TPL Thursdays

Nicole has been a teacher at Foyle College since 2013, before then, Oakgrove Integrated College 2000-2013. She completed her Degree in Geology at QUB and post

Degree worked for Baker Hughes Inteq as a drillbit engineer/petroleum geologist and a few consultancy jobs.

She started a PhD in Trinity College, Dublin but decided after a year and a half she would like to have more contact with the younger generation, and started teaching in 2000.

Within school – Nicole teaches Geology to GCSE and

A-Level, coaches hockey, takes the Eco Club (beach and park cleans) and EcoArts Club (making lovely art out of a mixture of natural and manmade resources), started FCAT (Foyle College Aviation Team) who have been successful in recovering the remaining parts of Spitfire and P38 Lightning in Emyvale, Monaghan, and, most recently, a mark II Bristol Beaufort from Ballykelly. Nicole really enjoys stimulating curiosity in students whether it be about cleaning and preserving the natural environment, or historical events without FCAT adventures. “Digging for Britain” (BBC) has covered the P38 and Spitfire in Monaghan and the Bristol Beaufort will be included in their new series. She is actively involved with CCGHT, a great organisation who offer superb work experience opportunities for our students in Geology/Earth Science related careers. Nicole is rather camera shy, so we have included a picture of a Merlin Rolls Royce V12 engine from the plane that Foyle College recovered in Emyvale, Monaghan.

Paula Molloy has been a Teacher of Science for 19 years and has worked in St. Mary’s College for 17 years. In December 2019, she took on the role of Leader of Wellbeing, a role which she is very passionate about. She believes that educating the “Whole” person is vital in school today and that Health, Wellbeing, & Happiness should be the key priorities. Paula believes that if we can embed a well-being culture into our curriculum and everyday life, then we can look forward to developing positive, confident, kind individuals enabling them to successfully overcome difficulties and live a balanced and fulfilling life.

St Mary's College is an 11-18 all-ability girls' school situated in the heart of Derry City. It is a progressive, forward-thinking school that has developed specific learning pathways for all its learners. Recently its focus on health and wellbeing has resulted in the school attaining the Investors in People Health and Wellbeing Award in early 2021 and with over half of the staff trained in Mental Health First Aid and, with an innovative wellbeing programme in place, is well placed to support the growing challenges placed on our pupils today.

Aidan began his teaching career in 1992 and worked as a post-primary teacher of English to A Level for 11 years, teaching in St. Paul’s HS, Bessbrook and the Abbey Grammar School Newry. In 2002 he completed his Doctorate in Education entitled “Literacy and ICT - The Challenge for English Teachers”. In 2003 he became an Adviser for Literacy and ICT at KS2 and KS3 and provided advice, support and training for schools in the Southern Education and Library Board and across Northern Ireland. In 2007 Aidan completed the PQHNI and this assisted him when he joined the Post-Primary Management Team in his whole school improvement work supporting priority schools and working directly with Principals and Senior Leadership Teams. He was appointed Regional Manager for the Literacy and Numeracy KS2 and KS3 CPD Project in August 2014. Aidan was also the Principal Examiner for GCSE English (CCEA) from 2003 to 2020.

In November 2017 he became Vice-Principal of Strangford Integrated College.

Strangford College is a co-educational, all-ability grant-maintained integrated post-primary school, catering for students aged 11-19. It is located on the Ards Peninsula, County Down, close to Bangor and Newtownards. The College continues to grow and thrive, and has been consistently oversubscribed. The school opened in 1997. There are currently 836 students on the College register.

Fane Street Primary School aims to provide the best possible environment for high-quality teaching and learning to take place. They endeavour to ensure that every child achieves his or her full potential. They are not just providers of curriculum subjects and more particularly the skills associated with those subjects, but are a place where the whole child is developed. Fane Street Primary School places special emphasis on social development, self-discipline, self-esteem, respect for all, and pupils taking a level of responsibility for both their learning and behaviour.

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Deirdre has been a teacher for the past 25 years, and is WAU Coordinator at Mill Strand Integrated Primary School, Portrush.

She is passionate about science learning in the outdoor classroom as well as assisting with the protection of our marine environment.

Deirdre was awarded the PSTT Primary Science Teacher of the Year in 2014. She facilitates training in Creative Science Enquiry & outdoor learning & is a trained Forest School Leader. Deirdre was also a recipient in both 2015 and 2021 of the PSQM (Primary Science Quality Mark) Gold Award.