There was only one show in town for the children of P3 at the Enniskillen Integrated Primary School when The Impartial Report called by – the disco taking place in the school that evening.
But other than that, some of the children had other matters they wished to discuss, such as schoolwork, with Ella Mai Judge and Sean Magennis the first to take the hot heat.
Victoria Johnston: Do you like school?
Ella Mai Judge: I like doing maths.
Do you do anything fun in school?
Ella Mai: No.
Do you play any fun games in school?
Ella Mai: I play Hide and Seek with friends.
Where is the best hiding spot in the school?
Ella Mai: Probably at the blue house – it is near where the stairs are, where you are not allowed to go!
Sean: Sometimes I go behind there (pointing to a sofa in the library); I hide during library time.
Do you like going to library time for books or Hide and Seek?
Sean: Hmm, books.
Do you have a favourite cartoon?
Sean: ‘Bluey’; I watch it with my little sister and little brother; they are four and two.
Do you play with them?
Sean: Sometimes we play with our Lego.
I hear there is a big event tonight in the school?
Sean: The disco!
Ella Mai: School is basic, it is just ... I don’t know.
What song do you want to dance to at the disco?
Sean: The Floss!
Ella Mai and Sean then demonstrate The Floss.
Ella Mai: I am wearing a rainbow top to the disco.
Is Mrs. Leonard a good teacher?
Sean: Sometimes, she calls people the wrong name.
Ella Mai: She sometimes switches rooms with Mr. Crawford.
George Noble and Tiana Amaezson were relaxing as they pondered their future careers. One wants to be a famous footballer, and the other has her eyes set on cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
Hello George and Tiana. Tell me, where do you live?
George: Ireland.
What part of Ireland?
George: Enniskillen.
What is good about Enniskillen?
George: The Forum; playing football.
Who is the best football team?
George: Portugal.
What other teams do you like?
George: Brazil. It's my birthday at the weekend – I am going to be seven.
What are you getting for your birthday?
George: A Ronaldo kit.
Is Ronaldo the best footballer ever?
George: Yes.
Do you want to be Ronaldo when you grow up?
George: Yes.
What number will you be?
George: Seven.
Do you like school?
George: No.
Do you like anything about school?
George: I like PE.
What is the best thing to do in PE?
George: Football.
Does Mrs. Leonard teach PE – is she good at it?
George: Kinda. My brother Oliver is in P2. I accidentally hit his face with a football; he wanted to be goalie.
So Tiana, tell me a wee bit about what you like.
Tiana: School.
Who is the best teacher?
Tiana: Mrs. Leonard.
What is the best thing to do in school?
Tiana: PE.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Tiana: A chef.
What other activities do you do? I hear you do some cheerleading with The Jets.
Tiana: I am in a duo; I am a flyer.
Do they throw you in the air; do you get scared?
Tiana: No. I was scared at first.
Some other boys and girls have told me about a big event tonight. Are you excited for the school disco?
George: [It’s at] 6pm to 7pm in the Assembly Hall.
Is that my invite?
At this, there was laughter from the pair.
What do you do outside of school?
Tiana: I go to Gaels on Friday.
What do you play?
George: I am a striker.
Like Ronaldo!
Impartial Reporter photographer John McVitty: No, he is Noble 7 – and I have his picture now for when he is famous!
Elsewhere, Dylan Kennedy and Leen Medani were talking about sports, inventing and maths.
Dylan and Leen, what is good about school?
Dylan: Nothing!
What do you like to play?
Dylan: Anything – but not girls' stuff.
What do you mean by girls’ and boys’ stuff?
Dylan: Toys.
What is your favourite thing to play with in school?
Dylan: Blocks.
What do you build?
Dylan: Seats – it could actually hold me. You start building the body, and then the legs, and then I sat on it. It took a few minutes and it broke.
Are you going to be an engineer when you grow up?
Dylan: A builder.
What do you do for fun?
Dylan: Crafting, painting, colouring, making stuff, cardboard and stuff.
What is the best thing you have made?
Dylan: A robot without legs.
Without legs? How did you make it?
Dylan: I used a big box for the body, and then I used toilet paper on the inside for the arms and the body. I made it at home.
What did your family say about that?
Dylan: Nothing. I put it in my sitting room and then it broke.
Leen, do you like school?
Leen: We get to learn lots of new things, like lots of maths and Early Bird.
What is ‘Early Bird’?
Leen: Early Bird Maths.
I think maths is hard.
Leen: No – maths is easy
What is Mr. Crawford like as a teacher? Is he good?
Dylan: Ish, well, kind of. (He reluctantly gave a thumbs-up.)
Leen: (Thumbs-up.) He always lets us play a lot, but not as much as when we were in P2. He is fun and kind of silly.
What is ‘kind of silly’?
Leen: When we were learning, he made up a funny story, and when we do the answers he does a funny voice and goes ‘Sixteen’.
Are you excited for the big event in school tonight?
Dylan: A dance.
Leen: Like a disco.
Dylan: Food, party and sweets!
What song will you dance to?
Dylan: ‘We Will Rock You’.
Leen: I have never heard that song.
Do you like sports?
Leen: At home, I play football.
Dylan: At home, I play badminton; I have a badminton net – it is this big (gestures).
Do you have a favourite team?
Leen: My favourite team is Chelsea.
Dylan: Boo! My favourite team is Liverpool.
Leen: That's my sister’s favourite team!
Finally, Shea Fitzpatrick and Priya Convey sat down to answer some pressing questions about newspapers, video games and their future careers.
We are from The Impartial Reporter newspaper. Do you know what a newspaper is?
Shea: They are boring.
Moving on, tell me about something that isn’t boring?
Shea: I like to play with my friends, games and ‘Minecraft’.
What is good about Minecraft?
Shea: You can get different blocks.
Priya: I play ‘Roblox’, too.
I don’t understand these games. Can you explain them to me?
Shea: It (Roblox) is a game in a game. There is different kinds of games, but when you have never played it, you pick different games; you can pick anything.
Priya: You can pick clothes and stuff.
Shea: You can pick it from movies and video games too.
Are you excited tonight for the school disco?
Shea: Yesterday, I wasn't going to the disco, but my mum has put in the wee ticket.
What will you dance to at the disco? Do you have a favourite singer?
Priya: Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift is my favourite singer! What is your favourite song?
Priya: I can’t really pick.
If Taylor Swift came to this school, would that be a good day?
Both: I guess.
Do you play any sports?
Shea: Football and Gaelic. I play for [Enniskillen] Gaels.
Priya: My sister plays football; she has seven medals, or six or eight.
Oh wow, very sporty! Is Mr. Crawford good as a teacher? Does he shout?
Priya: A little bit.
Shea: Sometimes.
Priya: He shouts out funny numbers.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Shea: A scientist.
Priya: A nurse.
Shea: My mum is a nurse.
Priya: They help people who are sick.
Is your mum or nanny or someone in your family a nurse?
Priya: My nanny is rich. If I want something, she just buys it.
Shea: My nanny buys me stuff too.
Priya: My nanny is 25.
Shea: My nanny is 77.
I don’t think your nanny is 25.
Priya: She told me she was.
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