Thanks to everyone who attended the final meeting for this year of the group and to Amy Mulvihill from Educate Together for coming along and speaking to the group about transformation (see ‘update since last meeting’).
Update on numbers: There are now 224 children pre-enrolled, and 315 adults are signed up to the mailing list. A one-pager update on the group’s progress over the last year was circulated (the text of that update is included at the end of these minutes).
Update since the last meeting: Thanks to all who took part in the Children’s Parade to hand in the petition and who wrote to the Minster for Education to request a meeting. At the meeting, the Minister said that transformation of an existing Catholic school is our best option as the Dept of Education is not likely to recognise us as a new school. The Dept of Education will support us in a transformation project when a potential school is identified. Meetings have also been held with the education spokespersons from the opposition parties.
Transformation: Amy Mulvhill explained that Educate Together has selected our group to be a pilot for the transformation process, and we have the complete support of Educate Together to do this ie work with a Catholic school to achieve transformation and jointly become an Educate Together school. Educate Together is working on transformation generally at a national level, but our work needs to focus on the local, grassroots level. Our message needs to be that we want to create a multi-denominational school which embraces the entire Educate Together ethos. A small group (Ivana Bacik, Henri McKervey, Dermot Stanley, Sandra Irwin-Gowran, Elaine Cassidy and Katie Burke) will make contact with local schools about this process. Educate Together is also writing to the principals and patrons of schools in the area. If anyone has a contact in any local school, please let us know!
Update on events/activities
Art Workshop for Children: Next event being planned is an art workshop, to be held as a one-day event next mid-term or Easter holidays. Jessica Hamilton is organising this – if anyone else wants to get involved please contact us at portobellomds@gmail.com
Pub Quiz Fundraiser: Dermot Stanley and Niamh Shine are organising this event, which will take place in the Headline Bar (on the SCR at Leonards Corner) in late January. Further details will be circulated.
Canvas Card: Ashe Conrad-Jones volunteered to put together the questions for a canvas card which will be circulated to all members when the general election is called.
Human Rights Submission: On behalf of the group, Ivana and Damien Peelo are jointly going to draft a submission for inclusion in the 2011 Irish report on human rights standards about rights to non-faith formation education.
AGM: The next meeting of the group will be the AGM in January (date tbc). The committee will be revamped then. Anyone who is interested in joining the committee please get in touch. Any ideas for other events or activities are welcome, especially those which can help us make contact with local families and schools.
