Fáilte, Benvenuti, Bienvenidos, Willkommen, Bienvenue! Last updated September 1st, 2010 

Best wishes to all our schools for the new academic year! We are currently reviewing our website and will be in a position to launch the new, improved version of the site at the end of September. In the interim, any new documents wil be emailed to MLPSI schools as necessary.

Welcome to the MLPSI website! As part of the support service we offer schools participating in the Initiative and mindful of our obligations to provide information on modern language teaching at primary level in Ireland, this site contains information for teachers and schools, as well as valuable resources, updates on training events and links to other sites of interest. We welcome your feedback and suggestions for its ongoing development.

Note: Please remember to do the on-line survey regarding CPD sent to all MLPSI teachers and schools by email!

European Day of Languages - Sept. 26th 2010

Léargas is running two competitions this year to celebrate the European Day of Languages:

• Cartoon Scene Competition
• Video Clip Competition
• The closing date for both competitions is Friday 08 October 2010.

Please see the Leargas website for further details! - www.leargas.ie   

Colegio Español del Año 2010  Competition   

This academic year saw the launch of the Colegio del Año competition.  This competition is organised jointly by the Consejería de Educación and the MLPSI and it seeks to give recognition to those schools who excel in the teaching and learning of Spanish.

This year´s winning school is St. Laurence´s N.S. in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. 

The other finalists were the following schools:

1.   Scoil Chaitlin Naofa, Cillmhicadomhnaigh, Fionn-trá, Tralee, Co. Kerry

2.  Scoil Fhionnbarra, Ballingeary, Co. Cork

3.  Ballinadee N.S. Ballinadee, Bandon. Co. Cork

Our congratulations to the principals, teachers and pupils in all the schools who took part in this year´s competition.  We were delighted to see so many examples of good practice. We hope to receive many more entries in next year´s edition.

Major feature on Languages in the Irish Times, April 20th 2010...

  Starting off in the MLPSI  We have designed a new section for this website in which principals and teachers new to the MLPSI will be able to quickly source information on all apsects of the programme - please click on the  link to take you to our Starting Off... page

Every term we will create a themed list of ideas or 'Top Tips'. This month we are featuring 'Top Tips for creating a culture box'. Whether you are a Modern Language Teacher or a Hosting Class Teacher, why not try some of the ideas!? Collaborate if necessary!  Top Tips for creating a culture box

All MLPSI French/German schools are invited to enter our French/German Competition: 'Vive les Maths!'/'Mathematik macht Spaβ!'. Following our recent CPD day, this year's competition will focus on the integration of Maths with French/German. The competition is organised by the MLPSI with the support of the Service Culturel of the French Embassy and the Goethe-Institut Irland. See the following documents for more information. Closing date for entries is March 5th 2010 for the French competition and March 26th for German competition.

 concours_2010_letter_v2  concours_10_entry_form  maths_for_fun

Click on the 'Teachers' Association' section to find out when and where your next local Primary Languages Network meeting is taking place. Join your local group and share resources and materials with your MLPSI colleagues.  Look out  for regular updates on guest speakers and workshops taking place with your Regional Primary Languages group.

 Richard Tallaron workshop, Saturday, February 27th, Kildare Education Centre

The Kildare, Navan, Blackrock and Drumcondra Primary Language Network groups have invited Richard Tallaron, a Scottish ML teacher trainer  to facilitate a workshop in the Kildare Education Centre, on Saturday, February 27th. Richard, an experienced teacher trainer,  works with schools and Local Authorities delivering in-service training in language teaching throughout the UK. Please contact Kildare Education Centre to register.