Creative Squad

Creativity in Our School

We are very fortunate to have the very talented Sarah Seymour as a member of our school community. Sarah has made our school a vibrant, colourful and creative space with her enthusiasm for the Arts. Sarah has led many creative projects in our school. 

Our Hazel Tree Artwork co-ordinated by Sarah Seymour through the Blast Art Project 

Art has the power to inspire, to provoke thought and to evoke emotion.  This beautiful hazel tree, our school symbol, is a reflection of our children, our community and our shared experiences.

The school community is made up of many creative individuals and when they come together, amazing things happen.  Every adult and child in the school has worked on a piece of this tree and added their own personal stamp of creativity.  Brought together with Sarah Seymour’s vision, each small part, while being an individual contribution, creates something far greater, far more beautiful.  This embodies the spirit of our Coldwood community – individuals, pupils, staff, parents, neighbours – throughout the generations that continue to come together to build, support and maintain something wonderful – Coldwood National School.

Ní neart go cur le chéile – in unity there is strength.

We celebrate the talent and creativity of all involved and extend sincere gratitude to everyone who helped bring this project to fruition.  We extend heartfelt thanks to Sarah Seymour, who through her talent and passion, has given us a gift 

Creative Squad 2024/25

Our Creative Squad was first established in 2023 as we were accepted onto the Creative Clusters Programme. Being part of the Creative Cluster Programme was an exciting opportunity for our school. It's all about bringing creativity into everyday learning in fun, practical ways. Over the two-year period, we teamed up with professional artists and creative experts who worked alongside our teachers and students on hands-on projects across different subjects. 

One of the best parts of the programme was having the chance to collaborate with four of our neighbouring schools. Working together on shared creative projects allowed us to connect, share ideas, and learn from one another. It’s been fantastic to see friendships form and creativity grow beyond our own classrooms and schools. 

Introduction video

Our Creative Squad kicked off the programme in 2023 by producing a short introduction video to share with the other schools in our Cluster, giving everyone a fun glimpse into who we are and what we’re all about. Take a look at it here:

Over the course of the programme, we’ve loved building connections with our Cluster schools in lots of creative ways. We sent Christmas cards to our new friends, worked together to write, produce and record our very own “Cluster Song” with the help of local singer-songwriter Ultan Conlon, and even brought all of our youngest pupils together for special Teddy Bears’ Picnics with the infants from the other schools. Each activity helped strengthen our friendships and made the whole experience even more memorable for everyone involved. 

Our Squad members worked closely with the children in their classes each year to make creativity a real priority. Because of this, we’ve enjoyed an amazing range of hands-on experiences — from drama and ceramics workshops to designing and painting our very own school mural. We’ve taken part in woodworking sessions and even learned how to drum! It’s been fantastic to see so many different creative talents discovered and developed along the way.

Being part of the programme gave us a budget of €1,500 each year to invest in creative projects and experiences for our students. To make our ideas go even further, we added to this through the proceeds of our annual bake sale — which meant we could tick off everything on our creative wishlist and bring even more of our plans to life.

2026

This year, without programme funding, we’ve had to be even more resourceful in finding ways to support our creative projects. We partnered with Art2Fund, an initiative that helps schools raise money by turning students’ artwork into personalised products for families to purchase. Thanks to the incredible creativity of our pupils — and the fantastic support from our school community — we raised over €400.

Now, our Squad has the exciting challenge of deciding how best to invest these funds, prioritising new and inspiring projects that will continue to bring creativity to life in our school.

We’ve also learned that creativity doesn’t always need a budget — sometimes it just needs a good idea. In Term 1, our Creative Squad shared the picture book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds with every class. The story follows a young girl named Vashti who believes she can’t draw, until her teacher encourages her to simply “make a mark and see where it takes you.” That small dot sparks her confidence and creativity.

Inspired by the message of the story, every child in our school was given a simple circle template and invited to make their own mark. The results were wonderfully varied and full of personality. We then brought all the individual dots together to form one large, collaborative display in our hall — a colourful reminder that every small creative effort can become part of something big and beautiful.