'Who’s that behind the mask?' at Bridge Primary's fundraiser
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The school hall was filled to capacity with an audience eager to see what talent might be unveiled on a Wednesday night!
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIt is common knowledge how school fundraising plays a crucial role in enhancing the educational experience and resources available to the children.
So, when the school building supervisor, Mr John Duggan, suggested a performance of the Masked Singer, he had no shortage of volunteers from the staff to support the night ahead!
John said: “We wanted to do a fundraiser that was original. Life can be so serious and we wanted to create something fun that involved the whole school community.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“The children were so keen offering to dance and they spent break times and lunch times creating and practising their routines - not knowing who their masked singer was and only being on stage with that singer on the actual night!
“They saw the staff eager to take part and have fun. Everyone is so willing to help when it comes to the school and the children. Events like this really reinforce bonds between staff and children.
“And staff who weren’t quite ready to perform offered help in supervising dancers and helping masked singers onto stage. It really was Team Bridge in action.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdBridge IPS is no stranger to holding events to supplement the ever-tightening school budget, with various fundraisers taking place throughout the year.
However, the school community was not quite prepared for the show that took place!
It was a whole community engagement with staff secretly practising both songs and dances for the past few weeks!
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe dancers for each masked singer were children from across P4-7. They choreographed their routines and practised over breaks and lunch for weeks, with the first time all performing together being on the night!
Of course, like with any event these things are only successful due to the immense support the school has from its parent body.
Principal, Teresa Devlin, commented: “The support of the whole school community to make this event a success was absolutely amazing!
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“I am so proud of everyone who participated or contributed in any way and I can’t express my gratitude enough to all those who came out on the night to watch the performances – what an atmosphere!”
The night was supported in many ways – the Parish Centre at St Therese’s lent out extra chairs, Banbridge Karate Club members came on the night to be parking attendants, Frank Simpson, a past parent, donated some carpet for the stage, Declan McGreevy, parent of Jude and Chloe, and Moonlighting set up sound equipment.
The School Parents’ Group, who are relentless in their efforts to raise money in support of the school, ran a tuck shop.
Many local businesses gave vouchers for the raffle too. A total of £2,120 was raised on the night!
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.