DDLETB Ballydowd Special School Mural

‘I am Whatever I Choose to Become’ was a Hip Hop, Rap and Street Art collaborative project by the talented students of Ballydowd Special Care School.

The project synergised the skills of NOISE Music and street artist Shane Ha with the students ‘creativity and unique perspectives. This exciting project culminated in an exhibition beside the school building within the Special Care campus.

The exhibition was centred around the unveiling of a graffiti wall mural which was revealed against the backdrop of a number of songs produced as part of the collaborative project (and a vibrant playlist carefully chosen by the students!).

“Thank you for inviting me to the BBQ on the 12th June in the run up to Cruinniú na nÓg

2024, it was great to see the artwork, to hear their music and the pride that the young

people had in having an audience to appreciate their hard work. Well done to all

involved, it was truly inspiring”.

– Eithne Swaine (Creative Communities Engagement Officer – South Dublin County Council)

“One of our main aims at NOISE Music is to provide hard-to-reach young people with

opportunities to participate in our song-writing, music production, and performance

programmes. Our project in Ballydowd School enabled us to introduce ourselves to 6

young people in the school, and to complete a song with a promising young rapper.

We are planning a second project with that young person over the summer, also

supported by the staff in Ballydowd, and will continue to offer opportunities to any

young person that comes into the school who has an interest in song writing and

music production.”
– Gerry Horan (Director of NOISE Music)

A message from Paul Sloan – School Principal Ballydowd Special School

It was truly rewarding to see the students enjoying their time working with a professional street artist. They learned to create their designs using spray paint on a large scale, which was an exciting experience for them. This kind of exposure can boost their confidence and potentially inspire them to pursue a career in the arts in the future.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our guests for contributing to the day’s success. A special thank you goes to our superb BBQ chef, Jojo, for cooking for everyone. We are also very grateful to Creative Ireland for providing the funding for this project and to artist Shane Ha and our own Art Teacher Olive Hanratty, who facilitated the weeklong project in typical Irish weather and were both fantastic.

Thank you!

DDLETB Ballydowd Special School Guests from ACTS Clinical Team

DDLETB sports officers Darren Bruton and James Bowes with Paul Sloan

Every Child A Reader DDLETB

Congratulations to Deansrath CC and St.Kevin’s CC who have launched the ‘Everyone A Reader’ project sponsored by a local engineering company and supported by Children’s Books Ireland.

The project aims to build a love of reading among students, staff and the wider community. Each school will receive 400 new books for each year of the project. Of these, two hundred will be chosen by the expert Children’s Books Ireland team, selected to capture the students’ interest and attention and reflect Irish society’s richness and diversity. A further one hundred titles will be chosen by the students and teachers in each school, further building a sense of ownership over their new library.

Every year for the three years, the schools will also receive class sets of books, which make up the final one hundred books and which will facilitate the set-up of book clubs for TY students. A Champion of Reading – a well-known Irish author or illustrator – will work with the school over three years to encourage creativity and engagement with the library.

Staff will be trained in maximising the use of their new library, while school-wide surveys will measure the project’s long-term impact.

Yvonne Crowley, a teacher at Deansrath Community School, said: ‘The Everyone a Reader project is a massive opportunity for our school to develop and foster a love of reading and encourage reading for enjoyment in our students. ‘The excitement in the faces of the students as they browsed all the books is one that I have never seen before and gave them a new way to experience modern titles and books that they could relate to. We are so grateful to have this programme running in our school to enhance our students’ love of reading.’