TRANSITION year students from Coláiste Mhuire and St. Brigid’s put their talents together to produce a new video for Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ this month and the results proved impressive.
The project earned the Coláiste Mhuire boys a Community Involvement Bronze Gaisce award. However the students learned a lot more than how to make a creative short film.
“Our project, which was 14 weeks in total, focused on communication. An awful lot of planning and preparation went into it, and everybody divided up in two little groups between Coláiste Mhuire and St. Brigid’s, and they decided that they would like to make a music video,” TY Coordinator Barbara Anne Murphy told Topic.
She said the students tapped into their creative sides for the musical venture and also ensured that it was accessible to anyone who had disabilities.
“They added signs to it for people who are non-verbal and dance moves and facial expressions and hand gestures. There were lots of little ideas throughout – there was a car pulling along some of the lyrics and they created lyrics from feathers and other things like that.”
The boys sang and recorded the song themselves as well as played their own instruments.
BREAK DOWN BARRIERS
The TY Coordinator said that she, along with the teacher from St. Brigid’s school, Loran Butler, wanted to use the project as a way of breaking down the barriers between the teenagers and try to encourage friendships.
“We had days out in the bowling alley and we played sports in the gyms and did other activities. It wasn’t just all about the project. There was a lot stuff going on in the background that was extremely important.”
She said the both sets of students were a little nervous before the project, but they soon realised there was little reason to be. “They made genuine friendships and for the boys to walk down the street and say ‘hello’ and stop for a chat and know that there is very little difference between each other, is what we wanted to come of this. I think they found the confidence to know that they approach new people from different backgrounds with different abilities and they don’t see a difference between them and St. Brigid’s. It has also developed their kindness and sense of belonging to the one community, which is really important.”
Ms. Murphy said that in previous years, Coláiste Mhuire TY students have made Christmas cards and sold them to fundraise for charity, while they created a ceramic mural on another occasion.
“They do something different every year. The project was set up five years ago with the aim of initiating the link between Coláiste Mhuire and St. Brigid’s School,” Ms. Murphy explained.
49 Coláiste Mhuire students recently received their Gaisce Bronze award on their graduation night, with much excitement after what was a very worthwhile project.
“It was such a lovely project and a lovely atmosphere,” said Barbara Anne. “It’s just about helping the boys not to see a difference between them and other people at the end of the day and realise that they are just regular teenagers who have little obstacles to get over but they are not different.”
