Mission & Vision Statements
Mission Statement
St. Joseph’s National School, Halverstown is a Roman Catholic school under the patronage of the Archbishop of Dublin. The school in partnership with parents and the church seeks to nurture the Catholic faith in the school through Religious Education and preparation for the Sacraments. Although it is a Roman Catholic school, St. Joseph’s National School values all families and children irrespective of their faith or beliefs. St. Joseph’s National School strives to be a warm and welcoming place which is respectful and accommodating of diversity in race, culture, religion, gender and ability. Our school motto is ‘One Small School, One Big Family’, which highlights how our small community endeavours to look after everyone in our care, even after they have left the school.
In St. Joseph’s National School, Halverstown we welcome and cherish each child in our care. The school recognises the dignity and value of each individual child. In St. Joseph’s National School we have worked to create a safe, happy, positive, stimulating, orderly, inclusive and productive learning environment where very high quality teaching and learning will flourish in a child centred environment. This is reflected in the organisation and practices of our school and in its admission and policy documents.
All members of the staff of the school are fully committed to upholding and promoting very high professional standards in all aspects of their work in the best interests of the pupils in the school. Staff regularly avail of opportunities for continuous professional development in order to further enhance their practice.
Vision Statement
We work diligently to ensure that our learning environment is characterised and underpinned by very high quality teaching practices and very stimulating, worthwhile and positive learning experiences and activities for all our pupils across all subject areas, leading to improved learner outcomes. We aim to ensure that all pupils in the school are exposed to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum and have access to a range of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in order to further enhance their learning.
Our aim is to encourage and enable all of the pupils in the school to strive to be the very best that they can be and to reach their full potential in the academic, spiritual, social, emotional, imaginative, sporting and aesthetics domains of their lives. We set high expectations for pupil learning and achievement commensurate with their ability levels. We build and capitalise on pupils’ strengths and identify and monitor areas for improvement. We endeavour to shape a school that will take all pupils from where they are at to where they ought to be: “A ship in harbour is safe but that’s not what ships are built for” (J.A Shedd)
In St. Joseph’s National School, we put a strong emphasis on pupil personal wellbeing and we strive to ensure that pupils feel safe, secure and content in the school environment. We prioritise the welfare of all pupils in the school and we strive to safeguard their safety. The saying “be gentle with your hands, be gentle with your feet and be gentle with your words” is one that is repeatedly said to the children, particularly at the end of yard time as well as during assemblies.
We strive to create a fully inclusive learning environment where all children are given equal opportunity to access the full curriculum for their class level. Pertaining to this, we aim to ensure that all pupils with Special Educational Needs receive adequate support in order for them to reach their full potential.
As part of our vision, we endeavour to equip the pupils with the knowledge and skill set to face life confidently, find fulfilment for themselves, achieve their full potential, be respectful towards others and have integrity in an ever-changing world. We actively promote and teach values such as tolerance, compassion, forgiveness, justice, courtesy, honesty and respect. Essentially, we aim to promote the full and holistic development of all of the pupils in our school for the life course. The biblical quote, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6) captures the essence of what we endeavouring to achieve in this regard.
Part of our vision is to foster and create an environment that is characterised by high levels of collaboration, collegiality, co-operation, reflection and discussion between all partners including pupils, staff members, Board of Management members, the parent body and the wider school community. Stemming from this, we strive to ensure that a culture of shared ownership and shared responsibility will be in existence within the school. This will enable a shared purpose and vision to be created and realised for the overall improvement and development of the school as a whole.
The school recognises the vital role of parents as the primary and natural educators of their children and to this degree parents are encouraged to be involved in various different aspects of school life including the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), volunteerism with school projects and initiatives and are also involved in consultation regarding certain school matters.
Déanaimid sár-iarracht an teanga Gaeilge a chur chun cinn, a úsáid agus a labhairt sa scoil. Déanaimid ár ndícheall chun deracadh dearfach i leith ár dteanga dhúchais a chrúthú i measc na bpáistí sa scoil.