Keep smiling modelling resilience

ROBBIE O’ CONNELL PRINCIPAL OF ST BRENDAN’S NS, BLENNERVILLE, CO. KERRY

Creating a positive school climate and culture which enhances teaching and learning, along with ensuring that both children and staff are content in school, is paramount, and one of my main motivations as a school principal. In Blennerville NS, we have introduced various initiatives such as pupil suggestion boxes, birthday certificates & lollipops, wellness walls and hot chocolate Fridays for the students of the week in each class (this year a sachet of hot chocolate is sent home!).

I began working on making the return to school memorable and positive for our students last March by approaching a local artist to paint colourful and meaningful murals on our dull playground walls, and this was a very well received by all, and in particular the children, and it set the tone for the year ahead.

As everybody knows, this academic year has been, and continues to be, challenging for all and in particular for those working within schools and education. Teachers and school staff nationwide have, as always, been proactive, and have adapted their teaching methods, all the while being ultra-professional with the shared objective being; the education and welfare of the children in our care.

Children however, are the real heroes and have really shown their resilience. Children have embraced the myriad of changes to their routines with ease, from being limited to pods and class bubbles, scheduled sanitisation, split yard schedules, lack of extra-curricular activities, inter alia. They have been truly inspirational and they have been the inspiration behind our latest wellbeing initiative.

Observing the children arriving at the school gate each and every morning, with broad smiles on their faces as they sanitise prior to entering, brightens my day and it puts everything in perspective in these trying times. It highlights to me and our school staff, the important role school plays in the lives of children, and just how happy the children are to be back in school after the enforced closures on the 12th of March.

I wanted to both recognise the efforts of the students of Blennerville NS and to motivate them going forward, so in consultation with the staff, we thought of gifting each student with a school crested ‘Keep Smiling’ badge. This is a specially commissioned badge and will be a badge of honour for our pupils.

This initiative was explained to both parents and pupils, and after the midterm break each student was presented with and encouraged to wear this badge as part of their school uniform, in order to maintain and supplement the positive climate we already have here in Blennerville NS. It will also reinforce positivity in these challenging times for all. Staff will also be given a badge to wear with the overall intention being, to model and teach resilience to all within our school community.

We as a staff want to let our pupils know that we appreciate everything that they are doing, but most of all, that they continue to come to school every day with smiles on their faces and more importantly, that if they see somebody without a smile to give them one of theirs!

If you would like to contact Robbie in relation to this article, you can email him to info@blennervillens.ie or call 066 7120207.