We could hardly contain ourselves when we received this review from the very first school involved in The Big Idea 2021;
“We are delighted to have been afforded the opportunity to participate in the inaugural programme of The Big Idea in 2021. It has presented our Transition Year students with a fantastic opportunity to develop themselves and their skill sets, which I believe will be of great benefit to them as they progress in the senior cycle stage of their education but also as they continue their life-journey after they conclude their time in post-primary school.
The world that we live in today requires greater levels of creativity and innovation than at any time in our history. As evidenced by the design briefs for the 2021 Big Idea programme, we live in an increasingly complex world experiencing unprecedented challenges that require creativity, innovation, collaboration and determination to manage and overcome. As a school community, we are navigating our way through a pandemic that we could never have foreseen a mere twelve months ago. There is no manual or textbook to guide us through it, but we rely on collaboration and innovation to create ways to maintain connections amongst our school community as we continue to learn and teach while we stay away from the school building.
It is my belief that no curriculum can keep up with the pace of change that is happening in our world.
Instead, it is my belief that the best way we can support our students’ development is to equip them with the knowledge, understanding, skills and values to assess, analyse, appreciate, question and, where appropriate, embrace innovation to manage the changes that they will encounter in their lives and in their work in the future. I fundamentally believe that The Big Idea programme provides students with the opportunities to develop themselves while working on projects that are of the utmost importance and relevance to them.
I would like to thank the team behind The Big Idea for the opportunity they have provided to our students and our school community. I would also like to thank them for their generosity of time and their flexibility in working with our school during the pandemic. We look forward to working with the Big Idea programme in the future.”
John Cullinane, Deputy Principal, Presentation De la Salle College.
