Corpus Christi Primary School
Empathy is a key pillar in Corpus Christi Primary School
Corpus Christi Primary have one central belief that ‘education leads to opportunity.’ Located in the heart of Moyross in Limerick, this large school has a school culture of and for social justice.
The school places the agency and leadership of their students at the heart of all they do with a vibrant student council and a playground mentoring programme. Engagement with the community is central to the work of the school with family reading sessions, family woodwork sessions, family art and baking sessions, maths for fun, family art sessions and friendship and feelings groups all provided through the school.
One of the most notable initiatives in this school is their ‘Sky is the Limit’ project. This initiative provides a whole school wrap around model approach to the provision of services and care to their community. The ‘Sky is the limit’ consists of a purpose-built family centre on site, teenage and adult counselling services as well as play, music, and creative arts therapy. The school also engages with University of Limerick to provide physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy as well as access to nutrition and dietetic services for their families. They also provide speech and language classes entitled ‘babbling babies’ and ‘little voices’ to their students.
The school also provides an empathy-based outreach programme entitled ‘Education through Equines.’ This programme sees the students and their families engage in:
- Equine Assisted Therapy- 10 weekly sessions at Clare Equestrian Centre working collaboratively with children, their parents and of course the horses.
- Equine Assisted Learning-This is a 6-week programme run in the classroom. Welfare messages are delivered and taught and practical experience with the horses is also received.
The school is very committed to SDG Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Goal 13: Climate Action and Goal 15: Life on Land and are working towards their 9th Green Flag, the theme of which is ‘Global Citizenship Food and Biodiversity’ With this, each class has added aspects of biodiversity to their curriculum including the study of ecosystems, habitats, life cycles of plants and animals. They are also studying farm production and fair trade. Their Green School Committee conducted an audit with staff, parents and students about food and its link to environmental sustainability. They aim to bring these results to 90% and ensure that every child has been given the opportunity to gain experience something from seed, taste and cook it by March 2024.
Other initiatives in their school include Narrative 4 Ireland, Student Council and Playworks and their renowned choir. The choir, comprising of 3rd to 6th class students have performed on national radio and television, as well as on RTE’s Up for the Match.
The school has an active approach to drama and performances performing all over Ireland even winning a Bord Gais award for ‘Moyross to Mars.’ The school were winners in the International Fresh Film Festival for ‘The Polar Express.’ ‘Hon the Treaty,’ ‘High Hopes,’ and ‘The Streets of Limerick.’ Their 5th class will also be involved in ‘The Flight of the Wild Geese’ shown at ‘The Wild Geese’ festival.
Corpus Christi Primary School is an excellent example of a DCU Changemaker School. They strive to address educational inequalities through a transformative school culture, committed to change.