• Home
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Pay It Forward
    • FAQs
    • Contact
  • CPD Courses
    • Free CPD for Teachers
    • CPD Courses for Teachers
    • CPD Summer Courses
    • FAQs
    Menu
    • Free CPD for Teachers
    • CPD Courses for Teachers
    • CPD Summer Courses
    • FAQs
    CPD Webinar: An insight into The Irish Language Requirement

    CPD Webinar: An insight into The Irish Language Requirement

    €15.00
    Read More
  • EPV Courses
  • Events
  • Blog
    info@rahoo.ie
    Rahoo
    • Home
      • About Us
      • Our Team
      • Pay It Forward
      • FAQs
      • Contact
    • CPD Courses
      • Free CPD for Teachers
      • CPD Courses for Teachers
      • CPD Summer Courses
      • FAQs
      Menu
      • Free CPD for Teachers
      • CPD Courses for Teachers
      • CPD Summer Courses
      • FAQs
      CPD Webinar: An insight into The Irish Language Requirement

      CPD Webinar: An insight into The Irish Language Requirement

      €15.00
      Read More
    • EPV Courses
    • Events
    • Blog
      • Course Log-in

    The Not-So-Secret Diary of

    The Not-So-Secret Diary of Principal Robbie O Connell

    • Categories The Not-So-Secret Diary of
    • Date November 16, 2021

    The Not-So-Secret Diary of a Principal

    Primary school principal of St Brendan’s Ns, Blennerville, Tralee, Co. Kerry.

    I love my role as school Principal, in particular it’s variety and the daily interactions of all within the school community.

    I have an Instagram platform where I share my philosophy, it’s called @positiveprimaryprincipal

    My alarm goes off…

    @6:30am, I shower, have a bowl of cereal (porridge in the winter months!) and leave for school.

    I am in school for roughly 7:30am and I enjoy this time in school in the morning to gather my thoughts. I write down my daily checklist which mainly contains priorities and general admin such as follow up phone calls and emails.

    The caretaker and I are roughly in at the same time in the mornings and we take turns buying the morning coffees from the local shop next door to the school.

    I really value this time and chat with our school caretaker as I rarely get an opportunity during the school day to have a conversation with him that is not work related. We talk sport mainly and I look forward to these chats every morning.

    Psst… check out our blog-post on morning routines HERE.

    I am responsible for…

    Ultimately everything once I step foot inside the school building!

    I am lucky enough to have a superb team of dedicated staff and the workload is distributed but I am acutely aware of the fact that I am solely answerable and accountable for everything. This can be an overwhelming thought but I see my job as a privilege.

    I see leadership as not being about being in charge, but about taking care of those in your charge. I have a duty of care to both children and staff and that is always to the forefront of my mind.

    Psst… if you want to learn more about the daily life of a principal, check out this diary entry from Teresa, a principal in Cork. Check it out HERE!

    View this post on Instagram

    A post shared by Positiveprimaryprincipal (@positiveprimaryprincipal)

    My typical day...

    No two days are the same!

    I am an administrative principal and I ensure I get to visit classes as much as possible, I love to touch base with both children and teachers and to witness teaching & learning in action.

    I visit classrooms to give birthday certificates & lollipop to the children who have birthdays, I also visit to give a hot chocolate to the students of the week in each class. I also enjoy going on the yard to converse with the children.

    Meetings, phone calls, paperwork form part of nearly every day and I try to leave school at a reasonable hour every afternoon.

    The best part of my job is...

    Witnessing children happy and learning in school.

    We as a school staff place a huge emphasis on pupil well-being and it is fantastic to witness our various initiatives bearing fruit. I enjoy interacting with all facets of the school community and receiving feedback from parents.

    I also get huge satisfaction form interacting with staff, assisting staff and learning from staff along with working together as a team for the overall benefit and education of our pupils.

    Find more details about  here!

    The most challenging part of my job is…

    Juggling everything, it is an extremely busy role whereby the buck stops with me and this has its own pressure. One has to be courageous, I have to have the courage to make the difficult decisions, the courage to have the difficult conversation with staff or parents and the courage to stand by those decisions.

    Psst… If you want to learn more about how to prioritise your time, check out this blog-post about effective decision-making HERE!

    I am inspired by…

    The staff I work with each and every day who give their all and utilise their expertise to educate our pupils. I ensure to make all staff aware on a regular basis that they are appreciated and valued as much as possible, this is one of my priorities as a principal.

    After work…

    I switch off once I leave the school!  I engage in mindlessness activities. I try to exercise daily and watch an episode of a Netflix series.  I have learned that whatever pops up late on any given evening can wait until the morning unless it is an emergency situation as one can often rush into a response to an email or a phone call late in the evening when tired and regret it afterwards.

    The motto I live by…

    Practice what you preach or change your speech!

    School principals must be consistent and lead from the front, talk is cheap and one must be willing to row in and show all within the school community that you are a team player and that your motivations are genuine.

    A huge thank you to Robbie for sharing his not-so-secret diary – we love the idea of birthday certificates and lollipops! Sounds like a lovely place to be every day!

    Would you like to share your diary or like to suggest a teacher, principal or education professional whose diary you would like to read?!

    Contact us at info@rahoo.ie to nominate yourself or someone else – ah go on!

    Go on, go on, go on!

    P.S. Have you checked out our CPD webinar?

    Find out more!
    nqtfest_rahoo_cpd

    Virtual Conference for Teachers: NQT Picnic 27th July 2022

    June 14, 2022 No Comments

    NQT Picnic is a specially designed online event for NQT’s in July 2022.

    It is a daunting experience starting your very first teaching position – whether it is subbing or your own post! College seems like a long time ago now and you may be starting to feel a tad nervous.

    Following the huge success of NQT Fest & Picnic in 2021, we are delighted to share this special event for NQT’s in July 2022 with you!

    Read More »

    Free Resources for Teachers: End of School Year Activities

    June 9, 2022 No Comments

    Free Resource for Teachers – End of School Year Activities!

    Read More »
    rahoo_nadine_muinteoirn

    11 Ideas for End of Year School Activities

    June 8, 2022 No Comments

    What an exciting time of the year! Your main lessons and topics are complete and the pupils are getting excited for their summer holidays. It can be a challenging time to keep pupils engaged in classroom lessons due to exciting events on the horizon like school tours or sports days, so I like to keep things light and fun and still try to ensure the learning is taking place.

    Read More »

    3 Things Teachers Should Know Before They Start Teaching

    June 8, 2022 No Comments

    Ciara McGuane is the Summer Course Director for Rahoo.ie.

    Her career highlights include being filmed by BBC London teaching in the classroom and guest-lecturing at the Institute of Education in London. She has worked as a teacher, school leader, teacher trainer and initial teacher training tutor prior to setting up Rahoo.

    Read More »

    3 Classroom Management Mistakes to Avoid

    May 18, 2022 No Comments

    This is always a hot topic for teachers and so important to get it right.
    Here are some mistakes that teachers have shared with us when they did our EPV Summer Course on Classroom Management with Niamh Byrne, Irish Primary Teacher.
    We have dipped in and out of the CPD course to learn what to do instead!

    Read More »
    Work_Smarter_EPV_Course

    The Secret to Successful Lesson Planning!

    May 17, 2022 No Comments

    Why do we remember the words of lyrics we haven’t heard in years? Why do some experiences stick in our heads more than others? Something made them memorable!

    Make your lessons stick by trying to make some aspect of it different. This could be as simple as playing music (we have played classical music when students were working independently in the past) or hooking them into the lesson with mystery tasks or controversial questions that spark debate.

    When planning ask yourself: What can I do to make this lesson memorable?

    Read More »

    Tag:Easter, Lesson Ideas

    • Share:
    author avatar
    Rahoo

    Previous post

    A Chat with a Teacher Expat
    November 16, 2021

    Next post

    The Late Late Toy Show Classroom Activities
    November 23, 2021

    You may also like

    Trina Golden
    The Not-So-Secret Diary of Principal Trina Golden
    17 May, 2022
    image
    The Not-So-Secret Diary of the Glitter & Coffee Teacher
    1 February, 2022
    Hayley 1
    The Not-So-Secret Diary of a Teacher – Hayley
    11 January, 2022
    CPD Summer Courses

    Search

    Categories

    • Assessment
    • Assessment for Learning
    • Back To School Tips
    • Career
    • Classroom Management
    • Course of the Month
    • Dear NQT
    • Empowering Expat Teachers Series
    • Events
    • FEILTE
    • Free CPD for Teachers
    • Free Resources
    • Homework
    • ICT
    • Inspire & Empower
    • Job Interviews
    • Lesson Ideas
    • Lesson Planning
    • Mental Health
    • Middle East
    • PME
    • Questioning
    • Rahoo
    • SET
    • Short Course News
    • Summer Course News
    • Teacher Finance
    • Teacher Tips & Tricks
    • Teacher Wellbeing
    • The Not-So-Secret Diary of
    • Thought-provoking
    • Worklife Balance
    Summer-Course
    Rahoo

    info@rahoo.ie

    Floor 1,
    56 O’Connell Street,
    Ennis,
    Co. Clare.

    Useful Links
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
    Rahoo Courses
    • Free CPD for Teachers
    • CPD Courses for Teachers
    • CPD Summer Courses
    • FAQs
    Keep Updated

    Website Design & SEO by Agile Digital Strategy. Copyright 2022 Rahoo. All Rights Reserved.

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT