Students from Mayo school build their own city!
THIRD and fourth class students from Scoil Iosa in Ballina have built their own city.
They participated in the Junior Achievement ‘Our City’ programme facilitated by business volunteer Louise Molloy, AIB Ballina.
Louise helped the students understand that their town is a place where people work, live, play and go to school. As citizens of 'Our City', the young students got the chance to build their own city, and, in so doing, debated the best way to plan and provide for the needs of everyone who lives in the city.
Over the course of their five-module programme, students enjoyed starting their own business, developing their own advertising campaigns, practising being successful entrepreneurs and examined why banks are important.
On completion of the programme, they got the opportunity to visit AIB's Ballina branch to see first-hand how the branch is run and learn about the various jobs in the bank.
Said Louise: “As a Junior Achievement Ireland (JAI) classroom volunteer, my involvement supported 3rd and 4th class students make connections between what they learn in school and how it can be applied in the real world. The students loved interacting with professionals both in the classroom and during their recent visit to the AIB Ballina branch.
“Each student received a certificate of achievement on completion of the Junior Achievement programme.
“On behalf the staff and management of AIB Ballina, I would like to thank Michael Tunney, principal of Scoil Iosa, Yvonne Lavelle, class teacher, and her students for participating in the Junior Achievement programme. Overall, this programme really inspires young minds.”
Teacher Yvonne Lavelle commented: “Louise took the children in my classroom on a fabulous journey over five weeks. She inspired the children to believe that they can shoot for the stars in the world of business.
“We are sincerely grateful to Louise in AIB and Junior Achievement for delivering this amazing programme in our school.”
The CEO of Junior Achievement Ireland, Helen Raftery, said: “Educators refer to school communities (not just schools) because the involvement of families and the wider community is inherent to the achievement of positive educational outcomes for all children. Students who have adult involvement in their schooling generally have better grades, better attendance, and higher graduation rates.
“Getting the opportunity to work with positive role models from the world of work makes a significant impact on young people. Our 25 plus years of industry-education collaboration with organisations such as AIB has had a direct positive impact on the lives of nearly 1,000,000 young people in Ireland and we are grateful to all our partners in business and education for their willingness to work with us to ensure students can enjoy the benefits of being involved in JA educational programmes.”