8th February 2019

Dear Parents and Guardians/A Thuismitheoirí agus a Chaomhnóirí,

A fitting and special mark of appreciation for artist Kathryna Cuschieri.

Last night (7/2/19) we celebrated the culmination of two years of work, and in particular thanked our lucky stars in scoring the talented, visionary artist Kathryna Cuschieri to fulfil the brief of our Art Percent piece.

The Art Committee – Niamh, Karen, Caroline, Eibhlín, supported by others along the way (parents and artists, BoM), developed the brief, which in essence aspired to capturing a sense of where we are in time and place.

Kathryna and other artists presented their response to the brief, and while the standard was very high, Kathryna was a clear favourite with all of us, and what a phenomenal and daring approach she embarked on, resulting in an astonishing final product. Incorporating the children’s work, Kathyrna imagined and created a number of pieces of fused glass which fitted together (like a jigsaw) to create a 3 dimensional river with flowers, trees, river life, and waterfall bubbles. She was supported greatly be fellow artist, Bob O’Malley, who engineered the installation of the piece, and also made a striking heron to accompany the river. Kathryna spoke last night about the process. While working on the piece she found herself in, ‘…a happy place, a place of trust.’ She expressed how much she loved working with the children, and hoped it would inspire them, and on referring to some of the children’s artist interpretation of her work said, ‘…this is the best bit for me; it makes my heart sing.’

The river represents life itself, always there, always changing and within it a school of fish ha ha! The life within and around the river from plankton to trees and from pond skater to otter is a lovely representation of the children as they journey through this part of their life. No child is an outsider (as per the Educate Together motto). The river is enriched by the whole range of children with diverse abilities, intelligences, talents, interests and personalities. The parents, as primary carers of the children, work closely with the staff to keep the river clean, nurturing each child to be the best they can be.
The Heron has a striking, still, calm presence, a solitary animal rarely seen in a flock yet team work is the name of the game when it comes to home building. This is a perfect symbolism of our school, its surroundings, the staff and the space between us and the whole school community. Like the Heron we remain calm and patient regardless of the current or meanders of the river. The Heron is self-reliant, standing for long periods of time waiting for its opportunity to catch its prey. It follows its own path. Similarly, as a school we are charting our own course as a nurturing, physically active, creative school where children are encouraged to think for themselves and to care about the world. The Heron is resourceful, comfortable in land air and water. As a school we work flexibly together with parents to support all of the life in the river. The river is a reminder of our connectedness to the past – it was there when Mobhi and the other monks were here in the 6th century. It reminds us of our locality, rich in learning opportunities, Botanics, DCU Innovative Centre, Glasnevin Cemetery, St. Clare’s, the MET, in the ever evolving Glasnevin.

Thank you to all who joined us last night, representatives from the OPW, Educate Together, BoM, former founders of the school and first ever pupils in the school who entertained us with their beautiful music.

Thanks a million Kathryna for imparting some of your heart and soul to GETNS
Thank you Bob for the new emblem of our school!

Le meas,

Róisín Conlon,

Príomh Oide