2020-2021 was sadly all too similar to 2019-2020 in terms of school life. Not only did we miss a term in school of face to face teaching and learning, we also missed companionship and fun. The current Year 8 pupils had suffered a “double whammy” missing out on the traditions of leaving P7 and then missing out on the customary arrival treats of “big school” such as Adventure Day, first matches against other schools, the Y8 concert at Halloween and of course, a custom of Wallace life, the legendary bake sales.
Determined to end our year on a public health compliant high we determined to reprise a triumph of several years ago…the Colour run! For the uninitiated this is an event which combines a great playlist, running, powder paint throwing, gaudy sunglasses, teachers bent on “rewarding” favourite pupils with extra paint over their hair and some Dad dancing as a climax.
Mr Ian Latham (who had “form” after assisting the A2 PE class with their event some years ago) and Miss Gracey got to work on planning a pandemic proof event with the dual aims of providing a brilliant end of year experience and raising some funds for charitable causes. Ably assisted by Janeen Boyce ( Wallace’s sports’ facilities manager) and Rebecca Oates ( Schools’ worker Cancer Fund for Children) we were able to secure some part sponsorship of the event by Caulfield Corporate and our own Parent Teacher Association. Eurospar gave us not one but three £100 vouchers as prizes and McCalls of Lisburn donated a exceptionally generous £250 voucher as our first prize. Eurospar also kindly donated items for goodie bags at the end of the event; who doesn’t appreciate a drink and some chocolate? Wallace parents are simply the best and we were indebted to Mr Daye of Atlas running who provided us with a spectacular inflatable Finish Line and some brilliant ideas for the future. Donut run anyone? Mr David Lamont ( star of The One Show) isn’t simply an expert in floristry, he is a stalwart of many of our productions assisting with lighting and sound. David provided us with equipment free of charge and Year 12 student Isaac McIlwrath produced an outstanding playlist which kept weary legs going.
Thanks are due to many staff members who took on many varied roles; some got (happily) covered in paint, others dispensed the goodie bags whilst others made sure everything was shipshape again very quickly. The saints of ICT ( Colin and David) captured the afternoon on camera and drone whilst the VPs ( Messrs Atkinson and Cleland) managed to be the best-dressed, cleanest and neatest of spectators. Our new Senior Prefect Team were a great asset and had fun testing the paint in advance! Special thanks are due to Ian Latham for all his hard work in organising so many of the practicalities of the event and to all our pupil participants and our generous hearted parents. We hope that our final fundraising total will be around £3,000 which is a great result and to quote one of our English teachers:
“ It was brilliant, both literally and metaphorically!”
Last modified: October 16, 2024
