Local school wins on the double in prestigious art competition

Two sets of pupils from a county Offaly primary school are set to take part in the national finals of the Someone Like Me art competition having this week been named as the county winners in both the junior and senior sections of the prestigious annual competition.

Pupils from St. Ciarans & St. Manchan's national school in Boher, Ballycumber, will join 46 other schools for the finals of Someone Like Me at Dublin City Hall on Wednesday, January 17 next to compete for the much sought-after national title.

Now in its eighth year, the Someone Like Me art competition, which is organised by the National Disability Authority, attracted more than 2,200 entries from national schools across the length and breadth of the country.

The competition was created as part of the National Disability Authority’s work to nurture more positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities and, to date, it has seen more than 17,500 children take part in lesson plans and pupil activities designed to challenge our young people to appreciate and respect similarities and differences in people.

The three-person judging panel comprising Ann Higgins, principal of Hospital School Children’s Health Ireland; Dr Carly Cheevers, senior research officer at the National Disability Authority; and Laura McGrath, an autism class teacher was particularly impressed with the entries from St Ciarans & St Manchans National School, selecting them as County Winners based on their insightful and inspirational responses to the theme of ‘Someone Like Me’.

The poster entitled "Being Different Makes a Difference" was created by the class group of Emerin, Reuben, Donal, Jake, Lewis, Fionna - Bellair 2 (special class) at St. Ciarans and St. Manchans NS, under the stewardship of their teacher, Laura Finnegan, which earned them the title of Junior County Winners for Offaly.

The Senior County Winners were the 6th class group from the Mixed School in St. Ciarans and St. Manchans, under the guidance of teacher, Ms. Rebecca Farrell. The six pupils in the class created a poster celebrating the uniqueness and individuality of each person. .

The 6th class pupils also made a list of famous people who have disabilities and got pictures of them. They described the celebrities they selected as being "very inspiring" and added that they have made "a huge difference in the world because they are different." The pupils also said they wanted to show that people who are different "can bring about the biggest changes and to show that being different is a positive thing."

Minister for State with responsibility for disability, Anne Rabbitte TD, said the number and standard of entries "shows a real commitment on the part of teachers and pupils to helping to develop a shared understanding of how we should treat others in a caring, sensitive and inclusive way, promoting a sense of belonging and connectedness."

This year'c competition placed a special emphasis on nurturing a greater understanding of non-visible and intellectual disabilities.

The competition, which offers a range of prizes up to the value of €1,250, was open to all primary school pupils from junior infants to sixth class. Entries ranged from posters and collages to large sculptural installations and multi-media pieces.