St. Matthias NS celebrated a lovely day of culture and sailing on Thursday 10th April. The students worked very hard in the last few weeks completing projects on Australia, France, Czech Republic, Sweden and Mexico. There was lovely art, country files, landmarks, facts, books and artefacts from our countries on display. Parents were invited to participate too and we had additional Italian, Indian and Spanish projects that the children worked on with their parents at home. Children had their own passports and were asked to stick in the country stamps that they studied under close scrutiny of the passport control officers! 2 of our students who had left for Australia during the year also participated in our World Culture Day. They sent us lovely videos and their school peers were so happy to see them and hear about their Australian news. There was a lovely food table where everyone enjoyed Italian food like meatballs and focaccia, Indian food like banana chips, pilau rice, savoury treats and bhajis, Swedish food like Kladdkaka (sticky chocolate cake) and froknacke (seed cracker bread) Czech Republic food (Mazanec) Easter bread and potato salad, Irish brown bread, apple tart, Gubbeen cheese and salami and scones with jam and cream, Mexican food like guacamole and salsa with tortilla chips, French croissants and pain au chocolats. It was a fabulous feast and everyone went back for seconds! After the cultural event, we had the “Hopamaboatafloata” event in the Senior classroom. The siren from the Coast Guard van signalled the beginning of the regatta. The students had been busy making and testing their boats for the “Church Rd Regatta”. There was a man-made river set up and we witnessed some thrilling races. Fun Fact: The overall winner was actually a son of a former winner many years ago! The excitement wasn’t over just yet. One of our parents had kindly brought in some coloured powder which is a colourful fun festival to celebrate the second day of the Holi (Spring festival) There was great fun in the yard where everyone was throwing powder at each other in the sun. It was a really enjoyable day and thanks to all the children and parents who made it such a success.
