Curriculum Enrichment
Curriculum Enrichment – Trips and Excursions
Here in St. Brigid’s, we aim to provide our pupils with ample opportunities to expand their learning and experiences which extend beyond the classroom. Our close proximity to the DART line provides us with easy access to the city centre and to surrounding areas. As well as this, we are lucky to have St. Anne’s Park on our doorstep, which we utilise for nature walks, historical trails and for its many sporting facilities.
Trip to Kilmainham Gaol
In recent years, boys in the senior classes (5th & 6th class) have visited Kilmainham Gaol for a guided tour. This enriches the senior pupils’ learning surrounding the events of the 1916 Rising, as well as experiencing the stories of people held here as ordinary criminals alongside those who fought for Irish independence. From the 1798 rebellion, to the 1916 Easter Rising, the Anglo-Irish War (1919-21), to the devastation of the Irish Civil War (1922-23) all these important events have a chapter in the story of Kilmainham Gaol.
Science Blast
In our school, pupils from 5th and 6th class take part in Science Blast and showcase their scientific findings at the wonderful expo which takes place in the RDS. ESB Science Blast is a free, non-competitive educational programme for primary schools (3rd to 6th Class), involving the whole class investigating the science behind a simple question.The programme's key goals are to encourage students to engage with STEM learning experiences, to develop critical 21st century skills and to explore a plethora of cross-curricular benefits. The learning journey is the most important part of the programme, and classes are paired up with an expert judge who gives positive encouragement and feedback on all aspects of their science investigation.
Fighting Words
Some of our classes were lucky to be chosen to participate in the literacy workshop ‘Fighting Words’ in Dublin City centre. ‘Fighting Words’ is a hugely popular, free programme in creative writing for children, young people and adults with additional needs. With the help of trained writers and illustrators, pupils collaboratively draft and compose a short story. The structure of the workshop allows for students to participate both orally and through writing, which means there is a way for everyone to get involved and have a great time inventing new stories.Each student leaves Fighting Words as a published author. At the end of each workshop, the students receive a printed and illustrated copy of their story as a keepsake for them to share with friends and family. Each group story is also published on the Fighting Words website for children to show off their incredible, imaginative writing to the world.
Historical Walking Tour of Killester and St. Anne’s Park
Our senior classes have been guided by past pupil Aaron Crampton, member of the Killester Garden Village Committee, to explore the rich history of our local area. The houses of Abbeyfield, Middle Third and The Demesne, where lots of our current pupils live, were originally built from 1920-23 to house ex-servicemen and their families after they returned from World War 1. It was the largest such estate on the island of Ireland.
A Legion Hall built in the middle of the estate is thought to be one of only two left in Ireland and was originally constructed as a community facility. A train station was built shortly after to offer transport facilities for the vastly expanding local population and now forms part of the DART line which the current population avails of daily.
We are so lucky as a school to have the stunning St Anne’s Park on our doorstep. We visit it continuously throughout the year and avail of its wonderful sporting facilities and rich natural environment. The park was once part of a 500-acre estate developed by Lord and Lady Ardilaun of the Guinness family, who left it to their nephew Bishop Benjamin Plunkett in the 1920s. Bishop Plunkett could not afford to maintain the estate and in 1939 it was sold to Dublin City Council.
In November each year the park hosts our school sponsored walk where we wander through this beautiful 240-acre site and learn about the rich history left behind by the Guinness family. We love to visit many of the recently restored twelve follies, study the amazing collection of trees in the Millennium Arboretum and wander through the award-winning Rose Garden.
Holocaust Education
Through our collaboration with Holocaust Education Ireland, recently our 6th class pupils have been fortunate enough to have had the chance to speak via Zoom with Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental, a former prisoner of Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Tomi now resides in Ireland and spends much of his time educating people about the Holocaust and the events surrounding World War 2. Tomi’s first hand experience of conditions in a concentration camp, and his personal story of overcoming such immense difficulty is truly inspiring and one that pupils will certainly remember for many years to come. As well as this, being able to communicate with a first hand witness of these events deeply enriched the learning that takes place in 6th class surrounding the events of World War 2.
