Maria Shiel
Youth/ Early Years Workshop Facilitator
Info
Maria Shiel
13a Distillery Road
Newcastle Lower
Galway
Ireland
- www.mariashiel.com
- www.kyorecords.com
- mcshiel@gmail.com
- (353) 87 2041194
Hello, my name is Maria. I am a songwriter, musician and artist, and youth workshop coordinator from the West of Ireland.
I have been performing and producing music for the last 20 years and have performed shows across Ireland, Europe and the USA. For the last ten of those years I have been using music and arts as a way of working with children of all ages from pre-school educator to youth workshop facilitator.
My aim as youth facilitator is to provide a style of mentoring that promotes the importance of social awareness in our communities. I believe in a holistic style of teaching and love using the arts in particular as a communication tool promoting self confidence through self expression. I provide educational tutoring through afterschool homework clubs, music and songwriting and have taught both privately and in schools to children of all ages and diverse backgrounds.
I like to use an empathic approach to teaching, especially when working with children with special educational needs, and always encourage kindness through peer to peer learning.
Working with children from disadvantaged areas and with those from minority groups has been a profoundly rewarding experience and I am always continuously learning from my students. I believe that education should be a right for all and that every child has their own unique gift to offer.
If you would like to connect with me please feel free to contact me via email or phone.
I look forward to connecting with you!
Maria
DipEd., BA (Hons)., M Phil
skills
Education / Youth Care
Leadership
Team management
Project developer
Skilled communicator
Multi-tasker
IT / Graphic Design
Photoshop
Powerpoint
Excel / Word
Project Management
Ballybane Homework Club,
Ballybane, Galway
Music Education Intervention,
Scoil Bhride, Galway
Languages
English
Spanish
Video Production
Health & Safety
Current First Aid 2016
BLS / CPR
Community Work
Liffey Sound FM
work experience
Aug 2020 – Present
Afterschool Homework Club Assistant
- Designing programmes on a daily basis to suits needs of Children
- Sports, Ecotherapy, Art Therapy
October 2018 - March 2019
Special Ed Assistant
Direct Provision ECCE Program, Galway, Ireland
Working with AIMS providing educational care, structure and assistance to a 4 year old boy in a creche setting with educational and developmental needs
Working with 3 – 5 years olds under the Direct Provision Scheme for Asylum Seekers in Ireland in conjunction with the Dept. of Justice.
Language and literacy promotion through the use of music, song and play
2016 - 2017
Homework Club Coordinator
Ballybane, Galway, Ireland
Responsible for implementing an after-school programme for children with educational needs from economically disadvantaged areas.
Working with and implementing programs for minority groups
Maintaining a programme to cater for children with special needs
Managing a body of staff and volunteers
Working closely with Tusla (the Irish state body for the health and welfare of children)
Maintaining and adhering to the Children First health and safety codes
Liaising with the national school teachers in the area
2015 - 2016
Special Needs Resource Teacher / Pre-school Musician
Scoil Bhride, Galway, Ireland
Assistant Resource Teacher for ages 8 – 13 working with children with dyslexia, ADHD and educational needs
Responsible for designing and implementing Music Therapy-styled programmes tailored specifically per student
Worked with pre-school ages (3-5) designing and implementing literacy and numeracy learning programmes through music
2007 - Present
Music teacher
Ireland, Spain and U.K
Guitar, Songwriting and Music Production tuition
Ages: 6 – 60
Private and School based classes
Individualised four part programme (FLEX):
Focus: Beats, timing and the rudiments of rhythm.
Learn: Musical instrument instruction including chordal patterns and song structure
Express: The use of voice as expression with the aim of writing, structuring and completing a finished song
X: Sound production tutoring with Logic Pro X. Putting the final song into digital format
www.soundcloud.com/weirmusic
education
Galway Counselling Centre, Galway, Ireland
2019 – 2020
Foundation in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Introduction to Couselling Skills
- Managing Stress through CBT
- Gestalt Theory
- Art Therapy
- Psychotherapy
- Developmental Theory
SGCC, Galway, Ireland
2015 - 2016
Early Childhood Care & Education | Fetac QQI: Level 6 (Distinctions) | (USA Equiv = Associate Degree)
Early Childhood Curriculum
Numeracy and Literacy
Child Development
Childhood Social, Legal and Health studies
Creative Arts
Disability Awareness
Theoretical Approaches to Education
Educational and Social Policy
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
2004 - 2006
Music & New Media Technologies | Masters: M Phil (Hons) | (USA Equiv = Masters Degree / 1st yr Doctorate)
Audio Production
Video Production
Music Theory
Psychoacoustics
Composition
Thesis: The Implications And Importance of Silence in Music
University of Wales, Glamorgan, Wales
1992 - 1996
Arts: Theology & Spanish | BA (Hons) | (USA Equiv = BA (Hons) Degree)
International Cultural and Religious studies
Spanish
One year placement in the Basque country as assistant English teacher for El Gobierno de Navarra
SGS Technical College, Bristol, UK
1990 - 1991
Foundation Art and Design | Higher Diploma (H. Dip) | (USA Equiv = Associate Degree)
International Cultural and Religious studies
Spanish
One year placement in the Basque country as assistant English teacher for El Gobierno de Navarra
creative education projects
Homework Club Programme Coordinator
'Promoting Education for All'
2016 - 2017
Ballybane Homework Club was a government funded pilot programme in association with Tusla, the Irish state body for child and family welfare.
I was the programme coordinator and was responsible for designing, structuring and implementing one and half hour programmes to help children with varying educational needs. The program was designed to help children from economically disadvantaged areas and was open to all. It was developed as an afterschool programme to help children who have literacy and numeracy problems and specifically catered for children from minority backgrounds.
We provided a diverse learning support to all which culminated in an end of year graduation ceremony where each child was presented with a personalised ‘Report Card of Achievement’ in June 2016.
The programme, although challenging at times, was an immensely rewarding experience and provided an invaluable learning experience for how to structure such programmes in the future. Maintenance of the programme was monitored through feedback at regular staff meetings, meetings with Tusla and meetings with the parents and teachers from neighbouring schools.
Social awareness between children was an important part of the club as was the meeting of educational indicators for each child.
Music Teacher And Youth Worker
'Weir Music'
2009 - Present
I developed Weir Music whilst living on a weir in Lucan, Dublin in 2009. I had already been teaching children guitar and songwriting since 2007 and wanted to establish a more solid programme whereby I could run classes and workshops both privately and in schools. I have worked privately in Spain, the UK and Ireland and in public schools in Dublin and Galway.
I have also created a four tier music program called FLEX for children with educational and special needs such as dyslexia and ADHD to help improve focus and self confidence.
FLEX consists of
FOCUS – Beat and Timing : Bodhran (Irish drum) and percussion tuition
LEARN – Guitar instruction: Chordal structure, rhythm, ambidextrous multi-tasking
EXPRESS – Songwriting through expression and creative arts such as visual brainstorming
X – Basic sound production: Logic Pro X: Basic sound production where the student has a chance to listen to their composition on digital format.
For some examples of students' work you can listen below:
Homework Club Programme Coordinator
'Promoting Education for All'
2016 - 2017
Ballybane Homework Club was a government funded pilot programme in association with Tusla, the Irish state body for child and family welfare.
I was the programme coordinator and was responsible for designing, structuring and implementing one and half hour programmes to help children with varying educational needs. The program was designed to help children from economically disadvantaged areas and was open to all. It was developed as an afterschool programme to help children who have literacy and numeracy problems and specifically catered for children from minority backgrounds.
We provided a diverse learning support to all which culminated in an end of year graduation ceremony where each child was presented with a personalised ‘Report Card of Achievement’ in June 2016.
The programme, although challenging at times, was an immensely rewarding experience and provided an invaluable learning experience for how to structure such programmes in the future. Maintenance of the programme was monitored through feedback at regular staff meetings, meetings with Tusla and meetings with the parents and teachers from neighbouring schools.
Social awareness between children was an important part of the club as was the meeting of educational indicators for each child.
KYO Records | Founder
'Promoting Musical Collaboration'
2011 - Present
I established KYO Records in 2011 as a music label and collaborative platform in order to specifically promote musical collaboration worldwide.
KYO is a platform that can be used by musicians of all genres to help explore their projects with other musicians from around the world through online collaboration. The tagline reads “Music From Small Rooms” and is focused on the individuals making music initially on their own. I wanted to try and focus on a system of trade where musicians might feel that they can help by trading their services rather than by charging money.
KYO Records has been able to release a variety of collaborative creations ranging from techno and 2-step to ambient and future-folk. You can explore our collaborations through our Bandcamp page opposite.
KYO is:
“..the interconnectedness of all sound, energy and phenomena … spanning the three existences of past, present and future…”
For further information visit www.kyorecords.com