| St. Cronan's BNS | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| Vevay Road Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland |
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| Information | |
| School type | Primary |
| Founded | 1820 |
| Principal | Vaughan Dodd |
| Staff | c. 25 |
| Grades | First through sixth |
| Gender | Male |
| Age range | 6–13 |
| Number of students | 500 approx. |
| School Colour(s) | Blue, yellow |
| Athletics | Gaelic football, hurling |
| Website | www.stcronans.ie |
Saint Cronan's Boys' National School (Irish: Scoil Chrónáin Naofa) is a national school located in Vevay Crescent, just off the Vevay Road in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. It is the oldest primary school in Bray, having been founded in 1820 as Bray Male School. The school is named in honour of Saint Cronan, whose feast day falls on 28 April.
There are currently about 500 boys in the school, aged from 6 to 13 years (first through sixth classes).
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In 1820, a small number of cottages on Seapoint Road in Bray are believed to have been the site of the first Bray Male Parochial School. It opened on 20 July 1820 and the boys stayed in these premises until 1880. Due to increasing pupil numbers, Bray Male School moved from its original home on Seapoint Road to the Little Flower Hall beside the Holy Redeemer Church off the Main Street in Bray in October 1880. Bray Male School moved again in 1931; this time, the school found a new home in a new building on the Vevay Hill. The school also changed its name at this stage to St Cronan's. On 2 November 1999, after many years of fund-raising, St. Cronan's moved to a brand new building in Vevay Crescent. After the most recent move to the new school building in Vevay Crescent, Gaelscoil Uí Chéadaigh, a Gaelscoil, took up residence in the schoolhouse on the Vevay Hill.
As a national school, St. Cronan's follows the Primary School Curriculum (1999). The school has a Catholic ethos and prepares its students for the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion. The school is also part of the Modern Languages Initiative,[1] and Spanish is taught in 5th and 6th classes.
St. Cronan's also offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities;
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The school also runs CroKidzClub, which combines many of the above activities. This club allows children to stay in school from the time the school day ends at 2:30 pm until 5:30 pm. This club is offered to parents as an alternative option to child-minders.
| Scoil Chrónáin Naofa | |||
| County: | Wicklow | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname: | The Crows | ||
| Club colours: | Blue, yellow | ||
| Grounds: | Páirc Chrónáin, Bray | ||
| Playing kits | |||
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St. Cronan's is an active participant in Gaelic games. The school has both Gaelic football and hurling teams which compete against the other schools in the Wicklow area. Both teams have been very successful in recent years. The school's Gaelic football team have been county champions four out of the last five years, and are current holders of the Coughlin Cup.[2] The school's team colours are blue, yellow, and white to match the school's uniform. Prior to the year 2000, the school's colours were red and white; this matched the colour of the previous school uniform.
The school has close ties with Bray Emmetts GAA club, and many of the children in the school are also members of the club. St. Cronan's GAA jerseys are sponsored by a local organisation, the Bray Lions Club. The boys in the school participate in many of the charitable projects organised by this club.
St. Cronan's has a very active boys choir. As well as performing at many local events, the choir have performed in the National Concert Hall with the National Children's Choir, and have also performed for the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, in Áras an Uachtaráin. In December 2004, the choir released an album entitled The Magic of Christmas, which included a guest appearance by legendary Irish singer, the late Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners.[3]
On 12 September 2008, St. Cronan's welcomed His Excellency Liu Biwei, Chinese Ambassador to Ireland. The St. Cronan's choir, along with some musicians from the senior classes in the school performed for the Ambassador and his diplomatic entourage.[4] The school choir and musicians performed again on 10 November 2008, as the school welcomed renowned Aboriginal leader Patrick Dodson.
St. Cronan's takes part in the biennial "National Children's Choir" Concert, and the annual "Hallelujah Concert" in the Point Theatre in Dublin.
St. Cronan's has very close ties to the Bray Lions Club. The boys in the senior end of the school take part in many of the club's projects, including the Lions Club International Peace Poster Competition and the Clean Sweep of Bray.
In the run up to Christmas, students in sixth class take part in the Concern Christmas Fast. Each December, the school also participates in Operation Christmas Child. This is a project organised by Samaritan's Purse, and involves children putting together a shoebox of simple gifts for distribution among children in desperate situations around the world.[5]
St. Cronan's is linked with Edgewood Elementary School in the state of Minnesota.[6] The school is also twinned with the parish of Ikanga, Kenya[7] and the parish of Bugisi, Tanzania.[8] This is through the parishes of Holy Redeemer and Queen of Peace respectively.
