Going to primary school in Ireland is an education in more ways than one.
There are a few memories that really stand out and here are some of them…
Packed Lunches
Bringing a packed lunch to school every day means we became very bored very quickly.
Ham and cheese sandwiches, cream crackers, Billy roll are just some of the ones we were familiar with.
The School Tour
The highlight of the school year. Popular destinations included Dublin Zoo, the Wax Museum and Newgrange and you always came back with a souvenir from the gift shop.
Kiss Chase
An early introduction to the world of dating, we feel old even thinking about it!
“The Milk”
One Her.ie staffer has VERY vivid memories of primary school, one being “the milk”. It was delivered every day and she was “forced” to drink it.
Let’s just say, she’s not a fan anymore…
Epic Games
Lunch time was the best. An hour outside where you got to shout and roar to your heart’s content. Red Rover, Tag, Tip The Can. Fun times.
Sing It Back
Whether you’re singing a hymn from the long list at the back of the religion book or getting to grips with an Irish song, singing was a BIG part of national school.
We imagined we looked something like this…
Serving Mass
You might have had a turn at this during your time in national school and to be fair, it was a nerve-wracking task.
If you rang the bell at the wrong time, the whole church would be looking at you and your poor Mam would be mortified.
Dressing the Same
The word “uniform” still fills you with dread. The itchy jumpers, the ugly shoes and God forbid if your school dress code meant you had to wear a tie.
Arts and Crafts
You either loved or hated this one. We loved it because it usually happened on a Friday afternoon and it meant a lesson free period.
Hated it because if you weren’t good at arts or crafts, it meant sitting there trying to copy what the other kids were doing.
“The Sex Education Talk”
This usually happened in sixth class and if you weren’t acquainted with the birds and the bees before it, you certainly were after.
We shudder at the embarrassment.
Zacchaeus
The story of Zacchaeus and the tax collector is one we heard so many times, it’s impossible to forget it. There was even a song to accompany it…
