Classmate Magazine Autumn 2018 by Dublin City Libraries

Dublin City Council’s Primary School Magazine Iris do Bhunscoileanna Chomhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath

CLASSMATE HALLOWEEN IS COMING! Autumn 2018 Fómhair 2018

www.dublincity.ie

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FÁILTE ISTEACH / INTRODUCTION Hello everyone and welcome to the Autumn 2018 issue of Classmate.

The Classmate Team absolutely love Halloween so we have some ghoulish treats for you, like the spooky book quiz opposite as well as details of a Zombie Fun Run and the Bram Stoker Festival. You can also read an interview with the

new Lord Mayor of Dublin, Nial Ring, on page 19. Well done to all who entered our competitions in the last issue. The winners’ names can be found on pages 3 and 9. If you would like to get in touch with us, you can email classmate@dublincity.ie.

CONTENTS The Bookworms

The History Detective

The Culture Vultures

The Earth Defenders

Team Classmate

The Whizz Kids

Bliain na Gaeilge

Your City Council

Word Spiral

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SPOOKY BOOK QUIZ

THE BOOKWORMS

ENTER OUR COMPETITION TO WIN A KINDLE FIRE! To enter, answer the following questions about spooky books. Send your entry along with your name, age and school to classmate@dublincity.ie by 5 pm on 2 November. Please put ‘Spooky Book Quiz’ in the subject line of the email. The winner will be picked at random from all the correct entries.

The winner’s name, age and school will be published in the next issue of Classmate. Congratulations to Jessica Lawrie (age 12) from Scoil Mhuire, Mount Sackville, who won a Kindle Fire in our Irish Book Quiz. All the answers can be easily found at your local library. And remember, you can download e-books and audio books by using BorrowBox if you are a library member.

1. What animal does the Grand High Witch from The Witches by Roald Dahl get turned into? 2. In which fairytale does the wicked queen utter these words ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all’? 3. What does Gretel, from Hansel and Gretel, push the witch into? 4. In Charles Dickens’ story A Christmas Carol, which ghost is the first to visit Scrooge? 5. There are many ghosts that roam the halls and towers of Hogwarts – can you name the Gryffindor House ghost? 6. Denizen Hardwick is the name of a character in which series of books by Irish writer Dave Rudden? 7. Who wrote the book The Ghosts of Magnificent Children? 8. The character Winnie the Witch, (from a series of books by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul) lives in a black house. Winnie’s cat is black, too. What is his name? 9. In the book The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy, Mildred Hubble is the worst witch in the school where young witches train in all the witchy arts. What is the name of this school? 10. What is the name of the popular series of scary books by R. L. Stine?

Autumn 2018

DUBLIN IS GOING BATTY!

Dublin will be going Gothic for the October Bank Holiday weekend. The seventh Bram Stoker Festival will take place from 26 – 29 October. There will be four days of living stories and four nights of deadly adventures to remember the creator of Dracula.

Abraham ‘Bram’ Stoker was an Irish writer from Marino on Dublin’s northside. He was born in November 1847 and later went to Trinity College. He loved theatre and became a drama critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. Stoker began writing novels in London and published Dracula in 1897. Stoker’s book is famous around the world, and every modern vampire story, from Twilight to Vampirina, is inspired by his work. The festival will have lots of free events and interactive experiences which will send a shiver down your spine. The packed programme of events mixes family-friendly adventures with night-time antics

and includes art, music, comedy, theatre and spoken word events. There will be outdoor adventures for families, parades, film screenings, exhibitions, talks and lots more. Keep your eye on www.bramstokerfestival. com and try not to go too batty with excitement! If you’re brave enough, venture down to The Cauldron of Smithfield for a free family-friendly event on Halloween night on Smithfield Square. It will run from 4.30pm8.30pm. There will be performances, a scare tent, a zip-line and food stalls. All welcome!

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BOOKS WITH BITE!! The nights are getting darker. The weather is getting colder. Why not visit your local library and get your hands on one of these creepy reads this Halloween…?

Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball by Laura Ellen Anderson (Egmont) Age 7+ Join vampire Amelia Fang and her friends, Florence, the Yeti, and Grimaldi, the Grim Reaper, on their adventures in the Kingdom of the Dark. Life as a vampire girl is not all it is cracked up to be, especially when you’re expected to babysit a spoiled Prince, survive a Barbaric Ball and rescue your pet pumpkin from an army of angry Mummy maids. This hilarious story is perfect for fans of Horrid Henry and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Young Dracula by Michael Lawrence (Barrington Stoke) Age 7+ Dyslexia friendly Wilfred just wants a quiet life, sleep every night and drink fresh cow’s milk every day. Unfortunately for him, he’s the only son of Count Dracula. So he has to sleep in a coffin, stay out of sunlight and find some fresh blood for his father. One night, he ventures out of the castle and into the village below where he meets a young boy called Smirk … and everything changes. A funny twist on the Dracula story which is perfect for dyslexic readers.

A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan (Usborne) Age 9+ Violet and her parents have just moved to a town called Perfect so her father can start his new job. But nothing in Perfect is as it seems. Why does everyone wear glasses? Why is her mother acting so strange and where has her father disappeared to? Who are the Watchers and what are they hiding? Together with her new friend Boy, Violet sets out to uncover the dark secrets of Perfect and rescue her dad. An excellent debut from an Irish writer, this book has just enough scares and thrills to keep you reading through the night.

THE BOOKWORMS

Begone the Raggedy Witches by Celine Kiernan (Walker Books) Age 9+ This is the first book in The Wild Magic Trilogy which introduces Mup and her family just as their seemingly ordinary lives are being changed forever. As Mup tries to come to terms with the death of her aunty, her dad goes missing. The family have no choice but to enter the parallel world of Witches Borough to try to rescue him from a cruel and tyrannical Queen and her army of Raggedy Witches. A beautifully written fantasy, perfect for fans of Harry Potter. Autumn 2018

Specially commissioned artwork:

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Specially commissioned artwork:

If you are lucky enough to have a grandparent or older family member in your life you will know that they are usually a great source of interesting stories! What better way to strengthen this special bond than through storytelling? Every autumn our friends in Children’s Books Ireland launch a nationwide reading campaign with the publication of the Inis Reading Guide. The guide recommends 250 of the very best books in all genres and age groups - so children

can find the right book for them. This year, the campaign celebrates the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren and includes a section of books on this theme. Stories told by older generations help young people to understand the world around them and how it continues to change. Through these stories they can learn about their heritage and family background which can help them to understand who they are and where they come from. Grandparents can learn a thing or two from their grandchildren too!

sure to find a book you’ll love and stories you’ll want to share! Scéalta - Ó Ghlúin go Glúin. Children’s Books Ireland’s aim is to engage all young people with books. They run book gifting schemes to make sure books get into the hands of as many young readers as possible. Visit their website to learn more about these schemes and how to apply. This year Libraries Ireland and CBI have come together to run the Children’s Book Festival for the month of October in libraries nationwide. See the opposite page for details of the events in Dublin City Public Libraries.

www.childrensbooksireland.ie Pick up a copy of the Inis www.childrensbooksireland.ie Reading Guide at your local library or via the CBI website: www.childrenbooksireland.ie. You are CLASSMATE

KEVIN STREET LIBRARY RE-OPENS!

THE BOOKWORMS

Opening hours Monday and Wednesday: 10.00am – 5.00pm

Kevin Street Library recently re-opened its doors and it is well worth a visit. It contains a wonderful mix of new and old, with beautiful Edwardian shelving in the adult section and a brand new slide in the children’s section! Albert Einstein, one of the most intelligent people that

ever lived, once said, ‘The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library’. So take Einstein’s advice and come visit, it’s at 18 Lower Kevin Street, Dublin 8. You can contact the library by phoning 222 8488 or emailing kevinstreetlibrary@dublincity.ie

THE CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL The Children’s Book Festival is a nationwide celebration of children’s books and reading, held each year in October.

Dublin City Public Libraries will have a range of fantastic authors, illustrators, storytellers and performers visiting our libraries, including Anna Carey, Amanda Bell, Erika McGann, Brian Gallagher, Alan Nolan and Ger Siggins.

Tuesday and Thursday: 1.00pm – 8.00pm Friday and Saturday: 10.00am – 1.00pm, 1.45pm – 5.00pm (closed for lunch).

As part of our celebration of Bliain na Gaeilge 2018 Dublin City Libraries present Dánta Dána, which is a performance of new and well-loved poetry and song in Irish for children aged 5–10 years. This show is performed with high energy and visual fun by Sinead Murphy and Darina Gallagher. One of the above authors may be visiting your local library so check our website for the full programme: www.dublincity.ie/main-menu-servicesrecreation-culture/dublin-city-publiclibraries-and-archive

Autumn 2018

THE HISTORY DETECTIVE

Recreation of a room from the 1900s. © Marc O’Sullivan

THE HISTORY DETECTIVE 14 HENRIETTA STREET – THE MUSEUM OF HOUSING AND TENEMENT LIFE by Dr Ellen Rowley Did the children play on the street? Or did they play in a back garden? Did they have a fireplace?

These are just some of the questions being asked in Ireland’s newest museum, No. 14 Henrietta Street in the north inner city of Dublin. Here, in a tall redbrick townhouse built in the 1740s by one of Dublin’s ‘gorgeous Georgians’, Luke Gardiner, is the museum of housing and tenement life. The word ‘tenement’ means a building containing many homes which all share the same front door and stairway. In Dublin from the mid-1800s until the 1970s, lots of people lived in tenement buildings but until now, there was no way of visiting a Dublin tenement or learning about that history. Like most old buildings, the houses on Henrietta Street have lived many different lives. With each new group

of people, new living habits were introduced and old living habits were lost. Technology like running water, indoor toilets and electricity came into the house at different times. Other aspects like fancy staircases, mantelpieces and plaster decorations on ceilings and walls, as well as the stables for horses out the back, were lost over time. During the Georgian period in the eighteenth century, the first families living in these massive townhouses had lots of power, lots of wealth and lots of room, while the last families who lived here were overcrowded and shared taps and toilets. For a few years in-between in the 1850s, No. 14 Henrietta Street was used as offices and law courts by an organisation called the Encumbered Estates Court.

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COMPETITION! We have 10 signed copies of Time After Time by Judi Curtin to give away. In the book, Molly and Beth become accidental timetravellers and find out what the world was like for their parent’s generation. Answer the following question to be in with a chance of winning a copy: Name another Judi Curtin book that features Molly and Beth.

Send the answer to classmate@ dublincity.ie by 5pm on Friday 2 November. Please put ‘History Detective Competition’ in the subject line of the email. Winners will be picked at random from all the correct entries. The names of the winners will be published in the next issue of Classmate. Congratulations to everyone who won a copy of Where the Stones Sing in the last issue. Their names are: Muireann Breen, Katie Delaney, Liliana Marcean, Alex McCall, Cormac Moore, Fionnán Ó Baoighill, Gwendolyn Ridgway, Ailbhe Scullion, Lucy Teeling.

The idea of history is being opened up more and more to include the voices and details of the lives of ordinary people and not just the lives of the powerful and famous.

TEACHER’S TIP

Just before the Second World War children all over Ireland were asked to go to the oldest person in their community and to find out about traditional superstitions and beliefs that they may

have heard about growing up, especially tales of Ireland’s magical creatures like fairies, leprechauns and the banshee. The children’s accounts of what they were told are in the process of being transcribed and digitised by the National Folklore Collection. You can browse the collection at https://www.duchas.ie/en.

In 1878, it was turned into 17 homes. And in 1911, 100 people lived across its five floors from the basement to the attic. Many of them were children and the people from the museum are really interested in how those children experienced their childhoods. Last year, a group of 4th class pupils from nearby Gaelscoil Colaiste Mhuire learned more about the history of the tenement children. They also made a film about street play. They skipped, hopped, sang Dublin songs and played Dublin games. Come to No. 14 Henrietta Street to see that film and learn more about this fascinating history. Find out more at www.14henriettastreet.ie

Recreated room from the 1960s. © Marc O’Sullivan

Mary teaches Claire from 4th class at Gaelscoil Colaiste Mhuire how to play ‘pickey beds’.

Autumn 2018

THE CULTURE VULTURES

AUTUMN AT THE HUGH LANE GALLERY This painting is by the Irish artist Frank O’Meara. It shows an old woman burning leaves beside a stream. Frank O’Meara loved painting pictures of autumn. During autumn, leaves turn from green to golden-brown or red. In the background the trees are nearly bare. If you look closely, you will also see a pale moon rising in the sky behind the branches. You can imagine that the leaves crunch as you walk on them.

October by Frank O’Meara

Why do you think the old woman has made this little bonfire? Maybe she is trying to keep warm? Do you think it is a windy or a calm day? What do you see that makes you say that? Which season is your favourite? Why?

ART ACTIVITY: AUTUMN FALLING LEAVES Make your own autumn leaves art

1. Gather a variety of paper including crĂŞpe, tissue or plain paper. 2. Choose warm autumnal colours such as red, pinks, browns, yellows and oranges. 3. Cut out different-shaped leaves from your coloured paper and arrange them as though you had found them on the forest floor. 4. Arrange your leaves by mixing autumnal colours together. 5. When you have made a bundle of leaves, you could gather them together with a length of string so that they can billow in the wind but never blow away. There are lots of art activities for children at the Hugh Lane Gallery. See www.hughlane.ie for details of all that is taking place!

ABOUT THE GALLERY Dublin City Gallery -The Hugh Lane is located at Charlemont House, Parnell Square North, Dublin 1. The Gallery is open every day except Mondays. For more information please contact 01 222 5550, email info.hughlane@dublincity.ie or see www.hughlane.ie. Hope to see you soon!

Autumn 2018

BECOME A BRENT GOOSE AMBASSADOR

Brent Geese © Niamh Ni Cholmain

Have you ever noticed large ﬂocks of birds with white bellies and black backs? They also have long, black necks with a white strap line at the top of the neck and black feet and short black bills.

call sounds and pass by the coast in Sandymount and Clontarf. These birds are called the Light Bellied Brent Geese.

Have you seen them feeding in your local park or playing pitch during the winter? They fly together in large, loose, V-shaped flocks making ‘gruuk gruuck’

Brent Geese are herbivores which means that they eat only plant food. When they have eaten all the eelgrass and green seaweed on the mudflats in Dublin Bay, they fly inland onto any green space

Every September, Brent Geese fly over 4,500 km from the High Arctic in Canada to Ireland. They stop off for four weeks in Greenland and in western Iceland before they arrive in Strangford Lough in Co. Down. Here they recover by eating a grass called eelgrass. They then fly to Dublin Bay and other coastal estuaries around Ireland for more food.

or playing pitch. They have to eat quite a lot to keep their little bodies (which only weigh 2.5 kg) in good condition for the long return journey to Canada. They do not seem to mind people, once you do not walk too close to them. However, if a dog comes along, even if it is on a lead, these birds will fly away! Every May the Brent Geese fly back to their breeding grounds in the Arctic. During the summer it never gets dark there which allows plants to grow on which the Brent Geese can feed. The geese will have their chicks there. They grow into goslings in time to fly south to Ireland again to avoid the dark Arctic winters when no plants grow.

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THE EARTH DEFENDERS

St Louise’s Primary School, Ballyfermot - Brent Goose Ambassadors 2017/2018

THE BRENT GEESE NEED YOUR HELP Since 2015, all these groups have helped to protect the Light Bellied Brent Geese by getting involved in the UNESCO Dublin Bay Biosphere Brent Goose Ambassador Project: St Louise’s Primary School, Ballyfermot; St Malachy’s BNS,

Raheny; Scoil Mhuire, Sandymount; St Joseph’s CBS (Primary), Marino; St Laurence O’Toole’s Boys and Girls National Schools, Dublin 1 ; Scoil Chaitríona Cailíní, Coolock; Belmayne Educate Together NS, Belmayne and the 5th Port Dollymount Cub Scouts.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET INVOLVED? Become a Brent Goose Ambassador and help protect them by telling people the life story of the geese and why it is important not to disturb them while they are feeding. For more information on how to get your UNESCO Brent Goose Ambassador badge, contact Dublin City Council’s Biodiversity Section at 01 222 3369 or visit www. dublincity.ie

Autumn 2018

THE EARTH DEFENDERS

CELEBRATE TETRA PAK TREE DAY 2018

AND GET A FREE SAPLING FOR YOUR CLASS The Tree Council of Ireland, supported by Tetra Pak, is calling on primary schools across the country to get involved in Tetra Pak Tree Day on Thursday, 4 October 2018. The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Be nature nice!’ or ‘Bí dóighiúil don dúlra!’ The campaign encourages you to think twice about the things you do and use every day and to make better

choices for the environment. Simple tips on how to help the environment can be found on the back of Avonmore school milk cartons which have been going into primary schools since September.

a maximum of 4 metres in height. It grows in dampish areas in hedges and small woods and bears discs of creamy-white flowers in early summer, making it excellent for pollinators.

As part of the campaign, up to 1,000 tree saplings will be given away to plant in school grounds and there is also a chance to win an iPad for your class. More details about the campaign, including guided woodland walks, class lessons, videos, fun tree facts, activities and more, can be found on www.treeday.ie

The tree also produces bunches of translucent, brightred berries in early autumn which the birds love. Its Latin name is Viburnum opulus, but it is also known in Irish as Caorchon. The Guelder Rose is a native Irish tree and therefore supports the biodiversity of invertebrate life in Ireland.

Each year, Tetra Pak Tree Day focuses on a different native tree. This year the spotlight is on the Guelder Rose, a small tree which only reaches

To find out more about this year’s campaign and to claim a free Guelder Rose tree sapling for your class, visit www.treeday.ie

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TEAM CLASSMATE

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! Get ready for some zombie sightings this Halloween.

All under-18s who survive the run will receive a spooky Halloweenthemed medal from Dublin City Council.

There will be three zombie fun runs on Wednesday, 31 October, in Ballyfermot, Drimnagh and Crumlin. See if you can outrun the zombie horde over a milelong course but remember to protect your brains.

To take part, register in advance of the race by emailing scott.watson@dublincity.ie

All runners (including the parents) are encouraged to dress up. You can make your costume extra-ghoulish with the help of our face painters.

This is a free event organised by Dublin City Sports and Wellbeing Partnership and DCC’s Community Development section.

The ﬁrst run will take place in California Hills Park in Ballyfermot at 12pm. The second run will take place in Brickﬁeld Park in Drimnagh at 3pm. The third run will take place in Sundrive Park, Crumlin at 3.30pm.

Autumn 2018

CODERDOJO

IN CHARLEVILLE MALL LIBRARY Charleville Mall Library is in the North East inner city area of Dublin and is the oldest purpose-built public library in Dublin. It’s also Dublin City Public Libraries’ first library with its own CoderDojo! Thanks to the support of the North East Inner City Initiative we were able to set off on our own digital adventure. Every Saturday morning children aged 7-12 come in to learn all about computer programming,

from building their own websites and apps to designing basic games and programming Micro:bits.

We asked our young coders why they come to CoderDojo and what they like about it. Here are some of their answers.

My favourite thing is when you work and you use your brain. It’s actually cool to code (Casian, age 10)

We come to CoderDojo to learn about computers and learn how to make games (Joy, age 10)

We also took part in Coolest Projects in the RDS and met other children from all over the world who love coding, too. We had a great time exploring, gaming and looking at the projects other children had brought to show everyone.

I had a wonderful time at Coolest Projects and it was so cool to see AMAZING projects created by other geniuses (Mony, age 12)

Coolest Projects was so fun and there was loads of free things and I got a free slushy (Madison, age 10) My favourite thing is making games on Scratch (Maggie, age 10) I come to learn new tricks (Dez, age 10)

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THE WHIZZ KIDS

Even though we’re a high tech library now, we still love books. If you’re interested in coding but don’t know where to start borrow one of these CoderDojo books from your local library and find a Dojo near you.

SCIENCE WEEK 2018 FROM 11 – 18 NOVEMBER Science Week is 23 years old this year! The theme this year is #BelieveInScience. Science Week helps us to understand how science, technology, engineering

and maths (the STEM subjects) can help today’s and tomorrow’s world. Several Science Week festivals will take place all over the country. A huge number of events, including hands-on activities, workshops and demonstrations from science centres, will be held in Dublin City Public Libraries and other interesting places!

the Convention Centre. Keep an eye out for the #StopAndAsk social media campaign where you can ask a scientist any question about the world around you! The website for Science Foundation Ireland will also have more information at www.sfi.ie/engagement/science-week

The week kicks off with our Scintillating Science event and finishes with the Dublin Science Week Family Day in Autumn 2018

CEILIÚIR BLIAIN NA GAEILGE Ag ceiliúradh Bliain na Gaeilge 2018 dúinn, d’iarr Foireann Classmate ar dhaltaí ó Ghaelscoil Cholmcille, i dTuaisceart Bhleá Cliath, insint cén fáth go bhuil sé tábhachtach dóibh bheith ina gcainteoirí Gaeilge. D’fhoilsíomar an píosa ba mhó a thaitin linn anseo chomh maith le habairtí iontacha ó dhaltaí eile.

Buaiteoir

Is teanga iontach í an Ghaeilge. Ceapaim go bhfuil sé go hiontach do dhaoine má tá an Ghaeilge acu, mar is féidir í a labhairt le muintir na Gaeltachta. Is aoibhinn liom fuaimeanna na teanga. Is teanga an-spraoiúil í. Bíonn an-chraic agam í á labhairt. Focail mar ‘Rí-rá, raic agus ruaille buaille, ‘sliobar slapoir’, ‘glug glug glag’ agus ‘luas cos lú’ tá said anghreannmhar. Cuirfidh an teanga thú damhsa le focail mar ‘lúba lúba lú’! Is aoibhinn liom na focail ar nós ‘pleidhce’, ‘gligín’ agus ‘ceann cipín’, ach amháin nuair a deireann mo mhúinteoir gur ceann acu mé! Mar sin bain taitneamh as an teanga, agus bí ag labhairt í le fonn agus le spraoi chun í a choinneáil beo.

Need a new kind of dictionary? Have a look at Foclóiropedia and go on a journey through the Irish language from arán to zú. Find a copy in your local library or get it from Gill Books at www.gillbooks.ie

Donagh, Rang 3 Thanks to Gill Books for the prizes.

Tá an Ghaeilge speisialta mar tá sé go deas cúpla teanga a bheith ar eolas agat. Tá an Ghaeilge in ann cabhrú leat sa mheán scoil, agus má tá tú ag iarraidh bheith mar mhúinteor nuair atá tú níos sine.

Is breá liom an Ghaeilge a labhairt, mar foghlaimíonn tú rud nua gach lá. An focal is fearr liom as Gaeilge ná giodalach. Seán, Rang 3

Penny, Rang 3

Is é mo thuairm láidir gur chóir do gach duine in Éirinn an Ghaeilge a labhairt mar is teanga Éireannach í. In a dhiaidh sin, is píosa dár n-oidhreacht í agus taispeánann sé dúinn cé muid. Ba chóir dúinn í a úsáid níos mó.

Aontaím go láidir go bhfuil An Ghaeilge tábhachtach dom. Caillﬁmid ár n-aitheantas muna labhraíonn muid an Ghaeilge. Labhair as Gaeilge!

Ar dtús is é mo thuairim láidir go bhfuil an Ghaeilge Bhriste níos fearr ná Béarla Cliste. Is í tír gan teanga, tír gan anam. Táim an-bhródúil as mo theanga eile. Faoi dheireadh tá sé go maith píosa teanga nua a fhoghlaim gach lá. I gconclúid tá an Ghaeilge tábhachtach dúinn! Emily, Emma agus Ava, Rang 4

Orlaith, Rang 4

Cian, Rang 4

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YOUR CITY COUNCIL: OUR NEW LORD MAYOR Sam and Amy from Comhairle na nÓg interviewed Lord Mayor/Ardmhéara Nial Ring Amy: So what made you get involved in politics and have you been involved for long? Lord Mayor: I was involved in politics from a very young age, and I think in my case, it would have been because of my family, my father and mother always liked politics. Politics was always spoken about at home and I have a connection with the 1916 Rising. My grandfather and his four brothers fought in the GPO during the 1916 Rising, and I would have always been very aware of that and of the historical context of that. My father was involved in politics, and I sort of inherited his love of politics and his love of Dublin and Ireland.

Sam: How will you go about prioritising young peoples’ voices? Lord Mayor: I will definitely prioritise young people. One of the events I am going to run here for young people is for children with autism. During Christmas I’m going to have the room inside made up into a quiet Santa Claus area, because for some autistic children, when it’s noisy sometimes it can trigger problems for them. But regarding prioritising children’s issues, I’d be very interested in looking at all of these and I will be.

Amy: So Comhairle are working on youth mental health and wellbeing this year, what are your views on that?

Lord Mayor: Well, it’s really important that it’s focused on. I was talking to you earlier on about children in homeless situations, that’s affecting their mental health. I’m going to organise to get experts to look at this, I’m going to have a workshop here and I hope that you will participate, because you’re obviously young people and you’re very aware of it. And I think raising awareness is one way of tackling it, because if people don’t know there’s an issue out there they’re not going to tackle it.

Amy: So who do you look up to, do you look up to any past Lord Mayor? Lord Mayor: There have been some brilliant Mayors in the past, like you had Críona Ní Dhálaigh, she was the Lord Mayor for the Centenary of the 1916 Rising, she was brilliant and I think she did a great job. Looking back at Lord Mayors that I’d admire, we had one in the 1940s and he was Lord Mayor in the 50s. I think he was Lord Mayor ten times, a guy called Alfie Byrne, and your grandparents would probably remember him. He did so much for the city and he made the position of Lord Mayor very important, so I’d admire him.

VIDEO CLIP There is a short video clip with some more questions at https:// youtu.be/LX2iZRkLtRY

Amy: Well, thank you for your time. Sam: Yes, thank you very much.

Autumn 2018

WORD SPIRAL Work out the puzzle and find the hidden word.

Starting from 1, fill in the grid in a clockwise direction with words, using the clues below. The last letter of each word becomes the first letter of the next word.

If you have correctly filled in the grid, there should be a six-letter word revealed in the centre of the puzzle. To give you a little help, one letter has been filled in.

CAN YOU WORK IT OUT?

2. Heavy rain is falling and the winds are howling. The weather forecaster is telling us that a S_ _ _ _ is coming our way and is advising people to stay indoors and keep warm and safe.

3. It’s Halloween night and under the light of the full M_ _ _ the ghosts, ghouls, vampires and werewolves come out to haunt. 4. My Mam always gives good advice and uses old sayings like “A stitch in time saves N_ _ _”. It is better to spend a little time now cleaning your bedroom than putting it off for months, letting the untidiness build up into a big mess!

5. E_ _ _! Whether they are scrambled, boiled or fried, they are my favourite food for breakfast.

8. Itch and scratch, itch and scratch, what can it be? I am a dog so it must be a F_ _ _ !

6. The children are getting ready for the Halloween party, dressing up in their costumes. Harry’s little sister is a little bit scared of him in his skeleton outfit, especially when he puts on the S_ _ _ _ mask.

9. The farmer planted cabbages and potatoes on one A_ _ _ of land and planted strawberries on another A_ _ _ of land. When the crops are harvested, he will bring them to the market to sell.

7. The seasons are changing and a falling L_ _ _ shows that autumn is on its way.

Hidden Word: Scream. Answers: 1 Bins, 2 Storm, 3 Moon, 4 Nine, 5 Eggs, 6 Skull, 7 Leaf, 8 Flea, 9 Acre

1. Take the time to separate your waste at home – use the Green, Brown and Black B_ _ _ Green is for recycling, Brown is for food waste and Black is for general waste.