Minister Dara Murphy presents Blue Star award to Saint Augustine’s School in Blackrock!
Dublin, 18 June, 2015: The Minister for European Affairs, Dara Murphy T.D., presented the Blue Star Award to St. Augustine’s school in Blackrock, Co. Dublin this morning (Thursday).
At the end of the 2014/15 academic year, more than 100 schools from across Ireland will be awarded the Blue Star certificate in this, the fourth year of the Blue Star programme, which seeks to foster better understanding and knowledge of the EU and how it affects the lives of Irish pupils and their communities
Speaking this morning Minister Murphy said: “I am delighted to present the Blue Star Award to the students and teachers from St Augustine’s in Blackrock. This is the school’s first year with the Blue Star programme and it is wonderful to see they have embraced it with such enthusiasm and success.”
“The Blue Star programme helps children, their parents and families to look at all aspects of the EU from learning about the institutions to re-enacting scenes from the history of another country. Pupils also get to hear about the countries where their classmates are from, which is a great bonus. We are always very impressed by the imagination and innovation of both the participating teachers and the pupils; and St Augustine’s is no exception”, said Ms. Noelle O Connell, Executive Director of European Movement Ireland which is the national co-ordinating body for the programme
Minister Murphy noted: “It’s wonderful to see Irish students getting to know Europe – the history, the culture and the community of nations that Ireland is a part of. To appreciate the differences and similarities between our country and our European neighbours, and to gain some understanding into the mechanisms and institutions that make up our modern day European Union, will give Irish children and young people an educational edge. The Blue Star programme is an excellent resource for our teachers and I hope to see more schools countrywide get involved next year.”
Ends.
Note to Editors
Available for comment
EM Ireland’s Executive Director, Noelle O Connell is available for interview and comment. Contact Frances Byrne at EM Ireland, on 01 662 5815, 086 814 3297 or email frances@europeanmovement.ie
About the Blue Star Programme
The Blue Star Programme is a joint venture of the Communicating Europe Initiative, supported by the Office of the Minister of State for European Affairs in the Department of the Taoiseach, the European Commission Representation in Ireland and the European Parliament Information Office in Ireland.
The Blue Star Programme aims to introduce participants (pupils, teachers, parents and the wider community) to the EU; what it means and how it works. The Programme also aims to foster a strong sense of awareness of the EU among its participants that reaches far beyond the school walls and out into the community. The national co-ordinating body for the programme for the next three years is European Movement Ireland.
The objective of the Blue Star Programme, now in its fourth year, is to foster better understanding and knowledge, by Irish primary pupils, of how the European Union affects our lives. To date, the Programme, which is managed by European Movement Ireland, has already involved over 320 schools and 20,000 school children across Ireland. Visit www.bluestarprogramme.ie for more.
About European Movement Ireland
Founded in 1954, European Movement Ireland is an independent not-for-profit, membership organisation working to make the connection between Irish people and the European Union. Through education programmes and advocacy work, European Movement campaigns for every Irish person to get involved with the European Union and, by doing so, help shape it through reasoned, robust and informed debate. For more information, visit www.europeanmovement.ie.
European Movement Ireland is the National Implementation Body for the Blue Star programme.
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