Have you heard the news!!!

Scoil Naomh Eoin has been chosen to take part in the Arts’ Council Creative Schools Programme for 2020/21 and 2021/22.

What is Creative Schools?

Creative Schools is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child. Creative Schools is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Creative Schools, formerly Arts Rich Schools/Arís, draws on the commitments set out in the Arts in Education Charter.

This initiative will understand, develop and celebrate the arts and creativity in our school. It will establish a range of collaborative opportunities for our school and will develop and strengthen the relationships between the school and the broader cultural and community infrastructure within which we operate. The long term aim is for every school to be supported to fully embrace the arts and creativity, ensuring a positive experience and strong outcomes for children and young people.

Who will help us?

As part of this programme our school has been assigned a Creative Associate who will work with the school. Creative Associates are artists, creative practitioners and/or educators with an understanding of the arts and creativity and its potential to transform the lives of children and young people. Creative Associates match the needs of schools to arts and creative opportunities in their locality. They identify potential areas for improvement and inspire, energise and drive schools forward in addressing these.

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The Creative Associate we have been paired up with is Naomi Cahill. Naomi is founder and director of Bespoke Productions. She is an experienced and qualified drama teacher of primary, second level and adult education as well as children with special needs and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities.

What work has been done so far (Feb ’21)?

Naomi contacted the school in November ’20 and she has been consulting with the Creative Schools’ Coordinators namely Miss O’Shea and Ms Kerins. Surveys of the children, teachers and school management are underway to determine the direction our Creative Schools’ Plan will take. Unfortunately, due to Covid 19 not all of the surveys have been completed as yet. When the plan is drawn up we will be delighted to share it with you. We hope to provide the children with opportunities to explore the arts in meaningful contexts through a series of workshops in areas of our choice.  We hope that this project will inspire the staff and students to develop a host of new and exciting ways of working that impact on the learning, development and well-being of the school community.

What can we do now, at home?

As we continue to home school we have decided to get the Creative Schools’ initiative up and running by focusing on the positive aspects of being at home. We ask if the children would contribute by sharing a photograph, painting or drawing of something that they most enjoy making or doing at home. Here are a few ideas, but you will probably have lots of your own!!

I am happy at home when:

My family dance around to groovy music

I go for a walk in the forest with my brother/sister and our dog

I practise hurling/soccer/football in my garden

I watch a movie with my family

I make amazing creations with my lego

I make delicious cupcakes in the kitchen

We get spicy pizza for dinner!!

The photos, paintings and drawings will then be put together and displayed on our school website www.ballincurrigns.ie titled Our Wellness Wall.

We would kindly ask that you send your work of art to office@ballincurrigns.ie