All About Cork: School celebrates cultural diversity of its students

A secondary school hosted its first Culture Fair to celebrate the diversity of its students.

Coláiste Éamann Rís hosted the event, with students from more than 16 cultures and countries showcasing their flags, traditional food, and dress.

Speaking to The Echo, school principal Aaron Wolfe said: “It was a celebration of different cultures not just the cultures we have in the school, but a global celebration.

“We had African drummers come in to do music, as well, and we had tango dancing. It was a real celebration of the cultures of the world. As an Edmund Rice school, we always want to celebrate inclusion and diversity,” Mr Wolfe added.

“There is a feeling that there is a kind of anti-immigration wave in Ireland, at the moment, across the country, and we wanted to share with our students the positivity of different cultures.

“It’s important to highlight we’re a global village, especially being part of the EU.

“We also linked it back to the fact that the Irish themselves are one of the most prolific migrators in the world.

“We celebrated Irish culture, as well as all the others: Students set up a stall with Tayto sandwiches!”

The Culture Fair turned out to be such a success that it ran for two weeks, instead of one, and there are plans to make it an annual event at the school.

“We originally planned to run it for a week, but there were so many activities and ideas that the teachers involved decided to run it over two weeks,” said Mr Wolfe.

“It’s a nice way for everyone to start back to school and it also runs nicely in to Catholic Schools Week.

“It was a huge success and it’ll definitely be an annual event.

“It was great to see the children being so proud of their heritage, and that of their parents and families.”

Maze prepped for spring

A tidy towns group is already busy preparing its maze garden for the coming spring.

Volunteers from Ballyphehane Tidy Towns were out and about on Saturday, spotting signs that spring is already on the way.

“We started prepping our maze garden for spring and were thrilled to spot some daffodils sprouting around Ballyphehane – a sign of brighter days ahead,” the group said.

“Meanwhile, our litter-pick team filled bag after bag, leaving Ballyphehane spotless and ready for the weekend.

“Huge thanks to all our volunteers for their dedication!

“Here’s to more colour, blooms, and a clean community this spring!”

For more information on Ballyphehane Tidy Towns and their activities or to get involved, visit the Ballyphehane Tidy Towns Facebook page.

Course for parents of teens

A local secondary school is hosting a programme to support parents in communicating with, and supporting, adolescents.

The ‘Adolescent Programme’ is an evidence-based parenting course aimed at promoting effective communication and positive relationships in families that have adolescents aged 11 to 16. .

An information session on the course will take place at Presentation Secondary School, Ballyphehane, on Wednesday, February 5 at 10am.

The eight-week course will commence on Wednesday, February 12, from 10am to 12pm, and will take place every Wednesday after that for eight weeks.

The programme will take place at Presentation Secondary School, and is being facilitated by staff from the school, as well as from Coláiste Éamann Rís and the Cork City Partnership.

For more information or to reserve a place, contact Rosarii, on 086 7509837, Jackie, on 087 1962030, or Lisa, on 087 2897931.

School welcomes donation

A primary school has expressed its gratitude to Musgraves for their continued support of the school and its pupils. Morning Star National School recently received a Galaxy Tab A9+ and a protective case from Musgraves.

In a statement, the school said: “Morning Star was honoured to recently receive another amazing donation. Tony and Teresa O’Donovan, who have been so generous to our school and to the welfare of autistic children over many years, Christopher O’Donovan, John O’Donovan and the staff at Musgraves have provided a state of the art Galaxy Tab A9+ and protection case for the school. The donation is a gift that is very special to the school as it is Tony’s wish that the tablet would be given to the school in memory of our late former teacher here, Mary Coffey, and her husband Eugene. Eugene was a work colleague of Tony’s in Musgraves. Sadly, Eugene passed away recently. May they both rest in peace. This touching and invaluable tribute will not be forgotten. Thank you Tony, Teresa, Christopher, John and all the staff at Musgraves.”#

Praise for rugby club members

The president of a rugby club has praised its players, coaches, managers, volunteers, members, committee, sponsors and supporters. In a message to all involved with the club, Sundays Well RFC president Dave Looney said: “As we approach the mid-point in the season, I would like to take time to look back at the last few months and acknowledge the great work being done on and off the pitch.

“It is great to see teams being fielded at all levels from the minis through to the first XV.

“I would like to highlight the great initiatives being run by the minis and youths, like the Bring a Friend program and the Schools Blitz that was held recently in an effort to boost playing numbers. There have been some great performances by the teams in the senior section of the club and the first XV are currently sitting in the top four of the league at the Christmas break.

“Off the field, it was great to see the community lunch back up and running again after a 20 year hiatus, where we hosted nearly 80 representatives from various local community groups for a Christmas lunch in the clubhouse,” he added.

“The Rebels completed a phenomenal cyclathon where they cycled the distance from Cork to Pamplona and back in 24-hours.

“I feel proud and honoured to be president of this fantastic rugby club.”

Community centre retrofit

Ballyphehane Community Centre is in the midst of a major retrofit. 

2024 proved to be a big year for the centre, as they installed a new roof and upgraded windows and doors — and they are not done yet. In a statement, a spokesperson revealed plans to install solar panels.

“Over the last few years, the board of the Ballyphehane Community Association has worked on an ambitious plan to make Ballyphehane a sustainable energy community,” they said. “We are now in the midst of a significant retrofit of the community centre. This phase of works will conclude with solar PV installation. Thanks to all our contracting partners, and special thanks to our consulting engineers Waterman Kelly as well as advisors Cork Energy Consultancy. Special thanks to all our funding partners and the Ballyphehane community, your continued support has made this possible.”

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