators in India and Lebanon who stressed the benefits of Face to Faith for not only encouraging dialogue and empathy between young people but helping them to connect with their own faith traditions.  In the coming months the teachers hope to embed some of the programme within their own classrooms, and C2K video-conference manager Eamon McAteer has promised they will be enthusiastically supported by his organisation.  The schools are also keen to explore ways in which they can facilitate dialogue about faith and beliefs between local children as well as internationally.

The event was organised with assistance from the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, Queen’s University Sharing Education Programme and Stranmillis University College.

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The LOOK-LISTEN- LINK model is one of the clear and concise messages in a training programme delivered by North Belfast suicide awareness group ‘PIPS’.

A group of Stranmillis students attended a suicide prevention course on Friday 3rd June organised by Brian Booth of Student Support and facilitated by Eddie Bannon from PIPS. This course focused on young people, not only those in schools and community groups but also friends and family members.  PIPS aim to help participants develop a broader understanding of suicide prevention and look at the issues affecting our young people which might increase their risk of suicide:  bullying, drugs, alcohol, family problems and exam stress.

It’s all about looking for the signs of depression, listening to the person and linking them to the appropriate help they need.

Did you know?

• Suicide kills 6 times the number of those who die on our roads every year.
• A large percentage of potential victims can be saved by intervention.

LOOK-LISTEN-LINK

Three simple words we all know and understand...
But also three words that could save a life.

If anyone reading this is in distress or despair call LIFELINE  free 24/7 on : 0808 808 8000.

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Tom Stewart, former Stran student and Stran lecturer, is retiring as principal of Stranmillis Primary School after 18 years in the job. Current Chair of the school’s Board of Governors, College lecturer Laura McClintock, looks back at his career and his various connections with the College.

It is Tom Stewart’s intention to retire as principal of Stranmillis Primary School at the end of this academic year, and it is with much sadness that the school will say goodbye to him.  He was appointed as principal on 1st November 1993, and in his time there the school community has flourished and benefitted greatly from his excellent leadership. 

Tom’s association with Stranmillis College (as it was then called) started when he studied English and Dramatic Art here before taking up his first teaching post in 1972, teaching a P5 class in Fernhill Primary School in Lisburn (now known as Harmony Hill Primary).  After a relatively short time as an ‘assistant teacher’, in 1979 he accepted the promotion to vice-principal at Fane Street Primary School.  Following seven years in this role, he was offered the job of Senior Lecturer in the Education Department at Stranmillis College.  It was after eight years in the College that Tom applied for and accepted the job of principal of Stranmillis Primary School.  In the last number of years he has also worked for the Regional Training Unit (RTU) and offered his expertise in training future headteachers.

Connections between the school and the College are especially strong as a number of Stranmillis lecturers are members of the school’s Board of Governors-  Dr Maureen Thatcher, Mrs Mary McAlister, Ms Denise Elliott and Mrs Laura McClintock. In addition Mr Maurice Blease, who recently retired from College, is a BELB representative.  As Tom’s colleagues, we would like to take this opportunity to wish him and his wife a very long and happy retirement.

Mr Jackie Wallace has been appointed as the new principal, and he will take up his post on the 1st September 2011.  Mr Wallace is also a Stranmillis graduate and has been working in the Education and Training Inspectorate for the last three years.  Prior to this he was the principal of Cavehill Primary School in Belfast.  We extend our congratulations and offer our best wishes to Mr Wallace in leading Stranmillis Primary School for the next number of years.

Laura McClintock
Stranmillis Primary School Board of Governors                                                                                

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Congratulations to Year 4 BEd students Steven Park, Andrew Shannon and Ruth Thompson as well as lecturer Dr Noel Purdy on their appearance on BBC TV’s Newsline programme on 31^st May.

The feature, presented by Education Correspondent Maggie Taggart, focussed on the importance of the Alternative Placement scheme for final year teacher education students emerging into a competitive teaching jobs market. The item was introduced by describing the scheme as ‘an unusual work experience’ which ‘advises students to keep their eyes open to other possibilities’.

All three students were filmed working with the host organisations with whom they had been on placement back in January. Steven was filmed out and about with the RSPB. He spoke about how, while he hoped to get a teaching post in September, his time with the RSPB had allowed him to develop skills which had added to his CV. Andrew was seen working in the W5 Discovery Centre in Belfast, discussing the maths trail he had helped to set up. Ruth was filmed working with pupils from the local Chinese community in the Chinese Welfare Association and described how she was planning to teach in China next year.

Noel Purdy, one of the Alternative Placement scheme’s coordinators, was interviewed as well and stressed how the Alternative Placement scheme attempted to provide students with insights into many different organisations across Northern Ireland and helped develop in the students a range of transferable skills.

Well done to all four for representing the College so well.

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Congratulations to the current PGCE Early Years students and to the Continuing Professional Development participants who recently attended a two day Fundamental Movement Skills Teachers’ Course led by Mrs Joanne Gardiner and Dr. David McKee.

The course constitutes 12 hours of professional development and is delivered through a combination of theory sessions and practical workshops. The course is certified by Steps PD professional development and all participants successfully achieved their certificates in the teaching of Fundamental Movement Skills.

The FMS course aims to provide teachers and early years providers with access to quality professional development, support materials and strategies that enable the effective delivery of Physical Development and Movement in the early years.

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Katherine Kennedy from Portadown graduated from Stran last summer with a BEd (Primary) degree with first class honours. She shares something of her ‘journey’ and has words of encouragement for all teacher education students graduating this year and emerging into a ‘difficult’ job market.

“After leaving Portadown College in June 2006 I eagerly started preparing myself for life as an undergraduate.  I always wanted to be a teacher from a young age so getting accepted into Stranmillis was a huge achievement and relief and it did not disappoint.  I threw myself into all aspects of student life, in particular the ‘Panto’ and the choir. I made friends for life at university and it was hard to believe that on a sunny July evening in 2010, my four years at Stranmillis were over and I was now being awarded my degree, ready to set out into the world of...unemployment!!

As an undergraduate in the teaching profession we are constantly reminded by all around us that there are 'No Jobs!!'.  Yes, I will not lie, jobs are not being handed out readily...but opportunities are there, and it is these that we must grasp!  While budgets have been cut and the number of courses for teachers has been reduced, pregnancies, sicknesses and unfortunately bereavement do still occur and these are the perfect opportunities for a newly qualified teacher (NQT) to gain work and experience.

My advice is to stay positive and enthusiastic about teaching, and embrace with thanks every opportunity!  I was offered a 6-month maternity leave cover starting in August 2010 and since finishing my maternity stint I have been employed in different local schools every day since!  We as NQTs have the attraction of being 'cheap' and 'cheerful', and schools need teachers who are willing and able to be in schools at the drop of a hat!  Perhaps getting into a routine of washing your hair at night is a great idea for the ladies when the early morning calls appear!

I wish each of you every success in completing your degree and beginning your induction year.”

Stran addendum: Remember – opportunities for subbing will only arise if you have your CV submitted to schools as soon as possible. When you have a draft of your CV ready Joan Connolly from the Student Support Centre as well as many members of the lecturing staff will be happy to act as critical friends!  If you aren’t in you can’t win!

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The 18th May saw the inaugural meeting of the Stranmillis University College STEM Consultative Group

College staff from the STEM area (science, technology, enterprise and maths) met with colleagues from external agencies (Association for Science Education, education and library boards, Royal Society of Chemistry, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Ulster Museum, W5, Bombardier, Lumen Christi College and Gilnahirk Primary School) to showcase its STEM work in primary and post-primary courses, the MEd programme, as well as research. But being a consultative group, consultation took place! The external agencies entered dialogue with Stranmillis staff to develop ideas that might be useful in enriching the courses on offer both now and in the future.

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The MA in Early Childhood Studies team facilitated a seminar entitled 'Leadership in Early Years Services' on Thursday 5th May 2011.

Over 40 delegates attended, drawing from the Education, Care and Social Care sectors, bringing a mixture of policy and practice to the event. The keynote address was given by Dr Catherine Meehan from Canterbury Christchurch University in Kent. Catherine is the Programme Leader for the 'New Leaders Initative' in the UK, an innovative programme which aims to recruit, train and retain able graduates in the Early Years sector who have the capacity to become outstanding leaders.

At the seminar, Catherine presented an overview of recent developments in Leadership in the UK, within a framework of integrated Early Years services. She presented many challenges and opportunities for the future of the MA in Stranmillis.

Dr Barbara McConnell, Programme Leader for the MA ECS in Stranmillis said: "We are delighted at how well the seminar was supported and received. The MA in ECS continues to expand and we are open to the challenges presented in the 0-6 Early Years Strategy to provide a postgraduate qualification for the Early Years workforce. The MA team will be taking forward some of the suggestions from the seminar and we would hope that we will soon be able to offer a Postgraduate Certificate in Leading Integrated Early Years Services."

 

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On May 12th the College’s Music Society held its annual ‘Music for a May Evening’ concert.

The audience in the Drama Theatre were treated to a mixture of large and small ensemble and solo performances and an eclectic range of musical styles- from pieces by Chopin, Haydn, Ennio Morricone and Scott Joplin to songs by John Denver, Leonard Cohen and Snow Patrol! We even had an African traditional working song with actions!!

Congratulations to all of the student musicians who took part and especially to music lecturers Jayne Moore and Frances Burgess who oversaw it all.

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A successful six week pilot course has been run by the Early Childhood Studies team at Stranmillis on Wednesday evenings between March and May.

The course targets early years staff and volunteers from a range of settings - parent & toddler groups, crèches, day cares, playgroups, nursery schools and Foundation Stage classes. Practitioners developed their skills through engaging in a practice task and completing a reflective diary between sessions. Sessions were held on alternate weeks to facilitate this aspect of the course.

Course organisers Paula Carlin and Dorothy McMillan said: ‘We felt there was a need for a ‘tailored’ course for practitioners and volunteers in the field of early years to improve practice within the sector. We also hoped the course might help some practitioners make the transition to ECS degree level study. We have been delighted by the uptake on this course. Forty three early years practitioners completed it and we are planning to run the course again next year’.

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Karen Swann, who graduated in 2008 (BEd Post Primary with Business Studies & Maths) recently married her South African boyfriend, Rory Thompson, whom she met in 2007 while completing a semester in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth!

The wedding took place on 25 April 2011 with the service at St Cedma's Church, Larne and the reception at the Dunadry Hotel.

Having respectively taught Karen at Stranmillis and organised her international exchange, College lecturers Audrey Curry and Laurence Siberry were among the guests. The couple are currently living in Northern Ireland but may consider moving to California as Rory's parents are soon to emigrate there. Karen is currently teaching maths in The Rainey Endowed School, Magherafelt.

It was a beautiful day and a very happy event! Karen looked as stunning as the other, more famous, bride who got married that week! Best wishes to Karen and Rory for a wonderful life together!

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Dr George Beale has recently returned from a very successful visit to the Pädagogische Hochschule Thurgau, at Kreuzlingen in Switzerland.

He was involved in teaching, facilitating group discussions with international students and participating in events during the university’s Intercultural Week.

He was invited to give a public lecture entitled Kolumban und Gallus – Irishe Mönche im Bodenseeraum which traced the history of the Irish Peregrini who lived and worked in the Lake Constance area during the first decade of the seventh century. He also visited local primary and secondary schools and engaged in teaching an ‘A’ level class at the Pädagogische Maturitäts Schule in Kreuzlingen.

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After thirty-five years, Senior Halls’ Tutor Frank Thompson, an honorary life member of the Students' Union, said farewell to Stranmillis last summer. The students thought it would be fitting to dedicate one of the newly refurbished rooms in the ground floor of the Stran House to Frank, calling it ‘Frank’s Corner’.

Students' Union President Sean McElhinney describes Franks’ contribution to Halls life at Stran:

“When I first met Frank, he stood modestly in his ‘Paddy Hat’ taking care of a bit of a late night party in Halls. His manner and rapport with students as he gently asked them to keep the noise down brought a typical reaction: the students respectfully did as he had asked. As I got to know Frank in the subsequent two years I found that he always had time for the students; be it three in the afternoon or three in the morning, his door was quite literally open. Stressed students, upset students, lonely students and partying students alike were always welcome on the couch at Frank’s. There we dismantled the world’s problems, running late into the night and early hours of the morning. One occasion in particular stands out in my mind as the best night in Frank’s flat. Some friends and I were gathered in the kitchen in Devenish when Frank came through the door. In uncharacteristic fashion Frank demanded harshly that we keep the noise down. There was a stunned silence! Suddenly he burst out laughing, told us to grab guitars, fiddles, keyboards and bodhrans and whatever other instruments we could find and get over to his flat! The craic and music ran long into the night and early into the morning with eleven students and twelve other friends.

Frank spent huge amounts of time taking Erasmus and International students on trips away to the north coast, Helen’s Bay and any other attraction he could think of in Northern Ireland! His friendship with so many of these students was summed up by one German girl who once wrote to him from the airport describing how when she got to Germany she would sorely miss her second home (Stranmillis) and more importantly the craic in Frank’s flat.

What we want to find in ‘Frank’s Corner’ in the Students' Union Building is something of the safety, honesty, openness and friendship that we had when Frank was at Stran. After 35 years, what Frank offered our students was uncompromising and loving friendship. To him we say- see you soon sir- you’re always welcome at your place!!”

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Stranmillis University College is to play host to a world ranking international race event on Good Friday.

The afternoon of Friday 22 April will see more than 1,600 athletes from across the world racing around the grounds of Stranmillis and Queen’s Elms Village in the opening event in the annual Easter Jan Kjellström four-day international orienteering festival which is taking place for the first time ever in Northern Ireland. Orienteering is a sport traditionally associated with forests, dunes or open mountainsides, but more recently, navigating and running at breakneck speed through urban terrain has become increasingly popular.

Competitors from 23 nationalities are registered, from as far away as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Scandinavia and mainland Europe, and they range in age from eight to 80. Starting at one-minute intervals the runners will visit 28 control points, navigating around extremely complex courses across the approximately 80 acre area, and the ‘elite’ runners will finish the course in less than 15 minutes.  This will be the first World Ranking Sprint Orienteering race ever held in the UK and the competition will be really fast and furious.

College Principal Dr Anne Heaslett said: “I am really pleased to be able to welcome NI Orienteering and all the visiting competitors to Stranmillis. I am very much looking forward to witnessing the spectacle of so many people racing around the beautiful grounds here and I am sure watching the runners sprinting home to the finish will be very exciting.” 

The “JK” event is being sponsored by SportNI, Belfast City Council and the NITourist Board. It is named after Swede Jan Kjellström who tragically died in a road accident in 1967, aged only 27. He was the son of the inventor of the innovative liquid-filled Silva compass, and played a key role in the development of orienteering as a sport in the UK.

The JK Festival website address is: http://www.jk2011.org.uk/

Lower Photograph- from left:

Olivia Baxter, member of QUB Orienteering Club

Charlie Reid, Assistant Organiser JK Day 1 Sprint race and IT Services Manager at Stranmillis

Harold White, Event Coordinator of the 4 day JK event

Dr Anne Heaslett, Principal of Stranmillis University College

Joanne Gribbin, Assistant Hospitality Services Manager at Stranmillis

Stephen Gilmore, Organiser for the JK Day 1 Sprint race

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Around 80 Sixth Form pupils from eight different schools from all over Northern Ireland attended a geography conference and decision-making exercise focussing on whether the Mourne Mountains should be designated a National Park.

The conference, hosted in the Central Building in Stran and organised by the Belfast Branch of the Geographical Association, was aimed at developing the Geography A Level pupils’ ability to debate and make decisions on real-world issues in preparation for their A Level Decision-making paper.

Richard Greenwood from Stranmillis gave an opening lecture on the geology and the physical geography of the Mournes area, and this was followed by a lecture by Martin Carey, Chief Executive of the Mourne Heritage Trust, who described the work of the Trust and set out arguments for the designation of a National Park.

The pupils were then divided into eight ‘stakeholder groups’, some of which in real life are for a new National Park designation, and some of which are vehemently against; for example there were groups representing Small Landowners, Tourism Businesses, Environmental Bodies, Local Communities and Recreation Users. Each of these groups, made up of pupils from all eight schools and scattered around rooms in the Central Building, had to research and discuss and come up with arguments supporting their group’s position and deliver these arguments to a plenary session in a five-minute presentation using PowerPoint.

Professor Steve Royle, Geography lecturer at QUB and a Geography A Level Chief Examiner, adjudicated at the plenary and in his summing up declared the winning group to be the ‘Tourist Organisations’ who impressed with both their arguments and their delivery.

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The team of sixth-form students representing Friends’ School Lisburn took first place in this year’s Royal Society of Chemistry’s Schools’ Analyst competition held recently at Stranmillis.

Our newly refurbished science laboratories provided an excellent venue for this annual event. The competition is an exacting challenge to students’ ‘A’ Level chemistry knowledge and practical skills and involved 12 schools taking part in an intense morning of analytical activity, carrying out experiments to:

• Check the purity of a boric acid antiseptic preparation,
• Assay a glutamic acid sample by potentiometric titration, and
• Investigate the strength of an antibiotic, Isoniazid, used to treat TB.

All students displayed a high level of enthusiasm and competence for which they received a book token and a certificate recognising their attainment in accuracy and precision. The winning school was awarded a cheque for £400 to support the development of chemistry education. The runners up, Belfast Royal Academical Institution, received a cheque for £300 with third placed Belfast Royal Academy receiving £200. Lumen Christi College Derry were highly commended and received £100.The winners will now go forward to represent Northern Ireland in the UK finals of the competition at the University of Reading in June.

In her welcoming address College Principal Dr Heaslett thanked the Royal Society of Chemistry and Warner Chilcott UK Ltd for their kind sponsorship of the event which demonstrates the College’s commitment to the STEM agenda. Mr Paul Hughes of Warner Chilcott said “the pharmaceutical sector is very important to our health and the economy of Northern Ireland. It is gratifying to see the high level of chemical expertise  and enthusiasm demonstrated by these young people -  a good sign for future private sector growth in Northern Ireland.”           

 

 

 

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Congratulations to Dr Sharon McMurray who has been successfully selected to be Associate Assessor in Special Education for the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI).

Sharon will go through ETI inspection training in May and will begin assisting the Inspectors in the new academic year.

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Kousalyaa Somasundram, a recent Stran BEd graduate, has been the ‘face’ of the recent Festival of Colours held in St George’s Market in Belfast. Dressed in her traditional Indian dance dress, Kousalyaa appeared on the promotional material for the event.

The Festival of Colours (commonly known as ‘Holi’) originates from India and is a spring religious festival celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka as well as other countries. Cultural arts organisation ‘ArtsEkta’ have developed the concept creatively to promote cultural diversity through music, dance, food and crafts. One of the most flamboyant aspects of the festival is when people throw coloured powder and coloured water at each other, visibly symbolising equality in a fun and informal atmosphere.

A large crowd, including Kousalyaa, enjoyed the festivities on Sunday 20^th March. Hopefully they weren’t wearing their Sunday best!

For more information on the festival visit

http://www.artsekta.org.uk/festivals/festival-of-colours

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Steven Park, a Year 4 BEd Primary student, reports on work which he has carried out on the challenging but under-researched area of sectarian bullying:

"During the first semester I completed an essay on sectarian bullying as part of the Year 4 Pastoral Care optional module.  This area of bullying had been under-researched and often underestimated within Northern Ireland, so it was a challenge for me to piece together fragments of relevant research.  Focusing on the primary sector, I completed my assignment and suggested a definition for sectarian bullying (something which previously did not exist).

During my research, I interviewed Lee Kane from the Northern Ireland Anti-bullying Forum (NIABF), and he requested that I send him a copy of my completed work as the NIABF were setting up a task group to tackle sectarian bullying this calendar year.  I did as requested, and was invited to present my findings to the group at their first planning meeting.  The presentation went well and I have been asked to join the task group now as they move forward to planning and implementing an action plan to tackle sectarian bullying in Northern Ireland.

Obviously this achievement will strengthen my own CV and professional development, but I feel it also positively displays Stranmillis University College in the public eye.  I would like to thank Dr Noel Purdy for his guidance and assistance during my assignment, with the success of the piece of work demonstrating the high level of teaching that occurs within Stranmillis."

Noel Purdy, the main lecturer on Steven’s module said:

“This is a signficant achievement and is testimony to the high standard of Steven's work.  Steven is to be particularly commended on his work in an under-researched area of bullying, but an area to which the NI Anti-Bullying Forum has recently turned its attention.”
 
You can find out more about the NI Anti-Bullying Forum at http://www.niabf.org.uk/cms/

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Mr Jim Rutherford retired at the end of January 2011 as Grounds Superintendent of Stranmillis University College after 38 years of service. He was joined by his wife Audrey, staff and colleagues from Stranmillis to honour his years of service and wish him well for the future.

Jim started his employment at Stranmillis College on 1 July 1973 as the Resident Foreman Gardener. Five years later he was made Grounds Superintendent. His duties included responsibility for the overall supervision and maintenance of the 46 acres of College grounds, most of which is a designated Conservation Area.

Jim has always had a keen interest in horticulture and nature in general. When he was a pupil at
Dungannon Boys’ County Secondary School (1957-61) he won the prize for ‘Rural Science’. He continued to win awards during his time as a student at Greenmount College (1967-1968).  While studying for his Certificate in Horticulture at Greenmount he won the Plantsman’s Prize based on his ability to identify plants and plant disorders. He continued with his studies in horticulture and achieved both the Royal Horticultural Society Certificate and the National Certificate in Horticulture.

Jim was renowned for his knowledge of plants, and had the distinction of being able to use their proper Latin names. All of this knowledge was put to good use over the 37 years he tended and managed the College grounds. Visitors never fail to comment on the wonderful natural environment within the Stranmillis walls and the way it was cared for.

As well as looking after the grounds Jim produced fantastic flower arrangements for large scale College events such as graduation ceremonies, dinners and conferences, using seasonal flowers and foliage from various shrubs on the estate. He was always very happy to share his knowledge as he advised staff about the best location in the garden for specific plants and offered advice on problems with plants. Many also benefitted from the plant cuttings which he was very happy to supply.

In addition to his interest in gardening Jim has a passion for family history. Over the last number of years he has spent a lot of time researching his family tree and this is an interest he hopes to continue to develop in his retirement.

The retirement celebration concluded with a light lunch, the highlight of which was the cutting of a cake created especially for the occasion. It was appropriately decorated with the implements and objects associated with gardening – a fork and a spade, gardening gloves and a potted plant. The celebration marked the end of a wonderfully fulfilling career spent working in an environment which Jim cared about deeply. His colleagues and friends wish him and his wife Audrey a long and happy retirement.

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Students on the PGCE course went off-campus on Friday 18 February 2011 to explore how the outdoor environment can be used to support and enhance mathematics learning and teaching.

Course tutors Dr Pamela Moffett and Mr Richard Greenwood facilitated a visit to the Ulster American Folk Park where students had the opportunity to participate in a mathematics trail designed for primary school pupils. Staff at the folk park explained what happens when groups of pupils taking part in the various maths trails go round the cottages, the forge, the school and nineteenth century village streets looking for clues, counting objects and completing various mathematical puzzles- all in the great outdoors!  One student summed up the experience as follows: “It was a fun way to 'do’ maths!”

The students thoroughly enjoyed this visit and found it extremely worthwhile. They gained many practical ideas which they hope to implement in their future teaching experience. As one student commented, “It gave me great ideas as to how I could create my own maths trails.”

Staff at the Ulster American Folk Park were impressed to see the University College taking positive steps in promoting the use of real life contexts in mathematics and in connecting learning across the areas of the curriculum.

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During the first week in February, Stranmillis lecturersLaurence Siberry and George Beale once again travelled to Spain  to teach an accredited  module at the University of León.

Over 40 students attended the course on Northern Ireland Culture and Education. The module is taught and assessed through English and involves presentations about the Northern Ireland education system, the diversity of schooling in the province and the curriculum past and present. Comparisons are also made between the system of education, curriculum and schools in the province of Castilla and León.  The topics are discussed in the context of the culture and troubled history of Northern Ireland and endeavour to develop students’ linguistic skills and competence. The language activities are selected to complement the different academic components of the course and include newspaper reports, television programmes, articles on current affairs and relevant internet resources.

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A 4th Year student, Tony McGaharan, has been the inspiration behind our current partnership with the Doane Stuart School in Albany USA and St.Mary’s University College.

In December 2009, Ms Gail Eason, Head of School Partnerships here in Stranmillis and Mrs Denise McKee in St.Mary’s University College visited Doane Stuart. In 2010, each of the two university colleges sent one student to Albany for a 3 week school based work placement.  Plans are underway to do the same in 2011.

On 23rd February 2011, a group of students from Doane Stuart paid us a visit at Stranmillis. After a meal in College, Dr. Eamon Phoenix led the group to the Friar’s Bush graveyard on the Stranmillis Road. He gave a very inspirational talk on the stories behind the tombstones. He also gave an insightful commentary on the longstanding tensions behind the two communities in Northern Ireland and the role of the United States in helping to bring peace and reconciliation.  

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Year 2 BEd Post-Primary and BA Early Years students recently had the opportunity to participate in the QUB Certificate in Entrepreneurship Studies and face a panel of educators in 'The Dragons' Den'!

The teams pitched their ideas for new educational resources to a panel of "Educational Dragons" including a retired school principal, the CCEA Education Manager and a consultant researcher in Technology and Innovative Management (TIM). 

David Gibson, Senior Teaching Fellow in Entrepreneurship at QUB, said, ‘This was a great effort by all the students who, working in teams, developed an educational resource with real potential for use with learners.’

The winning team ‘Building the Future’ were Year 2 Post Primary students Rachel Devine, Samantha Jobb, Colin Irwin and Niall Uprichard. They presented their idea for an interdisciplinary teaching resource which could be used on the ‘Learning for Life and Work’ programme.  The team impressed the Dragons with their innovative idea and their confident presentation in the Den.

The photo on the right shows some of the participating students along with the ‘Dragons’
Front row left to right:
Dr A McIntosh, Consultant Researcher in Technology and Innovative Management (TIM)
Ms Janet Armstrong, retired principal of Early Years Partnership School
Ms Patricia Corrigan, Business & Enterprise, Stranmillis University College
Ms Vivienne Bannon, Education Manager, CCEA
David Gibson, Visiting Professor at Ashcroft Business School, Cambridge University

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Congratulations to Dr Glenda Walsh and Dr Barbara McConnell who have been successfully selected to be Associate Assessors in Early Years for the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI). Glenda and Barbara will go through ETI inspection training in the spring term and will begin assisting the Inspectors in the new academic year.

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On 21st February, Early Childhood Studies had their formal in the Wellington Park Hotel to raise money for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.

A raffle took place at the formal with prizes from Paul Stafford Hairdressing, Parlour Bar, House Bar, Yum Restaurant and the Wellington Park Hotel which raised £450 for the Hospice.

Organisers Katie and Laura-Jayne would like to thank everyone who attended the formal and made a contribution to such a worthy cause.
Katie says:  “It was an amazing night with great people, good music and brilliant moves on the dance floor!! A big thank-you to Ruth Brown, Anna Scott, Natasha Close, Nikki Milligan, Lisa Collins, Claire Fullerton, Philip Robson and anyone else who helped at the formal and in the fund-raising.”

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Stranmillis recently hosted two very successful STEM  fun days on the campus with pupils from local primary and post-primary schools in College working with staff from SENTINUS and Stranmillis students on a range of STEM-based activities.  (STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

Stranmillis students enrolled as Stem Ambassadors and spent each day working with a small group of children, guiding them through activities such as launching rockets and making mini cars.  The school pupils enjoyed working in teams on extended science tasks while the Stranmillis students gained valuable experience working with pupils in this more informal setting.  Two of the fourth year students also spent their Alternative Placements with SENTINUS and were able to come to Stranmillis to support these events as part of their experience.

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On 24 and 25 January 2011 Year 1, 2 and 3 BEd students were invited to participate in workshops on the use of the different interactive whiteboards available in schools across Northern Ireland. 

David Hunter from Promethean, Jim Smyth of Smart and Janine Carson from IMEX were on campus to showcase each type of board and students also had the opportunity to hear about the Microsoft programmes, Innovative Schools and Innovative Teachers in presentations taken by Tom Jackson of Microsoft.  This was an excellent day for the students who had the time and opportunity to explore the potential of these technologies before commencing school placement in a few weeks time.

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Professionals from a wide range of disciplines, in education and beyond, recently attended a short course on Public Speaking for Professionals taken by College lecturer Dr Patricia Eaton. 

The evening was interactive with the focus on becoming the sort of speaker that reflects your personality rather than trying to emulate others.  Participants had the opportunity to try lots of exercises including a video task; they also heard form Audrey Curry about how even the colours we wear influence the perceptions of the audience. 

The course will run again next academic year and those interested in signing up should check the website for details or contact the Professional Development and Lifelong Learning office on 02890 384345.

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To celebrate Entrepreneurship week, Stranmillis University College ran a competition for the most innovative use of an enterprising idea in schools or other settings. 

The winners, Samantha Jobb and Rachel Devine, devised a lesson that brought entrepreneurship to the classroom and encouraged pupils to develop important skills in this area.  Lisa McKenzie, Business and Enterprise Lecturer, presented them with their prize and stated that this was an excellent way to encourage students to bring entrepreneurship to their pupils and to raise awareness of the importance on entrepreneurship in education.

 

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Stranmillis University College has benefited from working with the Pushkin Trust for many years in their shared aims of ensuring we have creative and inspiring teachers in our schools.

Under the auspices of The Pushkin Trust, a group of students from all four years of the B.Ed. programme took part in three sessions in February on developing creative talking and writing in the classroom.

Our thanks go to the three facilitators:

• Jess White, who took the students on an environmental-awareness walk round the College grounds, modelling how to use our senses to experience more of the world around us, and share our observations;

• Victoria Gleason, an actor, writer and storyteller, who worked with the students on effective storytelling with children;

• Charlie Graham, a former primary principal, who helped the students develop their skills in enjoying and working with poems and writing poetry in the classroom.

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Around 60 people including several Stranmillis staff and students attended the launch at the end of January in the Canada Room at Queen’s of 'Education for Diversity and Mutual Understanding: the Experience of Northern Ireland', a new book edited by Stranmillis lecturer Norman Richardson and Professor Tony Gallagher from QUB. 

The book, which was published with the support of the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council, reflects on four decades of educational strategies to promote intercultural awareness and good community relations in a divided society and offers the experiences and outcomes for wider international scrutiny.  The first part of the book examines the background, context and rationale for such work.  Part 2 considers some of the key classroom strategies, including Circle Time, cross-community contact, creative responses to conflict, creating ‘safe space’ and developing skills in tackling controversial issues, in the context of a whole school approach.  The final part offers some reflections and evaluations in the light of newer approaches such as citizenship education.  The chapters are written by a total of nine different contributors, all of whom have considerable experience in this field of education.

One of the editors, Professor Tony Gallagher, has suggested that the book "brings together the accumulated wisdom and experience of people who have been working to address issues related to diversity in a society which, for much of the period in which they were working, was literally tearing itself apart". He added that "the lessons that emerge from this experience represent an extraordinary record of achievement on the pedagogy of inclusion and engagement with diversity".

The book, which is published by Peter Lang International, is now available from the Bookshop at Queen’s at the special Northern Ireland price of £15.

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Around 80 students and staff gathered in the Craigantlet Fine Dining Room at Stranmillis for a lunchtime event to celebrate the ‘Alternative Placement’ programme which took place in January.

Each year all of our final year B.Ed. students have the opportunity to undertake a placement which is different from their chosen school phase’s setting. These placements allow our students to appreciate the transferability of their teaching skills and to look beyond traditional mainstream primary or post-primary schools for potential employment opportunities. In all, 126 students went to 87 different organisations this year ranging from special schools, withdrawal units, Christian education organisations, outdoor education centres and museums, to The Northern Ireland Assembly, hospital schools, the BBC, the Armagh Planetarium, Magilligan Prison School and the Portrush Surf School, to name but a few.

The students wrote detailed evaluations reflecting on the experiences they had had and the skills they had developed, and their reports were overwhelmingly very positive, as was the feedback from the host organisations.

At the celebration event a summary of the students’ evaluations was given, but the highlight was when eleven of the students got up to speak for two minutes each, explaining where they had been placed and what they had been able to do there, reflecting on their personal and professional achievements.

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College Hall was the venue for a resources exhibition aimed at supporting Religious Education, ‘Learning for Life and Work’ and PDMU. 

This is the first such event in recent years and it proved popular with our students who turned out in numbers.  The exhibitors were delighted with the informed-interest in their ‘wares’.  Various ‘freebies’ were quickly snapped-up by eagle-eyed students (and staff) keen to prepare for school-based work beginning next week.  The resources on the ‘Amnesty’ stand were cleaned-out! 

Many thanks to our exhibitors: Love for Life; Amnesty International; Christian Aid; Trócaire; Colourpoint Books; Scripture Union; Child Evangelism Fellowship and LearningSpaceNI.

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Dr Robert Enright (University of Wisconsin) and Becki Fulmer (Forgiveness Education Project) visited Stranmillis to speak to staff and students about Forgiveness Education.

Both Robert and Becki have been working with young people and teachers in Northern Ireland for around ten years exploring the theme of forgiveness through school projects and teacher training. Their work is currently expanding to Palestine and Israel.

Stranmillis Religious Studies lecturer James Nelson, who organised the seminar, said: 'It is hoped there will be further opportunities to develop the links between students in Stranmillis and Wisconsin in the future.'

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This year’s winner of the Worship Fund Prize is Gemma Maxwell (Year 1 BEd Primary).

The Worship Fund Prize is awarded annually to the student who is considered first in order of merit on entry to the Bachelor of Education degree course at Stranmillis University College, and is ‘adjudged best qualified to commence a course of teacher training’. 

Gemma attended Rainey Endowed Grammar School in Magherafelt and studied Art, Biology, Geography and History at A level, before commencing the BEd Primary degree.  She is involved with children's work within her local church and enjoys teaching piano at the weekends.  She says she would like to teach abroad and she has an interest in travelling.

The presentation, held in the College’s Boardroom, was attended by Gemma’s parents as well as Mr Robert Robinson, Principal of Rainey Endowed, College Principal Dr Anne Heaslett, Vice-Principal Dr Clifford Boyd and other College staff. Gemma was presented with a history book which she had previously chosen. In explaining her choice she said:

One my favourite subjects is history and so I chose an encyclopaedia of sorts on history which is chronologically set out and has a wide scope of knowledge. I chose it both for my own enjoyment and reading but also because I hope it will be a useful resource when teaching the history component in ‘The World Around Us’ in primary school.

The Worship Fund Prize is funded from a legacy bequeathed in the nineteenth century by the Rev William Taylor Worship, Rector of Bolton in Suffolk (1836–1845).

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Twenty-one primary teachers recently completed their continuing professional development course ‘Using digital Technology in Primary Science’ here at Stranmillis.

The course outlines the findings of research and curriculum development projects carried out by College staff relating to the advantages of using digital resources during enquiry-based science activities. During the two evening sessions the teachers were provided with examples of lessons where data logging, computer microscopes and video recording can be used to enhance pupil engagement, enjoyment and learning.

One of the hands-on activities involved the teachers recording and editing a short video of their enquiry task which they felt might be of use when disseminating to their colleagues back in school.

The course will run again in the autumn term. For more details contact J.McCullagh@stran.ac.uk .

For details of all continuing professional development or lifelong learning courses please visit http://www.stran.ac.uk  and go to Information About ... Courses ... Professional Development & Lifelong Learning

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At a recent event at Stranmillis, Year 2 post-primary students celebrated the completion of their Problem-based Learning project.

The project was student-led with College tutors acting as mentors and each group was encouraged to work with external schools or other agencies.  The topics investigated were cross-curricular in nature and included: Financial Capability, Working with Classroom Assistants, Enterprise Education, Physical Activity in Schools and Creativity.  The event was attended by College Principal, Dr Anne Heaslett, Dr Nick Todd from the ETI and several other representatives from schools and CCEA. 

Dr Patricia Eaton who coordinated the project was delighted with the professionalism and enthusiasm of the students and said that this was an excellent opportunity for the students to learn valuable skills by working with each other and with other professionals to address wide-ranging issues to which there is often no easy solution. It is an excellent preparation for life in the classroom where issues do not come neatly packaged but often need to be addressed by a team of professionals bringing their expertise to bear. Experiences such as this help prepare students for the reality of professional life.

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