Transactional Strategy Instruction - TSI

In Scoil Bhríde, team teaching takes place in the senior classrooms as we implement TSI- Team Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI) as an approach to literacy teaching and learning. TSI guides teachers to support pupils to independently apply comprehension strategies and develop skills such as; working in groups, developing vocabulary and giving effective feedback. Pupils have expressed how much they enjoy collaborating with each other as they explore the class novel discovering comprehension strategies independently while engaging positively with each other.

Aistear

All our Junior and Senior Infants are enjoying Aistear in their classrooms. Aistear is a curriculum framework for children from birth to six years in Ireland. It uses themes instead of subjects to outline what children should learn during their early childhood. The themes are Wellbeing, Identity and Belonging, Communicating, Exploring and Thinking. Through discussion and play, the themes connect to each other and link to the subjects in the Infant Curriculum. As the school year progresses, the junior and senior infants are very enthusiastic as they enjoy participating in Aistear. As you know this is a play-based curriculum for infants. The children play in small groups and move to different stations while participating in these themes. Aistear emphasises the importance of play-based methodologies in supporting children’s learning and development. We encourage parents to discuss all the activities when they get home. In term 2, the whole school uses the tools of Aistear as every class explores and participates using a similar theme.

Well-being in our School

Our School plays a vital role in the promotion of well-being through a range of activities and approaches to support the academic, physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual development of all children and young people. Staff use innovative approaches to well-being promotion which is supported by teaching and learning. Our staff have been trained in 'Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Programme' and 'Friend’s First for Life'. We recognise that building positive relationships with students built on trust, understanding and caring will increase children's co-operation and motivation and improve their learning and achievement. The 'Friends for Life' Programme is a means of preventing anxiety and building resilience.

Our Class Library

All pupils enjoy the wide range of library books in their classrooms. There is a selection full of fiction and non-fiction books to suit all the interests of our pupils. We also encourage parents to read some of the books your child enjoys so you can discuss them with him/her. In every house there is also a wide variety of reading material – newspapers, magazines, information, cookery books

Community Book Club

Throughout the school year, in the junior classes, we welcome parents/grandparents to our book club. Parents can visit their child in their classroom and read library books to small groups of pupils. This is a thoroughly enjoyable experience for everyone.

Literacy Lift Off

Here in Lackagh N.S, we are continuing with our exciting literacy lift off programme. This is a literacy programme which provides children with lots of opportunities to read books at their own level of competency and gradually lift the complexity of what they can do in both reading and writing. It is a whole-class intervention aimed at increasing each child’s competency in oral language, reading and writing. During each literacy session, the pupils have an opportunity to spend time at five different work stations working closely with four/five different teachers in the classroom. They enjoy multi-sensory activities discussing new books, writing a response to the text and progressing through fun word study activities. Parents play a huge part in the success of the programme as they listen and promote reading with their child at home.

Classroom Support & School Support

Classroom support and school support is available for all classes. This gives children consistent support and opportunity to learn in a setting which best suits them. Support takes place both in class and out of class depending on the needs of the child.

Primary Language Curriculum

Throughout the school year we have put a greater emphasis on oral language in both English and Irish. During term 1 of this school year, the whole staff received training in the new language curriculum. The new curriculum is structured to make it easier for teachers to support children learning both English and Irish. As a parent, the biggest difference you will see is in how your child will learn the two languages in school. Over the coming years,

• your child will have lots of opportunities to talk in class, give their opinion and express their thoughts and ideas. The curriculum highlights the importance of children developing their oral language skills as well as learning to read and write.

• • much of your child’s language learning, particularly in the infant classes, will happen through play and playful interactions with their friends and teacher in the classroom. This will help them to build on their language learning in the pre-school years based on Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum.

Team Teaching

Scoil Bhríde is very fortunate to have team teaching in every classroom. Collaborative team teaching has many benefits. Students get more time with the teachers and can spend more time on classroom work. Students learn from two teachers with different teaching styles, ideas, perspectives and language. The pupils also have lots more opportunities to question and discuss their ideas.

Read Theory

In Scoil Bhríde pupils enjoy progressing through Read Theory. This is an online reading comprehension programme that presents assessments to students at a "just right" level. Pupils enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction texts and also complete assessments which are always enjoyable and challenging but never discouraging.