At the end of last term the 1st year art class put on a puppet show for St. Mary’s Junior National School. Red Riding Hood was selected as the story because there was a clear message for the young pupils of St. Marys, about the dangers of talking to strangers. Every aspect of the show was created by the students of Blessington Community College: they made the puppets from papier-maché; they designed and decorated the puppet theatre; they created different scenes for which they painted backdrops; the script was written by Aaron Lowe who also acted as the narrator; Sarah Kourtaa created the sound effects from a range of found objects; Jennifer O’Brien played Red Riding Hood; Claire Francis played the Granny; Ben Lindsay played the Wolf; Rachel Hanlon played the Mother and Katie Hamilton played the Father. They were also helped by Henry Ward of Transition Year, who monitored the sound system. This young cast did an amazing job in bringing the whole production together. The children from St. Marys really enjoyed the show and the puppets had them all on the edge of their seats throughout the performance. At the end of the show Jennifer O’Brien (Red Riding Hood) recited a “Rap” she wrote herself which explained the moral of the story, she had all the pupils waving their hands in the air, encouraged by Transition year students who danced around the sides of the audience as she sang. Sarah on sound effects provided a “beat box” backing. After wards pupils were able to look at the puppets up close and the college students explained how they created all the characters. The Community College is very grateful to the Principal of St. Mary’s Junior School, Carmel Dillon, for allowing them to stage the performance in the school. The project has been entered in the Wicklow VEC, Environmental Awareness Programme Competition which will be judged in the last term.