Going back to School

“Going back to School” Eimear Sheehy

Walking in the school doors of Barryroe NS for a week's work experience was a very strange feeling for me.When I was attending there myself I couldn’t wait to get out of it . However, this week the shoe was on the other foot.

For the week,I was got experience of two main areas in any National School the secretaries office and the classroom.I was very lucky to experience these varying , but important jobs in one week. 

I was always very interested  to see what the life of a secretary was like and this week I got a glimpse of what is involved. I found interesting and I enjoyed learning how this busy office operates. In the office I was involved in the enrolment of the incoming junior infants,learnt how to file correctly .I also saw what it is like to organise events with so many different phone calls and emails coming in .These certainly reflected the busy life of this wonderful school

I also got involved in the life of the classroom.Teachers got me to help some kids with their work like reading and writing.This gave me a taste of certain things a teacher must do every day .I liked seeing what is involved in teaching and saw how challenging it would be as a career

Overall ,I enjoyed  the week of work experience.It really benefited me a lot because I now know what areas I could focus more on in terms of my future career .I now realise how lucky I was to be a student in such a great place like Barryroe National School.

“School Days are the Best Days of our Lives”…Karla O Hare

I went on work experience from 24-28 February 2020. It took me a while to decide on a work placement but eventually I decided to return to my primary school, Kilcolman N.S. I thought about when I was in primary school and how I really enjoyed when Transition Years at the time came into our classroom for a week. I hadn’t been inside the school in almost 4 years, so it felt really strange being back after such a long time.

Kilcolman NS is a very small school with only two main teachers. Ms Ross teaches Junior Infants - 2nd class (she taught me in Junior & Senior Infants) and Ms Mills, also the principal, teaches 3rd - 6th class. It was my first time meeting Ms Mills and I was a bit nervous to meet her. There is also a resource teacher, Ms McGoldrick and a SNA, Ms Keane who were both there when I went to school. It was really nice to see the staff again.

I mainly worked in the senior classroom for the week. They were busy preparing for Confirmation which was happening the following week. When they went to the church for Confirmation rehearsals, I worked in the junior room. I loved working with the younger children and some of them made me drawings which was really cute. I worked closely with the SNA, Ms Keane and I discovered I really like working with children with special needs.

Ms Mills was aware that I am musical (because of my brother Shane in 6th class) so she had me give a music lesson to the senior room. This was actually one of the first things I did on the Monday morning so I was quite nervous! However I knew many of the children in the class, from their siblings and from when I went to school with them, so it was actually really nice!

Primary school teaching has always been in the back of my mind as a career path and I’m so glad I chose Kilcolman NS as my work placement. I still don’t know what job I want in the future but this week definitely showed me how much I love working with young children!

“One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai

“Stepping Back in Time” Sinead Walsh

For my work experience I went back to my old Primary School in Timoleague .I met all my old teachers and quickly discovered how much the school had changed since I had been there. Everyone was so welcoming. It was great to be back

Day one : I was given a timetable and the classes I would work with that day. I had Seniot Infants first . I had to make their homework booklets and sort out their folders.I went around and corrected their English handwriting and gave them a stamp as a reward.After break I went to the second-class .I help them out with Maths and then I helped them with English .They had to read a book of their choice until their lunch . After lunch break I went to Third and Fourth class. They were making cards and other crafts for Valentines Day so I helped them by drawing love hearts and cutting out their drawings .

Day five : Sadly this was my last day. I had Sixth class in the morning. They were cooking first and then they were made nail and wood art. They brought in their own hammers and made a love heart out of the nails .Then I had first class . They had to learn countries off by heart and their capital cities. At the end of the day I was told I was very good with kids . They were very happy for me to return , as I was , to my old National School again 

Returning to Where it All Began….Sarah Murphy

When we were told to think about where we would like to go for our work experience I already knew where I wanted to go. I wanted to go back to my old primary school, Clogagh N.S. i thought it would be the best place to go to experience what it would be like to be a teacher.

On my first day of work experience I was so nervous, but excited too. Helen (the principal) was really nice and showed me which classroom to go to. She first put me in with Mrs O’Donovan (teacher/sna) . I really learned from her on how to teach kids that have a learning difficulty.

Then I was put into Mrs Ronan's room. She is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th class teacher. She let me interact with the kids. I helped them with school work and played games with them. They were a really active class and got involved as well which made me less stressed about interacting with them. 

This was my daily routine for the week of work experience.

I found this really helpful. It showed me that I really enjoy teaching and helping students .It also showed me what I would like to do when I finish with my education.