(L-R) Catriona Smith (Practitioner, Croileagan Inbhir Theorsa) Carol-Anne Farquhar (CALA P&T Dev Worker) & Julie Manson (Manager & Practitioner at Croileagan Inbhir Theorsa)
On Saturday 1st September, the Croileagan Inbhir Theorsa (Gaelic Nursery) building in Thurso, was home to a very busy and action packed Open Day for parents interested in Gaelic Medium Education for their pre-school children.
During the morning, parents had the opportunity to view and take away a selection of the Gaelic resources which are available, including: CDs, books, leaflets and the newly released Highland Council flash cards which include everyday Gaelic, phonetics, illustrations, and pictograms. These have been produced primarily for parents to use when playing and interacting with their young children.
The Open day, described by parents as ‘informative’, ‘interesting’, ‘challenging’ and ‘fun’ was organised by Carol-Anne Farquhar, Care and Learning Alliance’s Gaelic Parent & Toddler Development Worker in Thurso and Tongue.
Highland Council’s North Area Gaelic Community Officer Shona Paterson was present to discuss bilingualism and Gaelic Medium Education. She also informed parents that Thurso is included as a place for Gaelic development in the Council’s draft second generation Gaelic Language Plan.
Alasdair Macleod from Strathnaver led the ‘Gaelic for Parents’ class using the ‘Gaelic for Parents’ booklet and accompanying CD produced by Highland Council. Parents were taught some phrases which might be used in the nursery setting and given booklets and cd’s to take home.
In the afternoon there were singing, storytelling and craft sessions, all led by Ceitidh Hutton from Tain. These workshops were very well attended by parents along with their children. It was a very busy afternoon with almost perfect attendance of parents and Croileagan pupils, much to the delight of Julie Manson, Manager and Practitioner at Croileagan Inbhir Theorsa,
‘It was great to see such a good turnout of children and nice to see them join in so willingly with the action songs and singing.’
Kara Simpson, Treasurer Croileagan Inbhir Thèorsa, said:
‘The day was very beneficial to both the children and parents. The parents were delighted to see and hear the children having fun whilst learning Gaelic and to be able to participate through-out the sessions.’
As a result of the Open Day, plans are set in motion to run a fortnightly class for parents to learn basic Gaelic phrases and many of the parents would like to investigate the possibility of Gaelic Medium Primary Education provision in the Thurso area.
In Carol-Anne’s words,
‘I am delighted at how well the event went and at the amazing attendance from parents on the day. It shows the great support we have for the Croileagan in Thurso and is very encouraging in terms of its future. It has also prompted parents into thinking about Gaelic Medium Primary Education for their children.’
The event was generously supported by Highland Council, Bord na Gaidhlig, Care and Learning Alliance, Croileagan Inbhir Theorsa and Cli Gaidhlig.
Photographs by Tracy Mackay, Caithness Creative Imagery.
Carol-Anne Farquhar, CALA Gaelic Parent & Toddler Development Worker
