Catholic Schools Week 2012

Catholic Schools

Sunday, 29 January marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week 2012. The purpose of the week is to highlight and celebrate the contribution that Catholic schools make to our local communities and to society in general. We thank the schools of the parish for the commitment and dedication of teachers to the holistic education that our children receive. We acknowledge too the important role played by ancillary staff in ensuring good communication between home and school and ‘looking out’ for our children. A special word of thanks must be addressed to the Boards of Management, especially the members of each Board who are entirely voluntary. They receive no recompense whatsoever for the onerous duties they undertake over a four year period on behalf of the community. In particular, it is appropriate to mention the work of the Chairs who have hands-on responsibilities in the schools. The outgoing Chairs are Bernadette O’Connell (Riverstown), Donal Cashman (Upper Glanmire), and Joan Russell (New Inn). Donal Cashman is continuing as Chair of Scoil Naomh Micheal; Ann Walsh has just taken up headship of the Riverstown Board. We wish the new Boards every success over the next four years.

The Hard Questions re Catholic Schools

Catholic Schools Week is an occasion to ask ourselves: What is a Catholic School? What makes a school Catholic? At a time when the Government is seeking to withdraw 50% of our primary schools from Catholic patronage we need to be sure if we want our schools to be Catholic and to be able to answer the question: Why do you want a Catholic school for your child? These are challenging questions and challenging times. More next week in Part II.