| The Ballyraine Parents
Association was set up a number of years ago with the main aim of
encouraging parental involvement in various aspects of school life,
such as facilitating events of educational and social value for
parents, guardians and pupils, or providing finance to improve facilities
within the school. All parents and guardians of children attending
Ballyraine National School are entitled to be members of the committee.
Traditionally, the Parents Committee have organised a number of
social events that are generally enjoyed by all who attend, such
as the fun day in Ards forest, which provides a chance for parents
and children to meet informally. The committee also organise a number
of fund raising events such as the Bag Pack in Tesco in the lead
up to Christmas, which raised enough money last year, to purchase
the sports equipment for the new assembly hall.
Following the AGM in October of 2009, the current committee were
formed.
The Parents Association are hoping in the future to procure a number
of "Interactive Whiteboards" for use in the school, and
to that end, a fundraising 'Dream Auction' is to be held in the
future, where by donations of items and services are to be auctioned
at a social event in a local establishment.
"Whiteboards" although not funded by the Government are
generally seen as the way forward in teaching and are in common
use in schools throughout the UK. An 'Interactive Whiteboard' is
a large, touch-sensitive panel, resembling a traditional whiteboard
(or blackboard), that connects to a computer, enabling the information
displayed on the computer screen to be viewed on the interactive
whiteboard. The computer connected to the interactive whiteboard
can be controlled by touching the board directly or by using a special
pen, allowing the user to access and control applications on the
computer or write, draw and highlight on the board. They are used
as replacements for traditional whiteboards or flipcharts, and provide
ways to show students anything, which can be presented on a computer's
desktop (educational software, web sites, and others). In addition,
interactive whiteboards allow teachers to record lessons for review
by students at a later time. This can be a very effective instructional
strategy for students who benefit from repetition, who need to see
the material presented again, for students who are absent from school,
for struggling learners, and for review for examinations. Some of
the ways that 'Interactive Whiteboards' can be used in the Classroom
include:
Use the built in maps to teach continents, oceans, countries, or
states and capitals.
Present presentations created by student or teacher
Digital storytelling
Teach whole group computer or keyboarding skills
Brainstorming
Reinforce skills by using on-line interactive web sites
Use highlighter tool to highlight nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
Teaching students how to navigate the Internet
Use the software to create lessons in advance at home or at school.
Then save them for future use or to be shared with other teachers
Teaching steps to a math problem.
Have students share projects during Parent/Teacher/Student conferences
Teaching vocabulary
With the ultimate aim of procuring a number of whiteboards, (perhaps
one for every other classroom), at an estimated cost of €2,500
each, the Parents Association committee will be delighted to accept
any offers of help and/or items or services for auction, and hope
to be in touch in the near future. Any parent interested in joining
the Parents Association should contact the association via the school
secretary, and we would especially welcome the involvement of parents
of infant classes.
By Fergal Doherty |
| If you have any
suggestions, ideas or issues you would like to bring to the committee,
please talk to any of the committee members or to the teacher representatives.
If any of you are interested in joining the committee, you can talk
to any of the committee members or to David Oliver.
IT'S YOUR ASSOCIATION, YOUR SCHOOL AND YOUR
CHILDREN ! |