I know for certain that we never lose the people we love, even to death.
They continue to participate in every act, thought and decision we make.
Their love leaves an indelible imprint in our memories.
We find comfort in knowing that our lives have been enriched by having shared their love.
~Leo Buscaglia~
On the 19th of December 2015 Mark Fordham died suddenly. He was in 2nd Class aged just 8 years old. It seems to us now, that like a shooting star, he burned most radiantly because his life was so short. He connected with every child and member of staff in his time with us…weaving a special spell, leaving us heartbroken, but leaving us also with a store of treasured memories.
Mark was dramatic, imaginative and witty and funny- His games required a big group of playmates, eager to find out what fabulous adventure they were going to experience. His games needed the entire expanse of our playground. Each day, walls, leaves, pebbles, rocks and trees were imaginatively transformed into potions, kingdoms and portals to other galaxies and fantasy lands.
Mark was confident, aware of his charisma and he loved being social. When asked in a writing activity if there was anything he would change about himself if he could his answer was simple. It is inscribed on the seat of the throne which stands as a memorial to him.
It reads: “everything is good”
Mark was inventive and very bright academically. He was the centre of attention, someone who rippled with energy and enthusiasm. He loved music. Fittingly “Electricity’ was one of his favourite songs. We have lots of mementos of Mark, photographs of him at work and play, samples of his writing, video footage of his antics in his role of director for a nativity play and singing in the choir at our Carol Service- his face beaming as he copied the conductor’s antics!
Every adult and child who knew Mark was devastated by his passing. Yet no one in our school ever wished to have missed the opportunity to know him, despite experiencing the pain of parting with him. We think of Mark here every day. We see his memorial- the throne and a circular bench set on a circle of paving stones beneath the trees, a constant reminder of him and his dear parents Donal and Patricia.
Mark made us want to be better friends, better teachers, better parents. He showed us that in his short life every moment matters and that every day is a chance to shine. He inspired our school to celebrate every child as a unique treasure trove of talents and gifts who leave a legacy no one can ever fully comprehend.
Christmas RaffleChristmas Raffle December 17th 2021 We are delighted […]
PROCLAMATION DAY by Adam
/in 2nd Class, 3rd Class, 4th Class /by 5ch00lAdm1nPROCLAMATION DAY
Ms. O’Doherty’s father came in to the school. He is a local historian He told us all about the 1916 Rising and some of the Civil War. I was most interested about Father Thomas Fahy who encouraged the volunteers to surrender at Lime Park. He told Liam Mellows that Dublin was in flames and that the rising had failed .After that we went outside. Tom O’Doherty read the Proclamation of the Provisional Government. Oisín, Ava, Abbie, Emma and I read the school proclamation for our generation.
Our school’s special phrase is “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future”. I am proud to write that I came up with the line with the help of my team Diarmuid Greaney ‘Clodagh Creedon, Béibhinn Ganly .At the end we sang Amhran Na bhFiann while Daniel and James, our youngest and oldest pupils, raised the national flag.
by Adam, 4th Class
Book Week 2016 by Diarmuid
/in 2nd Class, 3rd Class /by 5ch00lAdm1nBook Week 2016
We celebrated Book Week 29th. February to 4th of March. It’s my favourite time of year because I love books more than anything! My buddy reader was Alastair O’Sullivan who is in 5th. Class. I love doing buddy reading with him and I think we have a lot in common. After small break we had our first glimpse at the Book Fair!
On Tuesday Erin Fahy’s Mum came and read ‘Molly’s Diary’. I thought it was great.
On Wednesday there was a dash of excitement because we were going to Oranmore Library. I got 6 books which included ‘The Secret of Kells’, ‘Timmy Failure Mistakes Were Made’ and ‘Skylanders Universe Annual 2015’.
On Friday Rory Conroy (one of the animators from ‘Song Of The Sea’) came to visit. We watched the movie on Monday so we were all experts! He showed us a cool flip book, told us amazing animation secrets and, of course, how to draw a minion!! It took up nearly all of our break but it was worth it. (mostly because we got 5 minutes extra) When we went to Ms. Leeches Room for singing I was sad that Book Week was all over but Ms. Leech said we could carry on buddy reading. Hurray!
The highlight of Book Week was when Rory Conroy came in to visit.
By Diarmuid, 2nd Class
Book Week by Eoan
/in 1st Class, 2nd Class, 3rd Class /by 5ch00lAdm1nBook Week
On book week my buddy reader was Jake. We read some very interesting books like Volcanos, Animals at War and Timmy and the Dragon. At the book fair I bought Dennis the Menace , Extreme Survival and Tom Gates. My favourite is Tom Gates. The best bit about book week is that we went to the library. Me and Iarla found a WWE book. The library was my favourite bit about book week.
By Eoan, 2nd Class
Peace Proms
/in 2nd Class /by 5ch00lAdm1nPeace Proms
On the 31st of January we went to the peace proms. I was sitting beside Hugo on the bus. Firstly we got our seats and ate our lunch. Then we sang some songs. First we sang the ‘Matilda Medley’. Then we sang Imagine’ and the ‘Friends Medley’. Then we had another lunchbreak. Then all the audience came. First the orchestra played the Mission Impossible soundtrack.
My favourite song was the Star Wars theme song. All the characters from Star Wars came into our section. I high-fived a storm trooper and a character called Darth Vader. I had fun!
Afterwards, we went to Scotty’s with our friends Clodagh, Ava and Grace. I had a hot dog and for dessert Ava and Clodagh shared a chocolate fudge cake. I had one all for myself! After I was over full for an hour and I wanted to be hungry again because I thought I would burst!
by Mark Bruen 2nd Class
Peace Proms 2016
/in 3rd Class /by 5ch00lAdm1nPeace Proms 2016
On Sunday, the 31st of January we went to the Kingfisher Hall in Galway to perform a lot of songs in front of our parents and a huge audience. We had been rehearsing them for months in our school. Now our big day had finally arrived!
In the morning, my mom drove me down to the school to get a bus to the Peace Proms. I sat beside my friend Edel on the bus. When we got to Kingfisher Hall we ate our lunch. After about 10-20 minutes the orchestra and conductor, Greg Beardsell were ready and we rehearsed our songs. Then we had another break.
Before the concert started we met some of the girls from the orchestra. They were musicians and played the clarinet and wearing green and gold dresses. They looked beautiful.
The first song that we sang was ‘Touch the Sky,’ second was ‘World in Union’ and the soloist was Sarah Richmond. Thirdly, we sang ‘Power of the Dream’ and the soloist for this song was Megan Ruby Walsh. We sang ‘Friends Medley’. Then there was a short interval.
In the second half the orchestra played the soundtrack of ‘Star Wars’. Afterwards we sang ‘Matilda Medley’. Then we sang ‘Imagine’, then ‘Pop Medley’. After we sang ‘You’re the Voice’. The finale was ‘Ireland’s Call’ with Emmet Cahill the soloist. Then the concert was over. Afterwards, we went for dinner in Raftery’s Rest in Kilcolgan, the perfect end to a perfect day!
by Tara Keane
All Ireland Community Games Camogie u14 Champions
/in What's Happening /by 5ch00lAdm1nAll Ireland Community Games Camogie u14 Champions
On Wednesday 17 February the All Ireland Community Games Camogie u14 Champions, Ardrahan, came to visit our school. They beat Glanmire from Cork in the All-Ireland Final with a score line of 1-7 to 1-6. We are very proud of our 6th class pupils Abbie Callanan and Chloe Glynn and past pupils Chloe Fahy and Alannah Glynn(captain) who are on the team!
Peace Proms 2016
/in 2nd Class /by 5ch00lAdm1nPeace Proms 2016
I woke up jumping out of bed with exhilaration. “I can’t believe it is here! The day of Peace Proms 2016!!!,” I said nearly bursting out of my pyjamas. I ran down stairs and got dressed straight away into my white top and black jeans. I scoffed up my breakfast and hopped into the car. We were meeting a bus at school, that was going to bring us to the Kingfisher Hall in Galway. On the bus, I sat beside Erin. When we got there we lined up. I was jumping up and down because I had never been involved in a concert this big before. I charged into the hall exclaiming “Wow!” The practice started at around half eleven. We began with the ‘Friends Medley’ followed by ‘Imagine’ written by John Lennon. Thirdly we practiced the ‘Matilda Medley’ and then we sang ‘You’re the Voice’. We ended the practice with an hours long lunch break and a stretch of our legs. The concert began at two o clock. The orchestra played a piece from the movie ‘Mission Impossible’. The flashing lights beamed at us as we sang our songs. We brought sunglasses for the song ‘Uptown Funk in the ‘Pop Medley’. We sang a song that conductor Greg Beardsell said was the symbol of bravery. It was called ‘Touch the Sky’ from the movie ‘Brave’. I think I might have over exaggerated a little bit when Star Wars came into our section of our bleacher stand. I added a few more moves to the ‘Matilda Medley’ when there were only moves to ‘Revolting Children’. I smiled with pride as the audience clapped for us doing our outstanding singing. My favourite song I performed was ‘Power of the Dream’ which we sang with a soprano soloist. There was also a Scottish Pipe Band and some Scottish dancers from Belfast. A little bit more into the show there was Irish dancers from the Hessian School of Dance. The final song of the day was Irelands Call and everyone joined in with the singing. After the concert I had a chat with my friends. It was a brilliant day and concert. I had the best time ever!!!
By Orlaith Mannion
Learning About 1916 in the Middle Room
/in 2nd Class, 3rd Class, What's Happening /by 5ch00lAdm1nLearning About 1916 in the Middle Room
In the Middle Room we have been learning about the events of Easter week in 1916. We have learned what life in Dublin was like for men, women and children. We have learned about the hopes and dreams of some determined people who decided to rebelas against the British forces in Ireland…beginning in that fateful week. We learned of how many Dubliners were taken by surprise by the actions of the rebels. We read about their bravery against the well organised and armed British army and of the locations where they fought, the GPO, Boland’s Mills, Jacob’s factory, Dublin Castle. We also learned about the Proclamation and our school has received a copy with our National flag like every primary school in Ireland. We learned about the seven signatories of the Proclamation and their surrender and execution.
One of the exercises Ms. Fenlon asked us to do was to design a biscuit to celebrate 1916, using all we had learned about the Rising, the seige in Jacob’s and using some of the ideas and famous names to create them…Katie baked a batch of cookies using ginger, pistacchio and oats…the GPO biscuit which everyone agreed was delicious. Her version for class didn’t contain pistacchios as our school is a Nut Free Zone. Diarmuid baked a cookie based on biscuits baked at the time but included a chocolate chip in each… a small act of rebellion so he named his cookies ‘Rebels’!
Remembering Mark
/in Mark Fordham /by 5ch00lAdm1nI know for certain that we never lose the people we love, even to death.
They continue to participate in every act, thought and decision we make.
Their love leaves an indelible imprint in our memories.
We find comfort in knowing that our lives have been enriched by having shared their love.
~Leo Buscaglia~
On the 19th of December 2015 Mark Fordham died suddenly. He was in 2nd Class aged just 8 years old. It seems to us now, that like a shooting star, he burned most radiantly because his life was so short. He connected with every child and member of staff in his time with us…weaving a special spell, leaving us heartbroken, but leaving us also with a store of treasured memories.
Mark was dramatic, imaginative and witty and funny- His games required a big group of playmates, eager to find out what fabulous adventure they were going to experience. His games needed the entire expanse of our playground. Each day, walls, leaves, pebbles, rocks and trees were imaginatively transformed into potions, kingdoms and portals to other galaxies and fantasy lands.
Mark was confident, aware of his charisma and he loved being social. When asked in a writing activity if there was anything he would change about himself if he could his answer was simple. It is inscribed on the seat of the throne which stands as a memorial to him.
It reads: “everything is good”
Mark was inventive and very bright academically. He was the centre of attention, someone who rippled with energy and enthusiasm. He loved music. Fittingly “Electricity’ was one of his favourite songs. We have lots of mementos of Mark, photographs of him at work and play, samples of his writing, video footage of his antics in his role of director for a nativity play and singing in the choir at our Carol Service- his face beaming as he copied the conductor’s antics!
Every adult and child who knew Mark was devastated by his passing. Yet no one in our school ever wished to have missed the opportunity to know him, despite experiencing the pain of parting with him. We think of Mark here every day. We see his memorial- the throne and a circular bench set on a circle of paving stones beneath the trees, a constant reminder of him and his dear parents Donal and Patricia.
Mark made us want to be better friends, better teachers, better parents. He showed us that in his short life every moment matters and that every day is a chance to shine. He inspired our school to celebrate every child as a unique treasure trove of talents and gifts who leave a legacy no one can ever fully comprehend.
First Term in the Middle Room
/in 2nd Class, 3rd Class /by 5ch00lAdm1nFirst Term in the Middle Room
We have had a very busy first term in Second, Third and Fourth Class. We were all busy getting used to keeping our Reading Logs, getting quiet and focused during DEAR, working happily in pairs and groups. Now we go on journeys of the imagination at the turn of a page…at no expense! Second Class has a big event to look forward to this year. Fr. Roche visited to tell them about the Do This in Memory of Me programme and to invite us to some special masses for everyone preparing for First Communion. In September, we invited our grandparents to visit our school on October 9that 1pm. Then we had a couple of weeks to get ready. We interviewed our grandparents…We collected photographs of them…We made portraits of them in oil and chalk pastels…We gathered mementoes to display which reminded us of their love for us… from toys, jewellery, rosary beads, cards, a loaf of Granny’s brown bread and a a bowl of strawberries! We wrote poems about them…composed prayers for them and decorated the corridors and the school hall with all our lovely work. We finally celebrated Grandparents’ Day on October 9th. Our school was so busy and full with grandparents who travelled from Dublin, Meath, Mayo, Kerry and other counties on the day, sharing memories, hugging us, seeing our classroom and meeting our teachers and friends. Our Parents’ Council made lovely tea and cakes for them and they all had a chat. We sang, played music and danced for them. Billy, one of the granddads played accordion with John, a Dad who played tin whistle. They played three songs and everyone clapped and tapped their feet! By four o’clock our visitors were gone and we all went home…
We had our Parent Teacher Meetings then Halloween which is always fun! Our fancy dress parade competition was better than ever this year with lots of homemade costumes and props.