Active Schools' Flag Initiative
Over the past two years St. Mary's N.S has been working tirelessly to improve upon our fitness, well-being and Physical Education teaching and learning. Have a look on this page to see how we have been getting on and you might be able to pick up some helpful tips for yourself along the way!
Meet the Committee
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ACTIVE WEEK 2019
Monday 27th May — Wacky & Relay
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Today we tried out our obstacle course and ran our novelty races. We were all split into teams and raced through the obstacle course. It was great fun. |
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Try it Tuesday - Ms. Donna Lyons Fitness Class
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On Tuesday Ms.Donna Lyons came in and did a fitness class with all the children.
We did lots of exercises like jumping jacks and squats. We played a game where Ms.Donna Lyons put on music and when she rolled the dice we had to do the number of active movements that were displayed on the dice. It was a lot of FUN! |
Today we also tried to bring in some healthy lunches. Each class brought in some healthy lunches and the healthiest lunch got a prize off Mr. Hickey
Thursday - Sports Day
Today we had our Active Week Sports Day. It began at 10.30 when we left our school for Rosemount Secondary School. Races began at 11 a.m. with the obstacle course, relay races and novelty races. In the novelty race there were prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd which get medals.
ACTIVE WEEK 2018
Marathon Monday
Today we ran laps around the yard. Half the school competed against the other half of the school to see who won. The Blue team of naionan bheaga, rang a haon, rang a tri agus rang a cuig just came out on top with over 3600 laps!
Try it Tuesday
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Today we tried out our obstacle course and tried to bring in some healthy lunches. We were all split into teams and raced through the obstacle course. It was great fun. Each class brought in some healthy lunches and the healthiest lunch got a prize off Mr. Hickey. |
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WOW, COW & SOW DAY + Ms. Donna Lyons Fitness Class
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On Wednesday at 8.20 Ms.Donna Lyons came in and did a fitness class with all the children.
We did lots of exercises like jumping jacks and squats. We played a game where Ms.Donna Lyons put on music and when she paused the music we had to pick up the cones. It was a lot of FUN! WOW COW AND SOW DAY Yesterday if you cycled ,walked or scooted to school you could wear a jersey or some active wear. You would also get a sticker and a raffle ticket where the winning ticket won a hamper. By Sophie and Georgia |
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Thursday - Sports Day
Today is sports day at 10.30 we will go to Rosemont Secondary School and run races like sprints, relay races and a novelty race. In the races 1st, 2nd and 3rd will get a medal.
Partnerships
Santry - Track Events
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Our sprinters and relay teams did us proud in Santry today and put in a huge effort to reach some finals.
Well done to all involved! |
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Santry - Field Event
We had great fun at Cumann na mBunscoil Santry Athletics competition. Monday was the day filled with the field events. We had competitors in the shot putt, long jump, 600 metres, wheelchair race and special sprint race. The boys and girls involved put a huge amount of effort in and in return we arrived home with two gold medals and a silver medal.
Séan, in 6th Class, threw over 9 metres in the shot putt to take home gold. After that, Dean in 3rd class sprinted 80 metres to win by the tip of his nose. Finally, Yousra, in 6th class, pushed her way to a silver medal in the wheelchair race.
Our 600 metre runners and long distance jumpers were also very competitive in their events and represented the school admirably.
Next up are the relay teams and the sprinters.
Good Luck!!
Séan, in 6th Class, threw over 9 metres in the shot putt to take home gold. After that, Dean in 3rd class sprinted 80 metres to win by the tip of his nose. Finally, Yousra, in 6th class, pushed her way to a silver medal in the wheelchair race.
Our 600 metre runners and long distance jumpers were also very competitive in their events and represented the school admirably.
Next up are the relay teams and the sprinters.
Good Luck!!
Senior Infants GAA Training with Amy from Naomh Olaf's
Active School Week May 2018
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We are eagerly awaiting Active School's Week. It has been a tradition of our school for years and always excites. Sports Day will be on Thursday on the grounds of Rosemount Secondary School. Good luck to all participants!! Saint Marys Abú!! Click on the document below to find out the run up of events!
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Partnerships
National Scoot to School Day March 14th 2018
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We celebrated National Scoot to School Day (Wednesday 14th March) through a number of fun activities. Children were met at the school gates with stickers as they arrived to school, and there was a choice of special prizes for children who had scooted to school! Children were delighted with their new high vis vests/reflective arm bands/bag tags/stationery items! Check out our new scooter parking facility that was jam packed full of scooters - a record breaking NINETY children were scooting to school today! Karen Moore led a number of Scooter Workshops throughout the school day which covered: scooter safety, scooter maintenance, emergency stops and obstacle courses! The children all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We look forward to seeing lots of children scooting to school next term!
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Club Members Survey
The ASF Committee recently completed a survey on active clubs that our pupils were members of. We were surprised to find out the variety of local clubs servicing our area. We hope the results of the survey will encourage more children in our school to take up more physical activities outside of school. Please see below a number of interesting statistics collected!
- Soccer Clubs in the area have the most amount of club members.
- The most popular club in the infant classes appears to be PlayBall.
- GAA Clubs and Swimming Clubs are the 2nd and 3rd most popular clubs.
- There is a large volume of children involved in Scouts/Beavers.
- Dance is also popular amongst our pupils with a variety of genres of dance enjoyed by all.
- 32percent of pupils are not part of any active club outside of school. (we hope that this will improve as people become more familiar with the variety of activities and clubs available to them in the local area!)
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Local Clubs our Pupils are Members of:
- GAA Clubs: Stars of Eireann, St Annes, Naomh Olafs GAA Club, Balinteer St Johns.
- Soccer Clubs: Lakelands F.C, Rockford Rovers, Wayside Celtic FC, St. Mary's Dundrum, St. Joseph's Leicester Celtic, St. Josephs.
- Rugby Club: De la Salle
- Hockey Clubs: Three Rock, Corinthians
- Golf Clubs: Stackstown
- Tennis Clubs: Meadowbrook, Westwood
- Athletics Clubs: Dundrum Athletics Club
- Outdoor and Adventure Clubs: Balinteer Scouts, Ballyroad Scouts, Kilternan Beavers,
- Biking Clubs: Epic Cycling Club
- Boxing Clubs: Angels Boxing Club, SwiftKick,
- Swimming Clubs: Meadowbrook, WestWood
Third Class Hurling Tournament
St. Mary's third class hurling team competed in the Andy Gibbons inter-schools hurling finals for their third successive year. We played matches in a league format for 4 weeks before reaching the cup final.
In the final, after being 3-1 down with 1 minute to go, the team managed to make a miraculous comeback to draw the match 3-3 and bring it to extra time. The match remained all square after extra time and a penalty shoot-out had to take place to decide the victors. Unfortunately, after going to sudden death penalties St. Mary's just missed out on clinching the title.
All the teachers and pupils in St. Mary's would like to say a huge congratulations and to the hurling team on their success at reaching the final and commiserations on just missing out on lifting the trophy!
In the final, after being 3-1 down with 1 minute to go, the team managed to make a miraculous comeback to draw the match 3-3 and bring it to extra time. The match remained all square after extra time and a penalty shoot-out had to take place to decide the victors. Unfortunately, after going to sudden death penalties St. Mary's just missed out on clinching the title.
All the teachers and pupils in St. Mary's would like to say a huge congratulations and to the hurling team on their success at reaching the final and commiserations on just missing out on lifting the trophy!
Physical Activity
Is Féidir Linn a Bheith ag Damhsa!
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Physical Education
Easter Orienteering
Partnerships
Boys' Soccer
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The growth and development of sports in the school took another huge step forward this month with the school entering FAI Schools' Soccer for the first time in our history. The boys from 4th, 5th and 6th class have been training hard in preparation for the league under the guidance of Mr. Hoey and Mr. Davis. Their efforts have been rewarded with an opening day victory against Good Shepherd. We wish the team the best for the rest of the competition.
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De La Salle Palmerston Tag Rugby Blitz
Physical Education
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6th class have been lucky to have a rugby coach for the past few weeks. Jonathan Sharkey from Leinster Rugby has been teaching us the skills of Tag Rugby. It is a simple, non-contact version of the game and the idea is that players have to dodge and avoid players from the other team while attempting to get a score or a try. We have been enjoying learning how to work as part of a team while having fun and learning new skills!
In addition to this, the class have been getting to grips with gymnastics. Having looked into a few of the different parts of gym work, we created our own demonstrations...we hope you enjoy watching them!! |
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6th Class on the move!
As part of our drive towards achieving our active flag in the school, the children of 6th class have been busy getting active. Each week, we try a number of different games to get up and get active during the school day. One of the games we really love to play is called "Pattern Ball". This throwing and catching game is seriously fun (and competitive) and involves lots of talking, listening and working as a team under pressure!
As well as this, we have been having great fun with some of the ideas that the Active Flag Committee gave us as movement breaks, including scissor jumps, star jumps and jogging on the spot for different lengths of time. We have set up our own "Go-noodle" account and Mr. Davis gives us the chance to dance along to songs between lessons. It's great fun but concentration is needed!
As well as this, we have been having great fun with some of the ideas that the Active Flag Committee gave us as movement breaks, including scissor jumps, star jumps and jogging on the spot for different lengths of time. We have set up our own "Go-noodle" account and Mr. Davis gives us the chance to dance along to songs between lessons. It's great fun but concentration is needed!
Gymnastics Geniuses!
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We love using our bodies to move in a variety of different ways. We especially love taking a trip to the jungle and doing bear walks, bunny hops, frog jumps and donkey kicks. Have a look at some of the amazing shapes we can create with our bodies and the different ways we can move. Prepare to be amazed!
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Physical Activity
Lunchtime Yard Sectioning
In order to maximise our enjoyment of physical activity our yard is now sectioned to provide us with an abundance of activities daily. The junior yard love the help and support from our Yard leaders who help us to enjoy playground games together. Have a look at our yard plans to really understand how it works!
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Christmas Cardio
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We love to sing and dance in our classroom. This year in our pursuit to attain the Active School Flag we love to learn a dance or two every month. It is really enjoyable and also keeps us healthy. We tried singing along with our dancing this Christmas! It was much more difficult!
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Movement Breaks!!!
Throughout the day the children are given the opportunity to get up and move around. This gets their blood pumping, energy flowing and concentration improving. This week we were learning the following songs/dances: |
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Santa Dash 2017
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The entire school decked out in their Christmas attire in order to complete a Santa Dash this year. Classes from Junior Infants right up to Sixth Class were timetabled on the yard to complete 5 minutes of jogging and a minute playgroup game. What fun we had!
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Partnerships
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Boys and girls from third and fourth class took part in a 5 a-side futsal competition in November. Although it was cold and wet all of St. Mary's teams played out of their skin scoring some magnificent goals!
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Halford's Bike Workshop
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We really enjoyed the 'Bike Workshop'! We learned how to select the right height bike for us, how to take off the tyre, how to fix a punctured tyre, how to check our brakes and all about safety when cycling. If you need any tips, we're your experts!! Now its time for us to start cycling again! |
Physical Activity
Active Maths
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Third class decided to take an active maths class and had a Maths Trail to investigate 3D objects in their local area!
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Hallowe'en Hopping
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Yoga
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We love getting up and being active throughout the day in school. Junior Infants enjoy a spot of yoga regularly. Have a look at some of their movements and stretches. CLICK HERE TO EXPLORE SOME MORE FUN YOGA EXPERIENCES! |
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A Visit from a True Sporting Role Model
Rachel Ruddy came and spoke with the children about her lifetime achievements and engagement with ladies sport. She was a true inspiration for all the children and we loved the trophies she brought in! She won a GAA All Star award this year and was also on the Dublin Ladies Football Team who won the All Ireland this year.
Active Week 2016 Report
St. Mary’s NS launched their Active Flag campaign with an Active Week that coincided with European Week of Sport. St Mary’s registered their event with the National Sports Council of Ireland who kindly sponsored prizes to be distributed throughout the week. The week kicked off with a “Move it on Monday” activity, followed by Teamwork Tuesday, Take it on Thursday and eventually a “Fastest and Fittest Challenge” on Friday. Tuesday’s activities saw the children of St. Mary’s running laps of 80 metres around the schools yard. Altogether the children ran a total distance of 426.5 kilometres which correlates to roughly 10 marathons, or the distance between Dublin and Cardiff! Thursday’s challenge saw the children jumping or skipping rather to victory. Accumulatively the children of St Mary’s N.S. managed to climb a height of 64,931 metres. The school managed to climb many of the highest peaks in Europe, even managing to conquer Everest!
The Active Flag launch has truly been a tremendous success and is a positive sign of things to come! #BeActive School’s Campaign.
The Active Flag launch has truly been a tremendous success and is a positive sign of things to come! #BeActive School’s Campaign.
Partnerships
Cumann na mBunscoil Finals, Croke Park - 26th October 2016
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Daily Mile Challenge 2016-2018
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St. Mary’s N.S have committed to adopting “The Daily Mile” Initiative in the school. We are one of 23 primary schools engaging with this initiative in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area. The Daily Mile initiative has proven to improve, physical, social, emotional and mental health and well being. It reduces anxiety and stress, helps to build relationships and enables encourages children to become healthier and proud of their fitness.
This initiative encourages an additional 15mins exercise throughout the school day and St Mary’s NS are committed to this. Each class in the school has been allocated a time to complete the challenge with the aim of children running or building their fitness up to run a mile a day. Children will run, jog or walk for 15minutes a day. The Daily Mile is differentiated by the children’s level of ability and children are encouraged to run at their own fitness level and enjoyment.
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