A thuimitheoirí agus a chairde,

It was great to see so many of you at our annual “Seó naSamhna” (Halloween Show) just before the start of our Halloween break. Again I would like to praise the teachers and classroom assistants involved in preparing the pupils for their performances on stage, which I think you will agree were terrific. I must also say “Go raibh maith agaibh” to yourselves, the parents, who helped in preparing the children’s costumes, rehearsing lines at home, etc.. A special “mile buíochas” must go to one of our very supportive dads - Tommy, who provided the musical accompaniment on stage during our show. I trust that all our pupils are enjoying their Halloween break.

On another note, following the recent publicity in the MourneObserver you may be aware that our school has submitted a “Development Proposal” to the Department of Education seeking to increase our official school admissions & enrolment numbers. This has caused a bit of disturbance with some of the local primary schools, one of which suggested that we should be denied the right to expand as a school. However, I would like to point out that it would be very unfair, and indeed discriminatory, to cap our increasing numbers as the only Irish medium school in the district. We offer something very different to the other local English medium primary schools and the number of awards we have been successful in achieving in recent years show that we can provide our pupils with an extremely valuable and varied educational journey all through the medium of Irish. Furthermore, our school has already exceeded its current capacity and, thus, without the passing of this proposal we will not be allowed further accommodation to meet the increasing pupil numbers. I would encourage you to help us further the growth of the school by emailing the Department in support of this proposal (Development Proposal no. 558, which can be viewed on the Education Authority’s website www.eani.org.uk ). Letters of support can be sent to dps@education-ni.gov.uk or to the Area Planning Policy Team, Department of Education, Rathgael House, Balloo Road, Bangor, Co. Down, BT19 7PR.

May I recommend that you include some or all of the points below in your letters of support for our school:-

1. Bunscoil Bheanna Boirche is already well over the previous admission & enrolment numbers and this amendment is therefore overdue. 2. Our growth in numbers is due to the increase in the number of Parents who wish to have their children access a bilingual education - this is the parents' statutory right. Bilingualism is also recognised worldwide to provide additional cognitive advantages to children. Thus, empty desks in local English medium schools are not a viable alternative for our potential pupils. 3. We draw from a very wide catchment area, therefore our growth is not the only cause for any local Primary School claiming that their numbers will be detrimentally affected. 4. Bunscoil Bheanna Borche cannot continue to grow without further accommodation. We are already functioning in sub-par conditions compared to the surrounding English medium schools in the locality. Therefore, it would be discriminatory to deny the proposal and our school's development as the only Irish medium primary school in the district.

I greatly appreciate your continued support for our pupils and our school in this and other matters.

Ar aghaidh linn, a chairde, ní neart go cur le céile! Let us move forward together and show our strength in unity of purpose!

Go raibh maith agaibh.  

Aingeal

The development proposal (number 558) can be found using the following link:-

https://www.eani.org.uk/publications/development-proposal/dp-558-bunscoil-bheanna-boirche-dp