Aistear (an Irish word meaning “Journey”) is a framework for developing literacy and numeracy through play, which is very much supported and promoted by the Department of Education and Skills. In St. Michael’s N.S., we embrace this approach and focus on it in our Junior Infant classes. Children engage in carefully prepared and structured play activity and groupwork, specifically targeting certain objectives of the Primary School Curriculum.
We are well resourced for this approach, having identified themes to work on with our pupils and equipping our school with exciting equipment to implement the development of literacy and numeracy in the classroom through these themes. The classroom aistear areas can transform into a café, restaurant, opticians clinic, construction site, home corner, hairdressers and the list goes on. Children are encouraged to develop their skills of oral language, writing, reading, numeracy etc: through fun, play and positive interactions with teacher and their peers in a well planned learning environment.
We are a Catholic school under the patronage of the Bishop of Kilmore. We are also a DEIS Band 1 school as designated by the Department of Education and Skills. 
There are 260 wonderful pupils, boys and girls in classes from Junior Infants to sixth. We encourage our pupils to partake of a variety of activities – musical, dramatic, sporting, artistic, as well as academic.