Irish Odyssey – Part 3
The reason for my trip to Ireland was to meet up with a wonderful teacher who with her class has been supporting 100 Word Challenge for the past two years. She was keen for me to visit not only to see 6th Class but also to spread the word in the school to encourage other teachers to have a go or even try 5 Sentence Challenge.
So, on the middle day of my trip, I finally got to meet this special group of people (both grown ups and children) The school was a matter of yards (metres) from the hotel so I could arrive on time and without the usual stress of traffic. I was made so welcome by all those I met at St Joseph’s National School, Kinvara whether it was office staff, teachers, parents or children. I felt very special as they referred to me as ‘The 100 word challenge lady’!
Best of all, I could say a big thank you to Máire O’Keeffe who is one of the maddest teachers I know! Her support, despite also being one of the busiest people I know, has been tremendous. She also gave me the chance to work with 6th Class who weren’t as I thought, the equivalent of Year 6 in the UK. In Ireland 1st Class is comparable to our Year 3 (7year olds) so these folks were 12/13 year olds with some towering above me! It was so lovely to do a prompt with them and see how much their creative writing has come on and to be in awe of the speed in which they could write their 100 words.
My day with them ended in a very special way. The next day they were heading to Dublin to pitch to a panel of judges (similar to Dragon’s Den for those of you in the UK) to try to win a national competition for young entrepreneurs that would provide some funding for a sensory garden. I had the honour of being the first Dragon to hear their pitch!
Have a look yourself at what happened! Biz Factor
I bet they were bowled over to meet you 🙂
Absolutely!! The students (an exceptionally incredible special bunch) were so thrilled to meet the “100 word challenge lady”. The @100word challenge made such a difference to their lives over a period of two years and it continues to do so with the children who are now in @msokeeffesclass. Students have no fear and they just go for it and the 100 word challenge is the perfect vehicle for their creativity and spontaneity. They also love the tension of checking if anyone has been showcased and enjoy reading each other’s work and the writing available on the 100 word challenge website. Thanks SO much to Julia – reading this Irish Odyssey again brings back so many memories (both happy and sad) and encourages me to keep my students doing @100word challenges
M
Sorry, meant to say glad you had a great time during your excursion. 🙂
I’m impressed more and more that children this age can write a 100-word story in class. It takes me ages.
Aren’t today’s children smart? Compared to the kids today, I feel in my time we were spoon-fed with lots of hand-holding. My hats off to all school kids everywhere.