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

KATIE MASON

​My name is Katie Mason and I have been teaching for 15 years, 11 of which have been here in St. Peter’s N.S. I have taught all classes from Junior Infants up to 6th class and each class has been memorable and unique. I recently completed a postgraduate diploma in Educational Leadership and Management in Maynooth University and enjoy engaging in further professional development courses. I love bumping into past pupils and their families to hear how they’re all getting on as they move through secondary school and into the wider world. 

This year I am teaching 5th and 6th class. There are 9 pupils in 6th class and 15 pupils in 5th class. All subjects are taught in our classroom and we incorporate group work into the school day where possible. So far this year my class are really enjoying Art lessons and have recently taken part in the Credit Union Art competition. I love seeing how pupil’s personalities mature and develop in the senior classes and we do lots of SPHE lessons to make sure pupils feel comfortable and prepared for moving to secondary school. Science, Geography and History lessons are great to teach in the senior classes too as it is lovely to see children’s own knowledge shining through whilst also building on it with new lessons and project work.
​We have an interactive whiteboard in the classroom and each child has a Chromebook which we use for numeracy and literacy activities, typing skills and project work. Some of my favourite subjects to teach are Maths, Gaeilge and History. I love integrating learning into lots of different subjects. For example, in English we could be reading a novel based on WW2, we can do some drama based on scenarios from WW2, some art activities and lots of interesting history lessons. This really helps to make learning more concrete for pupils. One of the best parts of teaching is seeing smiling faces coming into school in the morning and heading home in the afternoons and it is very important to me to create a fair, respectful and positive classroom environment each year.

St. Peter’s N.S. is a very special place in my opinion as every teacher knows every pupil, and every pupil knows every teacher. It leads to a very cohesive, safe and supportive environment for pupils. It develops a really strong sense of belonging and a lovely community feel. The ethos and nature of our school is very child centred and all decisions are made based on what is best for the children. Our school has always had a very active Parent Teachers Association and it is wonderful to have so many families involved in school life which again solidifies that sense of belonging and community. St. Peter’s N.S. has also always been a very pro-active school with teachers engaging in regular professional development courses ensuring that we are using up to date methodologies and resources in our classrooms. It has a wonderful atmosphere to work in and I look forward to many more years ahead teaching in St. Peter’s N.S. and getting to know many more pupils and their families.

Managing a multi-grade classroom 

A TEACHER'S PERSPECTIVE
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. ​