The History of the school.

The present school was built in 1952. Before this the school was situated in the church grounds. It consisted of two rooms both divided by curtains, one was a boy’s school ad the other was a girl’s school. There were two ladies and two gents teachers Mrs Kelly, Mrs Higgins, Mr. Goggins and Mr. O’Rourke. The playground was located on the present church green. There was no roof on any of the toilets- the boys were known to climb over the wall into the girls toilets which brought trouble.

In 1952 the boys and girls moved to the current school but remained separate. A Mr. P Kavanagh took over as principal. Tom O'Neill also joined the teaching staff and became the principal in the 60’s when the boys and girls amalgamated. In the late 70s the present junior and sixth class rooms plus hall were added to the school.

In 2006 the school got a grant to add 6 class rooms and a resource room. There are about 250 pupils attending the national school. The school is very open and welcoming to all pupils. Each student is valued. The school always aims to have a happy and safe learning environment. They are very lucky and have extensive grounds with 3 basketball courts and 4 football pitches. They were also awarded a grant to improve the school paths and this work will be carried out over the summer.

The school ethos

The school aims at promoting the full and harmonious development of all aspects of the pupil including his/her relationship with God, with other people and the environment.The students are prepared for the reception of the sacraments of First Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation in accordance with arrangements in the diocese.The school aims at fostering a sense of community between management, teachers, parents and pupils.

The teaching staff aim at making the school a centre of excellence in which high professional standards are maintained and where pupils learn in a safe and happy environment. A spirit of mutual respect is promoted within the school. The pupils are drawn by example and teaching to appreciate and respect people of different nationalities. The schools code of discipline reflects the schools Christian values promoted within the school with an emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation. The teachers are sensitive to the needs and particular circumstances of the pupils. Contact is maintained between the school and the home.  Ancillary staff in the school is highly respected and it is recognised that their work makes a valued contributation to the process of education. This is a catholic school. 

Sports in the school

The national school participates in many sport activities which is fantastic. They are involved in the Kildare Cumain Na Bunscoil which is a competition for U10s and U11 boys/girls football, senior boys/girls football, U11s/senior hurling and basketball. They also participate in the West Wicklow league which includes: blitz from 1^st class to senior boys/girls, hurling, basketball and volley ball.The school participates in the Ribena Soccer and the Wicklow cross country athletics. The pupils also go swimming during the school year and are involved in rugby.

The staff

In the school there are 14 teachers, 4 special education teachers, 1 principal Tommy Brennan, 1 secretary, 1 caretaker and 2 special needs assistants. There is also a very active board of management.

About the green flag

The green schools put a lot of hard work and effort into getting the green flag.The first step was to get a committee together to see what teachers, students and parents would be interested in. This was very successful as there was a lot of interest in getting the green flag. As there was a committee everyone had different roles to play and everyone knew what they were to do. They kept a scrap book as proof everything they did as a part of getting this green flag. The scrap book was impressively made totally from recycled materials including cardboard, paper and old string. Each and every class took part in trying to get the green flag so everyone was involved.

Each class had a different role to play, each as important as the next. Some examples of different things they did were sorting rubbish into recyclable waste, compost and general waste.They ran different competitions in the school to promote recycling including; design a Christmas tree competition and the litter warden hat competition. These were both very successful as a lot of the students got involved.

They tried to appreciate nature further by: going on nature walks, writing a recycling song, making ink with seeds and feeding the birds. Another step to getting the green flag was to have a day of action. In the school they had a lot of fun with this and parents, teachers and students were involved. They all did different things using their own individual talents. They weeded, planted flowers, painted walls, planted a vegetable patch and lots more. They also linked with the tidy towns in doing all this.

Address

St. Nioclais Naofa Primary School,

Dunlavin,

Co.Wicklow.

Telephone:

045 401495