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We were delighted to welcome Cllr Ejiro O’Hare Stratton to our school during Intercultural Week. Cllr Ejiro spoke with our 3rd to 6th classes about community, leadership, and the role of councillors in local government. The students were so engaged, asking thoughtful questions and showing a strong interest in how decisions are made in our community. It was a truly inspiring visit that reinforced the importance of inclusivity, active citizenship, and learning about different cultures.

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As part of the Our World Irish Aid Awards, 3rd class explored the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and learned about important global issues like migration, equality, and sustainability. They talked about these challenges, how they affect people around the world and discussed what we can do to help create a better future. Here is a video they created on what they learned and the ways we can all make the world a kinder, fairer place.

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2nd and 3rd class have been exploring a range of diverse books that focus on the themes of refuge, migration, and belonging. These stories help us understand the experiences of people seeking safety and highlight the importance of kindness, empathy, and welcome. Books like My Name is Not Refugee, The Day War Came, A Map for Falasteen, Wisp: A Story of Hope, and My Lost Freedom have been shared across our school community.

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We are proud to include the Creative Connections Programme as part of our ongoing efforts to promote cross-border collaboration, inclusion, and creativity within our school community. Through this initiative, our students will engage with creative practitioners from both Northern Ireland and Ireland, furthering our goal to build meaningful connections and promote emotional health and wellbeing. This programme is a significant step toward fostering mutual understanding and is a natural fit with our school’s commitment to being a School of Sanctuary.

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Recently we had our half day closure to train staff in the new anti-bullying guidelines before we draft our new anti-bullying policy. A part of this was to survey parents about bullying withing the school. For the past fiver years we have been a KiVa School. This is an evidence based programme from Finland that focuses on restorative justice techniques. It was fantasttic to hear feedaback from parents who seem very happy with the programme and can see the efforts of the school to tackle bullying issues head on.

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Recently our sixth classes had a workshop with Drogheda United. They learned about the negative affects of racism and how to stand up to this negativity and change the narrative. Teachers reported the impact it had within classes and were proud to receive a certificate of achievement in the topic.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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We also had an amazing workshop in our school education the children about traveller traditions. Spearheaded by teacher Kathleen Murphy who is a proud member of the travelling community it was an extremely successful day, where staff and students alike took valuable lessons away from the day.

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During Arts Week the children in the school got to experience an African drumming session. It was an amazing experience and a lot of fun was had by all of the children. They got to explore and play many different percussion instruments and rhythms.

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We celebrated arts week in St. Joseph's. During arts week we celebrate art, music and drama. We celebrate talent within the school and expose the children to the talent of our staff and from artists and musicians around the World. Above you will see our talent show. Thaneha from 3rd class very confidently showed us her dancing skills.

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We use the Aladdin app in or school to communicate with parents. We have extremely good engagement with this app and spread the message of all school event this way. Parents can also contact teachers and ask question about any events that are happening in the school.

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Following our pre monitoring visit, we made school of sanctuary power point for the senior classes in our school to educate the children about important school of sanctuary terminology.

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Our very own Mr. Brennan got a fantastic write p on the GAA website recently for his trailblazing work and commitment to the promotion of hurling in our school and in Louth. They were particularly impressed with the fact he has encourage so may children of all nationalities t get involved in the sport. He is staring lessons for our local club the O Raghallaighs which will also create parental connections in our amazing school community. Well done Mr. Brennan!

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As a school community we try to provide courses for parents to participate in free of charge. These range from crochet, to cookery, to holistic medicine. This creates positive relationships between the school and the parents but also sets up connection between parents themselves.

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We saw amazing participation in Show Racism the Red Card Day this year. The school was awash with red and the sentiment of equality and inclusion was tangible.

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Inter cultural week took place in our school in late March to coincide with Show Racism The Red Card.

We organised a traditional clothing and food share day which was huge success across the school. Ms Kennedy involved parents who came int our halla to showcase food, clothing and traditional music to the children.

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We try our very best to recognise and mark special occasions for all in our school.

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All of our school events and activities are shared on our social media accounts.

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Our HSCL co-ordinator Ms Kennedy works tirelessly to help parents within our school. She goes above and beyond to welcome families at our school gate ach morning, along with our principal Sarah Bradley. They offer and friendly and welcoming face to parents and help and advice when needed. Many classes are run throughout the school year including English classes, fitness classes, craft classes and many more. These are a great opportunity to get involved in the school community and establish links with other parents.

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We have our active flag and each year big effort is put into remaining active to help our fitness and well being. This is so important to in still into our pupils and also creates a sense of teamwork and fun within the school. Mr Carberry celebrates our active heroes each month!

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Our fifth class students went to EPIC museum in Dublin to see how Irish migration is a huge part of our history. The Irish relied on the hospitality of others and sought refuge in other countries once upon a time.

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Mr Brenna has led our newly established hurling team this year. He has spearheaded hurling within the school and this has inspired many of the children to join and try something new!

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Next week in our school we will focus on inclusion and celebrating our amazing school community. In our school we love to celebrate. We come together regularly in school assemblies, shows, trips and lessons that teaches us about all the wonderful things life has to offer. Inter-cultural week in our school is always special because our diversity gives us o much to teach each other. Whether it be stories from our heritage country, game, food or a few words in anew language we are so lucky to have such a rich and diverse cultural environment within our school gates.

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Inspiring our children is very important to us here in St Joseph's CBS. Mr Mc Cann kindly organised for the local fire brigade to visit our school and talk to our student about fire safety! We also got to see the fire trucks which all the boys and girls found very exciting!

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We had a wonderful school response to our World Book Day this year. There was great excitement around the school on this Day and the joy and enthuaism for literacy was palpable. We look at numerous authors from round the world such as Jeff Kinney, Julia Donaldson, Roald Dahl and Hans Christian Anderson. pupils from St Joseph's secondary school came into school from paired reading, making literacy accessible for every level of reader within our school. Ms Horan did an amazing job organising it all!

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Every year for St Patrick's Day our sixth class teacher Ms. Maloney teaches different year groups how to ceili dance. This year we went to our local hall and had our big dance! Parents were invited and we got great support from all of our amazing school community.

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Our amazing School of Sanctuary Committee 2024/2025. These amazing boys and girls are from second class to sixth class. We meet twice month and discuss events around the school.

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Our school of Sanctuary Committee members decided it would be a nice idea to welcome all of the new children to our school with a Welcome Party. We decorated our hall and classes contributed art with messages of welcome and positive messages about our school. W made party bags, buns and welcome packs. Each child got a personal invitation. We had party games and music and it was a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other. It was an amazing day and great fun!

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In St. Joseph's this year we are saying yes to languages! Our fifth classes will be learning Japanese, Romanian and Portuguese. We aim to promote an awareness and love of learning new languages. We want to create an appreciation of languages of the World and nurture this amongst the children.

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Here we have our new notice board at the front of our yar introduce by our amazing H.S.C.L. officer Ms Kennedy. Here Ms Kennedy shares news regarding the school and is on hand each morning to answer questions regarding school life and events. Ms Kennedy also offers classes to parents and in turn is a pillar of support in our school community. Connecting families to the school and to each other, always with a smile on her face and a willingness to help.

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In our school we promote inclusion on all levels. Here we have our second class G6 participating in a P.E. lesson with our A.S. Class R9. Great fun was had by all as you can see!

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4th Class showing off their Language Passport. 

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4th Class are participating in the “Say Yes to Languages” program to promote language diversity and encourage pupils to see similarities in our languages. Mr. McCann’s 4th Class are learning Romanian with Ms. Rigney and Ms. White’s 4th Class are learning Portuguese with Mr. Hughes.

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Our E.A.L. teacher Mr Hughes worked very hard to create data bases on all of the different languages and heritage languages within our school. It makes for fascinating reading and demonstrates how diverse our student population is. Mr Hughes has been working on welcome signs within our school reception to represent the languages within our school. He also informs me that we hope to provide Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese lessons to the senior classes this year, which is very exciting indeed!

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A schools vibe, culture and essence starts from the top and we have great leadership in our school. When contemplating how to convey this story I wasn't sure how to go about it, so I decided just to write down exactly what happened.

At the beginning of the school year we had an influx of new students from a local hotel that had been tasked with housing migrants. Our school is central in the town and within walking distance, so was an obvious choice.

Our principal and secretary welcomed all with open arms. People who were scared and had been given little to no advice from the government arrived at our school gats and were ushered into our school library. There our Principal Sarah Bradley and our secretary Sandra worked tirelessly through the paper work and language barriers to enrol the children within the school. As I looked on and watched I was extrememly proud of our little school and what we try to represent every day-we welcome you, we're here to help and look forward to teaching your family into our school community.

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Welcome to the website of St. Joseph's C.B.S., Sunday's Gate, Drogheda, Co. Louth.

St. Joseph's C.B.S. is a primary school in Drogheda, Co. Louth currently catering for boys and girls in from junior infants to second class and boys from third to sixth class. St. Joseph's is a Catholic school under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (E.R.S.T.).

We hope you enjoy browsing through our website which is updated regularly with news and photographs from our classes and from the many events that take place in the school. Feel free to contact us.

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St Joseph's CBS, Sunday's Gate | St. Joseph's CBS Primary School

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Welcome to the website of St. Joseph's C.B.S., Sunday's Gate, Drogheda, Co. Louth. St. Joseph's C.B.S. is a primary school in Drogheda, Co. Louth currently catering for boys and girls in from junior infants to second class and boys from third to sixth class. St.

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We have made use of the excellent video resources posted on You Tube for both Junior and Senior classes. I have sent a video out each week on a Friday to keep SOS alive in the classrooms and The committee members have reminded their teachers to show the video each week!

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Whats the difference between migrants, asylum seekers and refugees?

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A power point was made to explain the SoS journey to the children and to encourage the children to join our SoS committee/ Friendship team! It also explains to the children about signing the pledge.

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Our Second Class in G6 took part in the INTO competition for Different Families, Same Love. The theme looked at the many different types of families in our school communities including migrant and asylum seeker families. These videos will be shared online and within the our school community in May to mark Family Equality Day:)

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Our Second Class in G6 took part in the INTO competition for Different Families, Same Love. The theme looked at the many different types of families in our school communities including migrant and asylum seeker families.

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On March 21st 2024 we celebrated Show Racism the red card. Classes were asked to wear red and show that racism is not tolerated in our school lives and home lives. There was a show of force in St Joseph's and a strong message of inclusion was see throughout the day:)

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Following our Cultural survey we decided that we needed to celebrate the diversity within our school. To coincide with St Patrick's Day we decided a parade would be a fun and engaging way to do this. Following our survey all classes were given countries to represent in the parade. Classes learned about these cultures through project work and song. Classes made artwork to represent the countries they had been given. It was an amazing day and the positivity and joy could be felt within the school walls. All countries and heritage countries were represented. Classes sang and chanted and proudly paraded around the yard. The wholde school gathered together and sang Amhrán na bhfiann. We have compiled a short video above, we hope you enjoy it!!

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Above are our Code of behaviour and anti bullying policies.

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Information | St Joseph’s CBS, Sunday’s Gate

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Website by Minerva Design - Copyright © 2024 St. Joseph’s CBS, Sunday’s Gate

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In line with the values of our Charter, we have developed a model of education based on the founding intention and the life of blessed Edmund Rice. Care for the disadvantaged and vulnerable, a strong opposition to poverty and injustice, fostering of leadership and a deep commitment to the Catholic faith are characteristics of  an Edmund Rice school.

Our schools promote equality of access and participation – in other words, children of any faith, or none, at every level of ability, of any nationality or ethnic grouping are all cherished in our schools given the opportunity to be the best they can be.  Our schools recognise the uniqueness of each individual in caring communities where holistic development is nurtured.  Enrolment processes are open and transparent and the  highest educational, developmental and pastoral standards apply in all our schools.

The five key elements of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust Charter are:

Nurturing faith, Christian spirituality and Gospel-based values

Promoting partnership

Excelling in teaching and learning

Creating a caring school community

Inspiring transformational leadership.

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In line with the values of our Charter, we have developed a model of education based on the founding intention and the life of blessed Edmund Rice. Care for the disadvantaged and vulnerable, a strong opposition to poverty and injustice, fostering of leadership and a deep commitment to the Catholic faith are characteristics of an Edmund Rice school.

Our schools promote equality of access and participation - in other words, children of any faith, or none, at every level of ability, of any nationality or ethnic grouping are all cherished in our schools given the opportunity to be the best they can be. Our schools recognise the uniqueness of each individual in caring communities where holistic development is nurtured. Enrolment processes are open and transparent and the highest educational, developmental and pastoral standards apply in all our schools.

In addition to the provision of high standards of excellence in teaching and learning, our schools uphold a strong cultural and sporting tradition. Inspired by the five key elements of the Edmund Rice Charter our schools are responding to a changing world. We aim to develop leaders of the future who will work in partnership together to promote social justice, human rights and care for the environment and who will look after themselves and others equally and be inspirational citizens.

Our Charter

The Charter sets out a framework designed to enable Catholic education in the Edmund Rice tradition to thrive and grow into the future. Each school community in our network is invited to put the Charter into practice, taking account of its own unique circumstances and traditions. The values in the Charter came from the schools. Through a process of reflection and sharing the school partners reached a consensus on what comprises the heart and soul of an Edmund Rice school.

Inspired by the Charter we respond to the needs of a changing world. We ensure that our schools continue to adapt and re define themselves, while remaining faithful to our mission and founding vision. Faithful to the church and inspired by Edmund Rice's vision, we ensure the future of our schools as Christian communities of learning and teaching.
The five key elements of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust Charter are:

Nurturing faith, Christian spirituality and Gospel-based values

Promoting partnership

Excelling in teaching and learning

Creating a caring school community

Inspiring transformational leadership.

Our schools promote equality of access and participation - in other words, children of any faith, or none, at every level of ability, of any nationality or ethnic grouping are all welcome in our schools. All of our schools are encouraged to recognise the uniqueness of each individual in caring communities where holistic development is nurtured.

As Trustees we appoint and nominate Boards of Management to run our schools. We help these Boards through training and a rolling programme of advice and support.

We also advise and support our Principals, Deputy Principals and staff through Conferences, Cluster meetings, training and induction courses.

Our Network promotes a strong sense of belonging and cooperation. We believe a great strength of our Network is this sense of belonging and consistently high levels of support and guidance given to our Principals and Boards of Management.

Our main object is to ensure and foster the advancement of education and to further the aims and purposes of Catholic education in the Edmund Rice tradition. To enable us to do this we encourage and expect all our community to engage with us, and to assist us to improve and expand our service to young people.

The Edmund Rice Schools Trust is a vibrant schools Network that is developing and supporting Catholic education throughout Ireland today.
Download our Guide for Parents

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In line with the values of our Charter, we have developed a model of education based on the founding intention and the life of blessed Edmund Rice. Care for the disadvantaged and vulnerable, a strong opposition to poverty and injustice, fostering of leadership and a deep commitment to the Catholic faith are characteristics of an...

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St. Joseph’s C.B.S. is a primary school in Drogheda, Co. Louth currently catering for boys and girls in from junior infants to second class and boys from third to sixth class. St. Joseph’s is a Catholic school under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (E.R.S.T.).

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In St Joseph's we have been developing a culture of inclusion and celebrating diversity for a number of years now. We strive to create a harmonious, safe and welcoming environment for all member our our school community and are excited to begin our School of Sanctuary journey.

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3 Sanctuary Principles-Learn, Action Share

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3 Sanctuary Principles-Learn, Action Share

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Becoming a School of Sanctuary is a selfdirected culture and ethos that schools achieve over time based on the three Sanctuary Principles: Learn, Action and Share