New head is the only female to start school in Strangford

New head is the only female to start school in Strangford

9 September 2015

THERE is only one new girl at St Joseph’s Primary School in Strangford this year.

The school’s first female principal took up her post last week as seven little boys started in P1.

Although Mrs Laura Fitzsimons is by no means a newcomer to the school — she was a pupil in the 1980s and has taught there for 13 years — she has introduced a new school motto to coincide with her appointment.

She believes the motto — ‘A school at the heart of the community, a community at the heart of the school’ — reflects the strength for which St Joseph’s is renowned since it was founded 50 years ago.

Mrs Fitzsimons admits there is little she hopes to change about the school where she spent her own carefree school days.

She is so convinced by its strengths that she brings her own daughter, Eimear, there from Downpatrick every morning so she too can enjoy a village education.

“The small nature of the school in the centre of a tightly knit community is great,” she said.

“Because we are small there is a great feeling of welcome on arrival and that is something I remember also as a child.

“The community is so important to our school and I want that link to be drawn between the home, the school and the parish.

“I personally remember being looked after and cared for and that is what I want to instil in the children.”

She said she was delighted to welcome seven new starts into P1 and joked that as an all-boy class they could form their own football team in the future.

“As the principal it will be my aim that the boys feel well looked after,” she said.

Mrs Fitzsimons has replaced Mr Kenny Conlon, who was principal for the last 13 years.