PROVING that there’s a warm school welcome for all, St John the Baptist Boys National School in Limerick City has just been granted official status as a “School of Sanctuary”, becoming the second Primary School in Limerick to do so.
The awarding of the status is an official recognition by Schools of Sanctuary Ireland and it is a mark of the efforts that staff and pupils have gone to to reach out in understanding other cultures both Irish and new people who come here to work, live or escape the horrors of war.
Principal, David Nicholas, told the Limerick Post that everyone “is delighted with being awarded the title. A lot of work has gone into making inclusiveness part of what the school stands for.”
The title attests to how schools of sanctuary symbolise and realise an inclusive, welcoming and safe space for all pupils and their families, especially newcomers who come from international, refugee and migrant communities and other ethnic minorities, including the Traveller community.
The city school currently has 35 pupils, including children from Russia, Africa and the Traveller community.
The designated Deis 1 school, located in the heart of Garryowen, has long had an inclusive ethos, with a nurturing room where children can have breakfast and chat and a sensory room for when pupils are feeling stressed and need some time out.
The school’s Lead Teach English as an Additional Language (TEAL) Project Teacher, Margaret Grace, was studying in Mary Immaculate and found a lot of the TEAL principles were about inclusivity and understanding and she brought that back to the primary school.
“We work with doing things like teaching history and geography together and learning about other cultures as well as issues around why refugees come here,” said David. The children also explore each other’s cultures in story, song and art.
On the day that the School of Sanctuary Committee arrived for the accreditation, they joined the school at assembly, where the Principal praised Ms Grace for her work and also credited the teamwork of the close-knit staff and external partnerships, in particular Dr Fiodhna Gardiner-Hyland, who leads the TEAL Project in collaboration with Dr Ruth Bourke, Curriculum Development Unit, Mary Immaculate College.
And in keeping with the all inclusive ethos, Christmas festivities were kicked off with some Christmas songs including ‘Feliz Navidad’ while Schools of Sanctuary Team Lead Karen Dervan played tunes on her violin.
