GENERAL INFORMATION
Introduction
St. Patrick’s Junior School is a Catholic Co-Educational Primary School catering for the formal educational needs of children from Junior Infants to Second Class. There are four Junior Infant classes and three classes in each of the other year groups with 340 pupils approximately on roll.
We have a staff of 17 teachers, 5 SNAs, a secretary and a caretaker.
Board of Management
The Board of Management is responsible for the running of the school. The school is a Catholic school and is under the patronage of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin.
A new Board of Management is elected every four years. The election generally takes place in late September and the Board takes up office in October. The Patron appoints the Chairperson and one other member to serve on the Board. Two parent nominees are elected from the general body of parents. One teacher nominee is elected from the teaching staff. The Principal of the school is automatically on the Board.
These six members meet and choose two people from the community to make up the entire Board. The Board is then responsible for the running of the school for the term of office following regulations laid down by the Department of Education & Skills.
The responsibilities of the Board include the appointment of staff, the upkeep and maintenance of the school, the implementation of school policies and the provision of adequate facilities for both pupils and staff.
The 2019-2023 Board comprises of:
Máire Ní Chróinín – Principal
Very Rev. Fr. Melvyn Mullins – Patron’s Nominee
Ronnie Griffin – Patron’s Nominee
Olivia Ferguson – Parents’ Nominee
John C. Murphy – Parents’ Nominee
Michael Branagan – Community Nominee
Tom Joyce – Community Nominee
Emma Grimes – Teachers’ Nominee
School Curriculum
Curriculum
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, or the NCCA, set the Primary Curriculum which must be followed in all Irish Primary Schools. The last complete revision of all curriculum subjects was in 1999. Practising specialist teachers of each subject collaborated in the development of this revised curriculum. Eleven subjects are covered in the Curriculum.
In 2016 the NCCA reviewed the Irish and English curricula and replaced them with the Draft Primary Language Curriculum. This final version of the Primary Language Curriculum was published in 2019.
The Primary Language Curriculum acknowledges the fact that Ireland is an increasingly linguistically diverse country. It emphasises the fact that language learning is an integrated process: It is taught across all curriculum areas; interaction occurs between and across all elements of language (oral language, reading, writing); and skills learned in one language can transfer across to another language.
While English and Irish are still taught as separate lessons there is an understanding that some concepts learned in English (noun, verb) are transferrable to Irish. Teachers will draw their pupils’ attention to these concepts and will refer to previous or current teaching of the same concept in the other language.
The curricula for all subjects are available at www.curriculumonline.ie.
School Curriculum
The Curriculum is comprised of the following areas:
Language: English and Gaeilge
Mathematics
Social, Environmental and Scientific Education: History, Geography and
Science
Arts Education: Visual Arts, Music and Drama.
Physical Education
Social, Personal and Health Education: Including Relationships and Sexuality Education (“RSE”) and Stay Safe Programme (lesson plans may be seen on request).
Religious Education: Grow in Love Programme
The School Timetable
The hours are as follows:
As supervision is not provided, the Board of Management cannot accept any responsibility for children arriving before official opening time (8:50am) or remaining on the school grounds (unsupervised) after official closing time.
| School Opens | 8:50am |
| Structured Learning Activities | 8:50am |
| Formal Teaching Begins: | 9:10am |
| Lunch Time: | 12:00pm |
| Classes Resume: | 12:30pm |
| Junior and Senior Infants dismissed : | 1:30pm |
| 1st and 2nd Classes dismissed : | 2:30pm |
School Uniform
Uniform: Bottle green pinafore or grey trousers, cream or grey shirt, bottle green cardigan or jumper, striped green/cream tie. Flat shoes or boots.
P.E. Uniform: School tracksuit, runners. To be worn on PE days only or as otherwise directed by teachers.
Summer Uniform: Pinafore or school tracksuit shorts; white polo shirt. Flat sandals or shoes. To be worn in June (weather permitting).
Parent/Teacher Communication
The healthiest environment for a child is one of open and easy communication between parents and teachers. In accordance with our Parent Teacher Communication Policy, parents should make an appointment with the school secretary at a convenient time with the teacher, mentioning the nature of the discussion they wish to have. This allows your child’s teacher to have the relevant information to hand when meeting so as to better address your query/concern.
Parental Help
The children and school can benefit greatly from parental involvement. If you have any time and/or skills to contribute then please speak with the Parents’ Association, the school office or your child’s teacher. All offers of help are welcome and there are many areas you can assist us with in supporting the children’s learning.
School Calendar
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