When the school opened its doors in 1986 the total number on the rollbook was 115, 52 girls and 63 boys. The development of the school is well judged by the fact that to-day there is almost an equal divide in numbers between boys and girls. From a five teacher school it now can boast of having 21 teachers, 16 class teachers, four learning support and the principal Mr. Ted Laffey.

Ted is a native of county Laois, Mountmellick to be precise but it has taken Ted 20 years to make his way back to Laois as he was teaching in Dublin and has only been in Scoil Bhríde since ’98.

He is no stranger to large numbers as there was the same number of students in his previous school. Like his vice principal Muriel Wall-Coughlan he says that the school is child centred. The school motto “mol an Óige”, praise the young”, and both feel that this works a treat.

Ted feels that there is a perfect gender balance in the school with just seven more boys on the roll book then girls.

Muriel who has been in Scoil Bhreide from the very first day can vouch for that. She believes that girls have a more calming influence on boys and the presence of girls in class brings out the gentle nature in boys which makes Scoil Bhríde exactly what it is today, a school full of happy children.

The day the Laois Nationalist called was the day before St. Patrick’s Day and it was just like a summer day and Emer Doyle who teaches junior infants had the door and the windows open for the children to enjoy the fine weather.

MAIREAD Kirby has charge of the second junior infants class. Mairead is from Tipperary and is six in Scoil Bhríde and married Laois man Michael Daly, Timahoe, just two months ago. Mairead has a well behaved group of 27, twelve boys and 15 girls.

Diarmaid Barrett (4 1/2) has really dark brown eyes. He likes jig saws and toys. He wants to be a builder like his daddy Joe.

Cathy Maher (4) likes the toys and teacher. Cathy wants to be a cook.

Maeve O’Reilly (4) loves playing with the kitchen and all the toys. She loves the Halla where they have PE. She wants to be a teacher.

Katherina Tynan (4) loves her lunch time the best. Katherina wants to be a Mammy. Áine Healy (4) had lovely plaits, her sister Aisling makes her plaits while on the way to school in the bus. Áine loves PE in the Halla, playing outside, and enjoys jigsaws and the toys. She wants to be a teacher.

Rory Freeman joined the school after Christmas from Dublin. Daddy still works in Dublin. Rory likes playing with links. He was planning to make a return trip to Dublin for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. He wants to be a workman with lots of suits when he grows up.

Kean Kavanagh is 5. His daddy Niall has just gone to India to work. Kean doesn’t like school as there is too much work to do. He would rather play all day. His friends are Martin Dunne and Jonathan Breslin. Kean wants to be a policeman.

Martina Lalor (4), with the lovely blonde hair, loves all the toys. Jamie Lawless (4) wants to be “Mr. Laffey the principal teacher” when he grows up.

Regina Conroy (5) again likes the toys. She wants to be a teacher.

I SPOKE to Marie Thompson and Marie Lynam, both learning support teachers. Marie Thompson looks after the juniors with their English while Marie Lynam is the senior children.

Marie Thompson is from North Tipperary and is full time in Scoil Bhríde.

Marie Lynam’s base is Scoil Bhríde but she shares her time with Maryboro NS and is a native of county Laois.

Both teachers work with small groups of children three to six at a time and learning support starts at senior infant level.

A lot of their teaching technique is language based on a one to one basis with the child. The teacher sets out to build confidence and self esteem in the child by building on what they know which brings the child to the next step.

The children love coming to their learning support teacher and love the opportunity to talk to small groups. They use games to motivate the children.

Both teachers find the work very satisfying. They always wish they could do more but there is never enough time.

Learning support teachers can find they are a little more isolated and they find they get a lot of help and support from Laois Literary and Language group, where they meet and share ideas during the term. The children in Scoil Bhríde can only benefit from such dedicated teachers.

Fionnuala feels she is blessed with her class as she had them last year. They know her and she knows them. She has 33 in class, 15 boys and 18 girls.

The excitement in the classroom was palpable and it was not maths or Irish that was generating this energy but rather the anticipation of their First Confession which was happening on Saturday, March 20.

Fr. Liam Merrigan PP, had paid several visits preparing the children and assuring them there was nothing to be afraid of.

Aisling Dunne (7) has a job for First Confession which she will share with Jamie Loughlane who will read the lost sheep in Church. It was Jamie’s eight birthday and he was very happy about that.

Six children who will do the actions for the Our Father, are Martin Marum (7), David Thompson (7 1/2), Danielle O’Shea (7), Stephen Lawless (7), Sharon Byrne (7) and Debra Rowan (7).

Aisling Dunne likes when teacher puts a sticker on her head for her work. Aisling wants to be a teacher.

Tracey Fitzpatrick (7) has her bag and her long dress all ready for her First Holy Communion and is going to the hairdresser to have her hair done for the big day. She is kinda scared about her First Confession.

Aisling McKenna (7) likes school and wants to be a teacher. Frank Rice was in Crumlin Hospital for a while but he is better now.

Brown eyed Matthew Higgins likes art and PE. Matthew is very good at his Irish. He wants to be a police guard.

Thursday is special as the children receive extra PE tuition from coaches Natasha and John.

Christopher O’Neill (7) likes writing and PE at school and he also wants to be a garda. Aideen Fitzpatrick is seven. She likes PE and art and can’t wait for her Communion. She wants to be a mechanic like her daddy Frank.

Stephanie Greene (7) was wearing a teddy round her neck which signifies she is a leader to-day. The leaders job is to give out copies and help teacher. Stephanie likes the “Pupil of the Week”. This is Mr. Laffey’s idea and the children like getting a certificate if they are chosen. Stephanie wants to be a nurse.

Stephen Lawless got the title once. Joeleen Ryan (7) likes school. Her favourite subjects are art, PE and the computer. She wants to be a teacher. Karen Downey (7) is leader no. 2 for the day. She likes PE and Pupil of the Week.

Caretaker for the day was Aisling McKenna. There was two lunch leaders. David Dooley and Leona Dwane. David is 7 and wants to be a vet. Leona loves art and wants to be a teacher.

Fionnuala believes in giving responsibilities to the children like Eoghan Conroy (7) and Gary Ryan who water the plants. Both boys want to join the army when they grow up.

Frank Rice wants to get married and Tracey Fitzpatrick said she would marry him.

Tanya Maher is going on 9 even though it is not until June. School is good but things like sums get harder. She likes reading and writing and hopes to be a teacher. Padraig O’Flaherty (8) likes when he can do art and PE. He really likes the game “Scrub the Deck”. Niall doesn’t think it’s special being twins. Sometimes they are sick at the same time. Aoife likes school and wants to be a person who cooks and mind children. Niall thinks school is alright. He likes computers and art. He has no idea yet what he wants to be.

Six pupils won medals for speech and drama recently. Aoife Connolly, Niall Connolly, Deirdre Kirwan, Cian Graham and Aoibhine McCrory. Aoibhne McCrory’s mother was the teacher in this case and more of the students study speech and drama with Miss Forde in Scoil Bhríde.

Stephen King is determined to follow in his namesake’s footsteps and write horror stories. He likes PE in the halla and his grandad Joe “Hesh” McCormack has something to do with the government.

Deirdre Kirwan, another girl going on 9, likes the computer and her friends are Aoibhne, Aoife and Allison. Deirdre wants to be a designer. Jessica Farrell, going on 9, likes a poster she had to do about her favourite things. She wants to grow up to be a mother because she likes minding children. Sean Mulhall’s (8) favourite day is Friday because there is no homework. Sean wants to be an artist.

Sarah Bland (9) likes her class. She is busy making a book about herself and her family. Sarah wants to be a cop. She will only arrest the boys.

Kevin Dunne (8) was not scared coming into second class. He has lots of friends and likes hurling. He wants to be an artist.

Twins Aoife Connolly and her brother.

William Conroy (8) likes hurling, swimming, PE and art and wants to be a farmer. Clifford Lawless is 7, finds sums easy and likes his tables and art. Clifford is going to be a soldier and carry on the family tradition. His grandad Joseph and daddy Mark are in the army.

Tara Kane, going on 9, loves school and her teacher is the best. She is going to be a teacher. Adrian Delaney (8) does not really like school. He hates his Irish reader and only kinda likes sums. Patrick Doyle (9) thinks that school is good, loves PE and art. Patrick is going to be a garda.

Miss O’Sullivan from Farranfore, County Kerry, has 31 children in her class, 17 girls and 14 boys. She is with Scoil Bhríde since October last and thinks her class are brilliant.

David Brennan (8) just wants to play for Manchester United. Alma Tynan (8) said school is alright. Her favourite day is Friday as there is no homework. She wants to be a teacher.

Luon Thanhthai is a chap who has a flair for languages. He speaks Vietnamese and English at home and likes Irish. He wants to be a doctor.

Seamus Lawless (8) loves PE, sport and kinda likes sums. He wants to be a gaelic footballer and play for Laois like “Beano”. Stephen Glynn (8) is into basketball and wants to take it up professionally when he is big.

Marion O’Connor loves art and is going to be a teacher. Sonia McCormack loves painting, hockey and crab soccer. She wants to work in a chip shop like her dad. PJ James Delaney (8) loves maths and he wants to play soccer for Liverpool. Miss Nicola Croke was with me on Thursday, March 18, on work experience with the Laois Nationalist and the first students we met on the way in were Robyn Smith (11) and David Smyth (11) on litter patrol.

ALL the way to Laois from Lispoly, which is six miles from beautiful Dingle in county Kerry comes Miss Treasa Hanafin. She has 33 in class, 20 boys and 13 girls and her favourite colours are green and gold.

Dermot Lawless (6) thinks that school is good because he does lots of writing. He was busy colouring a shamrock with a hat on to bring home. He wants to be a garda.

Aoife Phelan (6 1/2) loves “Super Friday” as she has art. She made a poster for teacher or múinteoir as the children call her.

Alan Hetherington (6) thinks that school is great. He was busy sewing sprouts in a biscuit tin. Shane Tynan (5) loves painting, writing and teacher and wants to be a garda.

Colm Gleeson is 5 1/2 and loves hurling and football. Colm was in the paper recently as the mascot for the Laois hurling team.

Daniel Bland is 5 and he loves to paint and colour his pictures. Yes, another candidate for the gardai. Niall Peters had a tooth out in Tullamore Hospital. It didn’t hurt as he was asleep. He wants to be a fireman.

Deirdre Slattery (5) had lovely red curls and wants to be a nurse like her mother Betty. She likes letterland at school. Anita Maher loves playing at school and was very anxious to tell a story about teacher. It seems that Santa wouldn’t bring a washing machine for her only a big box of washing powder and this story intrigued Anita.

Katie Osborne (6) loves work at school. She wants to be a doctor.

Rebecca Deegan is an excellent reader and teacher said that she reads better than herself.

The swimmers in the class, who have now left their armbands at home, are Ellen Healy, Niall McCormack, Laura McKenna and Patrick Kirwan. They go once a week and are very proud of themselves.

Niall Keyes has just started karate and is determined to show teacher the moves.

Michele Toíbín has the second group of senior infants. Michele is from Bray, Co. Wicklow and is teaching in Scoil Bhríde since October 1998. She was in Mountmellick boys school previously. Michele thinks her class are lovely, very creative and she finds that because she only has 13 pupils it allows her to do more with them.

Sean Coss is 7 and thinks school is nice and wants to grow up to be a father. Holly Lawless (6) loves painting and hopes to be a nurse. Dylan Doheny - Coss (6) likes writing, and wants to be a worker.

Keith Campbell (6) wants to be a farmer with horses. Jason Murphy (6) loves art and PE and wants to work in a horse pound. Amy Swayne (5) likes art and teacher.

Sabrina Flynn (6) loves stories and teacher. She also wants to be a teacher. Darren Griffith (6) loves art and wants to be a daddy. Aaron Doody (6) is good at art and wants to be a policeman.

Mark O’Brien (5) loves art and wants to be a fireman. Elaine Brophy and David Holohan were both absent. Elaine loves Irish and David likes everything about school.