The college is co-educational and multi-denominational and endeavours to provide a curriculum comprehensive in nature, thus affording each pupil the opportunity to develop his/her aptitudes and talents fully. We believe academic success to be vitally important and we hold in equal importance responsibility, confidence, social skills and a set of values which will enrich him/her personally and also enrich those with whom he/she associates.
The school provides a pastoral care/social and personal development programme incorporating social and health education, and a spiritual programme. These are devoted to assisting the student to make the proper choices during his/her education, and with a view to him/her obtaining satisfactory and fulfilling employment.
The school motto is "Ni Neart go cur le cheile". This is translated as "strength through co-operation". To this end, the help and support of parents is recognised as being one of our most valuable assets. We encourage a high level of co-operation between home and school in order to promote effective learning and to foster the talents and well being of our students. These are devoted to assisting the student to make the proper choices during his/her education, and with a view to him/her obtaining satisfactory and fulfilling employment.
The School mission statement / aim. The school shall be established with the objective of providing a comprehensive system of post primary education open to all the children in the community, combining instruction in academic and practical subjects and ongoing education for persons living at or near the Blanchardstown area.......... generally for the purpose of contributing towards the spiritual, moral, mental and physical well being and development of the said community.
An emphasis on academic standards.
Involvement of parents in the school.
Pastoral care.
Riversdale as an agent of change.
Written into the deed of trust and the articles of management is a clear mission
statement for the school. It states:
In attempting to achieve this aim a school plan with a philosophy and methodology was drawn up in conjunction with the staff, board of management and parents.
This has been promoted and achieved by a number of means. Each student is evaluated on work effort and progress during each term. This in conjunction with the term exams leads to a review by the tutor and yearhead and in the case of an unsatisfactory examination to appropriate measures being taken. On a positive note there is a supervised study running three nights a week while commendations for academic achievements are awarded every year.
The school has attempted to achieve this by regular parent-teacher meetings, the development of a home liaison scheme and the establishment of a parent-teacher association. Indeed the idea for the PTA was written into the school constitution back in 1986 with the view "that parents and teachers would meet and exchange ideas and inform on the education of children at the school, at home and in the community and to discuss problems of mutual interest."
The production of a school yearbook was begun five years ago to improve written
communication between the school and the parents. The school is thus able to
communicate its ethos and purpose to all parents.
There are also a large number of day and night classes for the adult population of the catchment area while the school building is used by local groups for such things as football, prayer meetings etc. etc. This opening of the school doors is a practical demonstration of belief in the clause in the deeds of trust which states:
The school of course is not isolated from the community, it is part of the community. It is our hope that the Blanchardstown community would regard the college as its social and educational center.
A balanced system of pastoral care, career guidance and special needs was devised. These were established because the school recognised that students needed help in the transition from primary to secondary and in a time of changing home situations and the challenges of the modern world.
Pastoral care is an expression of the schools continuing concern for the individuals integrity and welfare, the involvement in the development of his/her personality and talents and its readiness to support him/her at all times and especially when his/her work is adversely affected by personal and domestic circumstances.
Within this context the school has adopted a learning for life programme as part of its social and personal module in each yeargroup.
The school has shown itself to be a great innovator in the area of school improvement. In the past four years Riversdale has taken on a series of PLC courses, a VPT course that has evolved into LCAP, a Transition year and the LCVP. This is on top of the new courses within the Junior and Leaving Certificate. There are also the additional changes which will have to absorbed as part of the White Paper.