What do our 5th and 6th Class students think of St. Peter's National School?

"I feel safe everyday and the teachers help to make sure we aren’t worrying about things"

"I love our school because everyone is treated equally and fairly"

"The school has lots of nice things for us to use for our learning like the Chromebooks"

Stay up to date with our 5th and 6th class activities on our dedicated Class page.

Meet our 5th & 6th class Teacher

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Hi everyone, my name is Edward Lowe, but my friends all call me Eddie! I have been teaching for 11 years, in a few different schools and classes. Most of my teaching has been in 6th class but I have also taught 2nd class for two years and most recently have spent two years teaching grade 4 in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. 
Teaching in Abu Dhabi has been a life changing experience and I love using some of that experience in the Irish classroom since my return. All of the learning there took place on Google chrome-books and the school was also a Google school so I’d love to bring some of my experience in this area into St. Peter’s. I have been involved in coaching soccer, running school choirs, teaching guitar and even running chess clubs in the past in different schools. I have enjoyed every minute of it because it’s even more special than being in the classroom, as you witness the children participating in a hobby that they love! 
I have always been interested in sport and music from a young age. I played soccer, hurling and gaelic football growing up. I also participated in show jumping and have a passion for horses. I learned how to play the piano and guitar from an early age and have also had the privilege of teaching guitar in my previous schools. I love watching children sing! It’s one of my favourite things to see in a primary school. Teaching children a new song and allowing them opportunities to perform for others is a very fulfilling part of being a primary school teacher. 
​I am really looking forward to teaching in St. Peter’s and getting to know all the children and parents alike. I am looking forward to working with the children and helping them make progress in their learning. One of my favourite parts of teaching is to witness the ‘lightbulb’ moment for a child in the classroom. It’s so rewarding to witness children grasping new concepts and to feel good about themselves in the process. As they say, ‘every day is a school day’ and that of course includes us teachers! 

Managing a multi-grade classroom 

 A TEACHER'S PERSPECTIVE - Katie Mason

Multi-grade teaching can be a daunting thought for many parents who may not have experienced their schooling in such a setting. Having taught most of my teaching career in multigrade classrooms, I can assure you that pupils get just as wonderful an education as a pupil in a single stream class. Pupils get lots of added benefits in the multigrade classroom too. As teachers we always differentiate (individually alter) work to suit the needs of the children in our class. When we have two or three class groups in the room we are doing this already and it means every child’s individual needs are catered for. It also builds pupil’s independence skills and they learn how to problem solve and think creatively. For many subjects such as Art, PE, Music, Drama and the SESE subjects, all classes take part together. The class runs very smoothly with good routines and organisation in place. Multi-grade teaching exposes pupils to a wider variety of learning and engages children of all levels of ability. Children’s social skills can improve as they see how their older peers manage their work and behaviour and likewise, it gives older children a great boost of confidence, responsibility and develops kindness towards others. Children develop friendships with pupils in other classes too which also builds that sense of community we have in our small school. We have two full time support teachers too and there is a combination of both in class support and out of class lessons for pupils. We work very closely together and this ensures every pupil gets as much support as possible. ​