John’s new role

NEWLY APPOINTED PRINCIPAL OF IRELAND’S LARGEST PRIMARY SCHOOL, ST MARY’S PARISH PRIMARY, JOHN WEIR CHATS TO FIONA MAGENNIS ABOUT HIS ROLE

IT was a case of hitting the ground running for new principal of St Mary’s Parish Primary School, John Weir, who is settling in well to his new role. With a student body numbering over 1,000 students and a staff of over 80, St Mary’s is the largest single stream primary school in the country, and taking on the role of principal is a daunthing task. However, Mr Weir has experience in spades, having worked as vice principal of the school since it opened in 2012 and as Principal of Congress Avenue for two years prior to the amalgamation of Congress Avenue Boys NS and Fatima Girls NS.

Mr Weir was officially appointed at the end of February but has been acting principal since the retirement of Philip Ward just before Christmas.

‘I have huge shoes to fill, I’ve been very lucky to work under Philip for the past six year and while I have my own ideas in mind I certainly learned an awful lot from him,’ said Mr Weir.

‘We have a staff of 60 teachers, as well as SNAs and support staff so all in all there are 80 people working in the building. It’s a gorgeous school and a fantastic place to come to work. The staff are fantastic, this job literally couldn’t be done without everyone coming together.’

‘For me, it’s just a huge honour to be given this responsibility and I’ve had a great mentor over the past six years so yes I’ve got very big shoes to fill but I’m looking forward to the challenge.’

As a new school, opened six years ago following the culmination of 16 years of work by both schools to ensure a smooth amalgamation, St Mary’s also enjoys state-of-the-art facilities on a seven acre site.

A new extesion completed last September houses a general purpose room and a number of learning support classrooms. The school has also recently added a new sensory room which will be officially opened later in the year.

Officially appointed to the role as of February 19th, Mr Weir has a long and distinguished teaching career behind him having worked for eight years in Japan and two years in Rome teaching in International Schools before moving back to Ireland taking up a position in Castleknock in Dublin for a number of years, finally returning closer to home in the 1980s when he started teaching in Julianstown NS.

He subsequently moved to Congress Avenue where he worked for eight years, two of which as Principal taking over the reigns from Peter D’Arcy in 2010, before the two schools amalgamated and moved to the new site at Bryanstown where he has worked as vice-principal since 2012.

‘Both Congress and Fatima were long established schools in the area and they would have had very strong histories and traditions so now that we have come together and joined forces we are forging our own new traditions and our own culture as St Mary’s Parish Primary School,’ he explained.

‘ The best thing for me about the role here is the school’s place in the community in terms of the parish and the connections with the area. The kids are the extension of that, they represent all parts of Drogheda and there is a real sense of being part of town in working here but the kids are what really make it,’ said Mr Weir.

‘If you were to ask any of the teachers they’d say the same. We’re very lucky, we have a fantastic student body and it’s a pleasure working with them.’

Teaching as a profession has changed hugely over the past 20 years, with blackboards replaced by interactive whiteboards and a huge array of technology now available in classrooms.

With a student body numbering 1,000, Mr Weir admits the job of principal at St Mary’s PP is extremely varied and each day throws up a new set of challenges.

‘It’s an ever changing set of responsibilities, you have to be an expert in so many fields, weather forecaster being one of them!,’ he said, speaking to the Drogheda Independent two days before the Beast from the East forced schools around the country to close.

‘You have to be an expert in budgeting and finance, you need to know how to manage and run a building project. Then there is all of the internal workings of keeping a school going; leading learning, leading people, leading an organisation and there’s a hundred roles that come off of all of those so it is a busy job but it is also a huge honour.

‘ This I firmly believe is one of the finest schools in the country and to be principal of it is just an amazing honour. It really is such an interesting and rewarding job. It’s demanding but if you were looking for an easy life this wouldn’t be the job for your.

‘You sometimes hear people say about their job that there are never two days the same, well there’s no doubt that’s true for this one. The landscape of education in Ireland is constantly changing too.

‘ The landscape of education in Ireland is constantly changing too but it would be a shame to lose track of the past as well. Change for the sake of it isn’t good and the powers that be need to be aware that the Irish education system was one of the best in the world.’

The current shortage of qualified primary school teachers is another issue which has been keenly felt by St Mary’s and is a challenge Mr Weir as principal has had to face.

‘On a daily basis we are feeling the impact of it,’ he explained. ‘It’s virtually impossible to find substitute teachers and we have been affected by it like so many other schools. There’s not a school in the country that hasn’t felt it.

‘Even in the last week, we’ve looked for substitute teachers, and for extended periods of time, to the end of the year not just a day or two, and we can’t get them so definitely that’s one of the challenges at the moment.’