Parents are the primary educators of their
children and the work of the school can only be of maximum benefit
to its pupils if the school and parents work in harmony and share
a view of the educational needs of the pupils.
All reasonable aspirations and opinions of
parents will be taken into consideration in the formulation of all
aspects of school policy.
Parents will be kept informed of their children’s
progress in school and an annual report will be sent to parents at
the end of each school year.
Parents will be welcome to call to the school
at any time to discuss a child’s progress, behaviour or any aspect
of his/her school life.
Parent-teacher meetings will be held annually at which individual
parents will be appraised for their child’s progress and development
and given an opportunity to raise any matters concerning same.
Top of Page
Parent-teacher meetings will be held in connection
with First Confessions, First Holy Communion and Confirmation at which
teachers and priests will outline the relevant religious programme
and discuss these with the parents.
A series of talks will be given annually by
teachers or visitors on aspects of the curriculum, with particular
emphasis on how parents can help their children.
While the principal and teachers do not claim
to thrive on complaints, any parent with a complaint about any aspect
of their child’s education or about anyone concerned therein is asked
to first discuss the matter with the teacher or principal. Most complaints
can be readily resolved by discussing them with the teacher but if
this fails it is still open to parents to pursue the matter through
the proper channels.
The school will seek the co-operation of the
parents in implementing its homework policy, its general rules and
its curriculum. The goodwill of parents is an invaluable assistance
to teachers in all aspects of their work. When teachers undertake
activities outside school hours and outside the school itself the
active help of parents will be needed. School tours, sports, plays,
etc. are difficult to run without the active involvement of parents.
Apart from the practical help, which can be given by parents, the
moral support given to pupils and teachers alike by parents’ interest
in such activities is an incentive to improve and expand the range
of extra-curricular activities in the school.
The present financial arrangements for the
running of national schools is so inadequate that the Department of
Education capitation grants and the parish contribution combined do
not even meet the day to day running
costs of the school. The people of this parish
have been very generous in their support for a programme of school
building and renovation and, as part of this programme, this school
had its facilities greatly improved in recent years and this improvement
is ongoing.
Distinction must be made, however, between
the provision of adequate buildings and facilities and the very different
matter of providing the materials and equipment to enable the school
to continue to provide for the fullest development of pupils and to
keep abreast of developments in educational thinking and technology.
Computer learning facilities, introduction to continental languages,
etc. can no longer be seen as mere novelties at primary school level.
Teachers and parents together must decide which educational developments
are practical and worthwhile in the context of this school and must
realise that the development of a school extends beyond building and
renovating and is a continuous process requiring financial input not
available from external sources.
Top of Page
|
