Primary school children will take mathematics out of the text book and onto the sports field in Blanchardstown IT today and tomorrow in order to demonstrate the importance of maths to the sporting world. Working it Out, Junior Achievement Ireland’s new event will combine sports activities, maths challenges and teamwork to the benefit of local primary school students over two action-packed days.
The students, who will come from St. Philips Senior N.S. Clonsilla and St. Patrick’s N.S. Carduff, will skip, kick penalty shoot-outs, shoot baskets, play bingo and darts with all the while expressing their scores in averages, ratios, fractions and decimals and taking maths out of the classroom and into the world of sports.
Working it Out events will also take place in Limerick on the 2nd and 3rd December and in Cork on the 4th and 5th December.
‘Junior Achievement is all about partnering with business organisations to bring enterprise education into the classroom and let young people see the value of their education in creating career and life opportunities. Maths is such a vital part of any career that we designed Working it Out to show it can be fun, easy and it’s an intrinsic part of our everyday activities. The business volunteers who have been involved all want to run this event again and the teachers believe this is a winning formula to excite children about maths through sport‘, says Della Clancy, Executive Director, Junior Achievement.
‘We provide all equipment, organise the venue and invite the schools. We train the volunteers in all aspects of the event. All the volunteer team has to do is turn up and, as team coaches, timekeepers and scoremasters, help the students through their paces,‘ says Clancy.
Already tried and tested by staff teams from Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Dell, AIB, Dublin Airport Authority plc, Campbell Bewley Group Ltd., Synopsys International Ltd, eBay, RCI, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Working it Out has been developed with the support of Discover Science + Engineering to encourage a positive perception of maths among young students.
Further information on the Working it Out programme can be found on the Junior Achievement website at www.juniorachievement.ie
