Working Document
School Vision Plan: Summer 2015
(Prepared by chairperson of Board of Management, Mr Brian Cox and School Principal, Mr Michael Behan)
Present Situation
The school was opened in 1950 to serve the educational needs of boys in the Clontarf, Raheny and Killester areas. It was founded under the stewardship of the Vincentian Fathers and the school still operates under this ethos.
A new Principal, Mr Michael Behan, was appointed in August 2014. After his first year in charge he sought to produce a vision for the school for the next phase of its development. The Chairperson of the Board of Management facilitated and assisted in this review.
The school population in 2014/2015 is 570 students. The projected intake for 2015/2016 is 605 students.
The school is in need of refurbishment. The facilities in the school have not been updated or modernised and no long term plan has been developed.
Needs of the School
In trying to determine the needs of the school we need to distinguish between what is urgent and what is desirable, what is practical and what is ambitious and what is possible in the short-term and what is a goal for the long-term development of the school.
Immediate Needs (Summer 2015)
- Art Room Relocation
- New Staff Kitchen
- Refurbishment of Library
- New Classroom Furniture
- Refurbishment of Administration Offices
(Note: the first 4 of these have been completed during summer 2015)
School Buildings/Classrooms
The standard classroom can be refurbished and painted. This will provide consistency and comfort to the students and to the teachers and allow learning to progress in a clean, bright and comfortable environment. New desks and chairs have been grant aided by the Department of Education and Science and are in place for the beginning of the new school year (September 2015).
There is an urgent need to upgrade the specialist rooms in the school. No proper plan was put in place when these rooms were being developed. The introduction of technology into areas of the curriculum has increased pressure for the need for specialist classrooms to accommodate computers and to allow for more space.
Specialist/Technical Rooms
Woodwork:
The present woodwork room is too small. Originally the room fulfilled simple needs with twelve benches and a single bench saw. Over the years a variety of machines have been added, plainer thichnesser, sanders, pillar drills, band saw, three lathes and a variety of electrical hand tools. Both machines and students share the same small space. This is far from satisfactory as it does not fulfil the basic requirements of health and safety. It was designed for a smaller cohort of students.
In a recent school inspection report surprise was expressed on the lack of a follow on subjects such as Leaving Certificate Construction Studies. There is no room for storage of class work or areas to display students’ work. The machinery that is available can be expanded with a bigger and better sized room. Students who wish to develop technical skills can be accommodated at Leaving Certificate level if this course is available to them.
Technical Graphics:
Technical Graphics (TG) has grown in popularity in recent years. Currently there are 2 classes per year who choose this option for Junior Certificate level. There is one Leaving Certificate class in each 5th and 6th year.
One TG classroom is situated in the ‘C’ block which is a prefabricated building which was built more than 20 years ago. This large room is furnished with 24 desks sourced from Belcamp College when it closed some years ago as well as one PC for teacher use. The class room is used primarily for Junior Cert Technical Graphics. This building is due to be knocked down when the development of the grounds takes place. This will then have to be rehoused in the main school for which at the moment there is no adequate location.
The 2nd TG classroom is a located in a part of the school that originally housed 2 classroom but was subsequently divided to form 3 smaller classrooms. This room is used for the senior Design and Communications Graphics at Leaving Certificate level. It is a technology driven course and each desk therefore needs access to a computer station. Twenty four computers have been crammed into a small size class room. Fortunately the Dept of Education provided 18 computer in a grant allocation of some eight years ago. The college managed to expand the number to 24 as well as financing custom built desks in the small space.
Art:
The Art room was located in ‘C’ block until this summer. It has been relocated to ‘A’ block (a newer prefab) at minimal cost. Two classroom as well as a corridor were integrated to create a single large room in the shadow of the current gym. This is not a long term solution but was necessitated due to poor conditions which were encountered in that building. The kiln has not been moved because of restricted access to adequate power supply. Ideally the Art room should be part of the main school under solid walls.
Music:
The Music room is located at the back of the stage. A standard east facing classroom at ground floor level in an isolated section of the college. Security wise it has always been a concern and the college has been reluctant to equip it with an extensive range of musical instrument and musical IT technology. It is not used when there are shows being performed. The room is small and has no room for choir assembly, instrument storage and other technical issues. There is no soundproofing in this room which would be desirable.
School Hall:
Presently this acts as a multi-purpose unit which was originally designed as meeting hall, cinema, theatre and chapel.
It facilitates the PE classes on a daily basis. The floor is marked out as an undersized basketball court not meeting the requirements of competitive basketball. There is some specialist equipment available (e.g. climbing bars) and storage to the rear of the hall (former altar area) which houses some weights equipment.
It is also used for school concerts at least once a year. This necessitates that the hall is not available for 2/3 weeks during this period.
The hall is used as an exam centre at Christmas and summer, and also during the mock Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations. Again this means that the hall is not available at these times.
The hall is also used for parent-teacher meetings and other large school functions.
Computer Rooms:
Presently there are 2 designated computer rooms in the school. Equipment has been provided out of grant funding some nine years ago, school funding which has allowed us to acquire computers from a recycling company and contributions from companies who are updating hardware e.g. FDB (Computer Screens) Yahoo (Computers) Keyboards (Credit Union). While the machines are adequate for teaching the fundaments of office, basic programming, music classes etc. with two meg. of memory and networked to a six year old server. 100 meg. broadband was provided two years ago by the Department of Ed. However the aesthetics of the rooms and the modernity of the benches and chairs leaves a lot to be desired. These rooms would benefit by being located in a specialist area or by having modern, bright, clean environment which cannot be provided in their present location.
Home Economics:
The school has converted 2 classrooms into 3 smaller units in order to house a small Home Economics room. The class room is an enclosed unit with no natural light. This is used to teach the basics of Home Economics as part of a Transition Year module. The room and facilities can only accommodate 12 students.
School Library:
This room has fallen into disrepair in recent years. This summer (2015) we have managed to put down a marmoleum floor (durable lino) and repainted the entire room. It is bright and clean. No definitive function has been assigned to this room and funding would be needed to transform it into a modern functioning library or similar resource for students.
Toilets:
Presently there is one block of toilets available for all of the pupils in the school. With increasing numbers and also due to the area of the school I believe that it is necessary to provide another toilet block elsewhere in the building. The toilets have been scrubbed to a high hygienic standard and have much improved on their previous condition.
Possible Areas for Development
- The shower block at the end of the PE corridor is seldom used for showering. It had fallen into disrepair but was given a thorough cleaning in March/April. Students use the facility to change when doing PE. This area has scope for development especially if there is a new sports hall with changing facilities
- The woodwork room can be extended by 3/4 foot by knocking down the dividing wall behind which the teachers store their equipment or the current room could be reserved as a machine room and a student area created out of the current study hall. However alternative storage would need to be found.
- The computer rooms could be upgraded or if moved the rooms may be suited to some of the needs mentioned above.
- If the Art room finds a permanent home then the ‘A’ block referenced above could be removed and a courtyard style entrance could be developed here. This seems in keeping with the original design of the school and could feature as an attractive alternative entrance to the building.
- Many areas of the interior of the building can be revitalised if a professional eye was cast upon it. The building needs to be modernised through improved décor and appropriate up to date furnishings e.g. new doors, handles etc.
- From the above brief description it would seem that there is poor provision made for the so called ‘practical subjects’. This deficit has been long standing and will be further exasperated by the current plan to remove an entire block of classrooms which include three large functional rooms. The movement of the art room has led to the loss of a further two classroom. If it is projected that our annual intake of pupils should remain steady at 120 with in a short time out resources will be exhausted.