Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) plays an integral role in Scoil Naomh Pádraig. We are passionate about promoting a culture of collaboration, innovation and creativity. Through our school’s commitment to providing highly-engaging and creative learning experiences across the curriculum, our children thrive by collaboratively applying their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

STEM Week is an important event in our school calendar! During STEM Week our pupils get the opportunity to engage in a range of exciting activities including coding, robotics, Maths quizzes and trails. The week concludes with the much-loved Science Fair, where our 6th Class pupils demonstrate various scientific concepts & skills through fun experiments to the other classes. 

Maths

In Scoil Naomh Pádraig, the teaching of Maths is designed to equip every pupil with the tools to work with, understand, and communicate ideas involving numbers, shapes, sizes, and their interconnections. We are guided by the new curriculum and continue to develop our practice to:

  • Encourage Playfulness
  • Use cognitively challenging tasks 
  • Promote Maths Talk
  • Foster Productive Disposition and 
  • Emphasise mathematical modelling

We provide the children with opportunities to explore different areas of maths through engaging and playful experiences. Our pupils tell us that they love to learn outside the classroom too, and our maths trails are always highly anticipated by them! 

An important aspect of the Maths curriculum is fostering each pupil’s problem-solving skills. The curriculum focuses on giving students real-world problems that relate to their own lives and encouraging them to think creatively to solve these challenges.

Above all, our pupils are encouraged to view Maths as an exciting and intellectually stimulating subject. The curriculum supports methods and strategies that enhance pupils’ skills in approaching mathematical challenges, helping them develop a lasting appreciation for the subject, along with confidence in tackling mathematical problems. 

Digital Technologies (Technology & Engineering)

In Scoil Naomh Pádraig, we are a learning community that places importance on academic achievement and innovation. Our school keeps abreast of developments in the best use of digital technologies to enhance teaching and learning and to ensure we are fully equipped to meet the demands of the 21st century. 

Our pupils are introduced to digital technologies from infants and progress through class levels to learn the skills needed to harness the benefits of these technologies. They experience an enriched curriculum through use of these technologies, when appropriate. At the same time, we develop the children’s ability to be responsible digital citizens and to remain safe online. We achieve this in partnership with parents/guardians and with the support of our Parents’ Association. 

We have a range of technologies to enhance learning opportunities, including iPads, laptops and interactive whiteboards. We also have a variety of fun programmable robots & toys to teach robotics and coding – including Bee-bots, Lego We-Do and Spheros. Digital technologies are used as helpful tools within the various subject areas and are also used to foster teamwork, digital literacy, critical thinking and presentation skills.  

In a world that is constantly evolving, we are dedicated to fostering innovative, adaptable, critical, and creative young minds, preparing them to thrive in an interconnected, technology-driven world. We set out our vision for this in our Digital Learning Plan and ensure that staff members are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to meet our targets. 

Science

Primary Science involves helping children develop basic scientific ideas and understanding, which will enable them to explore and investigate their world. It develops knowledge and understanding of scientific and technological concepts through the exploration of human, natural and physical aspects of the environment.

Through active scientific exploration, we aim to develop a scientific approach to problem-solving which emphasises understanding and constructive thinking. We also foster the child’s natural curiosity, so encouraging independent enquiry and creative action.

We also help our pupils appreciate the contribution of science and technology to the social, economic, cultural and other dimensions of society and to cultivate an appreciation and respect for the diversity of living and non-living things, their interdependence and interactions. This ties in closely with our Green School status and the Geography curriculum.

Events in Scoil Naomh Pádraig such as our Science Fair help our older pupils to communicate their ideas and to present their work to younger pupils through fun activities, thereby encouraging a positive attitude to Science and STEM subjects in general.