Sport
Sport is very important in our school. We take part in lots of competitions and blitzes every year. We also learn the basic skills of other sports.
Each year in our school every child from Junior Infants to Sixth class participates in a wide variety of sports and physical activity, for example....
Active Flag
In An Grianan NS we began taking on the challenge of an Active School Flag in September 2024. We have been working towards the school flag now for two years. We began this challenge as we felt it was so important for all the children to participate in 60 minutes physical activity each day. We wanted to try new initiatives and make physical activity fun.
To be awarded the flag, we need to demonstrate we are meeting the criteria across four areas:
Physical Education
Physical Activity
Partnerships
Active School Week
In the past two school years the whole school has taken part in various activities:
School Slogan Competition
Active Breaks
Learning on the Move Challenge
The Daily Mile
What Club are you in? Survey
Skip Around Europe Challenge
Skip Around the World Challenge
Olympic Breaks
Bizzy Breaks
PAWS Programme
Active Week
Active Walkway
Active Homework
Whole School Dance Event
Teachers v’s Students Match
Dotology Survey
P.E. is a very important part of the curriculum in An Grianan N.S. P.E. initiatives and ideas are discussed at staff meetings. Each class have committed to at least 60mins of P.E. each week, covering all five strands at different times of the year. We have a well equipped P.E. area which is acessible to all. External coaches come to the school to coach GAA, Rugby, Hurling and basketball. Classes 2nd - 6th do swimming for a term each year. Third class complete the PAWs Programme each year with their teacher. On each yard there is a box of P.E. equipment which is accessible to all students.
All classes have two allocated break times where they have access to different areas of the playground as timetabled. Children also take part in an active walk/run each morning and again at two o'clock. (The Daily Mile) Student Playground leaders are in the Junior Yard each Friday to teach playground games and have fun with the children. We currently have a temporary Walkway which all classes use for physical activity and learning challenges. Next year we hope to have funding to develop a permenant Walkway. We had the school surveyed and a map generated. This is being using for various outdoor activities.
This year all classes took part in the four-week Active Break Every Day challenge. The Junior classes took part in The Olympic Active Breaks also. The Middle classes took part in The Bizzy Breaks Challenge also. Also this year all classes took part in a four-week "Skipping Around The World" skipping challenge. The Senior classes keep a record of the skips done each day by their class. They then plotted their journey around the world using their skips. This became a competitive challenge which all classes enjoyed. Last year all classes took part in 'Skipping around Europe' challenge.
In An Grianan N.S. we have a great partnership with parents and the wider community. Parents are informed of all Active Flag initiatives and encouraged to get involved with their support. During school assemblies, children's sporting achievements are acknowledged and celebrated. On our School Walk evening, we have an awards ceremony for the school to award medals for the sporting achievements of the pupils. A local sports team or sports person is invited to talk to parents and children on the evening.
We contact our Local Sports Partnership each year for advice and support. Each year, a teacher participates in an Orienteering Ireland course organised by the Westmeath Sports Partnership. Our Sixth Class then took part in an orienteering event for schools in Westmeath in May for the last two years.
Our school also contacted the Sports Inclusion Disability Officer for advice for our school. We have an Active School committee which consists of a teacher and the Student Council. We hold termly meetings to discuss Active Flag initiatives and organise events.
Last year, all children were invited to create an Active School slogan. Teachers picked one slogan from each class, and then the Active Flag Committee picked our school slogan. Our School Slogan is: "Get Up + Go - let the good times flow!"
Sixth Class took it upon themselves to survey all classes on "What Club Are You In?" They compiled their results on various charts and created a data board of their results. An active flag survey was done by all staff, and the information was compiled. All students took part in an Active Flag dotocracy survey of what P.E. equipment they wanted for their school.
From this information, Playground equipment was purchased for each yard. Children love the new equipment and are trying out new activities on the yard. We have Playground monitors to take care of all the yard equipment.
Active School Week takes place in our school each year in June. All students love this week as there are various activities organised and homework is Active Homework for the week. Our active school week always includes our annual sports day.
During this day, all pupils learn and take part in a 'Whole School Dance'. The day ends with a Teachers vs Students Rounders game. Our Parents Association provides an ice-cream treat for all pupils and teachers at lunch break. Children and teachers wear active wear for this week.
Monday 8th Circuits Day
Tuesday 9th Sports Day
Wednesday 10th Orienteering Day
Thursday 11th GAA Day
Friday 12th Hurling Day
Football:
Our Infants have great fun becoming more physically literate and seeing how their gross and fine motor skills become more developed with each passing week. The older boys and girls get coached by GAA coaches at different times during the year which complements the great work being done at Under-age by our club, Caulry. Ambrose Mc Gowan kindly trains the boys and girls team two evenings a week after school. He is helped by Ms Rooney, Ms Cahalin and Ms Curran.
So whether you are in Junior Infants or in Sixth our school gives everyone a chance to experience football!
Rugby: In September, our 4th class pupils participated in a Tag Rugby Blitz in Athlone. 3rd & 4th classes completed a block of Tag Rugby training with Charlie Cooper from the Buccaneers Club before Hallowe'en. .Every child from 1st class to 6th get the chance to play some form of rugby. Coaches come in from our local rugby clubs and teach the boys and girls the basics of non-contact/tag rugby. The older children (with parental consent) get to learn and experience contact rugby which they really enjoy. Both boys and girls have taken part in many tag-rugby blitzes over the years.
Basketball: Our basketball coach is Ciarán Kiveney, who is a highly qualified and very experienced coach in Athlone. Ciarán coaches basketball for 2 terms every year with all classes. Although we don't take part in competitions the children leave the school with the the experience of top quality coaching which is hugely beneficial for them in Secondary school.
Swimming: Every class group from 2nd to 6th attend swimming classes in Athlone RSC for between 6-8 weeks per year. It is a life skill and it is great fun!
Soccer: For the past 3 years we have taken part in the FAI- organised 5-a-side soccer inter - schools tournament which starts out at local level in Athlone then progresses to County level in Mullingar. The winners in Mullingar progress to a North Leinster tournament in Meath before having a tilt at a Leinster and All-Ireland title. Our boys and girls teams continue to take part successfully and have reached stages 2 & 3 on a regular basis.
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Teachers takes children from all classes for brain gym and/or yoga during the school day. Children from 4th, 5th and 6th have been running up to 10 laps of our playground every day after break and since 2014 we have competed very successfully in the Westmeath Cross Country Schools' Championships. Boys and girls from 1st class to 6th represent our school in this event held in the grounds of Belvedere House Mullingar every September.
Since the London Olympics we have organised an Inter-school athletics meet in the AIT. 7 local schools Ardnagrath NS , Ballybay NS , Baylin NS , Coosan NS , Cornamaddy NS , Scoil na gCeithre Máistrí , Tubberclaire NS and ourselves take part in races ranging from 100m to 800m for boys and girls from 4th, 5th and 6th. The event starts with a pre-race parade of all the competing schools and each child's (competitor's) name and their school is announced on the PA before each race which really adds to the atmosphere.
In 2015 the Taoiseach Enda Keeny opened the Greenway near our school.
This is a cycle track that runs between Mullingar and Athlone and it happens to pass through Moate which is only about 5km from our school .The 6th class pupils along with their teacher and principal and some parents have gone for a 25km cycle twice a year since it opened. They either go east towards Mullingar or west towards Athlone and always have the now traditional ice-cream at journey's end! This has become one of the many highlights of our 6th class' final year with us.