Cuan na Gaillimhe CNS - a Steiner education

Last Sunday, some of our 2nd class students celebrated a beautiful Age of Reason ceremony , a truly special milestone for our children as they move gently into the next stage of childhood.

The school community is so grateful to the wonderful Maeve Bryan for leading such a thoughtful and meaningful celebration, reminding the children that, like butterflies emerging from their chrysalis, they are growing into themselves, becoming more curious, compassionate, independent, and aware of the world around them.

“You have spent your whole lives learning, gathering skills, building relationships. And all of these things have led to this moment. You are exactly where you need to be and exactly who you are meant to be.”

The Age of Reason ceremony is a parent/child-led celebration organised within our school community for children and families who wish to take part. It is independent of school doctrine and offers a meaningful, inclusive way to mark this special stage in childhood.

Happy World Bee Day! 🐝 As part of our pollinator studies in Class 2 and 3, we had an amazing trip to where we met scientists from who are working to protect our native Irish honeybee. We saw their log hives, looked at bees and bee parasites under a microscope, sampled their honey and even had a tour of the Museum of Zoology. What a day!

We’re delighted to unveil our beautiful new school sign, created to help improve the visibility of our school and warmly welcome all who visit us.

Crafted from solid mahogany, the sign was inspired by visits to other Steiner schools and reflects the natural beauty, warmth, and values at the heart of our community. The lettering is in a traditional Steiner-style font.

Most importantly, this sign will journey with us to our new school building in the coming years, a symbol of continuity, growth, and belonging.

The sign was designed and created by Ruairí, expertly crafted and carved by Jens Kosak , with welding support from Mirek. We are deeply grateful for the care, creativity, and craftsmanship that brought this project to life.

We’re delighted to unveil our beautiful new school sign, created to help improve the visibility of our school and warmly welcome all who visit us.

Crafted from solid mahogany, the sign was inspired by visits to other Steiner schools and reflects the natural beauty, warmth, and values at the heart of our community. The lettering is in a traditional Steiner-style font.


Most importantly, this sign will journey with us to our new school building in the coming years, a symbol of continuity, growth, and belonging.

The sign was designed and created by Ruairí, expertly crafted and carved by , with welding support from Mirek. We are deeply grateful for the care, creativity, and craftsmanship that brought this project to life.

Lovely parent Coffee morning at our school 🌅☕️ Delicious goodies made by parents 🍰🍪

Did you know we celebrate this milestone in our school?

The Age of Reason Ceremony is a gentle, Steiner-informed milestone that acknowledges children as they move from early childhood into a new stage of growing awareness, responsibility and independence.
Rather than being an academic or religious achievement, it is a moment of recognition and witnessing. The ceremony celebrates each child’s journey so far, their developing confidence, their capacity to help at home and school, their emerging sense of right and wrong, and their growing ability to take responsibility for themselves and others.
In Steiner education, this age is often marked by the changing of the teeth and the shift from learning mainly through imitation and movement toward learning that engages the heart, feelings and imagination. The Age of Reason provides a pause to acknowledge that transition before the deeper inner questioning of the Nine-Year Change begins.
The ceremony is non-religious and multi-denominational. Families may choose to take part alongside other cultural or faith-based milestones, or simply as a meaningful community celebration of childhood development.

Participation is entirely optional. Some families feel drawn to marking this threshold publicly, while others prefer to honour it privately at home, both approaches are equally respected. The intention is not to place expectations on children, but to offer an experience of being seen, affirmed and encouraged as they grow.
We have been blessed with Maeve Bryan the past few years.
Maeve brings a gentle, thoughtful presence and holds a beautiful space for the children and their families.

At its heart, the Age of Reason is about offering children a message that can stay with them:
“You are growing. You are capable. We see you, and we trust you.”

Exciting times ahead!

Our new school building is now progressing through the planning process, a significant milestone that reflects years of vision, collaboration, and steady progress.

While there are still steps ahead, it is exciting to look toward the future and the development of our new school off the Ballymoneen Road.

We look forward to sharing updates as the journey continues and to seeing this vision come to life for our students, now and in the years ahead.

https://www.cngcns.com/admissions

Another beautiful Christmas Fair at our school with stalls of craft and art from our school community