The Blue Star Programme is an education initiative for primary school students across Ireland. The idea of the Programme is simple: to foster better understanding and knowledge of the European Union and how it affects the lives of Irish citizens among Irish primary pupils through classroom projects and activities.
Pupils of all ages, from primary schools all over Ireland, are challenged to get creative and think about Europe by carrying out projects in relation to four key elements: the history, geography, culture and creativity, and Institutions of the EU. Each participating school is required to carry out projects and tasks, incorporating elements that include information about:

• The foundation and development of the European Union
• The cultural and linguistic diversity of Europe
• What the European Union does and how its work affects the lives of citizens

The Blue Star Programme aims to introduce participants (pupils, teachers, parents and the wider community) to the EU; what it means and how it works. The Programme also aims to foster a strong sense of awareness of the EU among its participants that reaches far beyond the school walls and out into the wider community.
The Blue Star Programme has creativity at its core and its structure and project work encourage teachers and pupils from all corners of Ireland to ‘think outside the box’. The wider school community are also encouraged to get involved and contribute to the Programme.
This is our 6th year to be involved in the programme and we plan to continue our work on this area well into the future.

We all had a great day today during Mairead’s visit.
The children really did us proud with their presentation on Belgium.
Mairead was also very impressed by the tunes they played on the trumpet.
As always, their favourite part of all was when the ice-cream van came after our awards ceremony.