Minister welcomes major investment for Scoil San Treasa

A POPULAR local Southside school is looking forward to a revamped New Year after some positive news that was announced by Minister for Education Joe McHugh.

Local TD and Minister Josepha Madigan warmly welcomed the announcement by the Minister of six new classrooms, as well as new toilet facilities for assisted users, for Scoil San Treasa in Mount Merrion.

The announcement was made by both Ministers at the school, following an invitation from Minister Madigan.

The new classrooms will replace existing prefabs and enhance the school’s Learning Support services.

Minister McHugh and Minister Madigan announced a grant for Scoil San Treasa to provide four new classrooms to replace the prefabs that are currently on site.

A further classroom will replace a small classroom which is being reconfigured for learning support teachers.

The investment will also include a supplementary learning support classroom and new toilet facilities for assisted users.

Minister Madigan said: “This is wonderful news for the whole school community in Scoil San Treasa and Mount Merrion.

“The school has long sought new classrooms to replace existing prefabs and for learning support needs.

“As a local representative, I have arranged meetings for school representatives with both Minister Joe McHugh and his predecessor in the Department of Education, Minister Richard Bruton, so that the case for this investment could be made.

Minister Madigan added: “I am delighted that Minister McHugh accepted the invitation to visit the school and has announced the funding to provide new and upgraded classrooms to replace the existing prefabs as well as new toilets for assisted users.

“I want to congratulate the Principal Frances Mullin, as well as members of the Board of Management, staff, parents, and students.

“Schools are at the heart of all our communities, and many require ongoing investment to ensure that all facilities are in safe and secure condition. I will continue to campaign so that all our local schools can get the investment they need.”

Meanwhile, several Southside schools have received new TESA accreditation for commitment to entrepreneurship education.

Harold’s Cross National School, Ballinteer Community School and Loreto College Crumlin were among the 44 schools in Dublin that were celebrated at Junior Achievement Ireland’s inaugural Entrepreneurial School Awards (TESA) Summit that was hosted by Microsoft late last year.

They joined other educators from across Ireland as 94 schools were awarded TESA certification to mark each school’s commitment to entrepreneurship education, which covers all activities that seek to give individuals the skills, knowledge and attitudes required to achieve the goals they set for themselves to live a fulfilled life.

The TESA Summit was designed as an ideal opportunity both to celebrate the work of educators across Ireland in developing entrepreneurial skills in students and to share best practice in a unique and inspiring venue.

A range of specially-commissioned masterclasses were arranged for TESA-certified schools to attend during the summit.

These included Microsoft’s Educational Transformation workshop, a Design Thinking Sprint led by Professor Jonathan Levie and his team from NUI Galway and a Microsoft workshop on Ed Tech for 21st Century Educators.