We are committed to the holistic development of each pupil at Scoil Mhuire. We believe that language is key to the development of the pupil. With that in mind, we have established a variety of different instructional methods for the teaching of English.
Each class engages with a block of station teaching in English, as supported by the relevant support teacher. During these station teaching lessons children are given the opportunity to work in a smaller group setting, led by a teacher, to engage in reading, grammar and writing activities. The school iPads and laptops are available for use during station teaching time and act as a wonderful resource to supplement the work being carried out at each station.
Literacy Lift Off, is an intervention that gives children plenty of opportunity to read books at their own level of competency and gradually lifts the complexity of what they can do in both reading and writing. At the junior end of the school all pupils enjoy engaging with the Literacy Lift Off as it is wholly child centred and is aimed at building their confidence and hopefully, encourages them to enjoy reading.
Our buddy reading system encourages readers of all ages to support one another in their language journey as well as fostering a love for reading. Our more senior classes pair up with the junior classes regularly to read to one another on a one-to-one basis or in a small group setting. This has proven to be a great success across all year groups since it was introduced.
Our school library is timetabled to be used daily from pupils in 3rd-6th class. Comfortable beanbags are available for children to sit on while they get lost in a good book that they have chosen from our carefully catalogued library. Aside from our own library, we are lucky enough to be located a stone’s throw away from Killorglin Library. Our pupils visit the library throughout the year for various events as well as to meet with guest speakers and authors.
Once a year we hold our annual Book Fair in our school hall. This is always a great success as it gives the pupils, and their families, a chance to browse and to purchase books that they like. We believe that children are more motivated to read if they are interested in the reading material to begin with.
Our more senior classes in the school have worked with a local poet to create extraordinary poetry with thanks to the Teacher-Artist Partnership initiative. It is always a joy to watch children flourish as they begin to realise their ability to create a piece of art that they did not previously know they had a talent for.
Various classes participate in writing competitions and projects throughout the school year be it the An Post Handwriting Competition or the Scríobh Leabhar project run by Foras na Gaeilge. Pupils at Scoil Mhuire are given the chance to showcase their excellent work on a continual basis in this way.
Overall, it is our vision to create a school where our pupils will communicate, read and write with and for each other, staff, parents/carers, visitors and the wider school community with clarity, confidence, fluency and respect. We hope that by engaging in the various activities and initiatives outlined above that we will provide multiple opportunities for our pupils to develop the necessary language skills.
