Bring It on ICT Event
A national event to encourage more 15-18 year olds to study technology related degrees returned to Londonderry this April, delivered by the Tech Partnership in conjunction with the Department for Employment and Learning, Invest NI, Momentum and Sentinus.
Foyle College students were one of only three schools to attend the National ICT Day, held in Millennium Forum to learn about the exciting career opportunities offered by Northern Ireland’s technology sector. The event is part of the highly successful Bring IT On campaign, which focuses on giving young people an insight into Northern Ireland’s fastest growing and most dynamic sector.
The students participated in an Interactive Session led by Clair Gheel from the Tech Partnership Company, this hands on session enabled students to gain an insight into the real world of computer science and what it entails. The workshop allowed the students to learn repeat-loops, conditionals, and algorithms while enabling them to develop code using iOS software.
MinecraftEdu
Funding from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has ensured that all schools in Northern Ireland will be in a position to avail of the world famous video game Minecraft. This ground-breaking initiative is expected to reach up to 50,000 pupils annually and the staff and pupils of Foyle College were lucky enough to be the first school to receive training when the team behind MinecraftEdu, Finland based TeacherGaming, facilitated a full day training event in the school on Monday 23rd March.
The CEO of the company, Santeri Koivisto, and one of the teams Learning Developers, Mikael Uusi-Mäkelä, ensured that this event would be memorable for both staff and pupils of Foyle College through their innovative approach to using this game in classroom. The staff and pupils now look forward to using this software in many areas of the school curriculum and are enthusiastic about the programming element that this will bring to the IT classroom.
Hope Beyond Hurt
Year 9 students along with Steve Wessler, key speaker at the ‘Hope Beyond Hurt’ conference that took place in the Holywell Building on Bishop Street. The pupils were participants in Student Leadership Training on April 14th, focussing on creating respectful schools and communities by reducing bias, bullying and mistrust.
They were excellent ambassadors for the school, demonstrating leadership and willingness to spread the message of unity in Foyle.
Derry Feis
Congratulations to the Foyle College pupils who successfully competed in the Derry Feis over Easter.
Lauren Holmes, Year 9, was awarded 3rd place in the KS3 Public Speaking Competition for her speech on Facebook. The audience were intrigued and amused by her depiction of social media.
Chloe McCarter, Year 8, came 2nd in the same competition. Her controversial speech questioned whether teachers should wear a uniform!
Both girls are to be commended for their hard work in the lead up to the competition. Well done!