"Don't forget that Bryan has singing lessons today after school," I hear as I leave home at 8.30 a.m. The headlines tell of a Sligo Garda who has died tragically in a car accident at Knockcroghery, Co. Roscommon. The threatened secondary teachers strike is certain to go ahead --they were out for three weeks the year of my own Leaving Cert, and it did impact on the students' lives at the time. The death notices are read and I think of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Our Town", by Thornton Wilder.

Monday mornings take more out of a teacher's reserves than other days, particularly after a Hallowe'en break, and Monday 6th November was no different. I reached the school just after 8.40 and was pleased with the tell-tale odour from the central heating boiler flu -- the time-switch, at its new winter-time setting had worked. A few plastic footballs roll about in the breeze to greet me as I enter the grounds. Will the caretaker have cleaned the school? A replacement Caller ID has to be fitted. The office computer must be re-hooked up -- its modem works fine in Ballina, but not in Stokane ..... must call Eircom. The boys of Scoil Padraig, Ballina, will be coming on Thursday to view the Mindstorms robotics project .... some planning needed here, but we have some highly-motivated students who've always given large measures, and the visitors are well-behaved, motivated young boys.

By 8.50, when Seimí arrived with the pupils aboard the mini-bus, the school was open and the buzz of happy outgoing children could be heard in the classroom -- each child wondering what Hallowe'en brought the others. The weather report is quickly put together by 4th class. The email is checked and we are reminded that Netdays are here again. There is also an email from shamrocktrees.com. Someone enquires timidly if the Irish poem, "An Chailleach Ghránna", were for today. At least she hadn't totally lost her memory, but a few others aren't quite so good! "We never have Irish poems on Mondays!" another replies. A few of the School Medical consent forms are handed up and placed in an envelope which will be sent to the North Western Health Board when all are in. One is not sealed ... the child is asked to seal this immediately, and then all are locked away. Twenty more pounds comes in for Polio -- this can be sent off immediately. A white envelope which contains the stubs of tickets for the Society of Missionary Children, together with the proceeds of the ticket sales also arrives, and then there's the milk money ... I wish we had a school secretary to deal with all of this.

Classes begin with Maths, followed by Irish. The highly-motivated 4th want to dig into Microworlds, a new LOGO application useful for their Robotics projects -- they never back away from a challenge. By 10.00, when the new computer (ordered 6-weeks ago) hadn't arrived, and no hopes of same from the supplier, I put Plan B into operation. After a quick consultation with Mrs. Bourke, followed by a phonecall, a new machine was ordered from a different supplier -- this to be delivered "within 48 hours". When I hear time-scales such as this I remember back to days long past and a saying referring to how long it used to take to get the old wet-and-dry-battery radios fixed. "You'll have it in two days, or two weeks, two months or two years!" was a slogan associated with a dealer not noted for his speed at repairing an appliance. He never told anybody that an appliance couldn't be repaired!  The Celtic Tiger has given too many choices to people nowadays, I believe, but I hope I won't be disappointed this time.

The toilet area needed attention by 10.12 -- if only we had a caretaker, or even a pair of toilets so that we could take one out of commission in emergencies!

All except one present for roll-call. Some homework is marked up.

A friendly smile from the other teacher and a lovely hot cup of tea at 10.40 charges up the batteries again.

Some work-books to be checked. Time to read the Nicene Creed in a meaningful manner ... this to be revised for homework with 3rd, 4th and 6th.  We don't have a fifth class this year. The children take their religious studies seriously.

The post arrives at 12.20. Four items for the Board of Management; two for the FÁS supervisor, and five for the school. Bills, "The Far East", and a circular from the new DES regarding the new science curriculum. The school is involved in a SIP -- Robotics -- and the children love it. There is also a letter addressed to another N.S. -- sent to us in error. I'll have to drop these letters into the local Post Office, and to the Parochial House on my way home. Two bills are ready for processing and posting. A mysterious payment has been made directly to the school account -- must ask the Chairman, BOM. A beautiful letter from PA, USA, from John Roddy, congratulating everybody concerned with the web site -- we must do some more work on this. Denise will place this letter in our school diary, which has been running since 1980.

English reading is followed by drama -- "The Hole in the Bucket" is a favourite Christmas concert item every four years, and it makes the children laugh. Denise, sleeves rolled up over a basin of water, and kneeding a dirty sheet on a wash-board, plays Liza, while Darragh plays Henry. The bit at the end where she chases him with a towel and lands a few below the belt at the rear bring great cheers! Books of plays are handed out -- to read over the next few days.
PE today is table-tennis in the prefabricated building. Those who've played before demonstrate. All have a game, with the classes being divided into two teams, each pair play five aces. Former pupils got silver at Mosney for this game ... a good incentive. Table-tennis gave myself hours of enjoyment in boarding school in St. Flannan's, Ennis; children are different in different ages, but essentially the same.

Séimí is at the gate at 2.43, and he doesn't like to be kept waiting ......he has another school run to do. A child asks me to photocopy a chunk of the encyclopaedia for her ...no time this evening after cleaning the toilets and dealing with the post. Mrs. Bourke has her room and adjacent wash-rooms spick-and-span (and ready for President McAleese were she to pay us a visit) in twenty minutes. It's still after 3.00 when I leave, and I must deliver that mail. And Bryan musn't be late for singing again! 

My dad is a builder and he gets up every morning at 8 o'clock and has his breakfast. He goes out to work at quarter to nine every morning but brings me and my brothers to school first. He works on buildings in a lot of places; Easkey, Rathlee and Ballina. Sometimes my brothers go working with him. Right now he is working on my Auntie's house in Ballina. He works six days a week every week. My dad does a bit of carpentry work as well as boarding floors and boarding roofs. He comes home at 6.30pm every evening if not later. Sometimes he works from 8 o'clock in the morning to12 o'clock at night. He really enjoys his job and he gets loads of money.

My name is Geraldine and I am a Bank Official in the Bank of Ireland in Ballina. I start my work at 9.00 a.m. in the morning. When I get in, if a person wants to get money out of their bank account (withdraw money) or put it into their bank account (lodge money) I take it out or put it in for them. Sometimes people ask me questions about the bank and I have to find out the answers for them.