Partnerships
We believe Partnerships are a key aspect of the active schools flag. It is important to interact and engage with parents, local clubs and organisations and national agencies. It helps to spread the message of the importance of activity.
In our ‘What clubs are you in?’ survey we discovered that the children in our school are involved with over 30 clubs. There is definitely something for everyone in our local area!
Our school acknowledges and praises physical activity effort and success both inside and outside of school. This effort is acknowledged at our weekly assembly and we mark the achievements of local sport stars by inviting them to come and talk to the children.
Our Active School Committee
We have representatives from 1st Class to 6th Class on our active school committee who meet regularly to discuss new initiatives and review how active we are being in our school. They give regular updates to the school at assembly. The committee came up with our Active School Slogan: ‘Take Part, Healthy Heart’
Our Committee completed the ‘What clubs are you in Survey’ and everyone agreed that there are lots of opportunities for physical activity and fun in our local area. Being part of a club allows us to learn new skills while also forging new friendships along the way.
Parent Teacher Association
We have a dedicated PTA who work tirelessly to fundraise for the school. Thanks to their efforts we now have a fabulous all weather playground equipment section in our yard which is very popular with the children. We were also delighted to see a new bicycle and scooter rack in place when we came back to school in September.
Visiting Coaches
We are very lucky to have members of Suncroft GFC coming to our school every year to teach the skills of Gaelic Football. We also had Rachel from Dance, Sing, Act with us during Active School Week. The very popular Skippy John made another appearance in September and motivated the children to get the skipping ropes out onto yard again. Red Chess have visited us the past 2 years and the children are becoming more proficient in the game of chess. 3rd Class do cycling with Cycling Safety School every year. Basketball coaches Sanusi and Christian shared their expertise when training the girls and boys after school this year.
We are always delighted to welcome local clubs to come and talk to us and celebrate the success of local teams many of whom include past pupils of our school.
Ballysax School had a great day in June with a visit from Cormac Barker, goalkeeper with Kildare u20s All Ireland winning team. A big thanks to Cormac, who took the time to challenge some of our classes to a penalty shoot out, and sign plenty of autographs!!
In November, members of the Leinster and All Ireland winning Kildare team, Trina Duggan and Ellen Dowling brought the cups to our school. The Active Committee prepared excellent questions and both ladies encouraged everyone to get involved in a sport they enjoy.
Kildare Sports Partnership
We are regularly contacted by Kildare Sports Partnership regarding upcoming events and training and share this information with staff and the wider community.
Thanks to KSP for providing teachers with the opportunity to learn the skills of Badminton and in turn share these with the children of Ballysax. Room 5 were the first to try out the new rackets and shuttlecocks!