School Life

Our School Day

Our school is a busy, vibrant place!

Classes start at 08:30, and all children have two breaks per day – at the second break, school meals that have been freshly prepared in the school kitchen are delivered to the classrooms for the children.  

During the breaks, the children have 20 minutes of outdoor playtime across our play areas, basketball courts and football pitch.

Nurture Room

Infant classes finish at 13:10, and all older classes finish at 14:10.  Our teachers provide optional afterschool activities for children in 1st – 6th class.  There is a wide variety, ranging from coding, drama, sports and chess etc., to art and communion/confirmation preparation classes.

Classes from 1st – 4th class attend six weeks of swimming lessons, as part of our Physical Education Policy.

The school day is similar those in primary schools across the country, following the same curriculum.  As an Educate Together school however, there are three main differences for the children, between a schoolday in KTETNS and schools under a different patronage:

Our children don’t wear uniforms, so they can come to school in whatever comfortable, appropriate clothes they have at home.

They address all staff members by their first name.

We don’t have any faith formation in our school – instead, the children learn about all major faiths.

All children can become actively involved in various activities, such as our Green School Committee which works towards making us as environmentally aware as possible to earn Green Flags.  They can run for Class Representative to our Student Council, and as House Captain when they get to 6th class.

We encourage children to try out for the school teams; we have had great fun with chess, quiz, debating, olympic handball, football, basketball and soccer teams so far.

Charitable endeavours are very important; the students have raised money for many local causes and taken part in community activities, and we are proud of their community spirit and achievements.

House System

Our students and staff draw a token from a raffle when they join our school, which gives them their House Team for the duration of their time with us.  The Houses are named Air, Earth, Fire and Water.  This promotes a great team spirit, as children of all ages, and staff members, are united by their “House”.  Each autumn, children in sixth class campaign to be House Captains, including a campaign of posters & speeches, and the children in their house get to vote who they want to lead them for the year.

House Points

Children obtain house points from staff members during the year, when they are show behaviour in line with our Golden Rules:

Be Gentle

Be Honest

Work Hard

Look After Property

Respect Everyone

They can also earn special house points for using Gaeilge throughout the day!

At the end of the school year, the House who have earned the most points win the House Cup and a day of fun, which usually includes bouncy castles & inflatable games, movies & ice cream – and no school work for the day!  

Graduation

Our sixth class students hold a Graduation ceremony in June, which is always a bittersweet occasion!  Students usually compose & write a song for the occasion, perform pieces they’ve worked on during the year for the parents and staff.

Return To School

On a Saturday in September we have our Return To School event, hosted by our Parent’s Council.  It is a multicultural affair, where we invite all our school community to come to the school with a dish to share that they would normally have at home.  It’s one of the most popular annual events where everyone gets together, try new foods and share what they love to eat at home.  The children love to plan what they’re going to bring along, and it’s even better when they make it themselves!

Debating, quizzing & tournaments

Every year our students take part in various sports tournaments, quiz & debate competitions, peace proms etc.  Our teachers give their time to coach the children, travel with them and encourage them to try as many new activities as possible.

Readathon

We hold a readathon every spring, encouraging the students to enjoy & expand their reading range and challenge themselves.  This ties in with house points, so there is a competitive aspect for each house team.

Sports Day

Held every June, Sports Day is one of the favourite dates on our calendar.  There are so many activities for the children to take part in, and the annual 6th class versus Staff football match is usually the highlight!  Past pupils who have moved on to their 1st year in Secondary School return to volunteer & help on the day, and it’s great to see them back & hear how they’ve enjoyed the year.

School Tours

Teachers endeavour to provide school tours each year that are fun, educational, affordable, and utilise local businesses as much as possible.  We are led by the children’s experiences, their enjoyment levels, and age-appropriate activities.  In recent years, children have enjoyed destinations like Castlecomber Discovery Park

Swimming

As part of the national PE Curriculum, children from 1st – 6th classes take six weeks of swimming lessons every year.  Along with their class teacher & support staff, they travel by bus to Athy to learn with the instructors in the K Leisure swimming pool.  

Local trips

We are privileged to have a fantastic local library in Kildare Town, whose great staff organise workshops and visits for our classes.  They also provide sets of class novels for the senior classes, and are such a fantastic support.  They also link in with us to encourage children to use programs like the Summer Stars: Summer Stars – Kildare Library Service (kildarecoco.ie) which is an invaluable resource to keep children reading in the summer.

Classes also take trips to the town during the year, to visit historic sites like St. Brigid’s Cathedral, and of course, the playground.

Every Halloween, our House Captains do their own fundraising by organising a Witches Walk for all the school.  Children have sponsorship forms and collect money for a good cause.  They dress up in their Halloween outfits and take a walk through the town with the teachers, frightening all the locals & passers-by!  

Afterschool activities

Teachers & SNAs run afterschool activities for children from 1st – 6th class.  This term children are enjoying:

Arts & Crafts

Athletics

Basketball

Board games

Chess

Coding

Communion preparation

Confirmation preparation

Dance & Drama

Lego

Junk Kouture

Music

Olympic Handball

Soccer

STEM

Languages spoken by our students