BFG to EU-Celebrating Europe Week 2021

First and second classes have been taking part in a collaborative programme with UCC over the past few weeks and months. My Big Friendly Guide to the European Union is an innovative teaching and learning programme. It aims at developing awareness, knowledge and debate at primary school level on the European Union and Ireland’s role within it.
It is children and teacher friendly allowing the students to learn about but also question the European Union. Crucially, it fits perfectly into the current Social Personal and Health Education curriculum, particularly when discussing citizenship. Whether children want to stay in the European Union, change its rules or leave it altogether, they need to understand what the E.U. does and does not do. This programme is about empowering them to make informed decisions to improve the world they live in.

Monday in school we celebrated Europe Day (May 9th) with a Europe Day Zoom quiz with other schools in Ireland and Europe taking part. There were classes from Greece, Spain, Poland, Romania and France participating. Working on the ‘Solidarity’ theme. Well done to all the boys and girls who did a great job. Deirdre Clune our MEP spoke to the children afterwards about working in the European Parliament.

On Tuesday the classes completed ‘Collaborative Art work’ On Jean Monnet and Simone Veil. This was under the ‘cooperation’ theme. Jean Monnet as a top advisor to the French government was the main inspiration behind the famous ‘Schuman Declaration’ of 9 May 1950, which led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community and, as such, is considered to be the birth of the European Union.

Simone Veil was a Holocaust survivor and the first female President of the European Parliament. She was a lawyer, politician and feminist, Simone Veil served as France’s Health Minister between 1974 and 1979. In that year she became a Member of the European Parliament and was elected its President, remaining in the role until 1982.This made her the President of the first directly elected Parliament and the first female President.