Santa Claus arrived early to Timahoe this year as the children of Naíscoil Kantara, at Timahoe NS were treated to a massive surprise in the lead up to the holidays.
Santa Claus arrived early, laden down with a sack full of beautiful hand-made wooden toys, much to the children’s delight.
This was no ordinary Santa visit however. The visit came about due to the generosity of the John Sisk & Son construction company.
Ireland’s largest construction company has a wonderful initiative whereby they make wooden toys for children’s organisations each Christmas.
Now in its 40th year, the toys are made by apprentice carpenters and joiners in their Christmas workshop located in Dublin.
Work on the toys starts in mid-November with suppliers providing materials like wood and fixings at special rates.
When the toys are finished, the apprentices – some dressed in Santa suits – load the toys into their trucks and deliver them to children all across the country.
This wonderful surprise for the school was organised by Deirdre Conlon, a Timahoe native and employee at Sisk & Son Ltd. Everybody at the school was thrilled with teachers Mairead O’Connell and Eimear Moore particularly delighted.
Eimear said: “The children couldn’t believe their eyes when the toys appeared. It was a remarkable gesture and it really made our week.”
Mairead was very thankful to Sisk & Son and to Deirdre for organising the toys.
She said: “It is an amazing initiative at a special time of year. We are very thankful to all involved and I think it’s clear to see that the children are very thankful too.
“We are so lucky that we have parents like Deirdre who are always thinking of us.”
Naíscoil Kantara caters for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
This vital service welcomes 12 children each day between the ages of three and five and has state of the art facilities.
It incorporates a sensory room, para-educational room, two class rooms, an outside play area and modern equipment.
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