NTWESS expects to move to former Ravenswell school ‘before mid-term’
PUPILS and staff of North Wicklow Educate Together have started their new school year in their Putland Road premises, with work to be complete on the former Ravenswell school building in the coming weeks.
The school has also rented a premises on the seafront for 5th years before they move into the Dublin Road building early in the term.
‘ The extensive refurbishment on the Ravenswell site is well underway and we are very excited about the move we will be taking as a school community before the mid-term break,’ said principal Billy Redmond.
The building will house two new science labs, a new technology suite incorporating a materials technology (wood) and technology rooms. ‘
We will also have two floors of refurbished classrooms,’ he said. ‘All considerably larger than those we are currently using in Putland Road.
‘We have been very careful in the planning to ensure that all students’ needs – including those with additional educational needs such as sensory needs – have been incorporated where possible.’
Mr Redmond said that he would like to take the opportunity to thank all the parents who have helped by supporting the work they are doing up to and including helping to get the school building ready, even helping to paint walls.
‘Our current situation until we move to Ravenswell has us, like many of the 4,000 other schools across the country, working across a number of sites. We are currently renting a building on the seafront for our 5th year students to accommodate our growing numbers and all other students are working out of our Putland Road site until we move prior to mid-term.’
Mr Redmond said that the adjustment into a new school environment under the current circumstances is a challenge and an opportunity for all involved.
‘ The challenge has come in areas such as classroom layouts, sanitisation stations, and re-designing staff-rooms to create the safest working and teaching and learning environment,’ he said. ‘ The Department of Education and Skills and Educate Together Head Office have been hugely supportive in this regards, as have the Joint Managerial Body by providing extensive guidelines and additional funding.
‘ This has facilitated a sense of safety within our school and given us the ability to assure our parents and community that we are doing our very best to keep everyone safe and well.’
Unexpected opportunities have also arisen in areas such as the use of technology in the classroom and innovating teaching and learning strategies and methodologies to ensure that an inclusive sense of community is maintained and enhanced.
‘We are providing training on Microsoft Teams for all our students and staff to augment our classroom environment to continue building active communities in every classroom,’ said Mr Redmond.
‘As the new school principal, I have had the opportunity as a result of my work with the support services and as an educational consultant to work with many schools over the years, and I am astonished and a little in awe of the level of flexibility, consistency and kindness shown the by school staff to each other and the students.’
The school community is following all the guidelines issued the HSE and the Department of Educational Skills. They have a lead worker representative on staff who is working to ensure that guidelines are followed. All students and staff are wearing face coverings, an adaptation to the learning environment that will take time to adjust to.
‘For example, speaking through a mask, answering questions in class, being heard are all things that we have noticed are a little bit different and will take time to settle in,’ said Mr Redmond.
‘We are doing a focussed transition programme with all our 1st year students to explicitly work on transition areas such as building friendships, managing anxiety, reconnecting with learning and building capacity for new subjects. We are following social distancing guidelines, including have stars painted on the floors to help students settle into this new routine.’
The school is developing ways to continue extra-curricular activities on a virtual platform to ensure continuity of experience for the young people. ‘Our school development planning process has explicit targets for this year around increasing student participation and parental involvement in our school community,’ said Mr Redmond. ‘Using the Lundy model of student participation as outlined in DES documentation and the National Council for Curriculum Assessment, we’re looking forward to actively working with our parents, guardians and carers as we settle in to our new learning environment. The success will be influenced as a result of our community working together and building a shared sense of community to keep us all well and safe.’