Wellbeing Supports Pilot Programme at St Gabriel’s National School – Wellbeing Ambassadors Programme

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St Gabriel’s National School is pleased to be participating in a pilot initiative led by the Department of Education and Youth, providing additional wellbeing supports in selected primary schools.

As part of this pilot, an Education Wellbeing Practitioner, working under the direction and supervision of a psychologist from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), is supporting our school community. The practitioner has completed the Wellbeing Ambassadors Programme, which is being implemented with our 6th Class pupils.

All 6th Class pupils will act as Wellbeing Ambassadors, promoting kindness, inclusion, and positive wellbeing during yard time.

Their role includes:

  • Buddy Bench: A space for pupils who may be feeling lonely, upset, or who would like someone to talk to, supported by Wellbeing Ambassadors.
  • “Well Done” Cards: Cards given out during yard time to recognise and encourage kind and positive behaviour.
  • Games Corner: A games area at the benches beside the moderate class to support inclusive play and social interaction.

Posters displayed during yard time highlight the Buddy Bench and Games Corner.

A Wellbeing Ambassador display is located at the front entrance of the school, and ambassadors wear lanyards during yard time so they are easily identifiable and approachable.

This initiative helps develop leadership, empathy, and resilience while fostering a caring and inclusive school environment.

Quavers to Quadratics in 4th Class

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Today, Mr Smyth’s 4th Class welcomed a scientist and a musician from the National Concert Hall for a “Quavers to Quadratics” workshop where they learned about the relationship between music, sound and science. Check out some of the photos below.

A Busy January in 6th Class!

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We’ve had a very busy and exciting few weeks since the new year!

6th Class Clay

Our 6th class students have been getting hands-on in art, working with clay to create imaginative sea creature sculptures. They explored a range of clay techniques, including crosshatching and texturing, to add detail and bring their underwater creations to life. The results show great creativity, skill, and enthusiasm, with each sculpture reflecting the students’ growing confidence and artistic expression

6th Class Data Representations

At the start of this month, the children had great fun carrying out surveys around the school to collect different types of data, including categorical and numerical information. They worked together to analyse their results and created a variety of colourful graphs such as bar charts, histograms, and pie charts. It was a really positive, hands-on activity that built confidence, teamwork, and a better understanding of how maths is used in everyday life.

Wellbeing Ambassadors

After completing their training, the children were delighted to receive their certificates and officially become Wellbeing Ambassadors. This month, they will begin their important role during yard time, wearing lanyards so other pupils know they are there to help. They will be setting up a buddy bench as well as a games corner with board games to encourage friendship, inclusion, and fun for everyone!

5th Class Art

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5th Class have had a lot of fun being creative with clay this week. They made some great pieces and today they were using acrylic paints to add designs and colour to their work.

Clay Magic in 4th Class

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Inspired by their study of Greek Mythology story “Theseus and the Minotaur” and by the beautiful picture book “Mary and Frankenstein” by Linda Bailey, accompanying their Over the Moon English reader, the children in 4th class created their own imaginative monster creations in clay today. Check out the photos below. Next week when they are dry they will add a splash of colour to the figures.

Creative Clay and Study of Egypt in Mr Cullen’s 3rd Class

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Creation of Clay Animals:

This week in 3rd Class, the children have been exploring clay. They revised a variety of techniques, including moulding, pinching, and rolling, to create their own animal inspired clay pieces. The children really enjoyed the experience and were excited to learn a new technique called scoring, which they used to attach their pieces together successfully.

Exploring Ancient Egypt and Modern Egypt

In 3rd Class, the children have been learning about Ancient Egypt and comparing it with Egypt today. They explored famous landmarks such as the pyramids and the Sphinx and learned about the important role of pharaohs in Ancient Egyptian life, including the famous Queen Cleopatra. The children discovered how the River Nile was vital for farming, travel, and everyday life in both ancient and modern times. They also learned about cities in Egypt today, such as Cairo and Alexandria, as well as famous places and monuments across the country such as Mount Sinah. To finish, the children explored some popular Egyptian foods and enjoyed learning how food and daily life in Egypt have changed over time!

A Recap of December in Junior Infants

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December was a very busy month in Junior Infants. We were very excited to welcome a class elf who visited us each day and left a letter behind. Some days he set us challenges, other days he left surprises, and he even asked us to write letters to Santa. We posted these at the local post office, which was a highlight for many of the children.

The class worked extremely hard preparing for the Christmas show and performed brilliantly on stage. 

As a reward for filling all three marble jars, the children enjoyed a well-earned trip to the playground.

We began our class DINA programme and met the principal of Dinosaur School, a puppet called Dina, who helped us learn about school rules. 

In Maths, we explored length, capacity, and the numbers 6 and 7, which led to plenty of predictable but very popular 6–7 jokes. We finished the month with our winter maths assessment.

In Literacy, we focused on the sounds l, f, and b, while revising all previously learned sounds. We continued to develop our blending and sounding-out skills. 


We were very lucky to get a visit from Santa himself.  He answered lots of our questions about his trip on Christmas eve. Santa brought an early Christmas present with him for each child in the class. 
 

The children also enjoyed lots of winter-themed art, including making snowflakes, creating Christmas character portraits, and designing a class advent calendar for our elf to use.

We also spent time learning about the story of the Nativity and how Advent is celebrated. 

After winning “best line” 20 times, the class celebrated with a movie afternoon complete with popcorn and juice. 

We finished the term on a high with a festive disco on the last day before the Christmas break.