Stuart Little schoolbag in both hands, his eyes were alight with anticipation as he stood beaming on the doorstep for that “first day” photograph.
A friend had given me a box of tissues, remembering her first experience of dropping off a child to the classroom door. I felt a bit awkward explaining that I probably wouldn’t need the hankies as I was even more excited than my son.
A Family Connection to Educate Together
Long before his name appeared on the school roll, Educate Together had been a part of our lives. His granny, and my late mother, Daphne had been a strong supporter of non-denominational education, and she closely followed the campaign spearheaded by Micheal and Pat Johnston, Áine Hyland and others to start what became the Dalkey School Project.
As a journalist based in the west for The Irish Times, I was aware of a similar campaign there. I was present at Galway Educate Together NS (GETNS) when Micheál Martin, then Minister for Education, made his historic promise that the State would provide funding for the building costs of multidenominational schools.
That was 1999, and my son would start junior infants in a fine new building constructed for GETNS at Newcastle three years later, after years of temporary accommodation at the university’s student digs in Corrib village.
Claregalway Educate Together NS Opens Its Doors
When Claregalway Educate Together NS opened in 2005, the two-classroom converted bungalow had all sorts of teething issues which ever optimistic principal Terri Claffey had to sort out.
It was next door to a religious institution that proved to be very supportive, providing its grounds for sports day for instance. As trust began to build in the wider community, the school roll expanded. For the children, there was the wonder of circle time and book buddies and the annual activity week, when artists and adventurers took over the classrooms.
Cleaning Rosters and Community
For the adults, we had a taste of the experience other pioneering parents had. In those early years of low budgets, we set up a parents cleaning roster. It wasn’t the most popular move, but there were many laughs, and we came to know each other far better than during those brief exchanges at pick-up time. I remember being very keen to be paired up with a father who had the latest in hoover technology, with boundless energy to boot.
We had left Claregalway by the time the school secured its new building. It has been wonderful to witness the growth of Educate Together schools nationally at both primary and secondary level, reflecting countless weeks and months and years of advocacy by parents across the State.
One abiding memory is of that very last day of the last term when my son and I sat in the car to drive home, knowing that his education would be very different from now on.
Barely exchanging a glance, we both burst into tears…
Lorna Siggins