User Rating: 5 / 5
In 1951 Sr. Paulinus O'Gorman was happily teaching in a two teacher school in Kilmore Village when word came to her that she was moving to the Faythe. She arrived in the school to teach sixth class that year.
In 1953 Sr. Victoire was killed in an accident in Kilmore. Sr. Clever moved to Edenderry and Sr. Paulinus moved to the Secondary School to teach English, Irish and History in Sr. Claver's place. She remembers well working with Sr. Columbanus and seems to have enjoyed it. "Sr. Columbanus could entertain anybody", she says.
Classes in the Secondary School remained small. The Inter Cert course was extended from two years in the beginning to three years. Most of the girls did Inter Cert and then went to Sr. Bertrand to do Commercial Course. The girls on this course sat the Royal Society of Arts exams.
Nuns serving in the Primary School at this time were Sr. Mary John, Sr. Rupert, Sr. Berchmans, Sr. Inviolate, Sr. Angeleen, Sr. Clothilde, Sr. Gobnait, Sr. Evangelist, Sr. Imelda, Sr. Dolores, Sr. Aloysius, Sr. Dorothy who came in 1956. Sr. Murdoch, who also taught in the Secondary School, Sr. Clare who worked in both parts of the school, and Sr. Dominica (who was later replaced by Sr. Brigid) and Sr. Inez.
Sr. Mary John still had huge classes of Infants. Children wrote on slates with chalk, rolled 'marla', made home made jigsaws and learned to make their letters.
In the front part of the ground floor Sr. Berchmans, with her Senior Infant girls and the Junior Infant girls, usually in the care of a very young nun, shared two rooms. One had forms around the walls and the harmonium, which was used as an accompaniment for singing, marching and the percussion band. The other room had dual desks and was used for writing practice and sums. Sums were always done in jotters and writing in head - line copies.
First class was the class for "inking". The children got a pen and inkwell for the first time and the agony of the 'blots' began. Sometimes a hair or a bit of blotting paper got in the inkwell and then, oh dear! trouble.
Sr. Gobnait had a box of pencils in her room. She taught First Class boys but occasionally took the girls for "siopa" or "shop". In this box of pencils was a treasure - an indelible pencil. Everyone wanted it. It looked like an ordinary pencil but if you licked it, it turned purple - fantastic.
In the 1950's the school had a uniform which was only used for special occasions. One of these occasions was the Plain Chant, another was for processions and for school tours. The uniform had a red blazer with the school crest. The school crest had two ears of wheat on it and a pomegranate and the word "caritas" meaning -love. The idea of the pomegranate is that when it is ripe it bursts open and spreads its seeds as we should spread the word of God. The gymslip was navy blue. There was a white blouse and a red tie, This was topped off by a white "fuzzy wuzzy" cap.
The main procession in which the school participated wearing this uniform was the short Corpus Christi procession around the grounds of Bride Street Church. This was when the whole area was full of trees and lawns criss–crossed by little pathways and in the days before it was all covered with tarmacadam. The First Communion children always strewed flowers on this day. On the following Sunday the large procession around the town took place The Confirmation girls wearing white did the strewing on this occasion.
School tours became very popular in this decade. Everyone from Fourth Class up set off on the train for Dublin or Cork or to Drogheda. In 1961 a very special tour was held. This was the Patrician Year. There was a huge display of the work of missionaries from all over the world on show at the Mansion House. Many other schools went there too and it was a terrible job for the nuns to round up the children. The red blazer was a great help. The airport was always worth a visit and of course the Zoo. A great favourite was a tour that went to Cork which included a boat trip around Cork Harbour. Another popular tour was to the Boyne Valley. Historic sites were respectfully viewed and loads of sweets eaten, but by far the biggest treat of all was to be allowed into Woolworths to spend your ten shilling note on "Souvenirs from Ireland" for all the family. On the way home everybody had to be quiet while Sr. Columbanus sang "The Kerry Dances" or "At the end of a perfect day" but everybody was too tired to object to that.
