Scoil Cholmáin Tuairíní

The Arts at Scoil Cholmáin

At Scoil Cholmáin, we are incredibly excited to embrace the new Primary Curriculum Framework, which brings fresh energy to Arts Education (Music, Visual Art, and Drama). The new curriculum encourages schools to move away from rigid boundaries and instead explore the arts through shared themes—focusing on creating, performing and responding. This aligns perfectly with our ethos! We have always believed that the arts are not just subjects, but vital tools for self-expression, confidence and community. Here is a glimpse into how the creative arts come to life in our school every single day.

Our Music Programme

We are proud to offer a fantastic, progressive music programme that nurtures our students from their very first days in school.

The Junior Years: Colourstrings (Infants to 2nd Class)

Our junior students begin their musical journey with the Colourstrings programme, which focuses on understanding the foundational building blocks of music: pitch, rhythm, tempo, and dynamics. Guided by the child-centered philosophy of the great Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, Colourstrings believes that "music is for everyone."

Through playful, natural singing and movement, children absorb a large repertoire of folk material and simple melodies. We subscribe to the "sound before the symbol" approach—meaning children fully experience the joy of music before they are introduced to formal notation. This preparatory training beautifully trains the inner ear, setting a flawless foundation before they ever pick up an instrument.

The Senior Years: Ukulele Maestros (3rd to 6th Class)

As our students move into the senior half of the school, they graduate to weekly ukulele lessons! Thanks to Múinteoir Mary’s incredible passion for music, our school hall boasts a beautifully stocked music library, including a brand-new, full class set of ukuleles. The ukulele is the perfect instrument for young learners—it is just the right size for smaller hands, reasonably priced, and yields a lovely sound straight away, instantly boosting a child's self-esteem and motivation.

In these lessons with John our visiting music teacher, children learn tuning, strumming rhythms, accompaniment, melody, singing, and sight-reading. To get the most out of this wonderful experience, we recommend students practice at home for 20 minutes a day, five times a week. We are already looking forward to our legendary, impromptu ukulele concerts in the summer term sunshine!

10 Brilliant Benefits of Learning an Instrument: Teaches patience • Creates responsibility • Boosts self-esteem • Improves reading skills • Exposes new cultures • Enhances coordination • Promotes math skills • Encourages self-expression • Sharpens focus • Brings pure joy!

Visual Art at Scoil Cholmáin

Visual Art at Scoil Cholmáin is a true celebration of colour and collaboration. Over the years, our talented students have enjoyed fantastic success in various art competitions, regularly bringing home prizes and recognition. We love large-scale creativity here, frequently undertaking whole-school collaborative art projects where every child contributes to a grand design. Art also brings our students together across age groups; our senior and junior classes regularly "buddy up" for art sessions, allowing older pupils to mentor and guide their younger peers.

Creativity doesn't stop when the school bell rings for break, either—at lunchtime, we provide specialised "art boxes" full of materials for children who prefer to spend their down-time creating. We love to celebrate our artists and children are always encouraged to bring in masterpieces they’ve made at home to share with the school community. In fact, before breaktime, these proud artists often visit other classrooms to show off their hard work to an adoring audience! The grand finale of our artistic year takes place every summer, when we transform the shelter in the gairdín into a beautiful art gallery. Every single child in the school selects their favourite piece of work from the year to be framed and proudly displayed for all to see.

Drama & Performance

Drama at Scoil Cholmáin is all about building confidence, teamwork and making unforgettable memories. While drama is woven into our weekly lessons to help children explore different perspectives and express themselves, our real highlight is the festive season. When December rolls around, we go absolutely "all out" for our Christmas performances! The school buzzes with excitement as scripts are rehearsed and costumes are prepared.

The dedication of our staff shines through brilliantly here—Múinteoir Mary even goes so far as to build a real, custom stage right in her classroom so her "little people" have a proper platform to truly shine! Families and parents are invited into the warm, festive classrooms to watch these wonderful shows. Filled with music, laughter and brilliant acting, our drama performances are a beloved tradition that truly kick-starts the Christmas season for the entire Scoil Cholmáin community.