New principal of Educate Together says ‘Books spark the imagination of children’
By Echo Reporter
EDUCATE Together has appointed Margaret Burke as Principal of Riverview Educate Together National School in Dublin 12.
Riverview ETNS will open in September 2016 to Junior Infants and will be based in the former St Peter’s National School on Limekiln Road.
Ms Burke said: “I am absolutely overjoyed to be given this opportunity to play such a key role in the establishment of Riverview ETNS.
I am passionately committed to the Educate Together ethos, and this position as principal of Riverview ETNS feels like the most wonderful opportunity to build a community of learning for our children, with a strong focus on excellence, and where the celebration of the child is at the heart of everything we do.”
Margaret has 18 years of teaching experience, working as part of the management team in a large, vibrant junior school.
She has gained valuable experience as a mainstream class teacher, implementing innovative programmes in the areas of literacy, numeracy and infant education, including Aistear and Ready Set Go Maths.
She has also worked as a teacher of English as an additional language. In her role as a special duties post holder, Margaret has implemented whole school projects to foster community involvement and was also responsible for introducing the Playworks model of structured yard activities to the school.
Margaret has a rich experience in the area of special educational needs, having spent five years working in a specialised school for children with autism in Montreal, Canada.
Margaret has a Masters of Arts in Children’s Literature and her love of children’s books informs all of her teaching.
Margaret says ‘I have experienced again and again the way in which books open up worlds to children. They spark their imagination and the right books can support children in developing empathy, understanding and compassion.’
Margaret is one of the co-creators of the poster – Different Families, Same Love – a ground-breaking resource which has equipped Irish teachers to open up conversations about family diversity in classrooms around the country.
The poster also support teachers to pro-actively address homophobic and transphobic bullying in our schools.
With a lifelong love of the Irish language, Margaret is a strong believer in the benefits of second language learning in terms of children’s cognitive development, understanding of language and creativity.
She will bring her keen interest in music to school life in Riverview. She is also very excited by the situation of Riverview, adjacent to Tymon Park, and is keen to maximise on the opportunities this will afford the pupils for learning outside of the classroom”.
