Rahara N.S. in 2016 by Mrs. Costello, Principal

Rahara National School in 2016

By Ruth Costello, Principal

I was appointed principal of Rahara N.S in 2009 and have thoroughly enjoyed the past seven years, teaching and leading, the pupils and staff of Rahara N.S. I believe I am one of the luckiest principal’s in Ireland to work in such a fantastic school, with great pupils, hard-working staff, enthusiastic parents and supportive Board of Management

Our school is the beating heart of the community of Rahara and is a gathering place for young and old, for Sacraments, Grandparents Day celebrations, school shows, cake sales and various community meetings. The Catholic ethos permeates our school through the kindness and care that the pupil’s show one another, on a daily basis.

Rahara N.S may be a small school however it is an extremely busy school. The low pupil-teacher ratio affords us the opportunity to get involved in many initiatives. Each child receives a unique educational experience and even our youngest pupils are given the chance to participate in projects and initiatives. Most recently, four 6th class pupil’s, were selected as one of the top 6 teams in Ireland in the final of the SEAI ‘One Good Idea’ project. The ‘One Good Idea’ is a nationwide primary school project on energy efficiency and climate change. The pupils coded an online carbon footprint game, through the app ‘Hopscotch’. The pupils will travel to the finals in Dublin Castle on the 11th of May.

Our school has been involved in the Green Schools Programme for over 13 years. The pupils are currently working towards their 7th Green Schools Flag for Global Citizenship-Energy. There are only 6 other schools in the County Roscommon that have achieved this success, to date.

We are extremely proud of our achievements in literacy and numeracy. The pupils have received 8 Discover Primary Science and Maths Awards and are currently awaiting their 9th award. The pupils participate annually in Maths Week competitions, with great success, achieving 3rd place in Ireland in 2015. Pupils are afforded many opportunities to give oral presentations, PowerPoint presentations, participate in debates and dramas. Our recent performance of a 1916 Drama was a brilliant example of our continued oral language development.

ICT plays a vital part in teaching and learning in 2016. Each classroom has an Interactive Whiteboard, laptop, computers, printers and 10 iPads. We have a modern school website and also use Facebook as a tool to showcase our school through social media.

Sport also plays a very important role in our school. The pupils have specialised trainers for Football, Soccer, Gaelic, Tag-Rugby, Swimming and most recently, Tennis. Pupils enter into Cumann na mBunscol competitions and FAI Soccer competitions. Our Rahara girls soccer team were runners-up in the 2016 Roscommon County Soccer final in Shiven F.C.

During a recent Mindfulness session, the pupils were asked to write down something that they were grateful for in their school. This is a flavour of some of the comments that the pupils of 2016 wrote about Rahara N.S, for their gratitude tree.

”Teachers in Rahara are so kind” and “I am grateful for all my lovely friends and a lovely teacher”.

I really am the luckiest principal in Ireland.