Ní Neart go chur le chéile

PTech (prompted by Joeys Alumni and pioneered by Principal and teachers) gives Joeys a competitive edge. However, as a voluntary school we are under-funded by 30% compared to state-controlled schools. This consumes scarce management time that could be better used on activities that would make us “the best we can be”.

For example, resources (that we don’t have) are required to comply with the bureaucratic processes to get additional Government capital funding for infrastructure replacement / renewal and tackle the political / control issues causing the underfunding of operational costs (e.g. for special educational needs, maintenance of buildings / grounds, architect’s reports, educational trips, etc.).

We in Joeys Alumni have been in the thick of things to help out. Last year over €100,000 was raised from a legacy and from a small number of past pupils, who were in a position to so do. These funds were used to purchase laptops, communications equipment, pay for educational trips and professional expertise (you’ve all seen the improvements we’ve made in getting our message across) needed to help move things forward. We are now on the cusp of developing a shared vision of the future and an agreed strategic plan to get us there.

Watch this space for developments. Meanwhile we are working on raising “seed funding” to enable us to deal with a number of defined issues and provide us with a better foundation for making Joeys the modern, connected and ambitious school we all want to be! Please let us know if you can help in any way.