We are thinking of giving our mosaic a name or title. Have a look at the design again and see if anything comes to mind that you think might suit the piece. The suggestion box is in the hall. Put your name and room number on your suggestion and pop it in. Feel free to be creative:-)
Séan was back today working in the shed that Jim has kindly converted into a workshop for the next few weeks. We had many of our parent helpers in again to help him fill in the gaps on our mosaic. You will see a few of the helpers in the photos and some more escaped the camera this time! They were very busy for most of the day and made a lot of progress. Some of the staff helped to finish off after school so it looks like we will be ready to begin grouting next week. Also, any children who missed the sticking last week got to do it today so now every child in St. Brigids has contributed some pieces to the mosaic. Great work by everyone. Another very successful, busy and enjoyable day was had on Thursday. The eight remaining classes visited the hall to add various different pieces and colours to the mosaic. We had a wonderful show of parent helpers again and along with some teachers they did a fantastic job in ensuring it all ran very smoothly. It really has been a whole school community effort and we are touched by the generosity of everyone involved. All children from Junior Infants right up to the two 5th classes at the end did a really great job and Sean was very impressed with their efforts. Today we covered the green. orange, pink and white parts of the design. The special white circle which is the centrepiece of the design was filled in with some beautiful white pearls and other special pieces by two of Ms Dwyer’s previous classes. We also had an abundance of other visitors to add something to the mosaic and to take part in the activity. We had lots of past staff call in as well as Fr. Mundow, Fr. Sheehy and Sr. Theresa. You’ll see lots of these familiar faces in the photos. We had great help into the evening from staff and parents and there was a huge sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. I think we all agree that the outcome of the two days work is just stunning and so colourful. We owe a debt of gratitude to our artist Sean for putting so much effort into every detail of this project and caring about it as much as we do. We'll keep you posted on the next phase. Today was a really busy and fantastic day. We had eight classes visit the hall which had been turned into a workshop to start sticking on all the wonderful things that the children had brought in for the mosaic. We started with Junior Infants (The Blue Team) and went right up to 6th class (The Purple Team). There was great fun had and everyone did a super job and played a big part in bringing it all together. Ms Dwyer's family paid a visit to see what was happening, and had a really lovely time. (See photos). They absolutely love what the children are doing for the teacher they loved and can't wait to see the finished product. They were delighted to see first hand the fun and enjoyment every child is getting from the project. They also stuck some pieces on as did many of the staff. We look forward to Day 2 where we'll do it all over again with the other half of the school. Thank you to our wonderful parent helpers and of course to Sean. Seán designed and painted a template of the mosaic onto backing boards. This was presented to and discussed with the children. He demonstrated how he scaled the artwork using a projector. During the visit, the children and staff's own individual, personal mementos and tiles etc were collected for the next visit. We also looked at a vast collection of tiles, stones, buttons, marbles and gems that Seán had brought on the day too. These inspired us more. Sean took away all the things that we brought in to sort them into colours for the sticking days. It is very exciting now. Seán did a mock up of the mosaic design after the brainstorming session. He based it on the Caroline Foundation's logo and the brainstorming session's speed cirlces. The design is full of concentric circles with a white circle which acts as a centrepiece. It is a striking and fun design. We were all delighted when it was unveiled on screen. All the children coloured in the blank template of his design and these were shared and displayed. Ms O Brien came to visit and see the presentation. She brought a box of beautiful gemstones and gave them to one of Ms Dwyers classes to add to the mosaic. One of our parents Paul Gibbons has kindly offered to plaster the wall in preparation for our mosaic being mounted. Seán visited the classes to introduce himself and the project. When he left each classroom he had ensured all children knew what a mosaic was and he discussed the memorial aspect of the project too. He brought along a beautiful circular mosaic that he made himself to give children an idea of what would be involved. He brainstormed with the children and staff for ideas . The children created speed circles to release their 'inner artist' and talked about what they would like to mosaic to be about. Seán also talked to the staff and got their ideas too. Every child in the school gave the artist their favourite colour or a colour that reminded them of Ms. Dwyer. These were all recorded by Nora and Emma. All children went home to look for small things to add to the mosaic-beads, buttons, jewellery, tiles, lego, marbles etc. Séan will look at these on his next visit. Before Sean left our caretaker Jim showed him the wall in the playground where the mosaic will be mounted. |