Scoil Mhuire Kilvemnon

Pupils of Scoil Mhuire Kilvemnon were thrilled to hear the news that they had received the overall prize in both Ireland and the British isles for the Prince of Wales Foundation competition based on the Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks cartoon.

Overview
The 3rd to 6th class students completed this Project. There are 18 students in this class ranging in age from 8 to 13 years.
The children scripted, acted and filmed their own Piggley Winks story, “The Missing Jigsaw Piece”.
They are indebted to Monika and John Bermingham for use of Hawe's Barn as their film location. The price giving ceremony took place in Scoil Mhuire in June 2006. Well done to Ms. Kate O' Connell, Mrs. Brett and the secretary Josephine O' Connell and especially all the students in the senior room.
Click below to view a slideshow of photos from the day.

Jakers (Student Response)
This year we performed in a film based on Jakers the Adventures of Piggley Winks. At first we watched some original Jakers cartoons to get some ideas. We studied each of the characters and talked about what they were like, personality wise and how they would act in our stories. Then we wrote stories about two pages long using all of our ideas. After we read them all we decided which one to recreate. The title of the chosen story was “The Missing Jigsaw Piece”. We then wrote parts of the script and after bringing these parts together we edited our work to produce the final script.

Next we had to audition for actors and crew. Everybody had a part to play from producer to boom operator to continuity. About two weeks later when we had all of the outfits and lines learnt we got to work. We got permission from the Bermingham family to use their beautiful small cottage, Hawes Barn, near the school.  

At first the actors had to get into their costumes and get their faces painted. The director who was George said what was wrong in some shots. We had to do continuity to make sure things were in the same place in each scene. Fred was the cameraman. We took loads of shots and had a great day. In one shot the ball went into the river and it wasn’t meant to go into it. It was hard work with the rehearsing and getting the costumes ready and knowing all the lines. But it was great fun to do. Sean and Micheal put the last finishing touches to the film by doing the film editing. This took a lot of time and effort.
We put Jakers onto a D.V.D. Our hard work and effort and learning about beginning, middle and end and building character profiles had truly paid off. We were so excited when our teacher Miss O’ Connell told us that we won the overall competition from out of all the schools that had entered in Ireland and Britain. We couldn’t believe it!! We had great fun making the film and would definitely recommend it to everyone!
Alex (6th class) and Sarah (4th class)

Teacher Response
I found the Jakers Storytelling Challenge to be extremely beneficial, lending itself to easy integration within the English Curriculum. The children derived great enjoyment from the lessons and enthusiasm was generated for the storytelling process in such a way that they didn’t view their project as “learning” or “work” but as “fun”! The simple traditions and values demonstrated in the stimulus material appealed to the children’s imagination fuelling their grasp of storytelling techniques which ensured the flow of the subsequent performance. I was surprised at how well it appealed to multiple levels and ages within the class. I would highly recommend this project to other teachers as it effortlessly generates enthusiasm for a range of cross-curricular subjects. Winning the National Prize has been a fantastic bonus, especially for a small rural school such as ours.
Ms. Kate O’ Connell. (Class Teacher)

Principal Response
It was fascinating for the younger children and I to observe the progression and the unfolding of the film “The Missing Jigsaw Piece” in the Senior Room, under the excellent guidance of their skilled teacher, Ms. O Connell. The fun began once the children watched their first “Piggly Winks” cartoon and continued until the final shot was taken in Hawes Barn. Everyone connected with the school from Board of Management, parents and staff are extremely proud of their achievement in winning the overall prize for the British Isles thus continuing the long tradition of high standards in this small, beautiful rural school in Kilvemnon. A sincere thank you to all connected with the promotion of this excellent competition.
Mrs. Teckie Brett (School Principal)