REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON HER VISIT TO THE HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL COOTEHILL, CO CAVAN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON HER VISIT TO THE HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL COOTEHILL, CO CAVAN 22 MARCH, 1999
I am delighted to be here today to celebrate with you the Silver Jubilee of the Holy Family School. I would like to thank your Principal, Catherine Farrell and the Chairman of the Board of Management, Canon Des O’Dowd, for their kind and very welcome invitation.
This is a very special year for you, marking 25 years of exceptional achievement and hard work by teachers, parents and pupils. As the only special school in the Cavan/Monaghan area, it has ensured that life has been immeasurably enriched for the many pupils who have benefited over the years from the dedication, love and care of the staff here.
As a parent myself, I know that one of the most fundamental concerns any parent faces is the education of their children. We all want to ensure that our children receive the best possible chance in life, that they are given the opportunity to develop their gifts to the full, that they grow in confidence and self-esteem and are ready at the end of their school-days to face the challenges and cares of adult life.
For parents of children with special needs, and particularly those with profound disabilities, those concerns are much greater. The challenges those children face are more difficult, and so they need and deserve an even higher level of encouragement and support to unlock their special gifts. The old adage – What’s learnt in childhood is engraved on stone – challenges us to use these schooldays well so that not a minute – not an opportunity is lost to invest in the adult to come, by investing in the child.
This school has responded in an exceptional way to these challenges. It has recognised that a school must provide far more than an educational service. It is equally important that it provides a safe and caring environment in which children have the opportunity to meet others of their own age group, to build friendships and social skills, to learn of their unique worth, and to grow into adults that their family and community can be proud of.
The challenges faced by these children may be greater, but so too are the rewards of witnessing each small but immeasurably important step of progress. Those steps have been made possible within this school by the partnership of a wide range of people and organisations – teaching staff, special needs assistants, administrative staff, those providing transport services, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and nursing and social work staff. In all, there are now 39 people employed on this campus, caring for 91 children.
What unites all of you is your clear and unwavering focus on the needs of individual children and your belief in the unique dignity and potential of each. I would like to warmly commend your tireless dedication, commitment and energy in ensuring that these children receive the love and encouragement that is their right.
Finally, I would like to pay tribute to all the parents of these wonderful children. You are their most important teachers, you carry the most difficult burden. I have no doubt, however, with the support of this excellent school, you also receive the greatest joy in seeing the progress the children make in Holy Family School.
I wish all of you the very best in the years ahead and I am sure that the next 25 years will be as successful as the last.