KOTG National School

 

 

 Kill O' The Grange National School

 

Kill O' The Grange National School opened its doors in 1963 and is now in a beautiful new building since 2004. We have 215 pupils and 13 teachers. The school is managed by a Board of Management, which is comprised of the Rector, the principal, parish nominees, teacher and parent nominees.
The aims of the School can be summarised as to provide a happy, intimate and caring environment of learning that teaches Christian values with high standards. It is a school that considers each child as an individual.
Any enquiries about the School should be directed to the Principal, Hilary McBain at 2894578.
The School has its own website: homepage.eircom.net/~kogrange and gives very comprehensive details of all aspects of the Schools activities.
Kill O’ The Grange National School 2010
Kill o’ the Grange National School is a vibrant happy school with high standards of teaching and learning. There are currently 13 teachers and 6 Special Needs Assistants funded by the Department of Education and Science and 4 full-time members of staff employed by the Board of Management. Our funding for the school is from the Department of Education and Science, The Foxrock Institute and the Parents. As you are aware from the media there have been major cuts in education funding but the Board, Staff and Parents are working collaboratively to ensure we can prevent this from impacting our children, who are our future. We are a Church of Ireland school under Church of Ireland management but we are a welcoming school to all faiths and none. We cater for all levels of ability and delighted to have a number of Special Needs children integrated into our mainstream classes. We have a fantastic Special Education/ Learning Support department under the direction of Mrs Hay.
We have 215 wonderful children on our roll and it is a joy to work with them everyday. As teachers, we endeavour to provide an all round education with emphasis on fulfilling the three general aims of primary education which are:
The school is managed by an 8 member Board of Management who meets on a monthly basis under our Chairman, Reverend Ferran Glenfield. We are delighted to have 2 members of Kill o’ the Grange Parish on the Board, Arnold Edge and Nigel Bell. We have an active and supportive Parents Association who organise fundraising and social events but also do a huge amount of voluntary work for the school under the leadership of Elizabeth Kohlmann. This year’s fundraising is being used to install inter-active white boards in to each of the classrooms to assist teaching and learning with the latest technologies.
There are approximately 60 parents who give up their time in a voluntary capacity to assist us in ensuring our children receive this important all rounded education. Our hockey teams have made it to the finals, our football teams continue to do extremely well in their matches and we also have a strong emphasis on swimming. This year the girl’s hockey team won the Primary Schools Cup, our first ever win.  Our other activities include drama, art club, French club and keyboards. Our deputy principal, James Malseed has secured a further award in Young Scientist of the Year for the 10th year in a row.
We continue to support charities on a local and international level. We brought a car load of food to our local Simon shelter, had a non uniform day for the Smile Train and Barretstown House and supplied 100’s of selection boxes to Dun Laoire Lions Club for the Christmas hampers. We sent over 150 wrapped shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts to Operation Christmas Child and sent €1300 from our Carol Services to our sister school, Yei, in Sudan which is also supported by the parish. We hosted a Day for Haiti and raised €1600 for Christian Aid.
This year there have been school excursions to Cabinteely house, The Dail, European Commission, Trim Castle and the Mill Theatre. We are hosting an Arts week after the Easter holidays with activities from various strands of the Art, Music and Drama curriculum. This is being funded by the school and part of the funds came from recent Bake Sales organised by the PTA.
We have welcomed visiting teachers from Lichenstein, USA and our own teacher training college, CICE in Rathmines. We also welcome a number of Transition Year students on their work experience.
We are delighted with the support from the parish youth workers Ian and Maggie who attend and assist in our Friday assemblies. They were also  the bravest ever to take 75 of our children on a Scripture Union weekend to Ovoca Manor in February. How wonderful to hear the reports of an excellent weekend and impeccable behaviour from all children. Many thanks to all the helpers from the parish and beyond who made this weekend so special for the children.
On a day to day basis we teach English, Gaeilge, Maths, History, Geography, Science, Religious Education, Physical Education, Drama, Art, Music and Social Personal and Health Education. Kill O’ The Grange is a busy school and I am so proud to be principal of such a centre of excellence. I thank Rev Ferran Glenfield for his consistent support and assistance and all of you as parishioners for your support and prayers as we look forward to our continuous journey together.
 
Hilary McBain
Principal
Kill o' the Grange subscribes to the Safeguarding Trust Policy