The ethos of small schools

"St Joseph's is like a big family, where the individual pupil is given their own space in which to develop their personality, and where the teacher gets to know and gets to love each individual pupil."



Those remarks by Petra Conroy, chair of the Parents Committee of Halverstown NS, summed up in the best of terms the ethos of a school which started off with just eight pupils and is still small by most standards. She was speaking at the recent 50th anniversary celebrations of the school.

"Things we can do which bigger schools can't, for instance, is that we can put the whole school in a minibus," Petra added. "Which means that we all get to go and see the bluebells in the woods every spring. We all get to go swimming together. And the number of trips we can all go on is very large."

She noted that while all the pupils leave with the benefits of the formal education curriculum, they also gain from other things related to the school's size.

"These come partly because it is a multi-class school system with just two teachers, and partly from the Gospel values that are part of the overall ethos of the school. Junior pupils are used to looking up to and respecting the older children, because they're in the same class with them. The seniors, without even noticing it, get used to looking after the little ones and taking a leadership role. I think it is invaluable what the children leave here with, and you can see it in the excellent members of the community they become when they leave."

She concluded that the past pupils should be proud of the heritage they have in being former students at the school, and which they spread out into the wider community.

Current Principal Marion Sherlock thanked everybody who had helped organise the celebrations, which had started out as something small but had quickly got much bigger.



She recalled how at one stage the school had been down to having just eight pupils, and was likely to be amalgamated with Kilcullen NS. “But there were people then who had the foresight and the wisdom to fight to keep the school, and I’m so glad they did,” she said.

The day, which had begun with a mass celebrated in a marquee on the grounds, continued with refreshments, music, and a chance for pupils of previous years to look back into their past through photographic exhibitions, and also see the two new classrooms which were officially opened on the day.

Brian Byrne.