Day: 27 November 2018

Why? We are running/jogging/jalking to feel good, feel stronger each passing day. We are running to breathe and grab a chat with our buddy. We are running to be……running and happily, mindlessly running. We are running because we can and we enjoy moving and feeling the air/wind/rain/sun. Where? Miles and miles to Cork, Dublin and Paris. Why sponsor us? We are running to read, to learn to bolster our Literacy Lift Off Library and buy more novels. We are a running machine, hungry to read great books and willing to learn and to enjoy the process. Why bother? We are worth it! Our teachers are worth it!

Ms Brid sows many seeds and nurtures each and every child whom she works with each year. She overlooks, co-ordinates and plans all our literacy lift-offs, our Green-flag and MUCH MUCH more. Right now, she needs lots of clean jars. We will sterilize them in school. She hopes to make jam with all the children who froze berries last Sept….So please send in your jars. We will sell them for 2.50 each and she will invest every euro in next spring’s organic garden.

The Bucket Fillers in First, Second and Third are really busy making sure that they help their buddies feel good about themselves- No Put Downs 🙂 The Stay Safe Programme is in full swing around the school. We hope that parents are using the opportunity to explore self-worth, safety and mental health with their children. Fourth Class are having a great time, as they post a happy leaf on the Happy Tree each time they connect positively with a classmate. Well done, all of you!

It’s just great to walk past Gabriel Galway’s mural. We do it many times a day, as it is now well grounded in the heart and centre of our school.It has given everyone inspiration and pause for thought. The Children of Lir mural depicts four siblings finding their true form having been trapped as swans, for 900 years. It reflects the hope of parents and teachers: that each child who passes through primary and secondary education will find their ‘true selves’, discovering their talents and pursuing their interests along the way, whilst caring for those around them. It also depicts sibling love and care: Fionnuala, the eldest cared and looked after her three younger brothers-Conn, Áodh and Fiachra. It means different things to many people, but invariably it asks us to take time, to appreciate,enjoy and pause. Gabriel used exterior Colourtrend paints, generously sponsored by Tony Griffin of Pat MacDonnell’s Paints in Manor👍. Each of the four characters is depicted in seasonal colours. Fionnuala is depicted in wintry blues and strong cold colours, her eyes pierce you with intense, yet confident determination to prevail. Each face/season is connected to the other by virtue of the four colour palettes. The harsh shards of water and the soft swan feathers break away as the young adolescents finally cast their spell-bound form, only to emerge as their true selves. The children really enjoyed watching Gabriel sketch the outlines in pencil.Then,he returned
each day to add the colours.(Very exciting!) He completed it during the mid-term break, determined to outwit the inclement weather. The final outlines in smokey-black made the whole mural even more vibrant and I will always cherish the reactions of children and adults, when we returned on Monday….marvelous! Gabriel Galway has found his true form! He is a former pupil who followed his love of drawing, animation, graphics etc. He is a fledgling Fine Art graduate (NCAD) and we all wish him the very, very best in the future. You could not meet a nicer or more hard-working, gifted young man. Thank you, Gabriel! We must also thank Dermot Crean for his article in traleetoday.ie He was really impressed with the mural too and posted a great review last Saturday. Click this blue link:

traleetoday