Pirates, skeletons ....and the principal as a New York taxi!
CBS PRIMARY SCHOOL principal Jos Furlong, decked out as a New York taxi, led fellow teachers and more than 220 students on a fundraising fun run in the town on Friday.
There was the usual gathering of skeletons and pirates, a grim reaper, the Incredible Hulk, a fake sheikh and, in a nod to Star Wars, Darth Vader put in an appearance.
After realising €15 under €6,000 in last year’s event, the 2016 fun runners were set a target of topping €6,000 for this year’s fun run, and have already raised €5,200 – with more on the way this week.
Children from the junior end of the school and first class fun walked instead of running on a shorter course up Green Street to Talbot Green and back down again, while the older ones completed a longer traditional route up St Aidan’s to Bishopswater, and Joseph Street and back to the school with, not surprisingly, sixth class the most competitive.
‘ This was number 29 – we started it in 1988,’ said Jos. ‘It’s good fun, but the children do collect a lot of sponsorship.’
He said the money was spent for the benefit of the children and for extra resources the teachers need in class: ‘We tend to do this one big thing. It pays for all sorts of things like subsidised swimming. It’s never for the upkeep of the school.’
‘ The staff dress up too and the children love that,’ said Jos.
While there were no individual prizes for fancy dress, Bobby Cummings’s sixth class came first and Ailish Hodnett’s first class was second. Parents helped out too, finding appropriate outfits and joining teachers in supervising the route.