📷 Teachers mesmerised by practical lessons in Ireland

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CASTAHEANY - October 15, 2024, has been etched into the minds of the 2022 and 2023 cohorts of the winners of the Teachers Making a Difference Awards.

They and other participants spent half the day at Castaheany Educate Together National School in Dublin, Ireland on an exposure trip to the Irish education system. 

The teachers are the sixth cohort travelling to Ireland to benchmark best practices they can implement to improve education outcomes in Uganda.  

They include Mathias Kidon, Kalatom PS, Napak; Festo Gutaka, Kibembe PS, Sironko; Nsubuga Francis Sematimba, St Maria Gorette Mpugwe PS, Masaka City; Biira Nabukwasi, Namunsi PS, Mbale and Joel Mukose, Namaganjo PS, Bugiri from 2023.

The 2022 winners are Innocent Masanja, Amaler PS, Nakapiripirit, Benah Siminyu, Mugulu HS, Butaleja; Jilda Aweko, Nyapea Boys PS, Zombo; Aluma Baduru Shiliman, Kei Seed SS, Yumbe; Oscar Ntwatwa, Rwamwanja SS, Kamwenge and Everlyn Apalat, Nagongera Girls PS, Tororo.

The other delegates include officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports, that is, Dr Jane Egau Okou, the undersecretary, Dr Mugisha Annet Kajura, the assistant commissioner for teacher training and Bannet Birungi at the National Teacher Council Interim Secretariat.

The officials from the Irish Embassy in the education department include Naome Atako Muhwezi and Bonita Fauchan.

The team is on an all-expenses-paid study tour is one of the prizes for the Teachers Making a Difference winners. The trip is sponsored by the Embassy of Ireland, Travelcare, the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Office of the First Lady as well as the New Vision.

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Here is the tour of Castaheany in pictures; (All Photos by Joy Abo)

Sheila Gaughan, principal Castaheany Educate Together National School addresses teachers as well as officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports as well as the Irish Embassy.

A smartboard in a classroom

A whiteboard with the day's timetable and key activities of the week.

A class library where the students choose the books they read.

Talking walls in one of the classrooms at Castaheany Educate Together National School.

Class rules to guide the students.

Learning materials divided by group. Each shelf is allocated to one table, which represents a group.

A poster of child rights in a manner easy for the learners to recall.

Ugandan delegation in the Castaheany Educate Together National School staffroom.

Key dates in October that the students should pay attention to.

A photo moment at Castaheany Educate Together National School.

Delegation leaving Castaheany Educate Together National School.