Vandals target nursery

Children, staff and parents at Drumnamoe Nursery had gone to great lengths to have the school’s garden looking well for Easter, however their efforts were thwarted by vandals.

Bottles were smashed in the garden of the Taghnevan school, garden furniture was broken and the school’s green bin was stolen.

“Thankfully they can’t get at the school, so it’s the garden that gets it,” said Drumnamoe principal Fiona McDonald.

“It happens every holiday. They break things, burn things. I’ve lost count of how many times the green bin has been stolen. You get used to it, pick yourself up and move on.”

She continued: “The garden is our pride and joy. When they come in and do that it’s very frustrating. But we can’t let it stop us. The children love the garden.”

Drumnamoe Nursery School won the Best Kept Small School award in 2007 and the garden has been entered for the gold award for Eco-Schools.

Mrs McDonald said: “The parent co-ordinator has got parents involved with the life of the nursery. She organised a brilliant Easter Hunt for the children in the garden. We had a beautiful day at Christmas when the garden was transformed into a winter wonderland. That’s the sort of thing we want to do with the garden. We want the children to enjoy it.”

The frustrated principal added: “There was a time when people living in the area would have phoned me to tell me if they were burning something at the school and I could have come down and sorted it out.

“I don’t get calls like that anymore. Whether it’s fear, I don’t know. It’s the society we’re living in. People don’t want it to be the one that squeals in case they get targeted. I can’t do anything when I don’t live beside the school.”