Trim school principal swap a first for Ireland

Australian principal Mark Moloney takes over at the helm of St Mary's NS Convent Primary School in Trim this week following his job swap with long-time local school principal, Cóilín " Coigligh. Both school principals are taking part in an exchange programme for a year, the first time this has happened in Ireland, though similar arrangements are already in place between Australia and several countries around the world. Mr " Coigligh travelled to Victoria on New Year's Day where he will spend the next year as principal of St Patrick's Primary School, a Catholic School in Koroit, about three-and-a-half hours' drive from Melbourne. The St Mary's school head visited Melbourne on a bursary in March 2007, where he visited 15 schools during his three weeks there with group of teachers. During the return visit to Ireland, the teachers at St Mary's were asked if any were interested in doing a six-week swap during the summer holidays with an Australian counterpart and, while one teacher was interested, the exchange did not work out. Mr " Coigligh said he was studying for a masters at the time and was not in a position to undertake an exchange but kept in touch with the International Teacher Federation, which arranges the programmes. He was told there was an Australian principal interested in doing a swap in Ireland from January and he made enquiries with the Department of Education, which agreed to run a pilot scheme. The school's board of management then gave him its sanction. It took four months to set up the scheme and the agreement was finally signed between Australia and Ireland in November. Not only will the principals swap jobs, but also houses and cars for the year as well. Mr " Coigligh, who left for Australia on New Year's Day and will begin work on 22nd January, said he is looking forward to the exchange though he is "a bit apprehensive". He said it would be a "huge challenge". He added that, because it is a pilot scheme, there is no-one to advise him but believed there would be good support in Australia where they have been doing similar exchanges for 50-60 years. "It is important to me that I represent my country well and do a good job. I'm going to be principal there, not just keeping things ticking over. It is not a holiday or a study," he said. Mr " Coigligh said there is a lot of shared responsibility in St Mary's among the teachers which is a good help to the incoming principal. He said the day is gone where one person is at the centre of everything and that there is a lot of collegial decision-making. "Mark will bring a lot of fresh thinking and new ideas from the system and culture in his country and will also bring back with him our ideas and culture," added Mr " Coigligh. He said staff in St Mary's were apprehensive about the change but are looking forward to the fresh challenges and to working with their new principal. The school where Mr " Coigligh will be based in Koroit has 144 pupils and 13 teachers and he will also be taking on teaching duties one day per week as it a small school. "It is a great honour to be able to do something that has not been done before. I am looking forward to working in a different system," he said. Work is continuing on the extension to St Mary's, a project that has been driven by Mr " Coigligh, and it is expected to be completed by April, with classes moving in next September. The official opening will take place in January 2011. The new extension will see all the school back on the one site, as a number of classes are currently being taught across the street in the old St Mary's convent building.