THERE were celebrations at John Paul II Primary School on the Whiterock Road on Thursday morning as staff and students celebrated raising an incredible £8,000 for the Children’s Cancer Unit Charity.
There was further joy when it was revealed that the school were declared winners of the Moy Park Belfast City Marathon 'Superhero Challenge' in partnership with the Daily Mile NI.
The children took part in a sponsored daily mile last month and took the opportunity to raise funds for The Children’s Cancer Unit Charity. The Charity holds sentimental value to the school as it helped a pupil, now in Primary Two, to continue to participate in their learning during an incredibly challenging time as they recovered from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
The 'Superhero Challenge' invited schools across the North to take on the Daily Mile (15 minutes of exercise in any form) dressed as their favourite superhero.
For their daily mile, the children were given the task to dress up as a superhero that inspired them. This included fictional superheroes or family members who they may consider as superheroes in their everyday lives. The school promoted the day by sharing the tagline “not all superheroes wear capes".
Fundraising efforts by the school community, meant that £8,000 was raised as a gesture of thanks to the Children’s Cancer Unit Charity.
The newly elected School Council, worked innovatively to create a film to depict the incredible achievement of their fundraising efforts.
Bronagh Devlin, Primary 7 teacher, said: “We decided to run our Superhero Daily Mile Challenge in recognition of the superheroes in our lives who may not always wear capes.
"Pupils chose to dress up as family members or superhero characters that inspired them. We raised a total of £8,000 for a cancer charity close to our hearts, which helped one of our pupils continue to access his education during an incredibly challenging time.
"We are delighted that the pupils of John Paul II Primary School have been recognised for their inspirational efforts whilst promoting being active and healthy.”
John Paul II Primary School will join Rowandale Integrated Primary School (Moira), Dromintee Primary School (Newry) and St Columban’s Primary School (Kilkeel) as winners of the 2024 Moy Park Belfast City Marathon Superhero Challenge in partnership with the Daily Mile NI.
