Latest news with #Maths
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Science
- Daily Record
Cambuslang kids use construction skills to build bridges between faiths
Cairns and St Cadoc's Primaries recently helped campaigners Nil by Mouth launch their 'STEM Together' programme. Two Cambuslang Schools put their construction skills to the test as part of a new programme launched by a leading national charity helping to build bridges between different faiths and traditions. P7 pupils from Cairns and St Cadoc's Primaries recently helped campaigners Nil by Mouth launch their 'STEM Together' programme which provides schools free use of state-of-the-art kits which help develop children's construction and engineering abilities. The promotion of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) has become a hugely important part of the school curriculum in Scotland and recognises the importance of those sectors to the economy and job market. Nil by Mouth believe that STEM can also be used to promote equality in the classroom by bringing children from denominational and non-denominational schools together to work collaboratively. Pupils are broken into groups and assigned specific roles to maximise participation and underline the importance of working together to solve problems. There is a particular focus on visual learning and problem-solving across a range of 24 STEM tasks involving construction, hydraulics, conceptual thinking, accurate measurement, drawing conclusions from results and revising plans based on data and testing. The project has attracted the support of BAE Systems, with the shipbuilding giant donating the specialist equipment to the charity, ensuring that there is no cost to schools or families taking part and the sessions are accompanied by workshops led by Nil by Mouth staff exploring identity and sectarianism in Scotland. Cairns and St Cadoc's have been working on a joint anti-sectarianism protect with Nil by Mouth during 2025 which has seen P7 pupils meet for shared workshops, exploring how the issue manifests itself at football matches as well as meeting referees and ex-players to find out more about the friendships built through the sport. This year sees the charity mark its 25th anniversary, having been set up by Glasgow teenager Cara Henderson, in response to brutal sectarian murder of her friend Mark Scott. Since then, it has worked with over 100,000 people in schools, workplaces and communities across Scotland. Nil by Mouth Director Dave Scott said: 'For more than a decade we've enjoyed working with Cairns and St Cadoc's and I'm delighted we can bring the STEM Together day to Cambuslang to launch the project across Lanarkshire. 'Alongside our work in the classroom programmes like this help children from different backgrounds and traditions develop teamwork skills and appreciate the different perspectives others bring to solving a problem. Building bridges between people has always been a central part of Nil by Mouth's mission and it's always heartening to come to Cairns and St Cadoc's to see this in action. 'The children and staff work so well together, respecting the things which make their schools different but always looking to find and explore their common ground. We hope many of the friendships made continue as the young people move on into high school and into later life.' *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Schools can take time to use mother tongue as medium: CBSE officials
Schools in metropolitan regions, whose primary medium of instruction is English, may find it challenging to immediately transition to mother tongue as a medium of instruction due to the varied languages spoken by students in diverse communities, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) officials said. CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh, speaking on the much-debated language implementation guidelines released by the board recently, said that the CBSE's goal is to ease the path of implementation of the National Education Policy-2020's requirement to teach students in their mother tongue until Class 5. Officials have admitted that the board's recent recommendation would be challenging for schools that have students who speak different mother tongues, as they may have to cater to each and every student separately. 'A limited number of schools in metros, around 800 to 900 such institutions, will face this challenge,' Mr. Singh said. Mr. Singh also said most of the over 30,000 CBSE schools in the country have a homogenous mix of students, according to their respective regions and States. For instance, if a school offers English and Kannada as language subjects, and if Kannada is the mother tongue of students, a non-language subject like Maths should be taught in Kannada, he said, explaining the latest guidelines. 'We are not forcing any school to immediately adopt the language implementation guidelines. We are not penalising any school or stating that their affiliation will be cancelled if they don't immediately transition. We are organising a series of webinars and workshops for training purposes and hopefully we will be able to implement the policy,' Mr. Singh said. Rashmi Vasudevan, principal of Pune-based Vibgyor Roots and Rise school said, 'We have a students from different linguistic backgrounds in the school. Of the 1,190 students, 60% are local Marathi-speaking children while 40% speak languages such as Bengali, Telugu and Assamese. We even have students who have come from abroad.' She further added, 'A strategy will be required to implement CBSE guidelines for such a diverse group. Planning curriculum in multiple languages will also be a humungous task.' However, Mr. Singh said the CBSE has instructed schools to conduct a language-mapping exercise to understand the language-mix of students. 'One strategy is to divide sections based on students' mother tongue preference,' he said. School officials also added that there are issues of dialects. For instance, Bihar has people who speak multiple dialects like Bajjika, which is spoken in northern Bihar; Angika which is spoken in parts of Bihar and Jharkhand; Magahi, spoken in certain parts of Bihar; and Awadhi, which is closely related to Hindi but distinct in grammar and vocabulary. It will be difficult to offer a medium of instruction in each dialect, they said. On the choice of languages being offered by the CBSE for senior classes, Mr. Singh said the current CBSE language implementation circular is limited to students studying till Class 5. 'The CBSE is awaiting the release of the syllabus by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which follows the new National Curriculum Framework, in order to prepare the future scheme for choice of languages and board exams,' he stated.
New Indian Express
16-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
NGOs roped in to provide tech learning solutions in Telangana schools
HYDERABAD: In a major step towards transforming public education, the Education department has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with several prominent national and international NGOs to provide advanced EdTech-based learning solutions free of cost to students in government schools. The MoUs were signed in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. With the vision of enhancing the quality of education in the state, the government has entered into collaborations with six reputed organisations to introduce cutting-edge educational technologies in public schools. These include EkStep Foundation, led by Nandan Nilekani, Prajwala Foundation, headed by Sunitha Krishnan, Physics Wallah, led by Alakh Pandey, Khan Academy, PiJam Foundation, founded by Shoaib Dar and Educate Girls, led by Safeena Husain. Revolutionary change The Chief Minister's Office said: 'Enchanted by the welfare and development programmes implemented by the People's Government, these organisations came forward and joined hands with the government. The decision to seek the help of noted organisations was taken in line with the Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's idea of improving educational standards in the state. The state government strongly believes that partnering with India's renowned organisations will bring a revolutionary change in the education sector in the country.' The EkStep Foundation is currently working in 540 schools with an artificial intelligence-based platform. Now, the organisation will offer services in more than 5,000 primary schools in 33 districts. The organisation helps with Telugu and English languages as well as Maths basics from Class 3 to 5. Physics Wallah will provide coaching to Inter students in preparing for NEET, JEE and CLAT exams. It will also provides free training to students from the school level for competitive exams.
The Herald Scotland
16-06-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Be sure to oil your doors...or this is bound to happen
Education Correspondent John Mulholland provides us with the following vignette, which illustrates the challenges faced by teachers... Teacher: 'Now that I have explained the meaning of the word 'aftermath,' would someone like to give me a sentence containing the word 'aftermath'?' Pupil: 'My timetable on a Friday is a disaster because I get two periods of English after Math.' 'How ridiculous,' says John. 'Everyone in Scotland should know it's Maths.' Fighting talk WE'RE discussing those muddling modes of language known as malapropisms. Derek Blakey worked with a lady famous for her unique turn of phrase. She once revealed that while watching a TV documentary about the Second World War, she was impressed by the heroism of the famous fighting force, the Gherkins. Says Derek: 'One thing they did do, was get us out of a pickle.' Read more: Finding yourself in one of Glasgow's less than salubrious watering holes Forging a friendship ENJOYING a sip of an alcoholic beverage in an Edinburgh hostelry, reader Sheila Davis overheard two ladies in deep conference at a nearby table. Said one to the other: 'She's what I call an AI person.' 'What d'you mean?' asked her confused companion. 'You know,' said the first lady. 'Totally fake.' Dead cruel AN unholy confession from reader Roddy Ferguson, who says: 'If my grandmother knew how much I spent on her funeral, she'd be rolling over in her ditch.' World affairs INTERNATIONAL diplomacy is sadly in short supply nowadays. Though we are delighted to report that there are still some enclaves of sophisticated statecraft, in the Glasgow suburb of Bearsden, no less. Reader Brian Clark and his wife were at a dinner party in that delightful neck of the woods the other evening. After the food had been duly scoffed, the chap of the house stood up and said to his guests: 'Let me take you to the United Nations.' 'What?' said a confused Brian. 'Come on,' continued mine host, 'it's in my living room.' Brian's confusion immediately evaporated upon being guided to the room in question, where he was, indeed, confronted by a fully operational UN. A well-stocked drinks cabinet containing... German beer, French wine and Scotch whisky. Candy-coated crash-out THE working world can be harsh. Peter Wright from West Kilbride says: 'I was fired from my very first job as a quality controller at M&M's. I kept rejecting the Ws.'
Irish Daily Mirror
13-06-2025
- Science
- Irish Daily Mirror
Norah Patten is about to boldly go where no one from Ireland has gone before
Trailblazer Norah Patten is about to boldly go where no one from Ireland has gone before - and become the first Irish person in space. The aeronautical engineer from Ballina, Co Mayo, will be part of a three-woman crew on Virgin Galactic's spacecraft, due to launch next year. She told the Irish Mirror: "Sometimes impossible dreams come true, if you put in the work." Patriotic Patten is bringing something special from home with her on the landmark journey - an Irish memento to mark the ground-breaking moment in our history. "Our Irish heritage, arts, music, culture is something I am very focused on including in the flight," she said. "I won't announce what I'll be bringing until closer to the flight. But as a national first, the Irish piece represents an enormous opportunity. I don't know exactly how much room or how much stuff I'll be able to bring, but we're definitely looking at music, art, the cultural side." The astronaut was talking after partnering with Aer Lingus for the next two years as she flies between home in Ireland and America ahead of the mission. Dr Patten said her interest in going to space was sparked after a school visit to a NASA space research centre in Cleveland, Ohio, at age 11. "I went to St Oliver Plunkett's National School in Ballina and then to St Mary's secondary, an all-girls school, and I had Miss Ryan and then Miss Leonard in science, who were brilliant. "I often say this was an impossible dream. I had the chance to visit NASA when I was in primary school and that was just a spark of interest that started as I grew up in Mayo in the '80s and '90s. "Just having that opportunity to visit NASA, to see the wind tunnels, to get a little bit of an insight into space exploration, human space flight. I thought it was fascinating. "That journey from age 11, all the way through and while it was an impossible dream, I think for me, I just loved space. It's been a very long journey to get to the point of announcing my space flight. "It hasn't happened overnight, it's been most of my life progressing to get to this point." Two practical lessons she has learned are: don't forget your space nappy, and go easy on the mayo. Her time in what she calls the "Vomit Comet" - a specialised aircraft used to simulate zero-gravity conditions - means she has figured out what to eat, and what not to, to avoid severe motion sickness. "I have it down to a fine art now, I'd eat a plain chicken wrap maybe two and a half hours before I fly and I'm perfect, I haven't gotten sick. "If you don't eat, you're more likely to get sick. But not too much mayonnaise - I made that mistake once and it will not be made again. "There's all these calculations - even down to the adult nappy, a maximum absorbency garment called a MAG. "You actually wear those on space flights. There are no toilets on the spacecraft." One of Patten's passions is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and encouraging young girls into the industry. "It's so special when you see that impact, little girls saying you are a role model. "Sometimes I get recognised out, with little kids coming up, and they're like: 'Oh, there's Norah. 'Norah's going to space, and she's from Ireland, she's from Mayo...'. "It's to show them that sometimes big, impossible dream's do come true if you put in the groundwork. "I get fan mail, it's really special to get letters from little kids. An Post are brilliant, I've had letters delivered to 'Norah Patten, Astronaut, Ballina', and they do make their way to my parents' home, which is just so lovely." Aer Lingus announced its partnership with Dr Patten this week, pledging its support through a two-year partnership, ensuring she can travel between her home in Ireland and North America - the hub of her research preparation. In advance of her spaceflight, Norah is undergoing intensive training and conducting advanced research at the National Research Council in Canada, working alongside International Institute for Astronautical Sciences researchers, Dr Shawna Pandya and Kellie Gerardi, who will join her on her space flight. Her preparation has included spacesuit testing and evaluation, microgravity research, as well as undertaking high-G flights designed to experience gravitational force. Lynne Embleton, Aer Lingus CEO, said: "At Aer Lingus, our mission is to connect people, places, and possibilities and Dr Norah Patten's extraordinary journey to become the first Irish person in space. is the perfect embodiment of that spirit. "Her determination proves that with ambition, dedication, and the ability to dream big, anything is possible," Embleton said.
