European School Sport Day 2021

At St Brendan’s we really enjoyed European School Sport Day. All classes from Jnr Infants to Sixth Class completed 120 minutes of physical activity in school. Prior to the event we held an Active School Committee meeting to find out what activities we should include from last year. We began the day with traditional Sports Day activities such as relay races, sack races and egg and spoon race. We also promoted team work in the with activities such as hula hut relay, balloon pop relay, crazy card shuffle and a water relay. We had music in the yard at morning break and lunch break to encourage dancing and hula hoop activities. We are already looking forward to next year.

Active Flag & Green Flag

We had a double celebration at St Brendan’s when we raised our first ever Active Flag and our fifth Green Flag. Ms Brennan (Principal) opened the ceremony before calling on Mrs Dunphy (Green School Flag Co-ordinator) and the Green School Committee members Mary Kate, Jack, Maeve and Kate. They rose our new flag for #Biodiversity. St Brendan’s got their first Green Flag #Litter and Waste in 2011. This was followed by #Energy flag (2013), #Water flag(2016) and #Transport flag(2018). Our slogan is Healthy and Green, Keep our World Clean as There is no Planet B.

Then Ms Brennan called on Ms Carroll (Active School Flag Co-ordinator) and the Active School Committee members Ellie, Cian, Lily, Ella, Sophia and William. They reminded us of all the various challenges we completed such as Active Breaks, Run around Ireland, Active Home Week during our first lockdown and  European School Sports Day. Fifth and Sixth class pupils enjoyed their role as playground leaders leading yard games and the Dance Shed. They thanked the parents association for providing the new PE equipment. Our #ActiveSchool Walkway is an excellent resource for running and orienteering in PE. Now we have the first Active Flag, we must keep our slogan in mind and Jump, Run, Dance, Play: Get Active Every Day! 

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Engineer’s Week

At St Brendan’s we began # STEPS Engineers Week by completing the Engineering Everywhere quiz for fifth and sixth class in our online classes. We learned that Alice Perry became the first women to graduate as an engineer in Europe, and that she went to university in Galway. The slide on Wind Energy led us to our first activity the Pinwheel challenge. Our second challenge was a STEPS Engineers Week activity that we took from twinkl. We had to build a tower that would withstand a hurricane. Look at our creations which we made at home.

Working At Home

Fifth and Sixth Class @Baileroibin did some excellent art activities when working at home. They took their inspiration from two lessons that Múinteoir Clíona presented on HomeSchoolHub. They made houses and then they completed self-portraits. Look at their amazing work.

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Active School Flag

Today at St Brendan’s we were awarded our first Active School Flag. We began the process in October 2019 and we were successful due to the time, effort and energies put in by all staff Ms Brennan, Mrs Dunphy, Mrs Walsh, Ms Carroll (Active School Flag Co-ordinator) and the Active Flag Committee ( Ellie (6th), Cian (5th), Lily(4th), Ella(2nd), William(1st) and Sofia(1st) and former pupils Adam and Luke. Thanks to our SNA’s Jackie, Jodie and Eddie who helped out with European Schools Sport Day on 25th Sept 2020. We also acknowledge all the pupils who acted as playground monitors for playground games and the dance shed. During the first lockdown, all parents got behind our initiative and motivated their children to take part in Active Home Week. Without you we would not have got this flag so soon. Finally the parents association at St Brendan’s fundraised for PE equipment and we now have a well stocked PE shed. Thanks to Michael who put up all the signs for the Active Walkway which is used daily for active breaks. We also won a set of outdoor speakers form Active Flag which we put to weekly use. We will get our flag and certificate as soon as school reopen.

PE Equipment

We are enjoying all the new PE equipment that was provided by parent fundraising. As we are on the tarmac at the moment we have started to play eurohoc and it’s very popular. The pupils in fifth and sixth have taken to skipping for their active breaks. Check them out playing smelly sock. Mrs Dunphy’s room have used the foam javelins and the frisbees. All classes are delighted to have pumped up basketballs, gaelic footballs and soccer balls for our PE lessons. We can’t wait to try out our new adjustable hurdle when we are back on the grass again.

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Dance Shed

On Friday the Playground Monitors from 6th Class played some Christmas Songs in the Dance Shed. Fifth and Sixth class students had great fun dancing around. At the other side of the yard Jnr and Snr Infants and First Class danced in their area as the music boomed out of our new speakers from ActiveFlag. The two playground monitors remained on yard to allow the middle room (Second and Third and Fourth Class) to have their Dance session. We will continue the Dance Shed on Wednesdays and Mondays in December. Next Friday will be festive Dance Shed so wear your Santa hats.

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Dig it Kids

Fifth and Sixth Class have learned a lot about the Anglo-Normans in Ireland. When Dermot MacMurrough went to Henry II for help, it really changed the course of Irish history. We learned how these events would later influence the development of Kilkenny Castle and about Sir William Marshall. We had a live zoom session  with Lisanne O’ Loughlin and Dr Stephen Mandal, heritage in school experts where pupils built a model of Kilkenny Castle. They did a great job.

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ESSD Jnr Room

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Junior and Senior Infants and First Class and Mrs Walsh participated in European School Sport Day on Friday. They enjoyed the traditional school sports day activities such as sprints, hopping race, sack race and wheelbarrow race. They were motivated to keep going by Mrs Walsh, Jodie and Eddie and they were really great. They also did a fantastic job of making posters promoting ESSD 2020.

ESSD Middle Room

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Second, Third and Fourth Class and Mrs Dunphy had great fun participating in European School Sport Day 2020. The balloon race was more challenging than anticipated as there was a strong breeze blowing across the field. This did not dampen the enthusiasm in the least. Pupils enjoyed the traditional sports day activities such as sprints, sack races, obstacle course and wheelbarrow races. Second, third and fourth pupils are also to be commended for the beautiful posters that they made promoting ESSD 2020.

ESSD 2020 : Snr Room

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On Friday 25th September 2020, all classes in St Brendan’s N.S. participated in European School Sport Day 2020. This post shows 5th and 6th class taking part in events such as the balloon relay, sack race, relay and hurdle races. We had some new games (thanks to ideas from IPPEA) such as Hula Hut, Wacky Waiter Race and Blindfold Fun where Ms Carroll and Jackie got involved. There was a very competitive game of World cup and we had a Walkway addition challenge in orienteering. All classes also managed to keep up their laps for Run Around Ireland Challenge. It was great fun and could become an annual event.

Jnr Room Art

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This year we did not get a chance to enter our art at the IverkShow but that did not stop Junior & Senior Infants and First Class from completing a fantastic array of art at home. The dandelion art is really bright and cheery. The construction pieces such as the horse shop and Olympic soccer make great use of lego. There is a marvelous tent and a fantastic wildflower collage. We have some drawings from the farm, a very hungry caterpillar, a birthday wish and a fabulous rainbow. The kitchen paper patterns are just stunning.