Primary schools in Westmeath are gearing up for this year’s Awards of Science Excellence (AoSE ). Last year 15 Westmeath schools received the awards, and it is hoped many more schools will get involved this year.
The launch of the awards was announced this week by Discover Primary Science. The programme acknowledges the efforts of primary school children and teachers who have shown an increased knowledge of science and its many applications as a result of participation in the Discover Primary Science programme.
The 15 Westmeath schools which received Awards of Science Excellence last year were Scoil Bhríde, St Cremins NS, St Peter's NS Athlone, Boher NS, Athlone Mixed NS, St Patrick's NS, Convent Primary School, St Tola's, St Mary's NS, St Ciarans NS, Presentation Senior School, Drumraney NS, St Feichins NS, Kilcleagh NS, and Ardnagrath NS.
Since the programme’s inception in 2004, when approximately 500 schools were registered for the project, Discover Primary Science now has in excess of 3,000 schools involved. Last year over 650 primary schools received Awards of Science Excellence.
As a result of the high level of interest, the format has been changed this year. Instead of limiting the participation to three students per school at a regional ceremony, as was previously the case, successful schools will now receive a plaque and certificates in a special ‘Awards of Science Excellence Pack’, allowing each school to make their own arrangements to celebrate the achievement. This allows every student from the winning schools to participate in a celebration.
All primary schools registered for the DPS programme who intend to make a submission for the Awards of Science Excellence must apply online at www.primaryscience.ie by March 31 2009.
Each award-winning school will be entered into a draw and one school per county will win a fantastic prize – a science entertainer will make a special visit to their school and put on an incredible show especially for them! All log books received in by May 1 2009 will be entered into this draw, so make sure your logs are in on time!
