Kerry school receives special judges award in the Marine Institute’s Explorers Ocean Champion Awards 2023
Kerry school receives special judges award in the Marine Institute’s Explorers Ocean Champion Awards 2023
St Teresa’s NS Kilfynn, Co Kerry, receives the Marine Institute’s Explorers Ocean Champion’s – Special Judges Award 2023, for their healthy ocean school project: ‘Deep Sea Science Fair’.
Presenting the award during science week, Cushla Dromgool-Regan, Explorers Education Programme Manager, congratulated the children, teachers, and outreach team for their great achievement:
“This award recognises the ‘innovative use of creativity and communication’ where the children and teachers transformed their school into an underwater world to engage parents and the community to learn more about the ocean.”
Mrs Nora O’Regan, school principal explained:, “As part of their all-school project, the teachers and children got involved in practical STEAM project work where the children conducted experiments, developed their IT skills and created amazing poetry and artwork that was put on display for the parents and community to see.
“Working with the Explorers team and getting support from the parents was an excellent way to teach, using the ocean theme in the classroom, and throughout the whole school. We all got to learn something new – from hydrothermal vents at the bottom on the ocean floor, bioluminescent deep-sea species, as well local projects protecting our sand dunes,” she added.
Twenty-eight coastal county schools took part in this year’s Explorers healthy ocean school projects (Marine STEAM, Ocean Literacy, SDGs and the Ocean, Marine Outdoor). Supporting the new Primary School Curriculum Framework (2023), the all-school project aims to develop the children’s competencies and skills. This is key to sharing an understanding of the impact the ocean has on our lives, as well as the impact we have on the ocean.
“What was very special about St Teresa’s school project was the clear collaboration with the teachers and children and the pride they have sharing their work. Seeing the excitement and continued interest in learning about the ocean at the awards ceremony is what makes this project extra special,”
Ms Dromgool-Regan added. The Healthy Ocean School project and Ocean Champion Awards is organised through the Explorers Education Programme and funded by the Marine Institute. It is the only ocean-themed award for primary schools in Ireland and recognises the effort, commitment and collaboration of the school management, teachers, children and the Explorer outreach officers who have engaged in the all-school, marine-themed project.
For more information, please contact: Cushla Dromgool-Regan Strategic Education and Communications Manager Marine Institute’s Explorers Education Programme Mobile: + 353 (0) 87 9185519 Email: cushla.dromgoolregan@thecamdentrust.org Website: www.explorers.ie
