SCOIL BARRA – 40^TH ANNIVERSARY PROJECT

BUILDING FOR THE NEXT 40

On 1 September, 2025, the doors of Scoil Barra will have been open for 40 years. It was hard to envisage such a milestone in 1985 or that the eldest pupils in the school that morning are coming up on their 50^th birthday. On the occasion of the 25^th anniversary a superb commemorative booklet was produced and a similar venture to update that record may well be undertaken in 2035 – whoever is here to see it. A staff committee has been established to organise 40th anniversary celebrations and we look forward to the results of their work during the year.

The Board of Management wishes, as part of marking this event, to keep our focus firmly on the pupils of the school and the facilities we provide for them and for their successors. The success of Scoil Barra over 40 years has been grounded firmly on filtering every significant decision to ensure benefit for the pupils. This is put succinctly in the 2010 [25 year] book:

“Schools are not about numbers and enrolments. They are all about creating an environment where children are secure, contented and can develop academically and personally and where staff feel a sense of achievement in contributing to that development.”

While the underlying philosophy hasn’t changed and the school environment has been enhanced by successive Boards of Management, Principals and Staff, some of the challenges facing children and teachers in the 2020s could not have been envisaged in 1985, including, but not limited to the challenges of social media, smartphones mis/disinformation and more restricted levels of freedom for children to engage in sport and physical activity. In this latter regard the Board plans to launch and implement a number of projects aimed at enhancing the physical environment of the school and the opportunities for children to engage in greater physical activity with the aim of a creating a more active school.

Play Area

One of the projects planned for the 40^th anniversary is a play area at the front of the school opposite Innishmore Sq. with high quality play equipment and safe and appropriate surfacing. Work is ongoing regarding the specification and the type and quantity of equipment to be purchased. The final specification will depend to some extent on the level of funding available for the project. We hope that the play area will comprise elements such as a treehouse, tunnel, mud kitchen and sand pit with other zones which lend themselves to imaginative and creative play. We aim to make the space inclusive also so that all of our children can enjoy and engage meaningfully with the space.

With this in mind we are launching an iDonate page to enable contributions to the project from parents, former parents and past pupils. A significant number of people have been associated with the school over the past 40 years and we would hope that this project aimed at current and future pupils will appeal to everyone wishing to participate in a really worthwhile initiative which will benefit the school and its pupils for many years.

You can link to the iDonate page through the QR code below. We would ask everyone linked to Scoil Barra – past or present- to circulate the message to others on your social media and contacts who may wish to contribute.

We look forward to your support and to constructing a facility that the children will enjoy.

Michael Farrell
Chair of the Board of Management
May 2025

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