Educate Together launches bid for school patronage
EDUCATE Together are upping their campaign to get patronage of the new primary school serving Newtownmountkennedy and Kilcoole.
The Department of Education is expected to start the patronage process later this month for the eight-classroom school which is due to open in 2019.
According to the last Census, Newtownmountkennedy is the fastest growing town in the county, experiencing a 17.6 per cent growth in population between 2011 and 2016. Population figures are due to again grow dramatically over the coming years with planning for close to 1,000 houses in the immediate area.
‘I think that bringing at Educate Together national school to Newtownmountkennedy and Kilcoole will serve the area well,’ said Anne Gregory, volunteer with the Newtownmountkennedy and Kilcoole Educate Together Campaign,
‘ The towns are changing and becoming more diverse and we need a school to reflect that and to give families a true choice in the type of school they send their children. The Educate Together model wel- comes everyone, no matter what religion and background they come from and the ethos of the schools helps children be accepting and feel accepted. I would urge the parents of Newtownmountkennedy and Kilcoole that want this model of education to check out the Educate Together website or find our campaign on Facebook’.
This month the Department of Education will launch an online survey (Online Patronage Process System) asking parents to choose their preferred school patron.
An Foras Pátrúnachta has also announced that it plans to apply for patronage of the 13 new primary announced back in April, including the school in Kilcoole/ Newtownmountkennedy. A man who was driving over the limit was fined €250 and banned from driving for one year.
Adam O’Rourke (22), Granitevilla Manor, Dun Laoghaire, was driving at St Anne’s Court, Shankill, on February 25 at 11 p.m. The court heard that O’Rourke was generally cooperative. He was found to have 22 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.