Just a few more pupils, please ...

St Joseph's NS in Halverstown is looking for just a few more pupils to make sure of getting a third teacher next September.



Since the new classrooms were opened last year, accommodation has been available to make it a three-teacher operation, last year's 28 pupils has at the start of this year mushroomed to 37.

"And we have 12 Infants already lined up for next year, which would bring us to the third teacher point of 49," says school principal Marion Sherlock. "But we really need a few more to be booked in to guarantee our situation."

The school over the last 50 years -- it celebrated its anniversary a year ago -- has built a reputation for the smallest school in the parish with the biggest heart.

"It 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," says Petra Conroy of the school's Parents Committee.

At one stage in its history it almost disappeared. "It had gone down to having just eight pupils, and was likely to be amalgamated with Kilcullen NS," says Marion Sherlock. “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."

With the influx of new families into the general Kilcullen area, interest in the school has been growing steadily over recent years, one reason for the big jump in numbers this year.

"We also had an Open Day earlier in the year, so people now know that we exist. And the children are taking part in a lot of local initiatives, which has put the school more on the map."

Along with Marion, Carmel Brown is the other full-time teacher. There's also a part-time learning support teacher, Breda McEvoy.

Brian Byrne.

(This article originally appeared on the Kilcullen page of the Kildare Nationalist.)