St Declan's National School
St. Declan’s is a mixed school with currently 652 pupils enrolled for the academic year 2023-2024. We have forty teachers on staff this year. Our school is in the rapidly growing town of Ashbourne. Our school ethos is Catholic and we are under the patronage of the bishop of Meath. We welcome children of all faiths to our school and children of none.
The teaching staff comprises of a Principal, Deputy Principal, Two Assistant Principals, twenty-five class teachers, and thirteen Special Education teachers. We have five full-time SNA’s our secretaries Karen and Joanne and our caretaker Tommy. This year we have three Junior Infant classes, three Senior classes, three first classes, three-second classes, three third classes, three fourth classes, three fifth classes and four sixth classes.
St Declan’s N.S Mission Statement
Our school cherishes all pupils equally. We aim, with the involvement and co-operation of the entire school community, to assist each child to reach their full potential as individuals.Address from Mr Kearins
Of course, our website is also an excellent communication platform. Read some of our policies, newsletters, general school information, updates from our Parents’ Association and useful educational links to enhance your child’s learning, it’s all there. You can also follow us on Twitter @decsash for updates on the wide variety of events and learning that happens in St. Declan’s.
Tá fáilte roimh go léir chuig ár súiomh idirlíon. We are very proud to welcome you all to our school website. Through this window we invite you to take a virtual tour of our school as you look into our thriving and busy classroom life in St. Declan’s. We feel it is important to share these precious moments with our parents. We know they will generate smiles, conversations and memories to last a lifetime. School life here is so varied and all our children are exposed to many learning opportunities. We love to capture these memories on camera on a regular basis and post them on our website so families can chat about them at home.
As school principal, I am extremely proud of the efforts and dedication of everyone at St. Declan’s NS including pupils, staff and ancillary staff. It is this level of enthusiasm in all aspects of school life that makes our school such a vibrant and energetic place to be. We make every effort to create a positive and caring school environment where learning is valued and children are challenged to reach their potential. We do this in partnership with our parents who we recognize as the primary educators of their children.
A love of learning permeates the school. This learning is facilitated by our dynamic and passionate staff. They encourage active participation in a wide range of activities within the classroom setting and also as part of extra-curricular activities, to enhance learning and to develop life skills, values and attitudes that will assist our children throughout their lives. Positive student-teacher relationships have been the key to creating this happy teaching environment in St. Declan’s.
We are supported by our Board of Management who is responsible for the overall running of the school by representing the interests of all school partners, parents, children, staff and the local community. We are indebted to our highly active Parents’ Association who continually contribute to fund-raising, organising yearly events and work with us to develop and update policies. In collaboration with our staff and Board of Management, they build an effective partnership between school and home.
We aim to provide a safe learning environment for all our pupils throughout their school life, as they are nurtured by the love of their families, inspired by the guidance of their teachers and bound by the precious gifts of friendship. We hope that we will start our pupils on a road that will help them lead a full, contented and happy lifestyle, ready to take on the many challenges in life and also the rich opportunities that will come their way. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.