This article is from page 4 of the 2011-06-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
A NEWMARKET-ON-Fergus national school hit the national airwaves twice last week – thanks to the good spelling practices of its young pupils.
Scoil na Maighdine Muire took part in the Ryan Tubridy Show Eason’s Spelling Bee, a nationwide compe tition aimed at encouraging young people to focus on their spelling. More than 600 schools participated and the Newmarket school was one of 12 schools selected for the final stages last week.
To mark the achievement, the Tubridy Show on 2FM broadcast the Munster final live from the school last Wednesday, in which one of the school’s pupils 12-year-old Amy O’Halloran competed with students from Cork and Kerry in a spelling competition. Amy won on the day and sealed a place for herself and her school in the national final of the competition. She travelled to Dublin with her parents Des and Bernie, along with classmates, school principal Ann McMahon and Amy’s sixth class teacher Eamon Curley. She took part in the national final on Friday in the RTÉ studios. Although she was not the outright winner, Amy did her family and school proud.
She received a € 200 voucher for Eason’s and a commemorative medal for the school, in honour of her achievement.
As part of the selection process for the prestigious competition, schools were invited to write a 200-word explanation as to why they should be selected. Mark Corbett, a sixth class student, wrote a piece based on the flood in the school on St Stephen’s Day, which destroyed the library, entitled ‘Reading is a good thing especially on a wet day.’
Ann McMahon paid tribute to both Amy and Mark. “In the eight years that Amy has been in the school, she has never missed a spelling in her spelling tests. We are so proud of her and so proud of Mark,” she said.
“It was a wonderful opportunity for the school. What a high to finish the year on. We are absolutely thrilled,” added the principal.
The group, which travelled to the capital by bus, thoroughly enjoyed the day in RTÉ and all students received a special pack from the state broadcaster as a memento of the special occasion.