Last Post

Last post.....from the sixth class bus weaving its way from the natural paradise of north Donegal back to city life.

To catch you up with news from last night: We had an impressive haul of the Talent Show prizes - awarded before the disco last night. Our gymnasts Natalia and Helena, pianist Dylan and the soon to be world famous Triple Threats a.k.a. Olwyn, Katie and their backing singers were among the prize winners. Thomas, Justus and Maxim were also very deserving prize winners.
The night then really got going with a bit of enthusiastic if not technically correct ceilí dancing.  They streamed into the hall hugging and kissing each other - after all they hadn't seen each other in at least two hours - before taking their places, two opposite two, for the dance: new friends and old friends simply having a good time.
The style was definitely 'urban sophisticate'. The makeup skills are impressive and the hair styling so professional.  They looked fantastic, nothing too outrageous or inappropriate - a credit to their parents.  The girls weren't so bad either......
Apart from that I can only tell you..... what goes on tour, stays on tour......
Later, the teachers, who in comparison to their young charges, completely lack the style gene, went for a meal in Annagaire's world famous Dinny Minny restaurant.  We had a wonderful repast - think risotto with local sea vegetables - followed by an evening of sean nós singing and story telling.
When we walked the steep hill to our beds sometime after midnight all was utterly quiet in the village.

This morning's highlight is .... cold  turkey is over. The phones are back!  Back now to everyday speak: "I've no service." And "No data left."
And do they ever stop partying?  It's not even nine o'clock in the morning and they're singing!
Soon they will be all yours again.  They'll fall out of the buses, tanned and tired, fit only to sleep for the next twenty four hours.
And!!!! Don't be fooled by them....they've had a ball. It happens every trip - the sugar levels fall as we near the school and the mood can change rapidly from 'Carefree in Annagry' to 'Punish the Parent 'cos I'm Tired!'
Thank you for all your support and kind words about the tweets and blogs. And thanks to my colleagues Sinéad and Becki who have been such good company and so easy to work with.

The atmosphere was electric.  Over one hundred and fifty children seated in rows the length of the hall, facing the stage and impatient for it all to get going.
The would be stars were nervous.  The gymnasts were going through their routine out on the lawn. The violinists were tuning up.  The vocalists were running back and forwards checking backing tracks......and the rumours!
Would English songs be allowed? All songs in English were disqualified!  Was playing a tune by a non Irish composer alright? Children, who had personally spoken to the judges circulated amongst the others - English songs were definitely banned.
Needless to say, the rumours and counter rumours are all part of the fun - who was going to listen to the teachers anyway?
Finally, the doors were closed, the midges excluded, the blinds pulled down and the fun began.

Shervin got the show going with the foot stamping, hand clapping 'We Will Rock You!'

This is no Carnegie Hall!  Niall, one of the college teachers, did a great job as a stage hand, even, at times,  holding the microphone for the would be stars. There were a few technical hitches giving the audience a great chance to show off to each other with their in depth analysis of the performances.
Once again it was truly heartening to see the children mixing with the other schools - even getting together (some 6th class girls) with Gael Scoil Buncrana to produce an English/Irish hybrid of a popular pop song.  They cheered each other on no matter what school the performer was from and gave standing ovations to anyone they felt deserved it.

The Kilian's students gave an eclectic range of performances.

We are a competitive lot in St. Kilian's and there were a few nerves and post performance meltdowns (minor!). Someone will win - we will know tonight- but the fun is in the taking part and the growing up is in taking it like a good sport.

Confident performers!

Time ran out and the buses had arrived so the last few stars have tonight to look forward to.

This afternoon was spent on the golden sands of Carrickfinn Beach - part of the Wild Atlantic Way. A ten minute drive from the Coláiste, the buses dropped us at the end of a winding pathway and we all trooped beachwards.  There comes a point when you round a corner and before you is a long stretch of soft, white sand, a blue, blue ocean and a breathtaking vista that even silenced the kids until someone finally could say 'O My God!' Behind us Mount Errigal loomed and in front stretched the Atlantic Ocean, framed by rocky cliffs just calling out to be climbed.

View from the cliff top.

It was a wonderful afternoon of good old fashioned fun.  Water fights, climbing, sand castle building, three legged and egg (actually orange) and spoon races. 

In the buses on the way back to the houses the girls made out their shower rotas and discussed last minute outfit changes.  The boys - were boys!  'What's a shower rota?' asked one. 'I'm eleventh,' said another, 'so I don't think I'll bother.'

Enjoy some photos below - we are all back at our houses and we teachers can only imagine the excitement.  We'll keep you posted!

Final word: yesterday's Fitbit count for teachers - 29,500 steps. However the new sleeker us is unlikely as our Bean an Tí has a perchant for home baking - every day!  Every meal is accompanied by fresh scones, brown bread, homemade jam and real butter. 

Blog views: over 1,200 across 11 countries. 

'Do we have to go home?'

Síle has an enormous garden which the children are loving!

The 17 girls in Teach Síle, perched on the hillside overlooking island studded Carrickfin Bay, were tucking in to supper before running outside for a last go on the swings and trampoline before bed time. The flame red sun pulsed one last time before disappearing over the horizon, though it seems to never truly get dark here at this time of the year.  The sky is streaked with light even at half past one in the morning and it is fully bright at 4 a.m. (Insomniacs like me have some advantages!)
Síle, a lovely lady and the mother of four young children herself, is delighted with her visitors and can't say enough good things about them.
The girls were still in high spirits after a long but lovely day. And as we teachers set off down (yet another!) mountainside they waved from the garden and their bedroom windows.
And, yes, of course they want to go home - but they don't want to leave here either!

One last jump before bedtime.

It was similar high spirits in the other houses we visited last night.  The 6th class girls in Teach Bríd were trying on outfits for the disco and, sitting relaxed and cross legged on their bunks, discussing hair styles. The bedroom floors were strewn with clothes and left overs from midnight feasts.  Some were taking their beauty routine very seriously and were sporting face masks which they had cleverly applied as though they were face paint. They let out some long and meaningful groans when we told them they had to be packed and ready to go before the disco itself on Thursday night as we will leave early on Friday morning. Naturally they asked 'how early?'  Suffice to say our idea of early and theirs miss each other by a few crucial hours!

Holding morning court in the school yard.

The daily routine had started with the usual few minutes in the school yard catching up with friends from other houses.  With the ringing of the school bell, they filed into their classrooms for lessons - these are going well.  Ms Gurney, who is learning Irish, sat in on some yesterday and was most impressed with her fellow students. The Donegal accent can be fairly impenetrable even for seasoned visitors like myself - sometimes we wonder if they are speaking Irish or English! But the children are coping admirably and some even profess to have learned a thing or two!  Again, it is utterly impressive to see them mixing so effortlessly with the other schools - new friendships are being formed, and dare I say it, there is even a little flirting going on! (They can flirt with each other in the mornings even though they can barely put together a sentence with an accompanying grunt for an adult!)
Lunch was a fairly quick affair - the first relay of buses would leave the College at 2 o'clock on the half hour journey to Burtonport.   The sun was beaming down as we boarded the buses - a colourful assortment of bikini clad (not the teachers!) and hawaiian shirted pre-teens with rolled up towels tucked under their arms relishing every minute of their freedom. There were one or two with a bit of sense (all from 5th class!) and they were properly prepared for a boat trip on the North Atlantic.

The trip to Arranmore is utterly magical - and even more so under a cloudless blue sky.  As the old diesel engine chug chugged across the bay, weaving between the rocky outcrops and tiny islands, the children crowded the decks and craned their necks to catch a first glimpse of the promised land.
Out on the bay sea breezes whipped our hair around our faces and grew goose pimples on any bits of bare flesh- but it didn't matter, the views were stunning, the children ooh and awed and were ridiculously amused at the sight of cows having a paddle at the water's edge on a tiny, uninhabited island.

The towels came in handy!

Then came the Invasion of Arranmore - population around 500 brave souls.  Dozens of children ran hell for leather along the two shop, one post office main street and onto the golden sands.  They threw off the towels and ran straight into the water. Cue screams and yells which outdid the catcalls of gulls on a stormy day!

Before the Invasion!

The conquerors - complete with ice-cream and slush puppies!

In what seemed like a very short time later, they left again, sun kissed and wind burned, exhausted but focused on the Talent Show.  Classic Kilian's - it's hard to keep up with these kids!

                                                            The Conquerors!

                                              

Now, on occasions we teachers have jokingly dubbed it the 'lack of talent' show - but not last night!
More coming later........

Tuesday, 31st May 2016

Postcards from Anagaire

 

 

The second day is a great leveller.  Things are not so new and awkward any more.  Expectations and reality find common ground and everyone settles down.  The next phase begins - befriending students in other schools and having some good, old fashioned fun.

There are four other schools here with us in Anagaire - over one hundred and fifty 10 to 12 year olds in total! (The population of the village is just over 250.)  Mixed in with the eclectic range of global accents from St. Kilian's are those of children from an all Irish school in Buncrana in Donegal, a small group of students from Manorhamilton in Leitrim, another from Grangegorman in Dublin and a group from Dunshaughlin in Co. Meath. But language or accent is no barrier and the 6th class children in particular are making new friends.
We had a fantastic Tuesday afternoon in Dun Lewey which is situated in a stunningly beautiful valley called the Poison Glen.  There are a few different stories about how a heavenly place became known by such a wicked name.  The first explanation is a simple one.  The Heavenly Glen is An Gleann Nemhe in Irish which one English cartographer transcribed as An Gleann Neimhe.  By substituting Neimhe for Nemhe he gave it an entirely opposite meaning - the Poison Glen.

The rhododendrons are in bloom in the Poison Valley.

Another explanation is more fantastical.  In ancient times a giant called Balór, the one eyed king of Tory, was murdered here by his own grandson. As he died Balór's eye split open, seeping out poison which tainted the valley for ever!
Among the teachers here in the Coláiste is a TG4 actor who likes to tell tales of Balór and other Irish legends (some entirely of his own making!) to the children. Naturally, the children have responded in kind with creepy stories of bedroom ghosts who whisper in their ears and open doors noiselessly. With the luck of the Irish they are, of course, experiencing friendly ghosts only!  His name is Jimmy apparently.
Today, after morning school,  we are off on the ferry to Arranmore Island.  The children probably have notions of a sleek Stena Line passenger ship so stay tuned! We'll be sailing from Burtonport for a short but magical island hop through a sheltered stretch of the North Atlantic.

Some islands are inhabited by cattle only!

Tonight it's the talent show and we have multiple entries from St. Kilian's ranging from all singing, all dancing soloists and groups, a card trickster or two, saxophone, violin, trombone and guitar players, gymnasts and much more - we have a fabulous night in store. Many times in the past we have carried off the top prize, so fingers crossed!
They are all very well behaved and have received many compliments from their hosts and hostesses. Of course there have been one or two spats - they are children after all - and about the usual things: football, lost earphones and shoes disappearing into a bog (maybe not so usual!).  We have sorted them out with little more than a few well timed words and meaningful looks (the kind teachers are really good at).  Some room configurations were different to what we had planned so that too had to be tackled.  Finding out that 5 into 4 doesn't work when it comes to divvying out the bunk beds can be disappointing but it's not the end of the world - there are few waking minutes spent in the bedrooms without your friends from other bedrooms being able to drop in.  And it's part of the reason we're here - being independent and growing up outside the school gates.
On the other hand, it is truly heartening to witness children who don't always come to the fore in the classroom, either academically or socially, showing how independent, friendly, caring and inspiring they are in real life situations. They have organised their rooms, shown respect and friendship to all and generally just set about enjoying themselves!
We visited them all in their houses again yesterday, striding up dale and down valley and enjoying the breathtaking views.

Fifth class girls have a stunning view of the bay from Teach Ann Marie.

And - call this scientific research if you like -  they really can survive without a phone permanently in hand and one eye fixed on a blue tinged screen.  'I wish I had my phone!' is a remark we have heard once or twice but generally they are too busy to care.
This blog too has gone global!  Almost 500 views so far with family and friends looking in from Ireland, of course, but also Germany, the U.K., the U.S., Russia, Poland, Serbia, Denmark, Belgium and France. On our last trip the blog had over 3,500 views..........
Last word; Fitbit count 28,500 steps! Expect new, sleeker versions of us teachers by the end of the week!