We held Belgrove Arts Day on last Tuesday May 26th. The day went really well and there was only one ingredient missing really and that was the woman who has organised and guided it since I came to the School and for many years before that was not able to be here due to illness. I speak of Gabrielle Rowan who has laid down such a solid template for a successful arts day that it was relatively straightforward to run. Marketeers speak of strong brands and it is not an overstatement to say that the Arts Day is a very very strong brand. This is due to the winning formula which Gabrielle has drawn up and fine-tuned for many years now.
Marguerite has a poster in her office which says ‘no one knows how much I do until I am not there to do it’. And so it is with Gabrielle- I can only speak for myself when I say that I did not realise how much work went into the preparation, organising volunteers, booking artists and shows, and most of all timetabling.
I was delighted to report to Gabrielle that the day passed off very smoothly- Our face-painters did a fantastic job and in a nod to equality, we had our first two male face-painters this year. The painters- ably assisted by our learning support teachers- worked solidly and had every boy in the School painted by about one o’ clock.
So to the following Parents I say a big thank you
- Alison Lynch
- Valerie Nikookam
- Claire Cosgrave
- Elaine Tighe
- Susan Reeves
- Wayne Ivory
- Paul Nesbitt
- Anita Murray
- Laure Sweeney
- Tracey Byrne
- Genevieve Costello
- Janette Murphy
- Margaret Martin
- Shiela Bateman.
Martin Moloney and his Moon and Sixpence Marionette Theatre Company put on two hugely entertaining performances of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ for the boys. He always asks for the names of the staff at each show…… and so nerves are taut as Martin does not spare any of us with the ‘slagging’ – all in the name of fun! Boys too get a great kick out of the audience participation.
Then we had Shay O’ Connor from Meadowsounds who played some lovely blues on a variety of instruments- some of which he teachers at his music school.
Then Ms. Conry’s hip hop troupe took to the floor and with shades and baseball caps did some clever dance moves for us.
Flushed with their recent success, the McCaughey School of Speech and Drama gave a recital of songs and poems and showed why their boys did so spectacularly well at their examinations with the Leinster School of Speech and Drama this year.
Then we the audience turned performers and sang some songs which the teachers had prepared with the boys- Tá Gairdín Beag Agamsa, Lámha Suas, Yellow Submarine and the Octopus’ Garden. Ms. Michelle O’ Grady put herself in the loop for a renewed gig as MC for next year.
We finished our concert with the Cha Cha Slide which was woven in with our application for an Active School Flag of which more late.
While all this was going on of course, we had ceramic artists producing pottery pieces on a theme in each class- beginning with the infants and then going to the 1st and 2nds after lunch. The quality of the work which the boys produced was amazing and they should be very proud.
Our artists this year were-
- Niamh Flanagan
- Máire Flanagan
- Clare Henderson
- Emma Dowdall
- Ciara Gannon
- Garreth Carroll
I want to thank you the Parents for ensuring that the children brought in their boards for the pottery pieces.
And finally- the money from your voluntary contribution means we can continue to make arts day the great day it is.