This article is from page 21 of the 2005-09-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 21 JPG
THE newly appointed Bishop of Galway, Dr Martin Drennan, and Minister for State at the Department of Education and Science, Sile de Valera were in Lahinch on Friday to officially open a major new €350,000 develop- ment in the Scoil Muire primary school.
The school, which is currently attended by 118 pupils, received funding from the Department of Education to construct three new state of the art classrooms as-well-as revamp much of the existing facilities.
The space left vacant through the new construction has been transformed into a library, computer room and two resource rooms for special education teachers.
Speaking at he launch Minister de Valera paid tribute to all those involved in the project and the important role that schools play within the community.
“T want to congratulate the board of management and all those associated with the school because they have re- ally worked tremendously well with the Department of Education.
‘The department was able to supply €350,000 for the refurbishment and the new classroom here but really it was because of the dynamism among the community and the board of management that helped to put all of this together,” she said.
“The importance of a school isn’t just for the children and indeed the parents and the teachers, but really a school is the hub of a community and it’s wonderful to see SO many young people here celebrating what is a very important day for the whole of the community.”
The campaign to expand the school began in 1999 but it was not until January of 2004 that good news was forth- coming. School Principal Kevin Glynn and the chairper- son of the board of management Fr Tom Culloty met with officials from the Department of Education in Tullamore and negotiated the sizeable grant.
In addition to this €24,000 was donated by local man Tom Kavanagh towards developing computer facilities for the school. The school now boasts five full-time teachers as well as two special education teachers, a visiting rural co-ordinator and a resource teacher for children from the traveller community.
Earlier this year the students of the school raised some €3,000 for the victims of the devastating tsunami that hit south east Asia. A boat was purchased and christened ‘Lahinch National School, The Banner, Ireland’ and do-
nated to help in the relief effort.
In the past the school has also raised money for a varie- ty of charities including Bothar and the Special Olympics. The school also has a strong sporting tradition and music and art are also a central part of both curricular and extra curricular activities.