Northgate-is - News Item 1076

School to Benefit from Northgate Managed Services Business Expertise

North Belfast primary school, St Mary’s Star of the Sea, is set to benefit from invaluable business expertise in 2010/2011 after being ‘adopted’ by Northgate Managed Services.

Created by Business in the Community, the ‘Adopt a School’ program, seeks to build stronger links between businesses and local schools, utilising the expertise of the business community to help enrich the education sector.

Since becoming one of the first businesses to sign up to the pilot scheme, Northgate has been on hand to advise the school on all aspects of business; from ensuring the school is able to make the most of ICT through to marketing the school to its local community.  Northgate has donated IT equipment and software which will be used by both teachers and pupils to make the classroom more interactive, and has also been involved in a fundraising drive to stock the school’s library in preparation for the new school year. Northgate staff will continue to take part in several activities from September onwards - from supporting students with reading and computing to providing additional training for teachers on how to get more out of ICT in the classroom.

Eleanor Lee, Head of Marketing, Northgate Managed Services commented:
“Northgate has enjoyed a good relationship with St Mary’s Star of the Sea for over ten years. We are delighted to strengthen this partnership further by signing up to Business in the Community’s ‘Adopt a School’ scheme. The benefits of the scheme are two-fold – we are able to give something back to a school in our local community while St Mary’s can avail of pro bono support on a range of issues and activities. Our employees are really enthusiastic about the initiative and look forward to progressing their adoptive role over the next year.”

Kieran McGarry, Principal, St Mary’s Star of the Sea Primary School said:
“Since we have been adopted by Northgate, the employees have given 100% to every initiative they have been involved in. Their commitment and enthusiasm is commendable and I’d like to thank them for all the great work they have done to date and look forward to progressing this further still from September onwards.”

Jill Crawford, Community Director, Business in the Community said:
“Northgate is to be commended for demonstrating responsible leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility. The Adopt a School initiative enables the strengthening of links between business and education, providing vital connections for the future. Business in the Community is delighted to have one of our member companies leading on this in the Newtownabbey area.”