Scoil Uí Mhuirí

SPRING DAY
FOR EUROPE 2009
Ideas move Europe

9 May: Europe Day

For almost sixty years, the European Union has celebrated Europe Day everywhere in Europe on 9 May. On this day in 1950, Robert Schuman presented his proposal to bring European states together, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations.

This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union. Today, 9 May has become a European symbol (Europe Day) which, along with the flag, the anthem, the motto and the single currency (the euro), identifies the political entity of the European Union. Europe Day is the occasion for activities and festivities that bring Europe closer to its citizens and peoples of the Union closer to one another.

The Comenius Team at Léargas invites us to be creative this spring and join in celebrating:

Comenius Week (20 April - 9 May)

Europe Day (9 May 2009)

Spring Day for Europe (25 March - 09 May) and

European Year of Creativity and Innovation.

Leargas: Comenius Week Schools Competition Details
We invite artistic entries on the theme of ‘Creativity and Europe' to be submitted by email only by close of business on Friday 08 May.

Two overall winners will be selected (primary sector and post-primary sector) and the winning entries will be displayed on the Comenius webpage of the Léargas website (www.leargas.ie/comenius).

Competition Rules
This competition is open to any school currently participating in a Comenius School Partnership or the Comenius Assistantship programme.

* Please state your project/assistantship reference code when submitting entries.
* State the student's name, age, class and class teacher for each entry submitted.
* Only one submission per student will be accepted.
* No postal entries will be accepted - email your submissions to education@leargas.ie

Technical Details
To be eligible, entries must be in the following format:

* JPG image format
* A minimum dimension of 800x600 pixels
* RGB colour mode
* Files should not exceed 2.5MB

Closing Date: 08 May 2009
Kathleen Carey
Administrative Assistant
Email: KCarey@leargas.ie
Phone: +353 1 873 1411

Spring Day in Europe 2008

Last Year Scoil Uí Mhuirí, Dunleer, Co.Louth, Ireland hosted Realschule Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany as part of their Bilateral Comenius Project, celebrating National games, foreign languages and ICT. The visit coincided with Spring Day in Europe (9th May) and provided a great reason and motivation to discuss European affairs.

On Spring Day in Europe, special guest Mairéad Mc Guinness (M.E.P) visited the school and both the German and the Irish students and teachers enjoyed the meeting. They learned about Mairéad's work in the E.U. and about her daily routine as a member of the European Parliament.

Spring Day in Europe 2009
By tradition, Back to School is a special activity promoting visits in schools. Politicians, public figures and special guests can visit their former school or another one, debating with students and sharing their views. Back to School brings Europe closer to its citizens.

This year, despite her hectic schedule ahead of the European Elections, Mairéad Mc Guinness MEP will be meeting with Scoil Uí Mhuirí students as they bring their Comenius partners on a tour of the local town of Drogheda. Mairéad has kindly accepted the invitation to meet up with Scoil Ui Mhuirí teachers and students and their German project partners.