This year’s Arts Day was held in the school on Tuesday last 31st May. It is one of the most enjoyable days in our school each year and is entirely funded from voluntary contributions made by our Parents. There is something for everyone during arts day…..
Face painters
We had a dedicated- and by 2 pm exhausted- group of volunteer moms, dads and even one minder who painted the face of almost every boy in the school. Some of the requests from the boys were high-tech and high definition and the painters did their very best to ensure each boy was very imaginatively turned out! A particular word of thanks to those who answered our SOS call for extra painters after lunch.The volunteers were Adrienne, Colette, Valerie, Aine, Susan R., Cliona, Damien, Paul, Laure, Wayne, Cathy, Jacinta, Ann, Susan T., Claire, Siona, Anita, Martina and Shanti.
Johnny the juggler
Johnny performed two shows for the boys- he really has an amazing talent and had both audiences agog with his tricks and patter- a natural. He had such an array of equipment and I know that juggling the riskier implements caused great excitement among the boys!!
Ceramic work in classes
While all this was going on, we had a panel of art graduates who guided boys through exploration of themes in the plastic arts (it is the correct term I believe). The artists worked with the infants in the morning and the older boys in the afternoon. Very many Parents took up our invitation to visit the classes to see the work in progress. Almost every boy brought in a board on which to mount his sculpture and this helps us greatly. Our artists were Andy, Clare, Joanie, Megan, Niamh and Jenny. I know they found the day invigorating and some of them said to me- as many who visit on Arts Day do- that school was never like this when they were at school.
Belgrove’s got Talent
The highlight of the day for me though was the Belgrove’s Got Talent segment. In the last few weeks teachers have been auditioning for performers in their classes and they have told me that the interest has been amazing. Some boys were reluctant to audition and that is fine too- it is a big challenge for small boys to perform in front of classmates, much less in front of the staff and their peers.
As you can see from the running order, there was a wide array of acts and no end of talent among the boys
- Michael Morris – Raglan Road (Rm 2)
- Ruben, Lawless Cotter – Happy Birthday on guitar (Rm 2)
- Dylan Persse – A talk about violin. (Rm 3)
- Darragh Doyle – Two tunes on violin + Tae Kwon Do moves ( R 5 .
- Daniel Sweeney – A magic trick (Room 3
- ” The Belgrove Chicks” – The Chicken Dance (R.1)
- Hugo Stafford – Harmonica (R. 4)
- Luc Morgan – jokes (R.12)
- Conor O’ Hanlon – piano piece (R. 11)
- Ben Ma – Piano piece (R.8)
- Daniel Cantwell – poem (R. 9)
- Alfie Byrne – song by Ariana Grande. (R. 10)
- Harry Potter in 99 seconds – (R. 7)
There was no sign of nerves from anyone and each boy did himself proud.
The show finished with a ‘surprise’ item. Members of staff have been secretly rehearsing a Belgrove version of “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)“. Boys loved to see staff dancing- which they did really well and with great rhythm as Simon and co would say.
Mar focal scoir- a big thank you to the Arts Day organising committee,- Nichola Breen, Mary Valentine, Michelle Carty, Maria McGuire, Naoise Delaney and Linda McGloin.
And finally… I reminded boys at the start of the day to thank every helper they encountered during Arts Day. The effort that goes into making it a success is something I do not take for granted. Similarly, I would want the boys to be thankful and appreciative to each person who worked with them and I know you will support me in this.