Today, I walked down University Street to Ormeau Road, on to Cooke Street to visit the Bunscoil that I had attempted to visit in December when we received our first snow storm. Today, however, the weather was much more pleasant. The Scoil An Droichid is situated in Cooke Street in the heart of the Lower Ormeau Road.
Scoil An Drochid currently provides Irish medium 'bunscoil' in South Belfast and serves children from all over the area. Many of the children are from the area surrounding the school which is primary Catholic and lower socio-economic. The school is multi-denominational and implements pro-active policies regarding the appreciation of diversity in our city. It continues to grow in numbers and reputation. The school area is comprised of three prefab constructions situated on land that is leased by a nearby brick building. Larionad An Droichid, An Droichead’s cultural centre is situated behind Scoil An Droichead, and is visible from the main Ormeau Road. The £400,000, award-winning building houses a creche, nursery and pre-school group. A performing area accommodates plays, ceilis, dinners and other social events.
I was graciously met by the principal, Fionnguala who spoke with me at length about the history of the school, the community support, and a bit about policies, procedures, and classroom management/development. She also gave me a tour of the nursery school area and the Rands 1-7 (grades Kindergarten through 6th). They have programs for special needs childrens, and several retired teachers come to the school to assist. Also, there are opportunities in the evening for adults to learn the Irish language; some of the parents take advantage of the opportunity to learn.
Now to transcribe!
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