School Activities
Click one of the links below to read about the many school activities we run
Active School Flag
The Active School Flag is a non competitive initiative which highlights the importance
of P.E., physical activity and sport in schools and communities in which they are
based. It is hoped to raise awareness of the importance of games and movement and
to encourage our pupils and their families to develop skills. We hope to provide
opportunities for each child to achieve by having suitable activities for all.
CEOL
The CEOL Music Project is wonderfully comprehensive that is much enjoyed by pupils
and teachers alike. It provides great enjoyment in teaching music and song. It nurtures
the expression of music as a creative art form.
School Choir
Under the guidance of Ms. Daly, a school choir has been established with pupils
from both schools taking part. The choir performed on many occasions during the
Jubilee Year and recently charmed all the guests at the NCCA’s tenth year celebration
of the present curriculum, including Mr.Batt O’Keeffe, Minister for Education!
Comenius Project
Over the last three years, we have been part of a project involved with European
schools. The other countries involved were Iceland, Sweden, France and Wales.
The Project was called “Stepping Out”, It has provided a platform from
which our children have ‘stepped out’ and explored Europe together.
Children from ages of 3-14 have designed logos to promote the project; made culture
bags to represent their country; made school booklets; exchanged letters, drawings,
stories, poems, songs, dances, games and recipes and grown garden flowers. A story
jigsaw book has been created where the main character had an adventure in each country.
Dewi “the travelling teddy bear” has proved to be immensely popular with all the
children as he has travelled to each country and his travel diary has kept everyone
up-to-date with his experiences of school and home life.
The collaborative activities have enabled all pupils to explore, appreciate and
value their own roots and proudly share their cultural identities, language, life
and traditions with others. This exchange of information has opened many eyes and
broadened many horizons,
Green Schools
Proposed Green Area for Ballyfermot
The city council is developing a new green space for Ballyfermot, which will cater
for all the community. This area will be located near to our school, just off Drumfinn
road, and will be an amenity that can be enjoyed by all members of the community.Our
school was invited to come up with ideas and suggestions for what we would like
to have in this green space.
Recently we put our heads together to come up with ideas for how the new green space
beside the Civic Centre could be used. We shared our ideas with Telmo, one of the
planners, who came to visit us in school. Telmo with the children We came up with
some great ideas! We would like to have swings, slides, monkey-bars and other playground
equipment included. We would like the area to have trees, flowers and a small pond.
We will all help to look after this area together and be responsible for it. We
drew our plans and they are currently on display in Ballyfermot’s Civic Centre.
We're looking forward to seeing the finished product!!
These photos show Telmo hearing some of the children's suggestions.
High Flyers
Pupils of the “High Flyers” participated in a “Write-a-Book”
competition. The winning authors and their parents attended a prize giving ceremony
in Dublin West Education Centre:
Maths Recovery
For the last year and continuing into this year the Maths recovery programme has
been running in Saint Louise’s Junior School. This programme gives the pupils in
1st class the opportunity to investigate, discover and learn all about the concepts
of number. It encourages the children to investigate and gain a greater understanding
of number and allows them to foster skills which will stand to them throughout their
education and into their adult lives. The programme is based very much on the child
using concrete materials and games and learning happens in a relaxed and fun environment.
It is hoped that this programme will continue for many more years and that the benefits
will be visible for many years to come!
Mentor for Newly Qualified Teachers
“It is a sign of strength to ask for help” is the motto for
this programme. In line with the National Pilot Project on Teacher Induction, the
Mentor is an experienced member of the teaching staff who offers personal, professional
and pedagogical support to Newly Qualified Teachers in their first year of teaching.
It aims to ensure that each newly qualified teacher
Reading Recovery
Reading Recovery is an individually designed reading programme for children. This
intervention is closely supported by the class teacher, resource teachers and parents,
thus giving the children the confidence and initiative to carry out the 20 week
programme.
“With problem readers, it is not enough for the teacher to have rapport, to generate
interesting tasks and generally to be a good teacher. The teacher must be able to
design a superbly sequenced programme determined by the child’s performance, and
to make highly-skilled decisions moment by moment during the lesson.” (Clay, 1993).
The Reading Recovery programme is one which concentrates on a child for a 30 minute
period every day for 20 weeks. It is an intense programme and requires the co-operation
of teachers and parents. The child works on an individualised programme which builds
on his/her specific strengths. The teacher will make decisions based on the child’s
current ways of responding and provides opportunities for the child to learn.
Two of our teachers have been intensively trained in the Reading Recovery methodology
and the programme has proved very beneficial to those children who have engaged
in it.
Special Needs Assistants
In recent years the Dept of Education & Science has allocated Special Needs Assistants
to our schools, to look after the care needs of some pupils. They are based in the
classrooms and provide wonderful support to the pupils to whom they are assigned.