St. Clare’s National School in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, tells us about their school’s Positivity Pebbles project and the positive impacts it will have on their school and community
Our Mission Possible school awards showcase the meaningful work schools are undertaking to foster positive mental health and wellbeing in classrooms and communities across Ireland.
St. Clare’s National School in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan was one of our 2024/25 Mission Possible school award winners for their Positivity Pebbles idea. Teacher Verena Cunningham tells us more about their idea, how the school and community came together to bring the project to life and the lasting impact they hope it leaves.
Our big idea
As this school year entered its final few weeks and most primary schools nationwide were wrapping up for another year, our new wellbeing venture was just beginning!
Submitted as part of our winning entry to the Walk in My Shoes (WIMS) Mission Possible awards, our Wellbeing Committee was hard at work organising phase one of our Positivity Pebbles project. This idea was originally proposed by our pupils and, with the support of the WIMS team and with our ever-supportive school community, Positivity Pebbles finally came to fruition.
The idea was based on our ongoing message to our students – we want them to “Be You”. The idea was to invite students to paint a wellbeing message on a pebble to help shine the spotlight on mental health, diversity and inclusion. These pebbles will then be gathered together to create a pathway in our school garden to be a calm, quiet and colourful space for everyone to use. The pathway would celebrate the uniqueness and creativity in each child in our school and remind us how important it is to look after our mental health, just like we tend to the flowers and plants in our gardens.
We wanted this project to be a permanent part of the school for all past, current and future pupils and parents who are a part of our wonderful school community.
The idea takes shape
Our annual Creative Week takes place every June, and this was the perfect opportunity to allow our pupils to let their imaginations and creative juices flow. We asked every child in our school to choose and paint a pebble with a mental health message, word, pattern, image or colour- whatever they wanted to paint! They could choose any design that meant something special to them, help them to feel positive and something that might give that same boost of positivity to others also.
Our Wellbeing Committee sourced pebbles, paints and created a timetable of pebble-painting sessions for each one of the nineteen classes in our school, so every student had a chance to take part. Each day of Creative Week, our Wellbeing Committee watched as the stream of painted positivity pebbles grew across the floor of the classroom. The children truly captured the essence of what our Positivity Pebbles Project is all about!
When asked about their pebble designs, the children’s own words said it all.
• Eleanor, Senior Infants: “A sun in the sky and flowers because I like to pick and smell flowers.”
• Aoife, Second Class: “I love butterflies, so when one lands on me, they make me smile. Rainbows make me smile too.”
• Luka, Second Class: “When someone in my family says I love you, it makes me feel happy.”
• Navah, Third Class: “I wrote ‘Bee Happy’ on it and I drew a little bee.”
• Olivia and Laura, Sixth Class: “We did Mike Wazowski and Sully from Monsters Inc. because they are best friends – just like us.”
• "I did stars and a smiley face because I love stars and smiley faces.” – Ava, Junior Infants.
• Emma, Fourth Class: “I want everyone in the world to be happy.”
We were delighted that all of our 424 pupils got to contribute to the project. Some of the teachers were also inspired to create pebbles of their own!
An eye-catching display
Before finishing for our summer break, our Wellbeing Committee gathered the finished pebbles into the schoolyard and created a most eye-catching display for all classes to visit.
Led by our school caretaker, Eugene, and supported by members of the local community, phase two will continue during the summer months as our pebbles are sealed against the elements and placed in their permanent home in our school garden. Our goal is to launch and officially open our Positivity Pebbled Pathway on 10 October to coincide with World Mental Health Day.
We look forward to a fun-filled day to celebrate our achievements, the creativity of our children, as well as the efforts of our Wellbeing Committee and the WIMS team.
Mission almost accomplished!
