Projects & Activities

St. Augustine’s National School is situated in the heart of Clontuskert community.

It is a three teacher school with a reputation for excellence in the area of teaching and learning. St. Augustine’s has a very active Parent’s Association and Board of Management and has forged strong links with the community in the area.  It holds Green Flags for Waste Management, Energy Conservation, Water Conservation, Travel and Biodiversity, eighteen Discover Primary Science and Mathematics Excellence Awards and has been awarded the British Science Council Crest Award for participation in the FIRST LEGO® League. Clontuskert has been a Health Promoting School since 2012 and is a Digital School of Distinction.

It is the first Primary School in Ireland to be awarded Microsoft Showcase Status and worked with Microsoft, 365 Learning and Wriggle to pilot OneNote and Teams in an Irish Primary School setting.

Clontuskert is a pioneering school in the use of digital technologies to aid the implementation of the Irish Primary school curriculum, being the first school in Ireland to use WeDo LEGO® Robotics to facilitate cross-curricular project work in 2010.  Podcasting is used as a tool to aid many subjects. Filming is often used as a pedagogical tool in Clontuskert where the children script, direct, act in and edit their own films. St. Augustine’s is the only member of the Empowering Minds Group of Ireland in County Galway.

The school is linked to Oak Lake School, Manitoba, Canada and uses Digital Storytelling to develop literacy levels and encourage co-operation between the schools. Clontuskert is also linked to seven schools in England, Sweden, Spain, Estonia, France and Latvia as part of a Comenius Partnership. This Partnership is called STAGE: Seven Towards A Greener Europe and explored Green issues such as waste management and wildlife conservation.  A French Language Teacher taught French to all classes from September 2010 to 2012 and from 2012 our students have learnt German with an Erasmus+ Teacher from Germany.

Achievements and Projects:

Heritage and History:

The school is grateful for the help and support they receive from Clontuskert Heritage Group in the implementation of project work in this area. The following projects have been undertaken with their help:

Waterways of Ireland Project

focusing on Pollboy Lock and Portumna Bridge and the Ballinasloe leg of the Grand Canal.

Monastery Project:

This consisted of a visit to Clontuskert Abbey with Joe Molloy, Adeline Finneran and Eileen Curley, members of Clontuskert Heritage Group to learn about, photograph and film the site. The students were also invited to visit Cistercian Abbey in Roscrea to learn about modern monastic life by Abbot Richard Purcell. The students then created a virtual 3-D photo image of Clontuskert Abbey using Photosynth. This project won a Galway County Heritage Award.

Keep on Track Project:

Keep on Track was co-ordinated by Clontuskert NS and Holy Spirit BNS, Ballymun. The aim of Keep on Track was to link fifteen Rail Stations and Schools on the Galway-Dublin Railway Line. It integrated all subjects of the curriculum. It was supported and sponsored by Irish Rail, the NCTE, the Empowering Minds Group and formed an exciting new alliance between Galway, Athlone, Portlaoise, Kildare and Drumcondra Education Centres. History and Heritage was an underlying element of the project as Clontuskert students learnt about Ballinasloe Train Station and train travel in Ireland. www.keepontrack.scoilnet.ie

Sport:

• All Ireland Champions in Spikeball (Volleyball)
• County Champions Spikeball
• County Champions Chess
• County Finalists in Cumann na mBunscol Hurling
• County Winners in Paddy Manton Hurling Tournament
• Handball Coaching received from Peter Mulryan
• Swimming after Easter
• Rugby Training with Connacht Rugby Trainers

Learn more about Clontuskert’s hardworking school team on their award winning blog; www.clontuskert.scoilnet.ie  which is updated and maintained by the students themselves. This blog was shortlisted for an Eircom Junior Spiders Award in 2010, 2011 and 2014 and won a Junior Spider in 2013.

Clontuskert Team:

• Principal Teacher: Kate Murray
• Classroom teachers:
  Eimil Scott
  Karen Conneely
• SEN teachers:
  Nicola Egan
  Katie Feehily
  Geraldine McCormack
• SNAs: Lucy Dolan
  Teresa Nevin
  Melissa Croffy
• Secretary: Mary Callaghan
• Part time SEN Teacher: Ciara Cormican

 

Clontuskert National School can be contacted at clontuskertns@gmail.com