Annually, we are very fortunate as a school to get skilled coaches (from Monaghan GAA) into our school to teach all our pupils varying levels of Gaelic skills through the use of fun activities, focusing on the required techniques.
As part of our Active Flag Campaign we had a dance instructor visit our school and teach dance to our pupils, every Wednesday for ten weeks. All the children got active in completing various dance moves. Please have a browse at our photos to see our pupils in action. Rosita also got involved in some dancing as part of our Active Flag Campaign. Thank you Rosita for teaching us some fantastic moves!
As part of our Active Flag Campaign we had a very special sports person visit our school on Wednesday the 7th March ‘18. Brian Gregan, Olympic Athlete visited, as part of the Sports for Schools Initiative. All of the children got active in completing various circuits and they also learned lots about what’s involved in becoming a famous athlete. Our school also received money towards PE equipment, which we were delighted about. We have ordered some new supplies and we will definitely be putting them to good use outdoors! Please have a browse at our photos to see some of the fun activities the pupils got involved in.
World Mental Health day is celebrated every year and this year in school, we focused in particular on mental health among our pupils. We incorporated mental health lessons into our teaching on each day of this week!
We used child appropriate lessons to teach children about the importance of looking after their mind, just the same as they would look after any other part of themselves if it was unwell. The children enjoyed learning about their feelings and emotions and finding out some techniques for dealing with ‘negative’ feelings they encounter as part of their everyday lives!
We also listened to and learned about how real people (both adults and children) deal with difficult feelings. The website https://walkinourshoes.org. was used to explore these feelings. The children were interested to find out that everyone experiences ‘negative’ feelings sometimes and that this is perfectly normal. We also talked about different ways we may find useful to help us deal with our emotions
As part of our Active Flag Campaign and to celebrate Active Schools week, we had a spring themed Sports Day on Friday 27th April 2018. These events were supervised by the staff and members of the Active Schools Committee. All these events were fun and encouraged physical activity in a fun setting! Please have a peek at the wonderful things our children got up to on the day.
This initiative proved successful in our school. We began our running challenge in March 2019 and have been doing it everyday. Weather didn’t stop our efforts! We used our walking track for this initiative, running ten laps or 1 km each day per classroom. This equated to 3km a day and 15km per week! Our challenge was to complete 60km in total, within the space of 4 weeks. We tried to do our running after lunch and this kept us awake and alert to complete our afternoon’s work. Before and after our run our Active Leaders lead some warm-up and cool-down activities. The children really enjoyed this initiative and we still get the children out for a jog as part of our active breaks!
On 8th March ’17 Maureen Mc Inearney visited our school to train our staff on the importance of oral health for children. Staff completed a course to equip them with the skills necessary to teach children about how necessary it is for them to look after their teeth and gums. Parents also received a lesson on oral hygiene in a workshop provided by Maureen. Everyone learned about the importance of correct teeth brushing and a healthy diet to ensure a healthy smile. Children received certificates and oral hygiene packs from Maureen for completing the Mighty Mouth Programme.
