Pride Celebrations

Pride is an exciting and important event all over the world, a time of celebration, when people come together to celebrate who they are with pride. As one of our 1st Class pupils, Gill, explained so well, ‘Pride tells us that everyone should be proud of who they are and accepted by everyone.’ ? Here at GETNS, we value the importance of ensuring that that our school environment is a place where children feel welcome and safe, and that all young people learn about equality, diversity and inclusion. Promoting equality and celebrating difference is at the heart of our school’s ethos and so this year, we were delighted to celebrate Pride in style!

To mark the start of Pride month, we raised our Pride flag on the flag pole. This is a symbol of our love and support for the LGBTQ+ community here at GETNS and we are very proud to fly our flag!?‍?

Throughout the month, our students learned about pride, pride history, the history of the Pride flag and how Pride is celebrated all around the world. We discussed all the things that make us unique and why we should be proud of our differences.

Learning about Pride sparked some very interesting conversations within the school community and we are so proud of each and every one of the children for the incredible effort that they made. We truly believe that our school is a safe and comfortable environment where nobody has to be afraid to be themselves!

On Wednesday our Pride celebrations culminated in a pride parade around the school grounds before gathering in the yard where we sang and danced in a flash mob to Born This Way by Lady Gaga to celebrate Pride month.

A special shout out & thanks to one of our fantastic teachers, Pádraig, who organised and led our Pride Celebrations!

We are so proud of David, a 6th class pupil, who made a wonderful speech which he wrote himself. It encapsulates everything Pride is about. Well done David!

David’s Speech

Pride is a very important time for many people, it’s important for me, it’s important for you, it’s important for all of us.

But Pride isn’t just about celebrating being a part of the L G B T Q + community, it’s also about remembering those who were punished and discriminated against just because they had a different sexuality.

Thankfully those who are part of the L G B T Q + community in Ireland are mostly accepted by society and take an active part in making Ireland a good place to live for everyone.

For me, Pride is a time of year that brings people together, from different religions, countries and beliefs, and recognises that we are all part of the same human family.

Pride is also a time to celebrate important times in Irish history. Did you know that Ireland was the 1st country in the world where the people voted to legalise gay marriage?

Today in Ireland, the government and most people are very much supportive, and most importantly members of the L G B T Q + community are actually accepted. They don’t get arrested, or hurt or discriminated against just because they are different.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my speech and enjoy Pride – it is for all of us.

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