St. Brigid’s National School – Castleknock, Co.Dublin

Fact File

Name of school: Saint Brigid’s National School, Castleknock

Address: Beechpark Lawn, Castleknock , Dublin 15

The Daily Mile start date in your school: April 2018

How many children in your school participate in The Daily Mile? 400 approx so far.

Where do you do The Daily Mile? There is Church Green with a 300 meter tarmac path beside our school.

How many times a week does your school participate in The Daily Mile? We complete the run on a daily basis.

 

Our Experience of The Daily Mile

We have only started The Daily Mile in the last few weeks but we have lunch time running on a daily basis in our school.

Due to our size of school (over 900 children) there have been some timetabling discussions over when is best to do The Daily Mile.

Children who participate running are happier and more focused in class. They develop a sense of community and they pair off with runners of similar abilities ; some chat as they jog around.

Some compete with each. Others choose to run alone. You can see different children getting different things from the running.

 

                

 

 

Benefits we’ve noticed

You can see improved focus and more settled behaviour in the classroom after children have had a chance to run. The mood in the classroom on running days is better children seem more easy-going and happier.

The Daily Mile connects strongly to P.E , but there are many connections to other aspects of the curriculum.

SPHE: Healthy living, respect,dies, taking care of yourself and others/community.

Science: The respiratory system, heart and lungs, food and energy.

Maths: The distance, time and speed.

Geography: Mapping the area of where we run The Daily Mile.

 

               

 

Quotes from Students and Teachers

‘The Daily Mile is an answer to every teachers prayers. It’s the children’s positive focus point of the day! It’s an activity accessible to all and lends itself to increased socialisation. Children are eager coming into class asking what time are we doing it today. Most of all healthy body healthy mind!’

Catherine O Brien – 4th class teacher.

The Daily Mile is something to look forward to in the day the Daily Mile is good for your mental and physical health the Daily Mile is not only fun but is good for you.

Isabelle Jackson- 4th class pupil.

As a class teacher I find the Daily Mile to be well worthwhile. the children enjoy the routine; they gain much fitness, confidence, camaraderie while running and mental health in general. It was also the ideal way to break up long days in the classroom.

Barbara McDonagh – 5th Class teacher.

After the Daily Mile, when you go back to the classroom, all you can see are breathless smiley faces. You can see the whole atmosphere has changed. I’m so happy St. Brigid’s national school has taken on the  Daily Mile . It has benefited both students and teachers. Physical education is as important as any education and the Daily Mile is helping that.

Laura Nunan 5th class pupil.

“As a parent of three children in St Brigid’s National School I am happy and excited that Daily Mile has been introduced in the school from 3rd to 6th class. The benefits of the program have been well documented in the UK where it has been in operation for a number of years. The benefits are both physical with increased fitness and mental with improved concentration and performance in the classroom. The Daily Mile is an all inclusive program which I hope will be continued in Saint Brigid’s and introduced to other schools over the next few months. The Daily mile is a great way for children to get a break from the classroom while improving their own level of fitness-  yet it only takes 15 minutes a day”

Dianne Nunan – parent of two children in Saint Brigid’s

I think that the Daily Mile is a fun but challenging event and I think it is great for constantly maintaining a child’s fitness.  I also find it great for children to be able to get out of the class and stretch their legs for a bit during school. Some people like to talk which is nice and others – like me -go hard and run their hearts out.

I love the Daily Mile.

Samuel-  4th class Pupil

The Daily Mile helps our mental and physical health. It increases our fitness and stamina. Best of all it’s fun.

Alice 4TH Class pupil.

I think the Daily Mile is one of the best things that has happened in the school in a couple of years. As we all know at the moment a lot of children are glued to our screens.

Instead of looking at our screens we go out to the green and try and run around the course.

Joe Dwyer 4th Class pupil

Not only is the Daily Mile easy to implement into classroom life but also it improves and enriches classroom life. Running, walking and moving each day are habits which we are told are so important to us all. Witnessing the positive way that simple, daily exercise can improve the life of children is inspiring. – it makes you want to grab a pair of runners and get out there yourself‘

Patrick Lowery 5TH Class Teacher.