School Newsletter – Spring Update
We are delighted to share the latest news and updates from across our school community.
Droichead
Congratulations to Brenda Wynne, who has been successfully inducted onto the Teaching Council following a very positive Droichead process with her facilitator, Fiona Murray.
We also wish Laura Finnegan well as she continues her Droichead journey, supported by her facilitator, Sinéad Harten.
Curriculum
Our Lift-Off literacy programme is currently underway in both Junior and Senior Infant classes and is proving very beneficial.
We are also continuing to implement our new approach to teaching and learning Irish from 3rd to 6th class, with very encouraging feedback on improved fluency among pupils.
Parents Association
Our Parents Association continues to work tirelessly throughout the year, supporting school fundraising initiatives. We are especially grateful for their recent contribution of early readers for our infant classes and also subsidising buses to various outings including Cumann na mBunscol matches, RDS Science Blast, FAI matches to name a few. They recently held their annual Easter Raffle which raised an amazing €1,035.00. This will go towards PM books and other school resources for our pupils.
Fundraising Concert
We held a very successful concert on Monday, March 2nd in the Tullamore Court Hotel, featuring a number of Irish Country stars. The event was very well attended and raised much-needed funds towards the construction of our All-Weather Play Area.
Chess Club
Ms Keenan continues to run the chess club every Friday afternoon for pupils from 4th to 6th class.
Our pupils represented the school excellently in competitions held in Ballinamere NS (February 26th) and Scoil Eóin Phóil (March 4th), winning many matches. Our 5th class children will be out to Ballinamere on April 15th. Best of luck to everyone!
VEX Robotics
Our 6th class pupils recently completed their VEX Robotics programme. They participated in competitions in Mucklagh Community Centre (February 5th) and Cork (February 26th), where their efforts were recognised. Both events were hugely enjoyable and rewarding experiences.
Ethos
Our 2nd class pupils celebrated their First Confession on Tuesday, February 24th and are preparing for their First Holy Communion on Saturday, April 25th.
Our 6th class pupils will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday, March 27th at 3pm. Both classes are busy preparing for these important milestones.
We also celebrated Grandparents Day on Wednesday, January 28th. A large gathering attended Mass in celebration of the Feast of St. Brigid, followed by refreshments and classroom visits in the school.
Student Council
Our Student Council recently attended a consultation event on Student Councils for primary schools at the Tullamore Court Hotel on February 10th. The six representatives engaged with pupils from other schools and contributed valuable ideas on student participation.
Sports
- Hurling training is currently underway, with competitions beginning after Easter.
- FAI soccer competitions took place on Wednesday, March 19th, with two boys’ and two girls’ teams representing the school.
- Swimming lessons began on Friday, March 6th for pupils from 1st to 6th class at Clara Swimming Pool and will continue until the end of April.
Health & Safety
A fire drill was conducted at the beginning of February and was completed successfully with no issues.
Staff Training
Staff attended a Primary Curriculum Training Day in Athlone Education Centre on Friday, February 6th. This provided valuable insight into the new Primary Curriculum, which will be introduced over the coming years.
School Closures
- St. Patrick’s Day: Tuesday, March 17th
- Easter Holidays: School will close on Friday, March 27th and re-open on Monday, April 13th
We would like to wish all the best to our teacher Nessa as she begins her maternity leave this week.
Thank you to all members of our school community for your continued support.
Wishing you all a lovely and happy Easter!
Yours sincerely,
School Management