Lisheenkyle National School, Athenry

A HIDDEN treasure lies on the edge of Lisheenkyle National School near Athenry that gives its pupils a novel outdoor learning experience that is unique to say the least. Seomra na Coille has been developed in conjunction with Coillte to allow the school to access part of Derrydonnell Wood, where seating and a signed nature walk has been installed over the past few months. School principal Anne Keary explained that the school was keen to maximize the benefits of having such a wonderful natural resource on its doorstep. 'We contacted Coillte who granted us a general activities licence and under strict health and safety guidelines, permitted us to use the wood for walks and class lessons,' she said. 'We bring the children down here a couple of times each season so they can track changes in the flora and fauna and the sense of tranquillity here is amazing.' The great outdoors is something the school has been making the most of for some time, having developed astro-turf all-weather pitches within its grounds in recent years. In association with the Lisheenkyle Community Sports and Recreational Development Company, the community playing pitches were developed within the school grounds, which give the children access to the facility during term time. The school caters for a large number of children with special educational needs and offers a range of therapies and extra curricular activities to maximise each child's potential. Yoga classes are offered to children, as is equine therapy, with the Galway Equestrian Centre visiting the school on a weekly basis. The centre is the only equine assisted learning centre in the West of Ireland and its owner Frances O'Brien said the interaction between the children and the animals is amazing. 'We have small ponies for those children who are in wheelchairs, as interaction with the animals is often more important than actually getting them up on a horse,' she said. 'And for children with autism the benefits of equine therapy are well established, as the experience here in Lisheenkyle has shown in recent years.' The school is one of the few in the country to have its own wind turbine and green energy is at the heart of its efforts to secure its second Green Flag. Efforts to convince the government to allow the school to sell back surplus energy from the wind turbine to the national grid has led to farm animals being introduced, in a bid to secure the necessary status to avail of cheaper electricity bills. 'Like many other schools, we are a Green Flag school attempting to reduce our carbon footprint,' said Anne. An organic garden has also been cultivated in recent years, with each child having their own wellies in the classroom to ensure they are able to partake in gardening duties. Music plays a major role in school life with a school orchestra being put through its paces as part of an outreach programme run by the Athenry Music School. Featuring harps, cellos, violins and guitars, children from junior infants up are involved in the orchestra as well as taking lessons in the Suzuki method three days a week. Children are also involved in judo, dancing and chess, with a team from the school winning the Chess Z Connacht Novice Final earlier this year.