Scoil Cholmáin Tuairíní

Scoil Cholmáin, Tuairíní is a co-educational school with a teaching staff of six teachers, a part time EAL teacher and two special needs assistants. Conveniently located five minutes from Moycullen village, eight minutes from Barna and just ten minutes from Galway city!

 

Founded in 1887, our school was extended in 2006 by the fundraising might of the local community. We appreciate and value our relationship with our local community and actively promote our pupils’ and their families’ involvement in the Tooreeny and Moycullen communities.

 

We have a strong tradition of Gaeilge in our school and strong ties with local clubs and organisations.

 

Our vision is to develop knowledge and character in every pupil empowering them to meet, with assured confidence, the challenges of life now and in the future.

 

We strive to enable each child to reach his or her full potential, recognising the individual talents and abilities of all.

 

We strive to provide an inclusive environment responsive to the needs of all.

 

We promote equality and support pupils with special educational needs.

 

We aim to create a happy environment where children can develop as good citizens who will make a positive contribution to their community.

 

We encourage our pupils to have respect for diversity and an appreciation of our heritage, culture and environment.

 

We aim to provide quality learning experiences that are engaging, enriching and enjoyable through a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum.

 

Our school welcomes parental involvement and participation at every level through our Parent’s Association (Coiste Ceantair, Tuairíní) and our Board of Management.

 

Historical Background

Tuairíní (Tooreeny) is the first townland in the parish of Moycullen that one reaches when travelling from Galway to Moycullen. The name Tuairíní means ‘Little Bleaching Fields’ referring to the bleaching of linen or it may also mean ‘Little Pasture Fields’, probably for sheep.

An important date in Tooreeny in past times was the day of the Pattern, which was held on the feast of St. Cholmáin on October 28^th or the last Sunday in October. Our school is named after Saint Cholmáin. The Pattern consisted of a procession to the blessed well. People lit candles and carried them to the well to recite certain prayers. Afterwards there was a day of sport and festivities for all.

From historical records we know that an old hedge school was replaced by a thatched cottage on our current site as early as the 1820’s. Master Mark Walsh taught the 3 R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic) to the children of Tooreeny. The local ‘big house’ was known as Kircullen House. Kircullen House was home to the Browne family of landlords who were based in Tooreeny for the greater part of the 19^th century. The population of Tooreeny increased during the time of the famine which indicated a kind, caring landlord. George de Caen succeeded Browne as landlord.

The National School (Scoil Cholmáin, Tuairíní) was built in 1887. The first teacher and principal was Ms. Sabina Murphy followed by Mr. Paddy McDonagh. In 1928 Con O'Donohue became the new principal. In 1978 Vincent Higgins was appointed as principal and went on to teach alongside his wife Philomena Higgins in the school. When Philomena retired Ms. Carmel O’Malley was appointed. Vincent Higgins retired in 1999 and our current principal Mark Regan was appointed.

In 1990 there was an extension added on to the school and a third teacher was appointed. The infamous ‘Thursday Night Card Game’ began around this time, a tradition that still runs to this day.

A further extension was built in 2005 officially opened in 2011 and the school became a four-teacher school.

In June 2022 Mark Regan (Principal) and Ann Carroll (Deputy Principal)  retired. Aideen Molloy was appointed as principal and Deirdre O'Neill as deputy principal. In September 2022 Lisa Barrett and Fiona Faherty joined our school. 

In October 2023 Áine Nic Dhonncha retired and Aoife Gillespie was appointed as a permanent member of staff. 

 

Current Information

At the present time Scoil Cholmáin has a teaching staff of seven teachers (four mainstream, one part time EAL teacher, one resource teacher and a special education teacher) and one full-time and one part-time special needs assistant. Aideen Molloy is the principal of the school.

There are four mainstream classrooms. The class split is as follows: Junior & Senior Infants, First and Second class, Third and Fourth class and Fifth and Sixth class.

Over the past 5 years the school has completely renovated and extended the two learning support classrooms. The bigger of the rooms known as ‘Seomra na Smaointe’ has plenty of floor space for class activities and visiting teachers to hold yoga lessons, workshops and talks, instrument and singing lessons etc.

In 2020 the school hallway was reconfigured to create a library space. The adoption of the highly successful Accelerated Reader programme meant that all library books were removed from the classrooms and were graded and ordered according to the Accelerated Reader book levels. The library was extended significantly in 2021 and now has hundreds of books available for children to read.

In November 2020 an Astro All Weather Pitch was installed. This state-of-the-art facility allows visiting coaches to train the children year-round. The all-weather pitch brought about an all-weather school! Every child has raingear in school and they can suit up and get outside as much as possible!

In 2021 Scoil Cholmáin developed an outdoor classroom and extended and developed the school garden. The covid pandemic highlighted the needs for outdoor spaces. The outdoor areas are extremely versatile and can be easily adapted to cater for any lesson at any time!

In 2024 our school garden was revamped with a beautiful new shelter area for the children to enjoy!

 

Current Staff Members

Principal: Aideen Molloy

Deputy Principal: Deirdre O'Neill

 

Teachers:

Naíonáin Bheaga & Naíonáin Mhóra: Mary Barrett

Rang 1 & 2: Lisa Barrett

Rang 3 & 4: Fiona Faherty

Rang 5 & 6: Deirdre O'Neill 

Support Teachers: Aideen Molloy & Aoife Gillespie

E.A.L Teachers: Múinteoir Aoife / Múinteoir Ethel 

Special Needs Assistants: Annmarie O'Neill & Colleen Davoren 

School Secretary: Colleen Davoren

 

Child Protection:

Designated Liaison Person: Aideen Molloy

Deputy Designated Liaison Person (Deputy DLP):  Deirdre O'Neill

 

Contacting Teachers

If you wish to contact a teacher in our school please telephone the office on (091) 555 650 or the school mobile on 089 608 0429 to leave a message or schedule a call back.

 

Alternatively, you can contact the teacher directly by email:

aideenmolloy@scoilcholmaintuairini.ie

marybarrett@scoilcholmaintuairini.ie

deirdreoneill@scoilcholmaintuairini.ie

fionafaherty@scoilcholmaintuairini.ie

lisabarrett@scoilcholmaintuairini.ie

aoifegillespie@scoilcholmaintuairini.ie 

 

For general enquiries you can email the office on:

oifig@scoilcholmaintuairini.ie

School Hours

The school gates open each morning at 8:50am and school begins at 9.00am.

If it is raining children can line up in the foscadán area under the shelter until the bell rings.

The Board of Management will not accept any responsibility for pupils on school grounds before 8:50am. There is a morning club facility operated by the Montessori on site for parents that require to drop their children to school earlier than 8.50am.

Junior and Senior infants go home at 1:40pm

1^st to 6^th Class go home at 2.40pm

 

Afterschool services (and an afterschool hour from 1.40 to 2.40) are available through the Montessori.  Contact Orla / Michelle on 085-7637133 or email tuairinimonti@hotmail.com for further information.

 

Our School Calendar is available on the website or from the office oifig@scoilcholmaintuairini.ie

 

School Uniform

• Navy round or v-neck sweat shirt or cardigan (plain or with school crest)
• Light blue polo shirt
• Navy trousers / skirt / pinafore or navy tracksuit pants (please note that they must be plain navy - no logos)
• Skirts are to be worn with navy tights or white socks
• Plain navy shorts are allowed in warm weather.

The jumper and cardigans are available from myschooljumper.ie and/or The Schoolwear Centre in Liosbán, Galway. The other items of the uniform are widely available.

 

Curriculum

All subjects on the Primary Curriculum are taught in the school. As a school we opted not to sign up to the Gaeltacht Recognition Scheme devised by the Department of Education and Skills. Therefore, we teach our subjects through English although there is a large emphasis on the use of Gaeilge in our daily routine.

Scoil Cholmáin is a Catholic school and works in conjunction with neighbouring schools in the parish to prepare any children that wish to receive the sacraments of First Confession, Holy Communion and Confirmation.

 

Book Rental

From September 2023 all children are eligible for the free school books scheme.  All of the books, workbooks and copies required will be provided to each child. 

 

DataBiz

The school uses the DataBiz Eolas App to communicate with parents. On enrolment parents will be provided details as to how to access the app. All communication, notes and school reports will be accessible through the app. You will be notified if your child is absent from school through the app. Parents can send a reason for absence or a declaration to return to school via the app. E-payments are also available through the app.

 

Twitter

The school twitter account @tuairini3agus4 has up to date news and photos from our school.

 

Seesaw

Online teaching led to the use of Seesaw in our school. It is an easy to use online platform that allows teachers and pupils to record and share what's happening in the classroom. Seesaw gives students a place to build a portfolio of their learning, be creative and learn how to use technology. Each student gets their own Seesaw online journal and can add things to it, like some homework, photos, videos, drawings or notes. The teacher can reply or comment on the work in the journal. If your child's teacher is using seesaw they will send further information home during the first term.  

 

Lunch

We have a healthy eating policy in our school. We are also a nut-free school due to nut allergies. Children are encouraged to drink water throughout the day. If sending "snacks" parents should ensure that all pupils bring ‘healthy’ snacks to school. Sweets, crisps, chocolates, fizzy drinks etc. are not permitted. Exceptions may occasionally be made by the school e.g. celebrations.  

 

School Tours

School tours are often the highlight of our school year. Tours generally occur during the final term. Tours are both educational and enjoyable for the children. Short school trips are sometimes organised by the class teacher at other times during the year. We regularly attend events organised by Baboró, shows in the Town Hall and events and workshops for Science Week and Engineering Week in NUI Galway.