HeActiver School ading 1
Meet our Active School Flag Committee!
Our Active School Committee is made up of students from 3rd to 6th class. We meet on monthly to organise initiatives for our school.
What do the Active School Flag Committee do?
-
Attend ASF meetings.
-
Encourage everyone to become active.
-
Set up equipment for whole school activities
-
Organise competitions like the slogan and poster competitions
-
Come up with ideas throughout the year by speaking to their classes and bringing the ideas to ASF committee meetings.
-
Lead warm up and initiatives like the ‘Monster Walk’
-
Keeping the P.E. equipment room tidied and organised.
-
Inform the whole school of what we will be focusing on in the next month during the monthly school assembly.
Our Active School Flag website is divided into four different categories which are coloured coded on our page. These are:
1. Physical Education (Pink).
2. Physical Activity (Blue).
3. Partnerships (Green).
4. Active Schools Week (Grey).
Each category shows how St. Mark's B.N.S. is an ACTIVE SCHOOL!
European Week of Sport.
St. Mark’s took part in the European Week of Sport and National Fitness Day. Every class explored and played different European sports like G.A.A., Hockey, Basketball, Soccer and Tennis. At the end of the week the whole school participated in National Fitness Day which saw students taking part in relay races.
Active School Flag Slogan and Poster Competition.
The ASF committee organised a slogan and poster competition for the Active School flag. The committee chose one for the school. It was very hard to choose as the competition was very high.
The Winning slogan was
Active School Flag Notice Board.
This notice board will show everyone exactly what the school will be completing or participating in during the school year. Pictures of events will be displayed. Sport achievements will be displayed of all of the boys who have achieved a sports award.
St. Mark's Monster Walk!!!
For our last day of school of term 1 the active school flag committee and their teachers organised a ‘Monster Walk’. This was the official launch of the ASF. All of the St. Mark’s staff and boys dressed up for Halloween. The boys parents also joined us. The launch saw the committee members cutting the ribbon and then completing the walk around the local park. Here are some photos of some spooky monsters lurking around the Glen Park…..
Yard Leaders.
The boys of 5th and 6th class have very important leadership roles in our active school flag. The boys play games with the Junior Classes and Inis Geal. The boys model how to play different games like: chasing, duck – duck – goose, stuck in the mud, bean bag throwing and tennis.
Athletics!
The whole school focused on the strand Athletics during the months of September and October. We were very lucky to have such nice weather that we were able to complete our sessions on the yard and the green.
2nd and 3rd class boys participated in the Northside Primary Schools Athletics Programme and enjoyed many Athletics sessions with coach Chloe.
Here are some photos of the boys doing the long jump, sprinting, long/short distance running, hurdles and taking part in a relay race.
Games: Tennis.
The boys of St. Mark’s thoroughly enjoy taking part in an array of games. The whole school has been taking part in Tennis with Coach Myra. Here are some photos from each class completing some drills and skills:
The Daily Mile – How many miles to……?
All of the boys in St. Mark’s took part in the Daily Mile for the month of October. The boys of 5th and 6th classed measured that 12 laps of our big yard is equivalent to 1 mile. Each class started off walking the daily mile, however towards the end of the month they were jogging or running it. The boys were re- energised when they came back to their classrooms. The boys enjoyed the daily mile so much that they we have continued to complete it over the month of November. Below we have set targets using how far different landmarks around the world are from The Glen.
Rainy Day Breaks!
The boys of St. Mark’s really enjoy an active break in their classrooms. The boys also take part in active breaks on the dreaded rainy days with their teachers.
This included dancing, Go-Noodle, Bizzy Breaks, exercises and active games! This way, even when the weather doesn't allow us to go outside, we can still reach our 60 minutes of exercise a day!
Dance!!
Dancing Derek!!
For the month of November the boys of St. Mark’s focused on the strand unit of Dance. Dancing Derek visited each class. The boys danced to current songs like their favourite theme song that is ‘Fortnite’. They also freestyled for Derek, who was extremely impressed!! Take a look at the photos below displaying our talented dancers!!
Salsa Dancing!!
4th, 5th and 6th class had the opportunity to go Salsa Dancing in The Glen Resource Centre. The boys really enjoyed it and had great fun!
DROP EVERYTHING AND DANCE!!
The boys also participated in DROP EVERYTHING AND DANCE during the month of November. Music was be played over the intercom randomly and each class boogied!!
Christmas Jumper Walk!
To celebrate our Christmas Holidays our Active School Flag Committee and their teachers organised a Christmas Jumper Walk. It was such a beautiful afternoon as the sun shone for the wonderful occasion. It was fantastic to see the boys gathered with their parents, grandparents and siblings having fun while walking in their Christmas attire. Have a look below at our festive event!
Physical Education Homework!
Since January the St. Marks boys have been completing P.E. homework. Every boy in the school received a Super Troopers booklet. Super Troopers is a fun and active health programme for children. It encourages children and their families to live happier and more active lifestyles. Through short burst, fun daily activities through physical activity, wellbeing and nutrition, this programme helps to promote healthy minds and bodies. The boys can also share the exercises and games they participate at home with friends and family.
Movement Breaks!
Our teachers in St Marks have been giving their classes movement breaks throughout our long school days! Both teachers and children get involved in the following activities which can be used at home to stay active!
Cosmic Yoga:
10 @ 10:
Active School Flag Focus: Gymnastics!
Every child in St Marks covers the six strands of the Irish Physical Education Curriculum which are:
-
Athletics.
-
Aquatics.
-
Dance.
-
Games.
-
Outdoor and adventure activities.
-
Gymnastics.
St. Marks have chosen to focus the Gymnastics strand. We are so lucky that our very own Ms. Foley is a Gymnastics teacher. All teachers focused on Gymnastics during the months of February and March. Every Monday we had so much fun developing our movements and also developed a great understanding and appreciation of the sport. Take a look at our boys performing forward rolls, pencil jumps, tuck rolls, bunny hops, hand stands, bridge balances and many more!
Aquatics!
Senior Infants to 6th class completed a six week block of swimming in Mayfield Sports Complex. Swimming and being confident in water is essential for the health and safety of our boys. It is safe to say that we all enjoyed our fun sessions in Mayfield with our very fun and kind swimming instructors. Here are some pictures of our excited boys getting the bus to the swimming pool!
St. Marks Hurling Team.
Hurling season is back which means the St. Marks team is back training hard for the upcoming Sciath na Scoil competition. We are very lucky to have access to the Glen Resource Centre to train weekly with our teachers. Brian Dillions GAA club coaches came to our school to do some skill filled hurling sessions. This really encouraged our boys to join local clubs for the summer months. We are all looking forward to participate in the upcoming games. Here are some pictures of the school team training.
Saint Patrick's Day Active Day!
To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and Seachtain na Gaeilge St Marks held a concert which included music, song and dance as Gaeilge. Our teachers taught us traditional Irish dances like ‘Shoe the Donkey’ and ‘Siege of Ennis’ . Check out our pictures below at our whole school getting involved!
St. Mark's School Soccer Team.
Boys from 4th to 6th class trained every Tuesday during the months of December to February on the Astro Turf in the Glen Resource Centre. Our skilful and dedicated players trained very hard and played many games. The boys invited The North Monastery to The Glen for a friendly match. Both teams showed fantastic sportsmanship and made many friends. Both teams bonded with refreshments in the St. Marks Hall.
School Fitness Ireland.
Martin Sheehan, owner of School Fitness Ireland, visited St. Marks to complete an active session with every class. All of our boys had great fun being active!
Orienteering!
Ms. Finn set up an orienteering course around our school grounds. The activities in this strand help our boys develop an appreciation and enjoyment of the great outdoors. The activities are team-orientated and develop social skills. Some involve map-reading and problem-solving, coming to group decisions, developing leadership qualities and taking calculated risks.
Active School Week
in St. Mark's!
Wake Up Shake Up!
Every morning the whole school went to our main yard to take part in Wake Up Shake Up! Ms. Meade led all of the boys and staff of St. Mark’s for 15 minutes completing different exercises including squats, lunges, star jumps and running on the spot. We all had so much fun and we were completely reenergized when we returned to our classrooms.
Monday: Basketball.
All classes went to The Glen Resource Centre to take part in basketball drills with Coach Garrett. The boys developed skills like dribbling and different hand passes like the overhead pass and chest pass. The boys participated in fun games and shot some hoops at the end as a treat.
Tuesday: Gymnastics.
Since we loved participating in Ms. Foleys Gymnastics classes everyone was very eager to perform their forward rolls, bunny hops, hand stands and bridges. Check out our talented boys below!
Wednesday: Dancing.
Our very own Ms. Finn, Ms. Foley and Ms. Coyne are participating in Strictly Come Dancing to raise funds for our school. Our teachers taught us various dance moves that we performed in groups. We ended our class with the Cha Cha slide.
Thursday: Boxercise.
The Glen community have very strong links to the sport of Boxing. Our pupils along with the Active School Committee were very keen to include this in our Active School Week. School Fitness Ireland provided a full body workout which included boxing skills. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it!!
Friday: Active School Fun Day!
Our Active School Fun Day included various games. We started off our day with Wake Up Shake Up. The whole school including staff took part in relay races. Both adults and students worked very hard in their teams which brought about a fantastic feeling of team spirit. The senior boys participated in a soccer tournament which saw our teachers taking part too. While the tournament took place the junior classes had an opportunity to take part in different active games like parachute games, stuck in the mud, cups and saucers etc. We were very lucky to have very enthusiastic yard leaders who helped and lead some of these games with their teachers.
Easter Walk in
The Glen Park!
To mark the Easter Holidays parents, children and staff of St. Mark’s gathered at The Glen Park for a nice brisk walk. Our Active School Committee led the walk with their teachers. It was a very enjoyable day for all. Some classes participated in Easter Hunts during the week of the holidays. Take a look at the boys having fun being active!
St. Mark's Walking Bus!
The Active School Committee along with their teachers organised a walking bus from each estate that surrounds our school in The Glen. Parents were invited to meet with their children and neighbours and walk to school together each morning. It proved to be a great success and it encouraged our boys to walk to school each morning for the month of May.
Badminton.
In recent weeks classes learned how to play badminton in St. Mark’s. The boys had great fun learning all of the skills involved in the game. Some boys from 4th, 5th and 6th classes were chosen to represent the school in a competition that was organised by Cork Sports Partnership. The boys showed great sportsmanship during the games and made great friends from other local schools. Here are some photos from the event.
