Recounts by pupils of Rahara NS
Sixth Class Pupils
My name is Ali Campbell. I am 12 years old and in 6th class in Rahara NS. I am genuinely very happy in Rahara NS. In the 8 years I have been here I have never felt unhappy or left out. The pupils and teachers are very kind. I have so many friends and the teachers are exceptionally helpful. I will be so sad leaving Rahara NS at the end of June because you never get bored here. I love every single one of my teachers. However, Mrs. Costello is my favourite teacher. She is genuine, kind and so helpful. I will really miss her when I leave.
I have lots of memories from Rahara NS but I will share my first memory with you. I remember my very first day in Rahara NS. There were 2 other pupils in my class, Eamon Lynch and Katie Silke. The 3 of us sat at a small, round, yellow table. Ms. Harlow was my Infant teacher and she was also one of the kindest teachers I ever had!
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My name is Eamon Lynch and I am 11 years old. I am in 6th class in Rahara NS. We are lucky to have kind and helpful teachers in our school. We have a lovely Learning Support teacher, Ms. O’Reilly. A Learning Support teacher is a teacher that helps children who are very far ahead in a subject or falling behind in a subject. School in 2016 is amazing as we have enthusiastic teachers who teach us a variety of subjects.
I remember when I moved into the senior room. At first, it was intimidating, but then I got used to it! Honestly, we get a fair amount of homework, not too much or too little. That’s probably because our teachers are fair with teaching, homework and punishment exercises!
We have lots of technology in our school, whiteboards, laptops, iPads etc. We enter into lots of competitions and participate in many projects. We have participated in the Blue Star Award 2015, Green Schools Award 2015, Junior Entrepreneur Award 2015, and the list goes on!
We love going on school tours. A few years ago we went to an artificial ski slope in the Dublin Mountains to learn to ski! This really shows you how cool our school is.
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My name is Natasha Keenan. I am 13 years old and I am in 6th class in Rahara NS. I enjoy coming to Rahara NS in the mornings, because it brightens up my days and you get to meet your friends and the lovely supportive teachers. There are 23 pupils in the whole school with 2 teachers and 1 Learning Support teacher. I am very happy and comfortable in this school.
In Rahara NS there is a wide range of sports. We love getting involved in sports. We play soccer, gaelic, hurling, tennis, baseball and more. Every year we enter into FAI Schools Soccer competitions. We always get very far and we enjoy playing soccer. On the 6th of April, 2016, the girls were playing soccer matches in Shiven FC. We got through to the county finals, but disappointingly, lost.
We are very lucky to have a Learning Support teacher in our school. She helps different children with their difficulties and with their strengths. She is an excellent teacher for helping children. Sometimes we get In-Class Learning Support. We do PALS, which stands for Peer Assisted Learning Strategies. You are put into a group of 2 or 3 and you basically read with your partner. We also do narrative writing in groups. We have great fun doing them.
I remember my first day in Junior Infants, I fell asleep. I missed out on a lot of work which was great! When I woke up I didn’t know where I was, but shortly I did. It was a laugh.
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Fifth Class Pupils
My name is Evan Donnelly and I’m 10 years old. The school curriculum, resources and teachers have changed dramatically. Technology has improved in our school since I started in junior infants. Now we have iPads, laptops, interactive white boards, computers and printers in every classroom.
We have Learning Support staff who help pupils with special needs, disabilities and learning difficulties.
Children nowadays learn by visualising and showing pictures that help to expand their imaginations. We have a better education for their future. I’m really glad I was born in the 2000’s because teachers are nice and friendly to me and my fellow classmates.
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My name is Jessica Keenan, I am eleven years old and I am in 5th class in Rahara NS. Our Learning Support teacher is a teacher who helps you with a subject that you find hard. In our school our Learning Support teacher is Miss O’Reilly. She is a really kind, lovely and helpful teacher.
Our school is multi-cultured which means people from different countries come to our school. Already in our school there are four nationalities such as Australian, Korean, Canadian and Irish.
We do lots of project work in Rahara such as the One Good Idea. Our sixth class got through to the top six teams in Ireland, which is amazing. They will be going to Dublin to perform their Carbondos presentation on the 11th May 2016.
We also do plays in our school and the parents and relatives come and watch us perform. Last year, we did a play in our school about 1916. I was a narrator, so I had to tell the story about 1916. My brother was a newspaper boy, my other brother was an Irish Volunteer and my sister was Grace Gifford, who married Joseph Plunkett the night before he was executed! It was a very interesting play but at the same time it was funny. I enjoyed doing the play.
I remember when I started school in Rahara that I was excited but a bit nervous too. I felt really proud entering through the doors of Rahara NS with my new school bag, new drinking bottle and new books. I love going to school because I get to see my friends and the teachers always have something fun for us to do.
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My name is Abbie Doyle, I am 11 years old and I am in 5th class in Rahara NS. My first memory of Rahara NS was on the first day of Junior Infants when Evan Donnelly fell asleep on the table in Ms. Harlow’s room!
We play lots of sports in Rahara NS, gaelic, soccer, tennis, swimming and many more. Girls can participate in all sports. We have a Learning Support teacher and previously we had an SNA. Our teacher uses a traffic light system to deal with misbehaviour, which happens rarely!
Our principal is Mrs. Costello, she is stylish, pretty and very kind to us. Mrs. McGowan, another pretty teacher, is the Junior room teacher. Last, but not least, our Learning Support teacher is Ms. O’Reilly. She is beautiful and kind. We are lucky to have great teachers in Rahara NS.
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My name is Megan Molloy and I am nearly 12 years old. I’m also in 5th class. School resources have improved dramatically in the last number of years. We’ve got lots of resources such as technology, interactive white boards, laptops, iPad and Learning Support staff. There are lots of different nationalities and religions. We have four different nationalities in our school, including Canadian, Australian, Korean and Irish. There are two Class teachers and one Resource teacher, they’re very helpful and kind. We do great projects in our school, including the Green Flag which is an organisation that is trying to get young people interested helping our environment. We are currently on our 7th Green Flag. We are one of six schools in Roscommon that are on their 7th Green Flag.
One of the funniest memories that I have from school was when a 6th class boy kicked a ball at Mrs. Costello, by accident, and broke her glasses in half. I was in Junior Infants when it happened, we were all outside on the yard. Mrs. Costello was busy on the phone organising a match with another school. She was walking behind the goals. We were all minding our own business when suddenly we heard a loud scream from Mrs. Costello! There was blood pouring down her face and her glasses were on the ground broken in half. It was very funny at the time!
I love all my friends and the teachers too. Overall, I love Rahara NS.
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Fourth Class Pupils
My name is Michael Moran and I am in 4th class in Rahara NS. We have 2 Class teachers and 1 Learning Support teacher. Our Learning Support teacher is Ms. O’Reilly. She is a very kind and helpful teacher. If a child has a learning difficulty, Ms. O’Reilly will help the child understand better.
The resources in Rahara NS have improved in the last number of years as now we have lots of technology. We have many laptops, iPads, and interactive whiteboards to help us research and learn more. We have loads of resources for art. Art lets your imagination go free, that’s why a lot of children like art.
Our curriculum is a big part in our school. We participate in lots of projects eg. Green Schools programme, Junior Entrepreneur awards and maths week. The Junior Entrepreneur Awards was one of my favourite projects. We had to come up with a business idea, then design a product and sell it. We set up and mini company, designed and produced Green Schools badges, and even made a profit from it!
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My name is Rachel Fallon, I am 10 years old and in 4th class in Rahara NS. My teacher is Mrs. Costello and she is so kind to me. All the teachers here are nice and rarely give out to us. We have so much technology in our classroom, for example, we have loads of iPads, computers, laptops, whiteboards etc. We do lots of cool activities like SPHE, RSE, Drama, music, tennis and swimming. We also do lots of project work. We have 4 different nationalities here in Rahara NS.
The children in our school are are also very kind, you can always find somebody to play with. Chloe Kenny and Lorraine Moran are my two B.F.F (Best Friends Forever). They are both funny and kind.
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Third Class Pupils
My name is Lorraine Moran, I am 8 years old and in 3rd class. I really love Rahara NS. I’ve been here for 5 years and I have had an AMAZING experience. I remember the opening night when my mammy, Jennifer Moran, was telling me about a girl named, Chloe Kenny, and we’ve been friends for over 6 years now. I love making new friends in Rahara NS. Also, when I was a Junior infant, I didn’t really like doing work so I always asked to go to the toilet and then I would peek into the senior room and Mrs. Costello would say “Lorraine Moran” !!!! I would then scurry down the hall to pretend to go to the toilet!
We are very lucky to be in a small school because the teachers can give us more attention. (Which I like very much!) There is a lovely atmosphere in the school which helps new people feel at home. We also do PE, Drama and Art. We even have Meditation & Mindfulness classes too. Our school enters lots of competitions and projects. Our 6th class have created a game to measure your carbon footprint for the ‘One Good Idea’ competition. The senior room will be going to Dublin Castle on the 11th May and Mrs. Costello has promised us Supermac’s on the way home from Dublin.
Our school is on our 7th Green flag and each year when we receive our Green flag, we invite and army bank, we get 2 bouncy castles and the ice-cream van. We have a lot of fun. I love Rahara NS and I think it’s the best!
I will definitely send my children to Rahara NS.
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My name is James Molloy and I am 9 years old. When first I went into the senior room, I was a bit scared, but I got used to it! Our teacher is Mrs. Costello, she is a fair teacher and very kind to me. At first, I did not think she was that kind!
My class are all nice to me. I know everyone in the school. I like the Senior room better than the junior room. I have a lot of fun with my friends. At small break we play ‘4 square’ and at big break we play soccer. We have great fun when we play the two games. In the game ‘4 square’ there is a king, prince, duck and a slave!
We have a Learning Support teacher, her name is Ms. O’Reilly. She helps pupils and she teaches the 3rd and 4th class maths sets. She is very helpful in our school.
We do a lot of sports, for example: soccer, football and hurling. We play games against other schools.
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My name is Chloe Kenny, I am nine years old and I am in 3rd class in Rahara NS. I remember my first day in Rahara NS. All the Junior Infants sat at a yellow round desk. I had a pink school bag but after about two weeks it broke! When I was in senior infants our teacher made a little library in the corner, it had blankets and cushions in it. It was so comfy that once I nearly fell asleep!
Once when we had our Green Flag ceremony, we were playing on the bouncy castle, that our principal, Mrs. Costello, hired. I was having so much fun that my glasses fell off and broke. The next day I had no glasses to wear so it was hard to read things that were a bit far away.
I love going on school tours. When I was in second class we went on a school tour to Turoe Pet Farm. It was great fun. I remember my friend climbed into a baby swing and he got stuck. I had to get my teacher to help him to get out.
I also remember going into the senior room for 3rd class, I was a bit shy and I still am. We are so lucky to have all our great teachers and all our iPads and computers. I am so happy to be in Rahara NS.
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