22nd May 2015
Mr. Robert Johnston, the Head of ICT, has received the Inaugural IET (Inspirational Engineering Teacher) Award.
The award is intended “to acknowledge the outstanding work of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) teachers in Northern Ireland, who are inspiring young people and promoting careers in engineering and technology.”
The nomination was made by Joel Cuddy and Daniel Weir through the submission of a 1 minute video clip which outlined the on-going work in the school’s extra curricular ICT clubs.
The boys presented some of the work, over and above leading a successful department with which Mr Johnston had been involved. Projects outlined included:
· Mobile App development work which has seen the school’s App Development Team being proclaimed the Duke of York’s Young Innovators.
· The Raspberry Pi Balloon launch project which achieved national media attention.
· A solar powered weather station project on the side of Slieve Gallion overlooking Cookstown which has been tweeted about by Barra Best.
· The construction of the school by pupils using Minecraft
In the video pupils commented that, “Mr Johnston’s goal is to inspire pupils to reach for the sky, and not just by Balloon!”
The award was presented by Tom Gray, the Chief Technical Officer and Head of Innovation at Kainos at a ceremony on Friday 1st May during the BelTech 2015 Education Day held in the Titanic Centre in Belfast. This first award is shared with Miss Kathryn Wylie of Ballymena Academy.
Speaking of the award the Headmaster of the High School, Mr Graham Montgomery said “Robert is a hardworking and inspirational teacher who understands that being a good teacher is often about what you do outside the classroom. Robert works hard to push pupils to experiment and grasp opportunities. The school community congratulates him on this well deserved award”.
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