The Battle of the Somme holds a special place in the hearts of many people in Northern Ireland. It brings a mixture of pride and sadness. This year is the 100th anniversary of this historic battle. As a school community we felt it was appropriate and important to remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
On our annual Remembrance Day celebration we decided to focus on the Battle of the Somme.
We held two services for our pupils. Key Stage 2 had their service at 9.15am and then Year 1 to 4 at 10am.
The services started with a PowerPoint giving the history of the Battle of the Somme and its importance in British history. Then Rev. O'Brien, our school chaplin, then discussed the poppy and its importance. We finished each service with a very respectful period of silence to remember those who had fallen.
As part of the PowerPoint presentation the children were told the story of a local man who very bravely fought at the Somme. The pupils saw his photograph and even a flag he had carried to direct his fellow soldiers. The very interesting surprise was that two of his relatives are part of our school. He was the grandfather of our much loved Year 1 teaching assistant Mrs Moore. We were delighted that Mrs Moore was kind enough to allow us to share the story of her grandfather of whom she is very rightly proud. Mrs Moore's granddaughter is a Year 5 in our school. It was lovely to share in their family's celebration of their very brave grandfather. I need to thank Mrs Moore's brother who lives in England who sent over all the materials we needed to celebrate his grandfather's life.
Lest we forget.
