Great celebrations at Stamullen school"s extension blessing day

There were great celebrations last Thursday at the campus of St Patrick"s NS, Stamullen, for the dedication and blessing of the school extension. The Most Reverend Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath, was the guest of honour as the patron of the school. He prayed with the five junior and senior infant classes and, having blessed all the classrooms, he led the dedication ceremony in Clonard Hall with the all pupils from first to sixth class who were joined by invited guests. School principal Michael Fox welcomed neighbours who had provided land for the development, officials from the Department of Education and Science, Emmet Rogers of the construction team, members of previous boards of management, parents" associations and the teaching staff. He encouraged all to continue to develop a campus with a 'céad míle fáilte' atmosphere where respect and gentleness would bring out the best in pupils" studies and support the school"s ethos. The four heraldic elements of the school"s crest were presented to the patron - three mitres, three shamrocks, a beehive and scallop shell - and were built into a shield on the podium. After readings, psalms and the Litany of the Saints invoking the patrons of each classroom, Bishop Smith led the Prayer of Dedication before unveiling an image of St Patrick lighting the Paschal Fire on the Hill of Slane. In his address, Bishop Smith spoke of the long tradition of education in the diocese of Meath which stretched from St Finian"s University town in Clonard on the banks of the Boyne to St Ciaran"s University at Clonmacnoise on the banks of the Shannon. This link with the past was evident in the naming of each classroom after a patron saint. Bishop Smith expressed his appreciation to the design team, board of management, parents" association and all whose generosity had seen the successful completion of an impressive project with such good resources. He admitted to being pleasantly surprised when he turned the corner in Stamullen to see the completed building and was even happier to see the high quality of all the installations and facilities. Some of the guests mentioned that the school looked like a third-level building and that they were very impressed with the use of space, light and colour throughout the building. A commemorative candle was presented to each teacher for the Sacred Space in each classroom. The standard of music provided by the choir under the direction of Mrs Olive Matthews, Ms Barbara Bell and Ms Christine Kirk was complimented by all visitors. In his concluding remarks, Fr Robert McCabe, chairman of the board of management, reminded everyone of the great sense of accomplishment in developing an excellent school campus. Fr Robert thanked Fr Michael V Daly for his help in getting the project off the ground in 2003, Fr Declan Kelly for continuing that support and Mr Marc Cunningham (school architect) and Mr Fergus Duffy (design team) who provided great guidance all the way through the project. Light refreshments were served before all the guests reported to the principal"s office to collect their souvenir commemorative candle.