Wednesday 21 October 2015

Papier-mache Halloween Pumpkins

We started our papier-mache pumpkins on Friday last. We stuffed black plastic bags with old newspapers and used masking tape to close them and tape them into pumpkinesque segments.
We made our glue from flour, water and salt. We used it to stick strips of newspaper to the bag. It was messy work.They have spent a number of days drying.
As of yesterday, they looked like slightly soggy oversized garlic but today we started priming and painting them orange. Tomorrow we will put the finishing touches to them

Friday 16 October 2015

Flags for Schools

Sgt Stephen and Private Michael from Aiken Barracks in Dundalk arrived just before eleven, on Wednesday past, to deliver our new flag and copy of the proclamation. Shantel Camora read an excerpt from the proclamation whilst Saoirse Caffrey and Letezia Sheridan accepted the flag and proclamation, respectively, on the school's behalf.
Sgt. Stephen explained the significance of both the flag and the proclamation to the whole school, which had gathered together in the hall. They also told us about the centenary of the 1916 Rising and how we could mark it by writing a proclamation of our own which would outline our aspirations for the next 100 years.
They answered some of our questions about life in the army, mainly about how they got their medals: tours of Lebanon, Kosovo, Chad and Cyprus.
We finished off the ceremony with a rousing rendition of Amhrán na Bhfiann.

Tuesday 13 October 2015

Preparing for the Flags for Schools Presentation

In preparation for the arrival of the Defence Forces and their presentation of the tricolour and proclamation to the school, our class held a brief assembly to inform the school about the significance of these events.
The Flags for Schools initiative is a government drive to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising. The Defence Forces are spending the lead up presenting a copy of the proclamation and a tricolour to every primary school in the country
As part of our assembly we discussed the proclamation, the signatories and the symbolism of our national flag