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Our
Thoughts Following Our Visit to Farmleigh House to View Our Crib in an Art Exhibition on 14th December, 2006
We went
to Farmleigh House to see the exhibition of Nativity Cribs. Our crib was in the
Exhibition. Everyone in Fifth Class had a different part to do. I made the angel
out of fabric and some silver paper. We sewed in the eyes and gave her wings. We
gave her a fabric halo. We sewed in her curly hair. I felt excited that I
touched the President. I didn’t expect to talk to her! She was asking us where
we were from and how we made it. We looked at all the different cribs. They were
really nice but I thought ours was the best. I like the one that was made out of
an old computer. --Sinead O’ Regan
We went to Farmleigh House and saw the President. She made a child-friendly
speech. She used words that children would say like the Italians will be scared
when the Irish come back next year. We found our crib. The one beside ours was
made of wool. Ours was the only one where we made the structure. The five boys
in Fifth Class made a cube out of wood and nailing the sides down. I was very
surprised that President McAleese came down and actually talked to us about our
crib. She asked us where we were from and which parts every body did. –Thomas
Fogarty
After I touched Mary McAleese, I said I’d never wash my hands again!!! I was
so excited. I did the background of our crib. I sewed the shepherds and the
sheep. The sheep were made out of wool. The President was impressed with our
crib because she was getting all her people to take pictures and she was
smiling. She didn’t stop to look at everyone’s crib. There were about fifty
in the exhibition altogether. I made a book to remind me of the day when I am
older!---Jessica Browne-Secret
Meeting Mary McAleese she looked at the crib. Her body guards (I thought they
were big!) took pictures of our crib. I was waiting and waiting and hoping that
she would come. I was very hot in the room. I told her I was in Fifth Class. She
asked how long it took to build the crib and I said two weeks.
I felt good that she came…it was my first time ever to be up close to
her. My mother always wanted to meet her and I got to meet her first. I’d say
everyone spent ages making their crib.—John
Power
We got up really early to go to Dublin to see our crib exhibited in Farmleigh
House. Some of us got to stand really close to the President. Her bodyguard was
standing in front of us. In our crib we had Christmas lights. Our local
journalist, Dermot Keyes, interviewed us. He asked me what part I did. I told
him I helped with the background of the crib. I made the hotels in Bethlehem.
The best part was when the President told me I had lovely long hair. She asked
me what age I was. I said ten going on eleven. One other class had a good idea
to recycle an old computer as the crib. Thanks to Sinead,
Ms. Doris and Mrs. Galvin for giving us the chance to see our crib in
Dublin.—Chloe Walsh
Yesterday was so cool because we got to go to Farmleigh House. The bus was so
fun because we were all talking to one another. When we finally got through all
the traffic to Farmleigh, we heard the President giving a lovely speech about
the true meaning of Christmas. When she came to our crib, we felt so special
because she actually picked our crib to look at us. She talked to us and said
that we were a nice class and our crib was really nice. After that we looked at
the other entries. My favourite was a two-sided crib.—Niamh Dunphy
It was really rainy yesterday and the bus journey was long, but when we got
there it was a really great experience to see Mary McAleese and all the other
cribs. It was magnificent to get our crib in the top fifty cribs in Ireland. It
wasn’t about winning a trip to Rome, it was about the real meaning of
Christmas which is the birth of Jesus Christ. One crib I liked the best showed
the two sides of Christmas. On one side the house was all decorated like we do
today and the other side showed the traditional crib. I’m glad I went because
it is a great moment to look back on when I am older.—Shannon
Cullinane
Yesterday was really good because we got to meet an t-Uachtarán Mary McAleese
and she thought our crib was really creative. She talked to us as if she knew
how we built it. I thought the other cribs were very expressive too. I
couldn’t pick my favourite one. They were
all different in there own way. Some of them used tea bags, papier mache,
plaster of paris, wool and so on. One of the ones that went to Rome was really
modern. I met the teacher of that one. She said she let the University pupils
express themselves. Imagine our crib was displayed beside the work of University
students, teachers colleges and secondary schools!! I am really proud that we
got that far. It was a really good experience that I will remember for the rest
of my life.—Lorna Walsh
I am so glad we got into the top cribs in Ireland and we met the President. We
saw other people’s cribs. We were proud to represent our school. We had our
photo taken. We met Dermot Keyes who is a journalist from Portlaw. He recorded
us when we were excited. Mary McAleese came down to our crib….she only stopped
at a few cribs. Another crib I liked
had moss and the bark of trees all over it.—Sinead
Hallissey
We went to Farmleigh House and saw all the cribs in the exhibition. There was
one with a bust computer screen and the crib inside. Another one was like a ball
of string with the nativity inside. We had refreshments in a marquee. The
president asked us where we were from. She thought it was great that we were the
only school from Waterford. I can’t believe I touched the President. –Chelsie Hill
That was one big place. The cribs were nice. I was excited when the President
came into see all the cribs. Our crib was in the middle of all the other cribs.
It was a proud moment when I got my picture taken with the crib. –Eric Power
Yesterday was good. The journey was fun. When we got there, it was packed with
other schools. I was roasting. Then Mary McAleese came and gave a speech about
how well we all did. I expected a long boring speech and instead it was totally
different. She congratulated EVERYONE. She gave equal credit to everyone. Sinead
Fitzgerald helped us to come up with the idea and to make the crib. I made
Joseph out papier mache. First we did a wire basing and then we put on the glue.
We made clothes out of fabric. There was one crib beside us….I think it was
made of foam….I thought it was so cool. It was like modern Christmas on one
side and old Christmas on the other.---Eden
Little
There was a big crowd. The president was there and she gave a really good
speech. She was going around looking at all the cribs. She came to our crib and
was complimenting it. A couple of us talked to her. I told her that we used
fabric because no one else used it last year so we thought it would be
different. It turned out very nice, I told her. It made me feel proud to talk to
the President. She was really friendly and talked to us like she was really
interested instead of talking to us for the sake of it.—Charlotte Hackett
We had a good laugh going up to Farmleigh House on the bus. I couldn’t believe
that our crib got to Farmleigh House. Ambassadors of all foreign countries are
going to be looking at it. When the President came over to us, we were all
really gobsmacked and we talked to her and made Portlaw proud. To say we are in
their town.—Shauna Keane
I thought the day was really interesting and fun. I enjoyed the bus trip. The
president is really nice and she wasn’t complaining about the crowds. I
designed the angel with Sinead. We made it out of fabric and sewed the hair and
face on. It was a great experience and the crib turned out really well.—A
nne Kearns
When the President came down to see us, I was really excited. She was talking to
all of us and she was asking us how we made the crib. I said that we all worked
as a team. I found her very kind and caring.
–Hayley Fitzsimons
I was excited at Farmleigh House because we got to meet the President. I was
amazed to see our crib because I never thought that we would be among the top 50
in Ireland. There were so many people looking at it. I was near the President
when she was making a speech. She said all the cribs were fabulous.—Alex
Maher
I was surprised to find out that we were the only school in Waterford to go up
to Dublin. Our crib was one of the top entries in the country. When we were up
there, I saw some really great cribs from Secondary School and College. I was
surprised that we were able to compete so well with higher level students. I was
very proud. We used old fabric and Christmas lights. The boys did the carpentry.
We broke two drill bits making the crib
.
–Christopher
Fitzpatrick
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| Our Crib on display |
Sinéad & Rang 5 |
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