What a year we’ve had! We might have been smack in the middle of the first global pandemic in 100 years but that didn’t stop us getting off the ground and making history.
There have been too many highs to mention but we did a little round robin of the team to find out what their top 12 best B!G moments of 2021 were.
Going Live! This was a B!G moment for the whole team. All the preparations, planning and dreaming were unified the minute the ‘Live’ button was pressed. Now the whole world could see what we had up our sleeve.
Swag bag deliveries With school closures and the entire country on enforced home-schooling, delivering the Swag bags to all 500 students was challenging. Fun times driving up snowy mountain roads and getting lost on country roads!
Mentors first involvement In our first year we had 100+ B!G Mentors and seeing their involvement for the first time was awesome.
B!G 5 funny moments There have been a lot! Between technical hitches, take 2’s, 3’s and even 4’s, nervous Mentors and funny comments, the B!G 5 has definitely been a highlight.
Final decision-making on the winners So many projects, so much talent, but there could only be one B!G winner. The excitement was real!
B!G Showcase What a day! The atmosphere was electric from early on in Sonica with photographers, videographers, sound engineers and Mentors all buzzing around. Phones were hopping, adrenaline was pumping and the excitement levels were very high.
Being endorsed by NCCA NCCA is the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and this means that The B!G Idea features as a suggested TY curriculum component.
Seeing the Mentors list for 2022 escalating through the roof From 100+ in 2021 to over 250 so far for 2022, it’s mind-boggling to have so much support. There is always room for more though and we would love to reach our goal of 400 for 2022.
Swag bag deliveries starting to arrive Santa came early this year with a B!G Lego delivery on our doorstep. Tempting….
Team day The B!G Idea team spent a day in October learning the ropes on Lego building and serious play methods. This was so much fun and a wonderful insight into what lies ahead for the lucky students of the future.
The enormous success and impact of our pilot LCA programme A pilot Leaving Certificate Applied programme was piloted in Larkin Community College, Dublin in September and ran for 12 weeks. Feedback from teachers and students has been phenomenal. Woohoo!!
IDI Grand Prix Award WINNERS What a great way to end the year. We were awarded with the Design Education and Research Award and the Overall Grand Prix Award at the Irish Design Institute Award ceremony in November. This was the most incredible achievement for us and we are so proud of how much we have accomplished. For any team, it makes it so much more worthwhile when other people, people-in-the-know, can see the potential and the worth of what you are all about. Winning these awards was the most wonderful icing on the cake to what has been a mind-blowing year.
Happy Christmas one and all. Thank you so much for all your support this year. We can’t wait for 2022.
