Category: 1971 – 2015

Whiteboards and ICT and another building. 

• 2005 President Mary McAlese visited us. The children lined the yard and waved flags. The President spoke to the 6th classes in the school GP room.
•  ICT took a huge leap forward with the installation of Whiteboards. Teachers were given laptops to prepare lessons .
• 2007  the Library was  still in a prefab but it was computerized.
• 2009  We were  one of the first schools to win a Digital School Award.
• In 2010 we received planning permission for a new Sports Hall and building to replace the prefabs.
• 2011 Three buildings  were completely refurbished during Summer Holidays.
• Mrs.Murphy’s garden and school field  were demolished to make way for the new buildings.
• 2012 Senior Building and Sports Hall were built. It was a difficult year with split breaks and reduced yard size.
• Terry Beirne , our longest serving member of staff and deputy Principal retired.

The Newest Building

• 8 new classrooms with sliding storage areas
• 3 story building
• 5 Learning Support Rooms
• Staff Room , Conference Room, 3 offices and disabled shower room.
• New garden, Library and Sports Hall
• Soft Surface in Infant Yard
• Staff Carpark
• Wifi throughout
• New Intercom System

2013

• 2013  We had the Official Opening of our new building by Archbishop Martin.
• A Cloak Sculpture  was commissioned for the front of school
• 2014  We had our first Grandparents Day in 2nd class
• The Choir  won the overall of the Year Prize.
• PTA purchased  20 ipads

2015

We celebrated the 150 year anniversary of our school on Feb 1st 2015.

President Higgins visited us to mark the occasion.

 

 

• The School Sponsored Walk was held on the M50 the day before it opened.
• 1991 The Library was moved to a prefab and a year later after a large donation from Mr.Ben Dunne, the computer room was opened.
• A Printer was  installed.
• 1994 Mrs. Williams took over the Senior Choir and in 1996 they won Feis Ceoil.
• In 2003  Mr.Dave Nolan retired . He had steered the school through a lot of change and he handed the reins over to Mr. Denis Courtney

1980’s and a  New Extension

The current Junior Building opened in 1980

• 8 bigger classrooms with toilets in each room and wet areas for art
• Floors were carpeted
• Emergency doors in each downstairs room and a fire escape upstairs
• Wide corridors
• Hot water
• A new Staff Room and Learning Support Room
• Junior Infants remained in the 1971 building and Senior Infants moved to the new building
• Prefabs were still in use for 1st and 3rd classes.
• Numbers continued to grow. We already had 3 Junior Infants and 3 Senior Infants.
• 5th and 6th classes played at front of the school

• 1980s Ann and Barry was the first reading scheme used to teach reading . Before this we used Ladybird Books. It was colourful, graded and came with workbooks and a teachers kit of posters with tapes of songs
• 1982 corporal punishment was abolished.
• A photocopier and tvs on trolleys were purchased by PTA

The Church

• Holy Communion and Confirmation were held in Porterstown . Parents helped bring children up every day for practices the week before the ceremony
• After each communion the priest had a garden party in his house next door for children and parents.
• In 1983 the church was built . In the same year a prefab was set on fire one Halloween. There was a lot of vandalism around the school so a fence was built. The entrance to the school was moved  from Beechpark Avenue to Beechpark Lawn. The long drive up to the school became the footpath outside Chrysalis.

New Building 1987

• In 1987 the Infant Building opened. 5th and 6th moved in at Easter but the 6 Infant classes moved in that September
• The Infant Building was supposed to only be temporary as i was expected numbers would soon fall again.
• 1989 the first school magazine was published

Indoors

• Harry Allen walked the children up the “side road” (Beechpark Ave) to the new school on Feb 1st 1971.
• The children  walked behind him, carrying  books, maps and boxes.
• 32 lower road children arrived by bus to join the new school in Beechpark Avenue
• The new school had 8 classrooms , double the amount of the old school.
• There was a library full of books, a General Purpose Hall , an office,staffroom and indoor toilets with running water.
• Each classroom had big  blackboards on the wall, lots of light with big windows on both sides , sinks and fitted presses.

Outside

• The yards were big and smooth
• There were basketball hoops and a big field for sports
• Children started staying for lunch so they could play football at lunchtime.

Communications

• There was a phone in the office and an extension in the library.
• A TV aerial and intercom system and electric bell were also installed

 

  A Happy Place

• 1971 the new child centred curriculum was published
• School was a happier less formal place
• A past pupil remembers quizzes, nature walks, projects, listening to the radio, tape recorders and Irish taught using film strips.
• Children sometimes worked in groups
• Mrs. Murphy developed a school garden at the front of the school
• In 1973 the first PTA was formed to fundraise for the school.
• 1979 The Pope visited Ireland and Fr. O’ Driscoll held a prayer service for the whole school in the yard.
• School continued to grow at a fast rate and had doubled again in size by 1980. Some classes were now in prefabs.