St Clare's National School

St. Clare’s National School, Tubberclare

St. Clare’s, a large rural school located 10 km from Athlone is situated in one of the most picturesque parts of Ireland. The majority of the 300 children attending the school live in the parish of Tubberclair / Glasson. There is a great range of experience and expertise among the staff. This creates a vibrant and energetic atmosphere in the school.
St. Clare's plays an important role in parish life and has formed close links with different local organisations - G.A.A., Church, Community Youth Group, Tidy Towns, Ericsson Software Campus.

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Empathy

Developing empathy and an awareness of those in need is a key focus for the school. The highlight of the school year is Fun Day which embodies the four pillars of empathy, leadership, teamwork, and creativity. This day is organised by the children for the children. As well as a jumble sale of games and toys from home that the children no longer use, the children in 3rd to 6th set up stalls outside with a wide range of fun activities - lucky dip, penalty shots, face painting, guess the teddy’s name. All activities and items are 20 cents! The first Fun Day took place in 1994. Since then, Fun Day has raised approximately €35,000 for local and national charities.
The school’s involvement in the annual Trócaire Lenten campaign  develops an awareness in the children of global issues and problems. They also like to support the Team Hope Christmas Shoebox appeal each year - giving to those in need. The Amber Flag committee donate their proceeds from their Kindness Kafe to charity each year also. 

Wellbeing promotion is a fundamental focus in Tubberclare school, and they are committed to promoting positive wellbeing throughout their school community. They understand the importance of maintaining a positive wellbeing and the role it plays in creating an environment where all are healthy, happy and achieve their best. Wellbeing has been their School Self Evaluation focus for the past two years and they endeavour to embed whole school practices which promote a culture of wellbeing such as Well-Being Week, Kindness Kafe & implementing the Weaving Well-Being programme across the whole school.

Their newly established games room in conjunction with their yard friends is a haven for those at breaktime who would like to experience something different or quieter. Creating an indoor (games room) & outdoor space (sensory garden) in their school has been a highlight of the year.

Leadership & Teamwork

Leadership and teamwork are central to many aspects of school life in St Clare’s. We have  very active Pupil Council, Amber Flag / Creative Clusters / Wellbeing / Yard Buddies committees. Children and staff members work together on these committees.
During Active Week, children in older classes organise P.E. session for the children in younger classes. They choose the equipment and organise the activities and produce great ideas!
Collaboration and collegiality are discussed at the first staff meeting of the year. Staff members are encouraged to take the lead on various initiatives in school e.g. curricular teams; Wellbeing committee; Sport; Music. Staff members are also encouraged to present at Croke Park sessions e.g. on a topic of interest to them.
Mindful of the key role parents play in their children's education, St. Clare's maintains a close link with parents and has an active parents' association.
The creation of a sensory garden in the school this year reflects the spirit of teamwork that exists among children, staff and parents. 

Leadership & teamwork are at the forefront of their 5K/5 mile run which is led by the whole school community, raising money for their sensory garden.

Teamwork is evident through the many Tráth na gCeist & Credit Union quiz & other quizzes throughout the year.

Digital Literacy and Pedagogy

Coding and STEM are a key feature in St. Clare’s N.S. In partnership with Ericsson Software Campus Athlone, children in 4th, 5th and 6th participate in the EPIC (Ericsson Primary Introduction to Code) programme where the children learn about Scratch, Micro:bits and HTML.

Senior classes have thoroughly enjoyed leading the way with the younger classes, teaching them how to navigate the chrome books with games, digital creativity & typing skills.

Creativity & Entrepreneurship

Over 100 children from 4th, 5th and 6th take part in the annual INTEL Mini-Scientist initiative. The children form teams and produce great ideas. It is one of the highlights of the school year with a great focus on creativity and teamwork.

They are enjoying being part of the Creative Clusters network, not to mention their Christmas card initiative, Halloween mask making, Lá Glas, Seó Faisin, Carol Service, Seachtain na Gaeilge, Christmas Fair, World Book Day, Scríobh Leabhar, Maths Week, chess and their recent musicals to continue to get their creative juices flowing!

The school band (traditional Irish music) continues to grow. The resolute children meet once every week at lunch time. They love being asked to play at school masses, ceremonies, local nursing home, Féile Ceoil na Scoileanna & Christmas fairs. 

St. Clare's is a progressive school, always open to, and interested in getting involved in new initiatives and projects.

St. Clare’s is a proud DCU Changemaker School.