Today is always a very special day when we welcome the new Junior Infants to the school. It was such a special event to see all the little faces full of excitement, nerves and infinite possibilities. The parents who spoke on behalf of the Executive, The Board of Management and The Parent’s Association all spoke on your behalf. They were so warm and welcoming highlighting the wonderful community that we are lucky to be a part of.
I was very lucky to have had the opportunity yesterday to go on the first school tour of the year. Summer is officially here. Myself and Junior Infants had a lovely sunny trip on the Luas to Airfield farm. If you asked four year old Paul what he wanted to be, a Farmer was my only choice, so it was a nostalgic trip too. I also couldn’t stop thinking that we are so lucky to have such an amazing resource so close to us.
At this time of year I have to tell myself not to focus on one small part of a person to make a judgement on how good or bad their year has been. We tell the children this and hope that you the parents are doing the same. The children in most of the classes have been sitting standardised tests which the Department use to see how the children of Ireland are performing. We as a school use them to identify any areas which need to focus on. This is a very small part of the person that they are but yet when I see a score that I’m not happy with I find myself forgetting.
This week the children in the school were sitting these standardised tests and it creates a strange atmosphere in the building as the classrooms change shape and become strangely silent. The teachers have a strict script that they have to stick to and all of these factors make it unusual. This can affect children in different ways and for some children it is enough to put them off. If your child came home worried about how they did or that they didn’t finish in time I would ask that you ask them if they have done their best. If they have done their best they can do no more than that and whatever the result they couldn’t have done more. If they think they didn’t then it is time to ask what can they do differently in the future to learn from mistakes made and try to make different mistakes the next time. If your child didn’t mention anything about tests that’s great, as I mentioned before they are a tiny part of who they are as a person. When they see their score on the school reports please treat those numbers with the same understanding. Whether you receive a score like most of Ireland of 4,5,6 or 7 or are in the small percentage that receive 2,3,8,9 or the very very small group that get a 1 or 10. They are a very small part of who they are as a person. If we attach meaning to it they will too. All we want is for them to be the best they can be every day, not just on one day in May.
This time of year everything always seems to get busier and busier. Next week is going to be a busy one. As well as the usual activities like the Football World Cup and Forest School. The Santry Team will be in UCD track on Monday and Tuesday before the main event on Wednesday. Rang 3 and Rang 4 are off to Walk with Amal A wonderful initiative and I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing what the children report back from it. On Tuesday and Wednesday Anna and Emily will be receiving training for Droichead. A programme for helping newly qualified teachers as they start their teaching career. Any new teacher in the school next year will be lucky to have teachers as capable as they are to help them at the start of their career.
Have a lovely weekend everyone,
Paul
