New School Hall

New School Hall

Official Launch of our 'Buy a Brick' Initiative



Our new School Hall.

On June 21st 2013, Scoil Padraig Naofa, Cregmore, officially opened its new and long awaited extension, consisting of a Sports Hall, Classrooms, Resource and Learning Support Rooms, Shower Room, kitchen and storage facility.It also saw the completion of the Astro Turf  and Pitch area.
The honor of opening the facility was given to lacal T.D and friend of the school, Deputy Noel Grealish, T.D. 
This innovative project which was part funded by the Department of Education and Skills is an essential requirement for what is fast becoming one of the larger rural Primary Schools in Galway, with a current pupil enrolment of 252 children and a staff of 18.
This modern building, designed by local man Michael Costelloe and constructed by Carey Developments of Galway is much admired and most functional .
In order to complete the project to the very highest standard, the school community launched a “Buy a Block” initiative, where 200 generous donors were invited to commit €50 each towards this project. Local businesses committed between €250 and €1,000. In turn, an specially commissioned plaque representing each contributor was placed on a designated board, designed by Gerry Melia, in the main entrance hallway. This plaque was officially unveiled at the official opening on June 21st. It is hoped that parents, past pupils, families and friends of Scoil Padraig Naofa will continue to be generous in supporting this endeavor. Anyone wishing to “Buy a block” can still do so by either calling the school on 091-799037, writing directly to the school or e mailing the school at cregmorens@ymail.com

School Principal, Joe Kennelly paid tribute to the generosity of the local community in supporting this project to date. He thanked the Parents Association and Board of Management who have worked tirelessly over the past number of years generating the necessary finance required to make this vision a reality. In particular he thanked local businesses who contributed corporate donations and said that without this support the project simply would not have happened. "Ni neart go cur le cheile"



Building for the Future.
At the launch of “Buy a Block” campaign in Scoil Padraig Naofa were Junior Infants Cian O Flaherty, Sofia Murphy  and Dean Hurney.



Building is a tough job.
Also attending the launch of “Buy a block” in Cregmore National School were Foreman Murt from Carey Construction, along with his 29 labourers from Junior Infants

The School Hall-'Back to the Start' by 6th Class

Back to the Start...

We'd all heard lots about the new building and had waited patiently for work to get underway. We had lost our playing field at the side of the school to a much needed drop-off zone but we were assured there were bigger and better things to come. We'd witnessed the transformation of the recently acquired field into our new pitch and had keenly watched as our astro-turf was laid and finished. Needless to say we were excited about all these developments but nothing compared to the buzz about the new hall.....

6th Class Log, November 2012


The GIANT septic tank arrived today. We were in the middle of a maths lesson this morning when our attention was diverted by the 'beep-beep' reversing sound of a large vehicle. We looked out the window to see this massive container arriving on the back of an artic truck. We really were stunned (into silence!) by the enormity of it. This tank is huge! Today signals the first real step in the long awaited construction of our new hall....

6th Class Log, December 2012

Today Philip, Jack O' Brien, Josh, Ian and Niamh McCullagh ventured out onto the building site with Mr. Kennelly. The first thing was to get hard hats and hi-vis jackets for safety reasons. The 'Health and Safety' procedures in place are very strict and we would not be permitted onto the site without agreeing to follow them. Everything was fenced off so no-one could fall down any holes or get injured on any building equipment. After that we met with Gerry O' Brien, the electrical contractor
He was connecting the electricity from the school to the portacabin.
 Mr. Kennelly then gave us a tour of where the building will be and we took lots of photos.



The site being cleared

Eager and ready for work!







 


Here we see the septic tank embedded in the ground.   
We found out  that the tank weighs 16 tonnes and came all the way from Co. Kerry. 














 6th Class Log, December 2012

    
Today, Friday the 21st of December (the day before our Christmas holidays) a group of 5 6th class boys go out to the construction site. It is a cold misty day!
Oisín, Alex, Loman, Diarmuid and Jack Daly accompany Mr. Kennelly to the site. First we talk to Aidan, the contractor. He tells us that the builders are laying the foundation of the building and should be finished after Christmas.
Here is a picture of us in front of the foundation


 


 6th Class Log,January 2013


 

Today we visited the construction site of the new hall which will include a classroom, toilets, wet area/shower, storage area, 2 resource rooms and a kitchen. We are eager to see the work that has taken place while we were on Christmas holidays from school. When we go out we see that the builders are at the stage of filling in the floor with ‘393’ mesh which stops the floor from cracking.They have placed 150ml Kingspan insulation under the floor so no cold air can circulate up through the floorboards.

Brandon, Dillon, Jack G., Áilidh and Niamh from 6th class with some of the builders and Gerry Melia.





The block-layers are coming on the 15th January and it will only take between 2-3 weeks for them to build the hall up to roof level. We were astonished to hear that it would only take a few weeks before we would see the hall taking shape.
Although the base and foundation look quite small to us the builder reassured us that this is often the case.


6th Class Log, February 2013

When the hall is complete it will be around 4,000 sq. ft.

The new building will contain a classroom for 6th class


There will also be 2 new resource rooms and a hall


Mick thinks the building will be completed mid April


The block-layers are working at a steady pace to complete the building


A group of 6th class inspecting the work of the block-layers with Mick McCann


Today another group from 6th class visited the rapidly rising new building where a number of block-layers were in the process of constructing the external and internal walls. We met with Mick McCann, the contract manager and we were lucky enough to get to interview him. Mick was very helpful and showed us the building plans and gave us a copy of the date the construction is expected to be completed. Mick also told us a bit about himself, he is from a small village in Tyrone. His father and 6 uncles were all carpenters so his career choice was no surprise! He applied to Carey's building company a number of years ago and has been there ever since. He has been a foreman for 30 years.
6th Class Log March 2013 

 Today, Jasmine, Chloe H, Katie, Chloe G and Cathal all went out to visit the building site. Chloe H was the photographer and took lots of photos while Cathal asked Michael, the foreman plenty of questions. Michael also showed us the blueprints of the building. It is intended that the building will be ready by the end of April if everything goes to plan. Michael says it is a straightforward build because it isn't an irregular shape. The next step is to pour the concrete beams that will hold up the roof. At night the builders have to make sure the blocks are covered to protect them from the frost.
Block layers hard at work!

Here we can see the gaps left for the windows and doors

The scaffolding rises as the blocks inch their way up!

An internal shot of the new building


What a difference a few days can make!










6th Class Log March 2013 

 


Today we donned our high-vis jackets and went to visit the building site once again and Mr. Kennelly showed us around the inside. A lot has changed since we were here last but there is still a long way to go before the building is ready.









 

Mr. Kennelly explained to us how the lintel above, serves to hold the blocks up over the windows.
Lintels are made from steel.

 

 

 Progress made on the building since our last visit

For the first time, we were able to see the rooms where the shower, kitchen, resource rooms and classrooms would be. At the moment the rooms are just shells but we can appreciate the size of the rooms as the internal walls are now completed.


Windows have now been fitted









 

6th Class Log April 2013

Today Jack Glynn, Jack Hurney, Alex Horkan, Philip Dolan, Jack O' Brien and Ian Moloney went to the building site. 'Hi-Tech C&D Ltd.' were on site in the hall where they were skimming the ceilings, while in the classrooms Michael was fitting insulation. Outside Marcus and Frank were plastering the walls. The lads were filling the cavity in between the concrete blocks. These are filled with 150 ml of platnium bead. The ceilings are filled with 400 ml of ECO's fiber glass insulation with an airtight membrane. A membrane stops drafts, saves money on oil and reduces heat loss. A membrane is fixed to the underneath side of timber joycings and is covered over with 1 layer of plaster board and skim finish, the skim is like a plaster which is mixed in water and is trowlled evenly over the plaster board to give a smooth finish. All windows and doors are sealed with an airtight tape to stop drafts from penetrating the building.We are learning so much about building and construction!



Michael Costello- the Engineer
                                        A group of 6th class boys on a visit to the hall


Jack Glynn taking in all the information about the insulating of the building!

  6th Class Log May 2013

The Big Reveal!!

After months of looking out onto scaffolding and hoarding we were really excited to hear that it was finally going to come down and reveal the new hall behind it.
What a wonderful sight!
However, a lot of work still remained to be done on the inside and workmen continued to come and go each day putting the final finishing touches to the hall.
A close-up of the school crest etched on stone over the main entrance into the new hall.
We thought this was one of most impressive features of the hall and really adds to the outside of the building


The Finished Product-The new hall in all its glory
Notice the lovely window boxes and hanging baskets and also the red blinds with the school crest on them


We are all very proud of our new school hall and wish to thank all involved for helping to bring this wonderful venture to fruition. We acknowledge all Mr. Kennelly's hard work and dedication to this project and are thankful that it has now paid off. We look forward to spending lots of quality time together with our classes in the hall.