When possible, we aim to invite sports clubs, athletes and physical activity providers from the local community to talk to the children or to give taster sessions of their activity and we constantly try to raise awareness of the huge variety of ways in which people can be physically active.
Active Flag Slogan
As a school, we needed an Active Flag slogan. We asked pupils from Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Class to come up with a suitable slogan. The slogans were written in their homework journals or added to their Seesaw account. The pupils were provided with some examples to help them. The winning slogan for Active Schools was written by Fawn in Fourth Class:
‘We’re Sporty, We’re cool, We’re Carbury National School’.
Active Committee 2021/2022
One of the most important partnerships in the Active School Flag programme is with the pupils of the school. It is mainly the pupils that run the initiative while being supported by their teachers. We believe it is important that all pupils have an opinion on the activities and initiatives we carry out so at the beginning of each year an Active School committee is selected. Lots of children were really interested in joining the committee and had great ideas for how we could get Carbury more active.
As part of the application process, students from Third class were encouraged to write a persuasive letter explaining why they should be chosen. Ms McMahon, Ms Foley and Ms Grehan had a difficult job in choosing the committee members. The six Active School committee members chosen for 2020/2021 were Elizabeth, Holly, Tallula, Dylan, Daryl and Eamon. Due to Covid-19, we were unable to have representatives from different classes this year.
Our Active Committee members hold meetings regularly and they discuss lots of things. They have already proved themselves to be active, inspirational leaders. They have come up with lots of fun and exciting ways for all Carbury students to be more active. They also help to keep the active flag notice board up to date. Some of their responsibilities include playground leaders, PE equipment monitor leaders, active line leaders and coming up with ideas for Active Homework.
Student Questionnaires
The Active committee helped to distribute student questionnaires to the students in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. They collected the data and were very pleased with the feedback and suggestions given by the pupils. They discussed the results with Mrs Foley at their meeting.
Parents
Parents play an important role in our Active School process. Parents are kept informed on the Active School process through discussing it with their children, school newsletters and the Active School section on our website. Our parents ensure their children have the clothes and equipment needed for P.E. days and any other physical activities taking place in the school. They also support us in helping their children complete weekly Active Homework. We sent out a parent/guardian questionnaire by email in April in order to collate feedback about sports in our school. There was a notification in our school newsletter and on our website to inform parents. The questionnaires were completed on google docs and the feedback was greatly appreciated.
County Sligo Swim Club
County Sligo Swimming Club hosted their first Primary Schools Gala on Monday 7th March at the Sports Complex. Seventeen pupils from 4th, 5th and 6th class in Carbury represented the school on the day and participated in a number of different events. Sixteen schools took part in the gala and Carbury School was the overall winner. Mark Walton from Voya visited the school to present the pupils with the cup. We were also joined by Gillian Forde from Cordners and Keith McManus from County Sligo Swimming Club. This is a great achievement for the pupils and in addition, it was a most enjoyable event.
Sports Nutritionist Talk with Third Class
Students in Third class learned about the importance of a ‘Healthy body, Happy mind’ in their Weaving Wellbeing programme this year. There are three key steps to keeping our bodies healthy, including getting enough sleep, eating healthily and exercising. The students were very lucky to have Ms Boyce, a qualified sports nutritionist, take their lesson and talk them through some ideas for staying healthy.
Let’s Play Together challenge
The pupils from Junior Infants to Second Class completed the ‘Let’s Play Together 21-day physical activity challenge’. Each day the children completed different active challenges. Every class did an amazing job. As a result of this, Carbury won 1st place and a 20 handle parachute. Kate Frahill, from Sligo Sports Partnership, visited our school to present the prize.
Sligo Primary Schools Cross Country
Two students from Sixth class represented the school at the Sligo Primary Schools Cross Country event in October. There were smaller numbers representing the school compared to previous years due to Covid-19. The girls ran 1200m in the senior girl’s category and we were so proud of them.
Sligo Sports Partnership
We were delighted to welcome back coach Mairead from Sligo Sports Partnership in February this year. She has been joining us on Thursdays to teach PE lessons. The kids thoroughly enjoy the range of lessons she does with them.
Fyffes- Ireland’s Fittest School Contest
Carbury enjoyed participating in the Fyffes ‘Fittest School’ challenge this year. The Fit Squad coaches provided exercises and workouts for students to complete. These fun and challenging workouts were set for Active Homework weekly in November.
Active Schools Notice Board
We have dedicated a notice board in our school to the Active School Flag. The committee ensure that it is kept up to date. Students can get information here about who is on our committee and ways to keep active. The ‘Carbury Soccer League’ results are displayed here weekly. We displayed pictures of the ‘Star Skippers’ to acknowledge their sporting achievement.
Our Active Journey
We added an additional display board to our school this year to keep students informed of all the exciting sporting initiatives that are ongoing throughout the school year. The Active Flag process is one that involves the whole school and it is a nice reminder for the students of all the progress they have made since September.
Active School Suggestions Box
To make sure that all pupils had their voices heard we have a suggestions folder on the Active Flag notice board in the hallway. Students can write down any ideas they have on a piece of paper and anonymously post it in the suggestions box.
What Club Are You In Survey
Members of the Active Committee in the school conducted a 'What clubs are you in?' survey to find out about physical activity opportunities in the local community. Members of the Active School Flag Team compiled the findings of the survey and the results are displayed on a bar chart. They also compiled a list of all the sports clubs mentioned in the survey and shared it on our website.
