George Best Belfast City Airport treats adopted schools to a magical performance with the magic of maths

2013-05-20 — /travelprnews.com/ — Pupils at a Belfast primary school were treated to a magical performance by a local children’s touring theatre company thanks to funding from the George Best Belfast City Airport Community Fund.Cahoots NI arrived at Victoria Park Primary School to perform their newest show, ‘Lights, Camera, Math ‘a’ Magic’ to an audience of pupils, from two of the airport’s adopted schools, Victoria Park Primary School and Mitchell House School, eager to witness the extraordinary feats of mathematical mind reading and illusion.

Cahoots NI Artistic Director, Paul Mc Eneaney, said:

“‘Lights, Camera, Math ‘a’ Magic’ combines the mystery of magic with the magic of maths to make an unforgettable, visually engaging, learning experience.

“This production that we are currently touring was developed following the success of our award winning ‘Math ‘a’ Magic’ shows in 2012 and we are delighted to be showcasing it to local schools.”

The performance for Victoria Park Primary and Mitchell House School was funded by the Belfast City Airport Community Fund which sees the airport fine airlines for operating late flights. This money is then re-invested into groups and projects within the local community that promote areas such as education, sport or conservation. To date, the Community Fund has donated almost £100,000.

Ruth Morgan, Communications Executive at Belfast City Airport, said:

“The Cahoots NI’s ‘Lights, Camera, Math ‘a’ Magic’ project really brings Maths to life for the pupils. It is bursting with multimedia magic and is entirely interactive which allows all the kids to get involved and to enhance their relationship with the Mathematical elements of their school syllabus.

“We were really keen to support this project and bring ‘Lights, Camera, Math ‘a’ Magic’ to Victoria Park Primary School because of its ability to educate and entertain at the same time.

“I am delighted that pupils from another of our adopted schools, Mitchell House, were able to attend the performance also.

“The pupils, all aged 8-11, were presented with their very own Cahoots NI Math ‘a’ Magic book with all the secrets to becoming a Math ‘a’ Magician which will act as a fantastic learning tool in the weeks following the performance.

“For some, Maths can be a difficult subject to get excited about but after witnessing the magic the Cahoots performers can bring to it, I wouldn’t be surprised if Maths took a leap to the top of the ‘favourite subject’ list at Victoria Park!

The touring production which encompasses elements of the Key Stage 2 Northern Ireland Curriculum such as Mathematics and Numeracy, Language and Literacy, The Arts and Personal Development and Mutual Understanding, has also been sponsored by Danske Bank.

Carol Wilson, Branch Manager, Danske Bank Ballymena said:

“Our innovative partnership with Cahoots NI continues to bring maths learning to life in a fun way, and is a central part of Danske Bank’s community programme.

“Not only is maths in the classroom, it is all around us every day at home and at work. At Danske Bank we are committed to ensuring that young people become more confident with both maths and money in order to help them prepare for managing their finances in later life.

“We hope all pupils will enjoy the fantastic show created by our friends at Cahoots NI and that they will be enthused enough to amaze teachers, friends and family using the handy booklet at home and in the classroom.”

‘Lights, Camera, Math ‘a’ Magic’ will continue its schools tour until 18th June 2013. A full list of Cahoots NI events can be seen at www.cahootsni.com

For more information on how your community group or project can apply for funding from the Belfast City Airport Community Fund, please visit www.belfastcityairport.com or contact communityfund@belfastcityairport.com