About our School....

Our school motto is “Ní neart go cur le chéile”. It means “There is strength in unity.”

Sport in our school:

Blarney Boys National School has a long tradition of being very actively involved in a variety of sporting activities. The school has participated very successfully in the Sciath na Scol competitions and has been in Sciath na Scol Finals in Pairc Uí Chaoimh & Pairc Uí Rinn on numerous occasions thanks to Mr. Kelly who trains the school team after school. Many of our past pupils have represented Cork at club, and adult level. The most remarkable achievement being the All Ireland Intermediate Hurling win when 12 of the winning team had played on school teams in Sciath na Scol. Athletics and soccer has also been very important to the development of the young boys at Scoil an Chrói Ró Naofa. For many years the game of chess was synonymous with the boys of Blarney Boys National School who at various times were champions at county and national level. We have outside coaches coming in to the school once a week to teach us rugby and hurling skills. We also go swimming once a week for a school term.

 Quizzes:

Many of our teachers run quizzes on a regular basis. Our school has always been successful in Quiz Competitions particularly The Credit Union Quiz. Our sixth class quiz team made history in 2011 when they won the local round, came second in the whole of Cork and then reached the All- Ireland Credit Union Quiz final!

Blarney Castle:

We are very lucky to have the natural resource of Blarney Castle on our doorstep. We go for many nature trails to see the changes that the seasons bring. The children love to walk there and see ‘The druid’s circle’ ‘The witches ktichen’ and make a wish whilst walking backwards down the wishing steps.

Gaeilge:

Bhí Seachtain na Gaeilge beo agus ag ciceáil in the run-up to St. Patrick's Day in our school. From PE through Irish, learning agus ag canadh songs of our native country, reading Irish novels, to a trath na gceist with Scoil Iosagaín, everyone got into the spirit.

Music:

In school we learn the tin whistle and recorder. We performed some of our favourite songs that we had learned in school and also our favourite pieces on the tin whistle and recorder in the village of Blarney, where all the locals stopped to listen to us on International music day. We visit Cork Pops each year to hear a live orchestra and enjoy listening and responding to classical and popular music.Many of our students are members of the Blarney Brass and Reid Band and perform at concerts and events around the city.

Interactive whiteboards:

The school purchased interactive whiteboards for all our classrooms in 2008. We are fully equipped with the latest technology. They make learning fun, engaging and exciting for our pupils.

Cooking:

The kitchen is available to use by all classes, especially the resource classes, teaching the pupils excellent cookery and bakery skills.
So far this year, the boys have produced Spanish tapas, homemade pizza, chocolate cake, pancakes, muffins and cookies...MMmmmm!

Drama:

Mrs Maura Currivan (along with our teachers) teaches drama in the school. In the past the school has put on productions including ‘Oliver’, ‘Annie’ and last year 6^th Class even wrote their own play entitled ‘Michael Jackson’ the musical.

Incredible Edibles:

Our school has been part of this programme where we have been getting the chance to learn about and plant vegetables for the last number of years. The boys have cultivated strawberries, lettuce, potatoes and much more. We had a visit from Griffins Garden Centre where we planted our own window boxes.

Health Promoting School:

Our school promotes a healthy, happy environment. In recent years we have taken part in the ‘Food Dudes’ programme. This allowed us to taste fruit and vegetables which we may not normally sample. We have also used Lunch time pals (playground games run by the senior classes) to encourage cooperative play on our school yard.

Green Schools:

We were proud to achieve our first green flag in 2010.

We are currently in preparation for our second Green Flag which is to save Electricity. We have been taking meter readings on oil and electricity. We have noticed a significant reduction on our use of electricity and oil.

Spanish:

Our school is part of the Pilot Language programme. Fifth and sixth class learn Spanish. The learning of another language contributes towards the development of the child’s personal, cognitive and social skills. It develops receptive skills and enhances a child’s ability to communicate. The learner gains an awareness of language and how it works, and is encouraged to distinguish different sounds, rhythms, cadences and ways of expressing meaning. When the language learning is an enjoyable experience, the child is motivated to venture beyond what is already known. It facilitates the exploration of other cultures and other outlooks on the world.

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