Presentation Castleisland has gone viral across the globe with its latest TikTok videos reaching as far a field as New York City this week.
The school TikTok page has racked up over one million views across three TikTok videos alone in the past five days.
One video in particular is currently at 550,000 views and counting. The school setup its TikTok account when Pierce Dargan took over the reins as principal, on November 1st last.
A Gap in the Market
Mr. Dargan saw a need and a gap in the market for such a platform to promote the school.
“It showcases the two aspects of what makes Presentation Castleisland so special, firstly, the school atmosphere on a daily basis, which short video clips capture more than any picture can ever do and secondly, it showcases the talented and inspiring staff at our school, who are also up for a bit of fun,” he said.
“If students and staff are having fun, along with keeping academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular standards high, as well as following the school policies and procedures, then you create a learning environment for both students and staff to flourish.
Finding the Balance
“It is essential to find the balance here and I think we have it just right in Presentation Castleisland,” he said.
The school has a very rigid mobile phone policy but students, under the supervision of a teacher, create the content and videos on a dedicated school phone that only has the school TikTok app on it and already logged in.
The agreement is that the students can create the videos but Mr. Dargan must approve and publish each one, otherwise the app and account is deleted.
Run by the Student Council
“Placing trust in my students is needed for this to be a success. It is a student council run initiative, mainly run by the sixth year members but any student or teacher can create videos.
“It builds leadership capacity in the students. We are simply showcasing what we do daily and bringing it to the public in their homes via TikTok.
“We have recently setup a ‘TikTok Club’ every Wednesday at lunchtime for the creation of these videos and it’s open to all students.
“We are now publishing a video each day at 4pm, so make sure to follow us on TikTok @pres_castleisland to get a taste of daily life in Presentation Castleisland,” Mr. Dargan invited.
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