Sooey N.S. is a five-teacher primary school located on the R284 between Ballygawley and Riverstown in County Sligo. The current enrolment is 116. The present school building was constructed in 1956 but several changes been made to the original building over the years, not least the newest extension which is now home to Ms. McDonald’s 1st and 2nd Class children. The school also employs a full-time resource and learning support teacher and a full-time SNA.
The word Sooey means ‘sorrel’ which refers to a wild flower that can be found commonly throughout Ireland in all types of grassy habitats. We have incorporated the sorrel into our school crest. The official Irish name for our school is ‘Scoil Freastógála na Maigdine Muire’ which means ‘School of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary’ and was taken from the name of the nearby parish church
We in Sooey NS have a commitment to ensure that each child reaches their full potential developing qualities of mind, body, spirit, imagination and feeling. They will do this in a safe and supportive environment where every child is welcomed encouraged and challenged. We will strive to develop each child's confidence, self esteem, acceptance of others, sense of cooperation and communication skills while promoting the Catholic Ethos of our school. While Sooey NS is a school with a Catholic ethos, it also gives due recognition to children of all other religious beliefs and none.
Elaine Gilligan: Principal and Mainstream Teacher
Thomas Egan: Deputy Principal and Mainstream Teacher
Aoife Ní Duignan: Assistant Principal II and Mainstream Teacher
Yvonne McQuaid: Mainstream Teacher
Edel McDonald: Mainstream Teacher
Aiveen Scanlon: Special Education Teacher (SET)
Celine Phelan: Special Education Teacher (SET)
Shirley Tarpey: Special Education Teacher (SET) (maternity leave cover)
Maria McGettrick: EAL Teacher
Mark O'Hara: Principal release cover
Una Milne: Special Needs Assistant SNA
Lisa Kenny: School Secretary
Pauline Byrne: Cleaner.
The Board of Management manages the school for the patron and is elected every four years. The BOM meets once a month. The chairperson consults with the board's secretary who then sends a notification to all board members, giving at least one week's notice of upcoming meetings meetings.
Meetings:
The Chairperson and Principal draw up an agenda for meetings and all board members have the opportunity to discuss issues arising from the minutes of the previous meeting and agenda of the current meeting. Members also have the opportunity to discuss any other issues under AOB.
Teachers employed in the school are invited to nominate themselves to become the Teacher Representative and this representative is then elected during a staff meeting.
The Teacher Representative and Principal inform school staff about the outcomes of BOM meetings. If teachers have an issue that they feel needs to be discussed, they can ask the teacher representative to include in the next BOM meeting.
Parent representatives (one male, one female) bring a parent's perspective to the BOM. Parents are invited to nominate a mother and father to stand for election and parent representatives are then elected from these nominations.
The present board (formed in 2023) is as follows:
Chairperson: Mrs. Martha Byrne
Secretary: Mrs. Elaine Gilligan
Treasurer: Mr. Cormack Kearns
Patron Representative: Father Yashin Jos
Teacher Representative: Ms. Edel McDonald
Parents Representative: Ms. Maeve Kelly and Mr. Martin McMahon
Community representative: Patrick Kerins