A Hive of Learning in the Heart of the City
Our Projects
ERASMUS+
The ERASMUS+ project allows boys from Francis Street school to travel to the partner countries, experience new cultures and to build new friendships. Erasmus+ aims to modernise and improve the quality of teaching, training and youth work across Europe, and to support the development, transfer and implementation of innovative practices.
In 2018, we began our first Erasmus+ Project with schools from Turkey, Poland, Portugal and the U.K. This project is entitled ‘SCIENCE-SOFTSKILLS-TUTORING’ and aims to improve key competences and skills in this area for students and teachers through shared learning during the project duration.
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Incredible Years
We are an Incredible Years school and all our teachers are educated in Incredible Years.
The Incredible Years program is a series of overlapping, evidence based programs for children and their parents and teachers. The goal of the program is to promote children’s empathetic, interpersonal and academic competence.
Write to Read
Write to Read is a literacy model which encourages children to see themselves as readers, writers and thinkers. We work with the programme creator Dr. Eithne Kennedy, Senior Lecturer in DCU. It provides support to teachers to enable them to deliver high quality literacy programmes that are all inclusive.
Maths Recovery
Many of our teachers are trained in Maths Recovery. The programme provides teaching sessions that emphasise ongoing assessment through careful observation of the students current knowledge and strategies and selecting learning activities based on this information. We work closely with Dr. Noreen O’Loughlin from Mary Immaculate College on this programme.
Playworks
All our staff are trained in Playworks. This programme focusses on promoting the power of play to make children, schools and their communities stronger. Its aim is to create an environment on yard where every child can participate and learn the true value of fair play. It promotes inclusion, respect and leadership.
Coding
Computer coding helps pupils understand how technology works and gives the ability to be creative. Coding develops of a way of thinking and understanding which is conducive to problem solving. This will help pupils excel in the workforces of the future. Pupils learn how to code with Scratch. Pupils take part in the global Hour of Code each year and others enter the Digital Week Art Competition.
Social Entrepreneurship
We encourage our children to be social entrepreneurs. We believe it is important that our pupils come up with ideas that aim to support and improve our society today. We teach entrepreneurial skills through our work with the Solas project and the Dragon’s Den initiative.
Time 2 Read
We are one of only 14 schools in the country that are involved in this program. The Time 2 Read programme is Ireland’s first business to education reading initiative.
We work with Workday to provide our 2nd class pupils with the chance to receive reading support from a professional volunteer over a 24 week period. Visits are also arranged for children to visit both the local library and the Workday offices.
Robotics
Robotics involves the design, construction, operation and use of robots as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback and information processing. Our robotics team have competed nationally at two VEX IQ robotics events in Cork and Dundalk.
