Principal helps devise online programme
A COUNTY WEXFORD school principal is spearheading a new GAA online programme that combines education and physical activities for children.
Michéal Martin, from Scoil Réalt na Mara in Kilmore, spoke to this newspaper about the initiative which went live on Thursday. It’s a revamped and updated version of a GAA programme titled ‘Céim ar Aghaidh’, which was a teachers’ resource Mr Martin oversaw around 10 years ago.
‘ This new idea came from that one that we used about 10 years ago,’ said Mr Martin, who is also the Vice- Chairperson of the Wexford County Board.
‘Céim ar Aghaidh was sent to every school in the country and included books and DVDs and it ran over a five-year period,’ he said.
The new updated version of the programme is now available to access at www. learning.gaa.ie.
‘We have updated the programme and we will be sending out links to all GAA clubs in the county and other organisations so that parents can access it,’ said Mr Martin.
Parents themselves can also access the resource on an individual basis by logging onto the site.
The programme features educational and physical skills activities and Mr Martin said the aim is to keep children ‘ busy, engaged and learning’ throughout their time at home.
A number of high profile GAA stars are likely to be involved with the programme over the coming days and weeks.
‘A team of us are involved and I am the chairperson but a lot of the resources for the programme were already in place anyway and what we’ve done is utilised those resources, updated them and then provided them through GAA themes,’ said Mr Martin.
RTE is also linked in with the initiative this time around and there will be videos broadcast in the coming days relating to the programme.
‘It’s important that children maintain their learning and doing schoolwork at home is not a natural environment,’ said Mr Martin.
He said it’s unrealistic to expect children to be as productive at home as they are in a school room setting. ‘It’s a challenging time for everyone,’ he said.
While schools throughout the county and nationwide have set out work programmes to be completed at home, Mr Martin said everyone needs to acknowledge it’s a difficult experience for children and parents.
It’s hoped the Céim ar Aghaidh Step
Ahead programme will assist children, their parents and teachers throughout what is a very unusual experience for all concerned.
‘I know from feedback from parents and teachers that some people are strong with engaging their children outside of school in terms of school work but it’s not a natural thing to do for many people and hopefully this will help that,’ said Mr Martin.
‘We would hope they would do a couple of hours work and then get out to do some of the skills initiatives so they’re being active as well as learning,’ he added.
The programme is also broad and all-encompassing with the overall aim of having something to benefit all school-going children.
Mr Martin is involved with a coaching group in Croke Park in addition to his involvement with GAA in County Wexford and, because he oversaw the initial project ten years ago, he is also the chairperson of the committee behind the new roll-out.
‘It’s a surreal, unusual time for everyone but we hope this will help children with their learning and physical skills as they go through it,’ said Mr Martin.
It’s very important to adhere to HSE guidelines in terms of outdoor activities and while a lot of the skills can be practiced in back yards at home, in incidents where children are out exercising with their parents everyone should abide by all social distancing measures and protocols.
To access the programme log onto www. learning.gaa.ie.