Keash NS sparkles for Sligo Cancer Support Centre

THE students and staff of Scoil Naomh Muire, Keash NS were delighted to present a cheque for €1,200 to the Sligo Cancer Support Centre manager, Bridget Kerrigan, just before Christmas which the school community raised in honour of Claire O’Donnell, the Deputy Principal of Keash NS who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2023 just before the summer holidays.

Claire has been a dedicated staff member in Keash NS since 2018, first as the special education teacher and then as a mainstream teacher in the Senior classroom and Deputy Principal since September 2020. Claire not only worked hard and gave 100% every day to her job in Keash NS but she always did it looking so glamorous and fabulous, so to honour her love of all things sparkly and glittery we organised a ‘Sparkle for Ms. O’Donnell Day’ in October just before the Halloween break where all the students and staff went all out to look as glamorous and fancy as possible.

The staff members were so impressed with the effort the children went to on the day. There were Holy Communion suits, flower girl dresses, fur coats, sparkly tiaras, up styles, shirts and ties and not a football jersey in sight!.

They put on a fashion show and sent photos and videos of the special day to Ms. O’Donnell who was so excited about the whole day which took place on the same day that she had her final chemotherapy session.

She said: “The videos and photos kept me entertained as I received my treatment and put a huge smile on my face. I was so proud of all the children and teachers and the huge effort they made for Sparkle Day.”

The parents, teachers and indeed whole school community donated so generously to the charity in honour of Claire which is testament to how much she is loved and missed this year from the school. We were so delighted that Claire was able to attend our Christmas Carol Service on December 20 in the beautifully newly renovated St. Kevin’s Church, Keash which made this special evening even more memorable and enjoyable for our school community.

Keash NS, which is located just 7km outside Ballymote at the foot of the beautiful and majestic Keash Hill, has just this year, for the first time, become a three (mainstream) teacher school due to an increase in numbers and they have been granted two 80sqm modular buildings from the Department of Education which will be going up in the very near future.

They will also be reconfiguring space inside the existing building to include a new SET classroom, secretary’s office, and staff room. This is a huge project and this development will be a fantastic asset to the whole local area.

This makes it a very exciting time for the students, staff, and the wider school community of Keash NS which as of January will have an enrolment of 52 students.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Devril Elliott. I am a mum to Jack and Holly, who are my be all and end all. I am a passionate homebaker with a very creative mind for all things cake. My hobby and obsession for baking intensified over lockdown as a way of keeping my mind active and stress free. I would 100% recommend baking as therapy and it’s my go to whenever I need to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. As a result my lockdown hobby became a business known as Debba Bakes and I am coming up on my third birthday. I am extremely proud of myself and so grateful to all of my lovely customers. The name Debba Bakes is inspired from my niece who could never pronounce Devril as a child. I have never had any formal training so I would say I am organic and if at first you don’t succeed try again. That is why I would like to pass on some of the knowledge I have learned over the years by giving you an insight into my week involving all things cake, recipe of the week and a tip or two.

As the name suggests it’s quite simple and who doesn’t love some cob loaf with a hot bowl of soup. The name Cob stands for (celebration of bread ). Be adventurous with this loaf, I love mine with garlic, cheese and herbs. The trick is to be patient with the rise, let it do it’s thing. affecting the dough’s consistency. Knead the dough on this surface for around 10-12 minutes, until the dough has a smooth ‘skin’. Try your best to knead it for this length of time. Lightly oil the same large bowl and place the dough inside. Cover with a clean cloth or cling film and place in a warm place to prove for

1-2 hours (mine takes 1.5 hours in my airing cupboard!). It is sufficiently proved when it has at least doubled in size.

4. Lightly flour a work surface and gently tip the dough out onto the surface. Gently ‘punch’ the dough to get rid of the air.

5. Now we need to shape the dough into a firm cob shape. Grab an end of the dough, pull it across to the opposite side and press it down into the dough to seal it. 6eal it again and proof for 30minutes.

6. Pre-heat your oven to 230°C/210°C fan and place an empty roasting tray on the lowest shelf/base of the oven to pre-heat.

7. Once the dough has risen to around double it’s size remove the cling film.

8. Dust with a little flour and then using a sharp knife make several incisions across the top of the loaf.

9. Add boiled water to the empty pre-heated roasting tray in the oven. This will create steam to give the bread a lovely crust! Do this quickly to avoid losing too much heat from the oven.

10. Place the loaf into the oven on the middle shelf and bake for around 30 minutes. You can check if it’s baked by flipping over carefully and tapping the base ± it should sound hollow. Place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

11. Keep bread well covered in a cool place. Best eaten within three days. Enjoy