Coláiste Bride Clondalkin The Multicultural Centre

Staff Elaine Sherwin, English Martin O’Keeffe, Maths, IT Michelle Abbott, CSPE, Spanish Ailish O’Connell, French, Italian Pat Malone, English, Geography Sally-Ann White, (Post) Welfare *Aoife McArdle, Breda Deegan: Resource Teaching to Traveller Students; working mainly in the Intercultural Office David Duffy, Clondalkin Partnership

Contents The Multicultural Centre: an Overview Community Links: Clondalkin Partnership The Role of Post of Responsibility Language Support and French Team Teaching and Language Support

The Multicultural Centre: an Overview

Introduction Elaine Sherwin, Language Support Teacher (22 hrs) Academic Year ‘02-’03 English, Music : Completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Learning Support and Special Educational Needs with Church of Ireland College of Education in Rathmines.

Academic Year : 14 students: Belarus, Chechnya, China, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Ukraine, Vietnam. No specific area assigned for the delivery of language support. Issue: no space; storage of students‘ assessments and work a concern.

Academic Year Academic Year ‘03-’04; approximately 50 students - Bosnia, Congo, Latvia, Lithuania. Issue of space: with the increase in numbers, a real need for ‘a place of belonging’ for the students. A concern about delivery of a programme of support to the increased number of students.

Assigned an area towards the back of the library: The Multicultural Centre. Positive impact on school life: the presence of foreign-national students were acknowledged; they were visually represented in the ‘heart’ of the school (on ground level). Acknowledged Ramadan, marked Christmas, Chinese New Year, Islamic New Year.

Colaiste Bride’s Intercultural Choir – the Rainbow Choir; a musical The Thousand and Second Night; both helped integrate Irish and foreign-national students. Collaboration with community; links with Clondalkin Partnership, in-service to the staff in September 2003, the Equality Officer Marie Laukenen addressed staff.

Academic Year Academic Year – approximately 68 students; Angola, Cameroon, Iraq, Libya, Moldova, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Thailand. The Rainbow Choir and intercultural celebrations throughout Clondalkin in liaison with Clondalkin Partnership i.e. Intercultural Family Day in the Coldcut Club; Intercultural Christmas Celebration in Aras Chronan.

First Year of Monthly Coffee Mornings for parents of foreign-national students in association with Lucy Peprah, Equality Officer at Clondalkin Partnership. Reasonable Accommodation for foreign- national students: having introduced dictionaries in the students’ native languages.

The Intercultural and Inclusion Policy with CDU; formation of an Intercultural Council. Introduction of World Language Papers at Leaving Certificate: Portuguese, Russian, an Iranian student studied Arabic but didn’t sit Leaving Certificate.

Academic Year Academic Year – approximately 75; Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Somalia. ‘Year of Transition’. February 2006: Move to new school. International Intercultural Week: marking Anti-Racism Day; entering Schools Against Racism Poetry Competition.

Assigned classroom on the ground level of new school. Intercultural Office on middle floor. The Edmund Rice Award was presented to Colaiste Bride’s Intercultural Choir – the Rainbow Choir in recognition of their visits to the homes for the elderly throughout Clondalkin, their visit to Cloverhill Prison and their performance at Advent Mass that December.

Academic Year Academic Year 2006 to 2007 – approximately 80 students. Move to top floor and establishment of a Multicultural Centre in our new school. New room with more possibilities & more space: smaller adjoining room; bank of computers; attention to seating; work stations for specific activities.

Set up Numeracy unit; Literacy unit; IT unit; audio unit; office ‘Audio Visual Room’ with audio-visual equipment; cabinet for storage of assessments; magazines and papers in students own languages. Metro Eireann with journalist Sandy Hazel – Ireland’s Multicultural weekly visited the school and covered The Multicultural Centre in their May 2007 edition.

Academic Year 2007 to 2008 Academic Year 2007 to 2008 – approximately 93 students: Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Somalia. New staff because of the lift on the cap: number of students per teacher and the extension of the two-year allocation per student. Acknowledgement that 2008 was the Year of European Intercultural Dialogue. The Edmund Rice Award 2008.

In acknowledgement that 2008 was the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, the Multicultural Centre nominated St Michael’s Holy Angels, Special School for students with Mild GLD for the Edmund Rice Award in acknowledgement of the students’ work on the plight of street children in Brazil.

This involved visits to St Michael’s and dialogue between students of the Multicultural Centre and students of Senior 6. The award was presented to the Multicultural Centre and St Michael’s Special School by Mary Davis, Special Olympics CEO in the Royal Dublin Hotel on 10 April 2008.

Danish Exchange Students: March 2008; contact with the Danish Embassy, consultation with the Ambassador's Office – borrow Danish Flag, welcoming message in Danish. The International Day Against Racism is March

4 th Annual School Against Racism Poetry and Short Story Competition - ceremony on 19 April School Awards Ceremony in May: Students of the Multicultural Centre and TY students.

The Delivery of Language Support areas of difficulty Each student is given a Folder with a document called an IEP (Individual English Plan) focusing on the strengths and needs of the student. A section called the ‘Weekly Template’ has to be completed at the end of each lesson citing progress and area of need for the following lesson. It is signed and dated by the teacher: a record, accountability.

Assessment of students: Formal and Informal. Formal: Heinemann ELT, Vocabulary in Use and Advanced Grammar in Use (Cambridge University Press) – areas of weakness are established – handouts on specific grammatical forms distributed to students. Informal: written assignments, reading, oral work.

Learning Support model: Language Support: lack of in-service: in the past - one-day in-service offered to new Language Support Teachers with IILT (Integrate Ireland Language and Training). The ratio of students per teacher. Units of work: individualised programmes for students as learners with individual needs; digital camera ‘an aid’ functional & social literacy – ICT, scrap books, photos.

Literacy: huge problem; some students from particular cultures not to the standard of Irish students of same age. SEN: the assessment of foreign-national students with special educational needs, students with Mild GLD (high incidence), dyslexia (specific learning disability (low incidence).

Current assessment involves administering the Neale’s Analysis (the Nara), GRT II (Group Reading Tests in the Entrance Exam); the Norman France Level 2, NRIT (Non-Reading Intelligence Tests): all culturally exclusive with complex vocabulary. The alphabet. Letter formation, handwriting.

Students and ‘the silent period’. Expectation from mainstream teachers that students will reach the standard by X amount of time. Little input by select number of students.

Speaking in their native tongue at home. Some students not working, doing homework or taking ownership of their own learning. Too much dependency on the teacher.

Multiculturalism and TY A module-based course of nine weeks duration – undertaken by all students - first introduced in Academic Year Introduction to terms such as ‘culture’, ‘identity’, ‘multiculturalism’, ‘ethnic’, indigenous’, ‘diversity’, ‘integration’ etc.

Students were made aware of the countries and cultures represented by students in the school. They had to choose a country and research. Students were encouraged to interview students from their chosen country in the Multicultural Centre. Other areas of study: a racist society – cause and effect.

World Languages and TY In 2005, Arabic, Japanese and Russian Language Courses were offered to TY students over six classes. Awarded with a certificate at the TY Award Ceremony. In 2006, languages extended to include: Chinese, Dutch, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Ta’ Galog, Thai and Urdu. Certificates awarded for Dutch, Ta’ Galog and Thai.

Academic Year : all students take a course in Spanish during Multicultural Classes. Examinations at Christmas and Summer.

Links with the Community Clondalkin Partnership Funding applications, each year. Women’s Forum: Guest speakers, Equiju African Dancers in to dance. Lucy Peprah, Equality Officer, monthly coffee mornings for parents of foreign- national students.

Community Links: Clondalkin Partnership

New Intercultural Centre opened Thursday 13 March, Mill Shopping Centre, Clondalkin. Information booklets for parents in various languages. Resource: legalities surrounding a student’s legal status in the country etc.

Links with the Community Edmund Rice Edmund Rice Camp Leaders with Patricia Higgins; every year we have speakers in to attract new camp leaders. Patricia Higgins, has moved into the area of management of Inchicore’s Intercultural Centre – great link and contact to have. Edmund Rice Awards Ceremony 2006 and 2008.

Interling Translations: provide interpreters - psychologists, in meetings with parents with English Language Deficit. CDU: Intercultural Workshops. LYNs network.

Intercultural Office Support Services for parents of foreign- national students Information Document for Parents. The National Welfare Board (published by NEWB) in various languages. Information Leaflets for Parents of non- English Speaking Non-National Children attending Post-Primary Education (published by the Department of Education and Science).

Health and Well-Being – Directory of Health Services in Clondalkin (published by Clondalkin Partnership). Information Booklet for Staff (published by the Curriculum Development Unit with information for staff on various cultures. Open Door – Information and Services Directory for Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities in the Clondalkin and Dublin area (published by Clondalkin Partnership).

The Role of Post of Responsibility

Prefects to the Multicultural Centre Three prefects (6 th Yr students) ‘Prefect to the Multicultural Centre’. Duties include attending September Induction Day; attending weekly meetings during break time with teacher with post; mentoring – the vulnerable and the newly arrived.

Mainstream student involvement Approximately 20 Irish national students of foreign parentage work with the Multicultural Centre - plan Intercultural Events. Attending meetings with prefects. Designing posters. Preparing food for celebrations.

Post of Responsibility: Welfare of Foreign-National Students Sally-Ann White French, Irish, English teacher. Back ground in SPHE. Training in Counselling and Bereavement Counselling. First assigned to Post of Responsibility in September 2004.

Work closely with Elaine and other staff members of the Centre; meetings weekly to discuss students’ welfare. Consistent Contact with students especially ‘newcomer’ students, the ‘vulnerable’ and ‘at risk’. Delivery of Induction Programme to foreign-national students.

Monitor progress of all students throughout the year. Outside the Multicultural Centre; liaising with Tutors, Year heads, Guidance Counsellors and Management to ensure that foreign-national students are ‘cared for’ in the school environment. Role provides a link between mainstream staff and the staff of the Multicultural centre.

Language Support and French

Background: English/French/Italian. Working in Language Support since Senior teacher with an A post. From her own personal experience: ‘the Multicultural Centre ‘new’ and a ‘positive’ experience.’ Language Support Teaching and French - Ailish O’ Connell

Contents of the students’ folder; English Grammar and written work. French: Oral and written; developing Chinese/Vietnamese students’ phonic awareness; grammatical structure of French. All Leaving Certificate students who come to the centre – preparation for the orals and written questions from the papers: French and Italian.

Team Teaching and Language Support

Martin O’Keeffe and Michelle Abbott Facilitate language support in the centre Mr.O’Keeffe and his role Numeracy and I.T. support Ms. Abbott and her role Literacy and vocabulary

Team Teaching is a vital part of our role Project work Book reviews / Movie reviews Quizzes and Debates Support service for personal problems.

Contact us: The Multicultural Centre, Room T2, Colaiste Bride, New Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. Ph. (01) (extn.218)