Mrs Kathleen Scullion is working on a St Aloysius School History Project. She has been uncovering lots of old documents from the local community and further afield. Here are a sample of the documents she has found.
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- Attendance Certificate
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- Senior Football Team
Former pupils of the school have written their memories of their time at St Aloysius. Here are a few of those memories:
I, along with a host of others, started the Infant School in 1945. Everything was still rationed then so for the Christmas party everyone had to bring something in to share. The head was Miss Bradley and every so often she would make cinder toffee and everyone would get a piece. As I said everything was on ration and I often wondered where she got the ingredients to make it. Still it was a rare treat!
I loved all my teachers in the Infant school. I loved the dinners. My favourite lesson was Numeracy. I have good memories of the school trips and plays and I enjoyed receiving certificates in assembly. I can remember having fun each year at sports day.
I remember when the school and local shops were closed during the war. My sister, Miss McKinney, brought some desks and chairs from school, put them in our mam’s shop on Argyle Street and taught any boy or girl who wanted to learn.
Some other memories include practising in the school hall to receive Holy Communion for the first time. We used chocolate buttons and the real test was not to chew it on the way back to our places as we had to pretend it was the real host – such a difficult task for six or seven year olds.
I can remember my first day in Year Two when we had to go into a different building. Miss Anderson was my teacher and I remember loving being on key and register duty. I made a hand puppet and a cross stitch picture. We put it into a frame and after it was on display in school I took it home and my mam hung it on the wall. I broke my foot and ankle when I was in Year Two and had to do the Easter play in plaster. I can remember getting a big cheer at the end. I also read for the first time at our leavers’ assembly. I can remember being very scared but pleased when I had done it. I got a certificate for my good ICT work and helping Miss Anderson on the computer. I always loved my ICT lessons with Mrs Groom and it has always been my favourite lesson.
I always wanted to take the registers round the classrooms and finally got the chance when another girl hurt her arm – I couldn’t help feeling guilty because I was the one who benefited from her misfortune!
Eighty years ago when St Aloysius School first opened my older brother Jimmy Cram was one of the first pupils to attend. To his delight Jimmy was chosen to be the Muffin Man in the first school production. He had to wear a white apron and carry a bell to ring when singing the Muffin Man song. The white apron was easy to provide but the bell was another matter. After asking around our Granda said that Jimmy could borrow the one he had at home. After the performance the school asked if they could keep the bell as they did not have one. The bell was used for many years to signal the beginning and end of school lessons and always sat on the window ledge in the corridor. I believe that it is the very same bell which is used today.
I remember when everyone brought in old glasses and stuff and we made an optician and doctors role play area in between Mrs Crawley’s and Mrs Oliver’s classes. I think I was in Year Two.
I still remember my first day when I walked into Mrs Crawley’s class and everyone was looking at me. Karl Prince invited me to sit next to him and we have been mates for over twenty years! It’s been a long time!
