Inniu (20 Aibreán) cuirfidh TG4, i gcomhar le Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál (CMgS), tús le 'Cúla4 ar Scoil’, clár a chraolfar gach maidin i rith na seachtaine ar TG4 ag 10rn. Mar fhreagra ar dhúnadh na scoileanna i bhfianaise na géarchéime reatha COVID-19, beidh an clár dírithe ar dhaltaí bunscoile sa Ghaeltacht agus i nGaelscoileanna.
Craolfar an clár, a bheidh leathuair an chloig ar fhad, ó Scoil na bhForbacha i nGaeltacht Chonamara le ceachtanna laethúla faoi stiúir na múinteoirí Caitríona Ní Chualáin agus Fiachra Ó Dubhghaill (MIC graduate). Beidh ceachtanna breise ann freisin ó mhúinteoirí agus ó éascaitheoirí eile ar fud na tíre, i réimse de chanúintí.
Gach seachtain díreoidh an clár ar théama ar leith atá comhsheasmhach le torthaí foghlama an churaclaim bhunscoile. Trí cheachtanna corraitheacha agus spreagúla, clúdófar ábhair ó chroí-lár an churaclaim cosúil le Gaeilge, Matamaitic, Stair agus Tíreolaíocht, ach cuirfear béim chomh maith ar chruthaitheacht agus ar na healaíona béil, chomh maith le sláinte agus folláine.
Mar a tharla le tionscnamh ‘Home School Hub’ de chuid RTÉ, cuirfidh CMgS tacaíocht ar fáil do mhúinteoirí agus do léiritheoirí an seó, Darach Ó Tuairisc agus Ethel Burke ón gcomhlacht léiriúcháin, Fíbín. Trí chomhairliúchán ar ábhar curaclaim agus trí phleananna ceachta laethúla, tá CMgS ag obair i gcomhpháirtíocht le TG4 agus leis an Roinn Oideachais agus Scileanna chun a chinntiú go leanfaidh páistí ar aghaidh ag foghlaim in ainneoin scoileanna na tíre a bheith dúnta faoi láthair.
Míníonn an Dr Conchúr Ó Brolcháin, léachtóir sa Roinn um Oideachas Teanga agus Litearthachta i gCMgS, atá ag obair go deonach leis an tionscnamh tábhachtach seo, cad atá i gceist leis an gclár agus dé chúis go bhfuil gá leis i láthair na huaire.
Dúirt sé: ‘’Tá mé an-sásta a bheith ag tacú leis an gclár seo agus mo chuid saineolais a chur ar fáil don fhoireann léiriúcháin. Tá muid ag iarraidh tacaíocht a chur ar fáil do thuismitheoirí a labharaíonn Gaeilge lena bpáistí ar fud na hÉireann. Beidh deis iontach ag na páistí seo a bheith ag foghlaim lasmuigh den seomra ranga ar bhealach rannpháirtíoch agus taitneamhach.’’
Beidh an taithí atá ag an Dr Ó Brolcháin mar mhúinteoir bunscoile agus mar thaighdeoir i réimse an oideachais dhátheangaigh agus ilteangaigh ina chabhair agus ábhar laethúil á dhearadh chun a chinntiú go gcuirfear ábhar tarraingteach, ábhartha agus idirghníomhach ar fáil do pháistí i dtithe ar fud na hÉireann.
Mhol an tOllamh Emer Ring, Déan an Oideachais i gCMgS, an Dr Ó Brolcháin as a fhlaithiúlacht agus é ag tacú leis an tionscnamh seo, agus dúirt sí go gcuirfidh ‘Cúla4 ar Scoil’ tacaíocht fháilteach ar fáil do thuismitheoirí agus do pháistí ag an am seo, mar atá déanta ag ‘Home School Hub’ de chuid RTÉ.
“Tá Dámh an Oideachais i gCMgS thar a bheith bródúil, agus is mór an phribhléid dúinn é go bhfuilimid páirteach sa dá thionscnamh iontach seo, a chuireann béim ar an infheistíocht agus an tiomantas éachtach atá tugtha ag ár sochaí in Éirinn don oideachas, fiú sna hamanna dúshlánacha seo nach bhfacthas riamh cheana"
Dúirt sí, “Cuireann na tionscnaimh seo atá faoi stiúir na múinteoirí ról lárnach an mhúinteora in oideachas na hÉireann chun cinn agus tagann na focail a luaitear go minic ón dán Gaeilge, ‘An t-Oide’ le Séamus Ó hAodha, chun cuimhne dá bharr – dán a thosnaíonn leis na focail ‘Uasal Ceird ar Oide'.
Beidh an t-ábhar laethúil ar fáil ar líne ag www.cula4.com agus ar bhealach YouTube Cúla4. Craolfaidh TG4 sceideal breise freisin roimh agus i ndiaidh ‘Cúla4 ar Scoil’ ó 9.30rn go 11rn gach lá, mar aon le cláir oideachasúla eile cosúil le ‘Bia Linn’, ‘Ár Scéal’, ‘Am Foghlama le Timmy’, ‘Is Eolaí Mé' agus 'WAC'.
Tá an clár seo á tháirgeadh le maoiniú ó TG4 agus le comhairle ar ábhar oideachais agus curaclaim ón Roinn Oideachais agus Scileanna, ó CMgS, ón gComhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta (COGG), ón tSeirbhís um Fhorbairt Ghairmiúil do Mhúinteoirí (PDST) agus ó Ghaeloideachas. Tá saineolas agus comhairle Thuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta san áireamh i gcur chuige an chláir.
MIC Teams Up with TG4 on ‘Cúla4 ar Scoil'
Today (20 April) TG4, in collaboration with Mary Immaculate College (MIC), will begin broadcasting ‘Cúla4 ar Scoil’, which will air every weekday morning on TG4 at 10am. Responding to the school closures in light of the current COVID-19 crisis, the programme will be aimed at Gaeltacht and Gaelscoileanna primary school students.
The half hour programme will be broadcast from Scoil na bhForbacha in the Connemara Gaeltacht with daily lessons being led by teachers Caitríona Ní Chualáin and MIC primary teaching graduate, Fiachra Ó Dubhghaill. There will also be additional lessons from teachers and other facilitators throughout the country, using a range of dialects.
Each week the programme will focus on a specific theme consistent with the learning outcomes of the primary curriculum. Through engaging and exciting lessons, core curriculum subjects such as Irish, Maths, History and Geography will be covered, but there will also be an emphasis on creativity and oral arts, as well as health and wellbeing.
As with RTÉ's Home School Hub initiative, MIC will provide support to the teachers and the show’s producers, Darach Ó Tuairisc and Ethel Burke of production company, Fíbín. Through consultation on curriculum content and daily lesson plans, MIC is working in partnership with TG4 and the Department of Education and Skills to ensure children continue learning despite the current school closures.
Dr Conchúr Ó Brolcháin, lecturer in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at MIC, who is volunteering his time to this important initiative, explains what the programme is all about and why it is necessary.
He says, “I’m delighted to be lending my support and expertise to this programme. We find ourselves in unprecedented times and this programme aims to support the ongoing home-schooling efforts of Irish speaking parents throughout Ireland. Children will be given the opportunity to engage in interactive content that will ensure they can continue learning outside the classroom.”
Dr Ó Brolcháin’s experience as a primary school teacher and his research on bilingual and multilingual education will help to inform the programme’s daily content so that engaging, relevant and interactive content can be delivered to children in homes throughout Ireland.
Professor Emer Ring, Dean of Education at MIC, commended Dr Ó Brolcháin for his generosity in supporting this initiative, observing that similar to RTÉ’s ‘Home School Hub’, ‘Cúla4 ar Scoil’ will provide welcome support for parents and children at this time.
“The Faculty of Education at MIC is exceptionally proud and privileged to be associated with these two wonderful initiatives, which highlight the extraordinary investment in and commitment to education that we all have as a society in Ireland, even in these challenging and unprecedented times.”
She added, “These teacher-led initiatives promote the pivotal role of the teacher in Irish education and remind us of the often quoted words from the Irish poem ‘An t-Oide’ by Séamus Ó hAodha, which begins with the words ‘Uasal Ceird on Oide’ – translated as ‘Noble indeed is the craft of the teacher’.”
The daily content will also be available online at www.cula4.com and on Cúla4's YouTube channel. TG4 will also broadcast an additional schedule before and after ‘Cúla4 in School’ from 9.30am to 11am every day, as will other educational themed programs such as 'Bia Linn', 'Ár Scéal', 'Am Foghlama le Timmy', 'Is Eolaí Mé' and 'WAC'.
This programme is being produced with funding from TG4 with advice on educational and curriculum content from the Department of Education and Skills, MIC, An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (Council for Gaeltacht and Irish-medium Education - COGG), the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) and Gaeloideachas. The expertise and advice offered by ‘Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta’ is also included in the programme approach.
