TechnoTeachers present awards to outstanding secondary school pupils

Secondary school pupils who excelled in the 2015 Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations were presented with prestigious awards by the TechnoTeachers Association (TTA) at the annual National Student Awards ceremony hosted by GMIT earlier this month (March). Peter Chun Wong, whose parents came all the way from Hong Kong to attend the awards ceremony, received the highest award for Construction Studies; Peter sat his Leaving Certificate in St Joseph’s School for Deaf Boys, in Cabra, Dublin last year (2015) and is now in first year in IT Sligo, studying Creative Design.

The TechnoTeachers Association is a long-running association representing over one thousand teachers of Materials Technology Wood, Technical Graphics, Technology, Design and Communication Graphics and Construction Studies in second level schools in Ireland.

Michael Hannon, Vice President for Academic Affairs & Registrar, who has been a strong supporter of this event for many years, spoke of the pride families feel in their children’s achievements, and also outlined details of an exciting new course- the level 8 (honours) degree in Sustainable Building Technologies which is offered in the Mayo campus in Castlebar. See: http://www.gmit.ie/engineering/bachelor-science-honours-sustainable-bui…

Several hundred people attended the awards event including students, their families and teachers. Master of Ceremonies was Richard McCormack and other guest speakers included Tony Harrison, Chairperson of the TTA and Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell who both highlighted the importance of technological subjects regarding future skills requirements.

One couple’s pride in their child’s achievement is Chor Ming Wong and his wife King Shan Lam who travelled from Hong Kong to see their son, Peter Chun Wong, receive the highest award for the subject of Construction Studies at ordinary level in the 2015 Leaving Certificate examinations. Peter is a past pupil of St Joseph’s School for Deaf Boys, Navan Road (Cabra) in Dublin, under the tuition of a very proud Eugene Doyle.

Peter first moved to Ireland in 2006 to complete his studies and lives with his cousin, Esther Lee. On only their third visit to Ireland, Peter’s parents spoke through an interpreter saying how proud and happy they were to see their son achieve such a high honour. “There is no doubt that Peter worked extremely hard in order to achieve this level, dealing not only with a language barrier but also with a hearing impairment. He is now studying Creative Design in IT Sligo and was excited at the thought of being able to show his parents where he has started studying, during their five-day stopover.” says his teacher Eugene Doyle.

“This story illustrates how important these awards are to students, teachers and families. The work required to organise and coordinate such an event would not be possible without the cooperation of the State Examinations Commission and the support of GMIT. The success of students in these subject areas will continue to be recognised by the TechnoTeachers Association and this will lead to the creation of many more special and happy memories like that experienced by the Wong family,” says Tony Harrison, Chairperson of the TechnoTeachers Association.

About the TechnoTeachers Association (TTA)
The TTA is run by a national executive made up of nine teachers who work hard on a voluntary basis to represent and support teachers who organise and coordinate national events such as the annual awards and the annual conference which will be held on 21 and 22 October in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise.