Well Being & School Activities
Creating Student Identity
Involvement in extracurricular activities is beneficial in a variety of ways for our students. They offer a place to form relationships and foster learning, and this is demonstrated within multiple school activities. Being involved in activities outside of normal school subjects increases student’s chances of creating friendships. Research shows students involved in extracurricular activities show that they were more likely to have friends than those who were not involved. Adolescents involved in school based extracurricular activities had higher self-esteem than those not involved. The overall findings demonstrate that involvement in activities, whether it be sports, clubs, or school-based programs, have a positive impact on the participant’s life.
Active Schools
An active school is a school where physical activity is valued, promoted and enjoyed by all. The aim of the active schools initiative is to enable schools to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community. The ASF initiative provides schools with a framework to guide, support and incentivise them to work towards achieving a physically educated and physically active school community. We have engaged with the active school program since 2014 and continue to practice its philosophies.
Green Schools
Green-Schools is Ireland’s leading environmental management and education programme for schools. Green-Schools’ mission is to protect planet Earth – our shared home to which we all belong.
Scoil Naomh Erc has been actively involved in the Green Schools initiative and to date have achieved 6 green school flags. We are currently working on our 7th Green Flag – Global Citizenship, Energy theme.
Healthy Eating
In Scoil Naomh Erc we are a ‘Health Promoting School’ and have engaged with the Health Promoting School’s programme since 2010. This on-going programme promotes a healthy lifestyle through educating the children about the importance of a balanced diet, regular exercise and positive mental wellbeing.
The children take part in programmes such as Food Dudes, Grow at School and Zippy’s Friends. As part of the programme our focus was healthy eating and as a result all pupils, staff, parents and outside agencies encourage children to practice good eating habits and make healthy choices, to highlight the link between healthy eating and good health.
Sports
Team sports within the school help to build the children’s confidence and self esteem. It encourages the children to learn how to work with others and how to communicate clearly to get the best result for everyone. Some sports within the school include football, hurling, basketball, soccer as well as the various disciplines within athletics.
Debate
‘When students participate in debate, they learn to study issues in depth and from perspectives, a skill I use every day in the senate.’ -Barack Obama
Debating is an excellent tool to encourage higher-order and critical thinking skills. It teaches students to structure and organize their thoughts while also developing their analytical and research skills. Participants learn to develop a broad view of the world around them. Students also learn to study topics concerning issues that impact the lives of others. This provides them with a deeper understanding of our society and the world we live in.
Glenderry has promoted debating through participation in The Concern Primary Schools Debating competition. Debating is a respectful argument and the benefits to the participants are extensive; reasoning, research, teamwork, discipline and public speaking being just some of the skills they acquire.
Art
Art encourages fine motor skills, neural development, and problem-solving abilities. It can be used effectively to teach and understand other key subjects such as reading, writing and maths. Art is naturally linked to creativity, an attribute that is increasingly being touted as one of the most important factors for the success of young children.
The children involved learn to express themselves in a creative environment and gain confidence showing off their many creations within their classes.
Rang a Sé are availing of a fully-funded 20-hour Artist in residency opportunity via the Teacher Artist Partnership Residency Programme (TAP) 2022/2023. This is a unique Department of Education and Skills, and Creative Ireland initiative. The initiative includes funded Artist in Residency opportunities in which participating teachers and artists work together in collaboration in the school. Rang a Se are really enjoying the workshops with Manuela Dei Grandi, where they are exploring the environment through various mediums of Art.
Music
Music is very important in Scoil N Erc and we strive to provide a broad
curriculum. We know how much the children enjoy listening and responding to music and it has huge benefits to their learning. We have two teachers who visit and provide a broad school wide programme. James Moore from Music Generation Kerry support our Early Years and Getting into Music Programme, and provide ukulele and guitar lessons. The children all receive their own instruments and can practice at home. Ann O Mahoney teaches Tin Whistle, songs and composition. The children perform at School activities such as Grandparents Day, Christmas shows, and for ceremonies such as Communion and Confirmation.