Jonathan Edwards visits Activ8 School
School children at St Joseph’s Primary School in Lisburn had the opportunity to meet Olympic Triple Jumper Jonathan Edwards CBE on Thursday (4 June) as he visited the school. St Joseph’s are one of 10 lucky schools who will receive a visit from a sports star for their winning Activ8 classroom display.
Activ8 is a new initiative from Sport Northern Ireland promoting 8 steps for children to get active and stay healthy and has been awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark.
Jonathan Edwards shows pupils at St Joseph's Primary School, Lisburn his Olympic Gold Medal
The programme was launched on 7 April and participating schools were invited to create a classroom display on the 8 steps of the Activ8 campaign that help promote an active and healthy lifestyle.
The St Joseph’s “Activ8ors” presented their classroom display to Jonathan Edwards and explained to him what they had done to fulfil the Activ8 steps. Primary five to seven pupils then had a chance to ask their special guest questions before demonstrating their sporting skills in the playground.
Speaking about his visit to St Joseph’s, Jonathan Edwards Board Member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and Deputy Chair of the Nations and Regions Group commented: “Today’s visit to Northern Ireland encapsulates everything we went to Singapore to bid for. Activ8 is encouraging young people to develop their skills and interest in physical activity. I am proud that with the help of partners such as Sport Northern Ireland we are delivering our vision of using the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to increase healthy and active lifestyles in Northern Ireland.”
Proud Principal Maria Gough spoke of the children’s delight at meeting Jonathan: “When I first heard about Activ8 I was really keen for the school to take part as we value the importance of physical activity and encourage the children to be as active as possible. Thanks to the enthusiasm of P5 teacher Mrs Gartland the children worked very hard on the display and on completing the Activ8 challenge. It was great to have Jonathan Edwards visit our school and I’m sure the children will remember his visit for a long time to come.”
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