Launch of Education and Youth Presidency Programme.
On the 7th of January 2004. Mr Sheehan our acting principal selected Mr Mc Auiliffe's class to go to Hartstown Community School for the Launch of the Education and Youth Presidency.This means that Ireland will be the president of the EU for six months, the first half of the year. We will be welcoming 10 new member states into the EU. They are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. This will clearly be an historic event for Ireland and the rest of the EU. We were very proud and privileged to have been invited to this historic occasion.
Mr Sheehan our acting Principal, also the
chairman of the Secondary School, made a speech about how proud
and privileged we were to have the launch in Hartstown Community
School. Noel Dempsey, Minister for Education and Science, Sile De
Valera, Minister of State and 2nd in charge next to Noel Dempsey
and the grandaughter of former President Eamon De Valera, and
Brian Lenihan ,also Minister of State, were all there and they
all made speeches.
The students performed a flag ceremony and all of the flags of the EU were there including the ten new member states that will be joining in May.
This is the senior choir of Hartstown Community School under the direction of teacher Ms Emma O Regan. They sang No Frontiers, Mo Ghiolla Mear and Song for Ireland. The junior choir (not pictured) was under the direction of teacher Ms Therese Carroll . They sang The power of the Dream and Ode to Joy, for which Ms Carroll also composed the lyrics. Minister Dempsey thought the lyrics would make a worthy anthem for Europe. The pupils of the Secondary School were involved in all aspects of the presentation of this great event.
This is some of the sixth class students from Mr Mc Auiliffe's class in St Ciarans N.S. They are holding the blue and white balloons. White and blue are the colours of the national EU flag. The children had a balloon fight with the minister and the picture was in the national newspaper with children from the class in the photo.
This is part of a display put on by transition year students. They are showing us their talent of judo. They were in the lobby area. It was fun to watch. This happened after Mr Tommy Flynn gave the concluding speech. We had an exellent time and enjoyed ourselves very much.