24.03.2025
St Patrick’s NS Embarks on New Adventures in Learning
There were great celebrations in St Patrick’s National School in Greystones on Friday morning (March 21) when An Tanaiste Simon Harris officially opened the school’s new block of classrooms. The six new classrooms, including two for children with additional educational needs, were dedicated by the Patron, Archbishop Michael Jackson. The school’s library, which is supported by the parents’ association was also celebrated.
The whole school community gathered outside for the uplifting event and the pupils contributed to the celebration with two fantastic songs and a selection of poems about diversity. They were joined by Canon David Mungavin, parents and local public representatives.
Canon Mungavin thanked everyone who had made the development of the new classrooms possible and all who made the school such a great place. He thanked the school principal Rachel Harper for her wonderful leadership and An Tanaiste and the Archbishop for their support. “Today marks a milestone and we are grateful to everyone in the past who has made St Patrick’s what it is,” he commented.
Archbishop Jackson praised the collaborative effort which had seen so many people give their time and energy to support the development of the new classrooms. “St Patrick’s National School is a happy place and there is a sense of school and community living and working together, sharing and learning from each other,” he stated. He said the Prayer of Dedication as well as the Prayer for Christian Citizenship pointing out that a school is about academic education and learning but also about community and citizenship.
Ms Harper explained that An Cuan, which is home to St Patrick’s Early Intervention Special Class and Primary Special Class for pupils with autism, makes the school a special place. She said that the six new classrooms were more than just rooms filled with desks and chairs. “They represent new adventures in learning within the school… They are spaces to foster a love for learning and education. Let’s look forward to the memories we will create here, the projects and friendships that will flourish here. Let’s make these classrooms a place where dreams take flight,” she said.
The principal thanked the Patron and An Tanaiste for their support and all who had made them possible for their contribution.
The Tanaiste praised St Patrick’s for its inclusivity and welcome of children with additional educational needs. “This is a really big step forward for this really great school… When I think of St Patrick’s school I immediately think of inclusivity. This school has led the way in Greystones and in many ways it has led the way in Ireland in welcoming people with additional needs. When I was growing up lots of children with additional educational needs had to get on buses and trains or drive for many miles to go to school. But now in our town, here, we welcome everybody to be educated. And I think that’s really what we’re doing today with the opening of An Cuan, making sure that we have a space so that all people, no matter what their educational needs are can be educated in St Patrick’s,” he said.
He praised the leadership in St Patrick’s and thanked Ms Harper for her great work on youth mental health. He also thanked the teachers, SNAs, staff, board of management and parents’ association of the school. “I want to take the opportunity to thank Ms Harper for her incredible leadership, not just as principal of this great school but also the leadership she has provided for the education and well being of young people in this area and pioneering work on issues that affect young people in the area of mental health and technology, in It Takes a Village,” he said.
