Dear Parent,
SPHE Curriculum Evaluation
As you may be aware, we had a subject inspection in September in Social, Personnel and Health Education (SPHE)
I want to congratulate the whole school community on a very successful report. We were particularly happy that the inspector identified the very high levels of interest, motivation and participation of our pupils, and recognised the warm, affirming and inclusive atmosphere of our school.
The Inspector’s report is attached for you to read.
Learning from the Extremes
Kilmurry NS are one of only 15 Irish schools who have been accepted for the EU Learning from the Extremes Project. As part of the project, we will receive a €10,000 grant for IT! This will allow us to buy 7 new iPads and 6 new laptops. We will also buy ‘Lego Robotic’ kits which will introduce coding skills to our pupils. It is an exciting project to be involved in and we will keep you updated.
Car Park
A big thank you to Clare County Council, Councillor Alan O’Callaghan and Kilmurry Harvest Festival for their support in tarmacking the school car park. It is a project the school has been working on for a long time, so we are very grateful for the help. Thanks also to parents for their cooperation during the work.
Lunch Bag
The Lunch Bag delivery service will launch in our school on Monday 9th January 2023 with our first food delivery on Wednesday 11th January.
Please see the attached brochures for more information on how it works and what’s on the menu.
The Lunch Bag service is completely optional and is run by a private company, independent of the school.
Laptops Regeneron
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Limerick have donated 5 laptops to the school! Thanks to David Woods and Donal Mullins!
Book Drive and New Library
Thanks to all the parents who donated books to the school and to the Parents’ Association for our new library! We now have lots of new books and a new library to store them!
Treat Friday
In the New Year, we are going to be encouraging Healthy Eating and Active Brain Breaks in school. We would ask parents to only give treats on Fridays as much as possible. The HSE have a website with useful tips for parents on reducing treats: https://www.safefood.net/start
Table Quiz
Well done to the Parents’ Association on their table quiz! Despite the weather and World Cup they had a great turn out. Thanks to all who came and those who kindly donated prizes for the raffle. A special thanks to our Quizmaster Christy Carey and David and Sarah Farrell for the score keeping.
Parents’ Association
The Parents’ Association have been extremely busy this term! As always, they are making a big contribution to the school. If you would like to get involved, you can email kilmurryparentsassoc@gmail.com
Mini Scientist Finalist
Well done to Anna, Daisy, Saoirse and Zoey on reaching the Intel Mini Scientist Regional Final with their project ‘ Are We Taller in the Morning?’. Anna and Saoirse tell us more:
Our team won the Intel Mini Scientist which means we made it to the regional finals in Shannon. Teams from all over Munster that qualified were there. We each had a table with our school’s name on it. When we got there, we set up. Then we had a look around at the other projects. Next the judges had a look at all the projects and went into a separate room to discuss the ones they liked, while we were playing games such as Kahoot, and if you won you would win a prize for your team such as bottles, lunch boxes , hats and pens.
There was a lot of great projects there. Our project was ‘Are we taller in the morning? There was a lot about electricity and wind power projects. There was one we really liked and it was ‘Can we trick our eyes?’ Only two parents were allowed come from each group. Before the judging started all the parents went into the cafe beside the judging room. They then took the projects they liked and talked to the group. We didn’t get through, but it was a great experience. And we can’t wait for next year!
Anna and Saoirse.
Cross Country Finalists
Well done to all our pupils who qualified for the finals of the Clare School’s Cross Country. Mary and Joe tell us more:
On the 14th of November John, Rhys, Mary, and Joe went to Lees Road for the Clare Cross Country Finals. When we got there, we were nervous and excited. We were given our numbers for the race. The first race was Rhys’ and John’s race. They went to warm up and went to the starting line. The whistle blew and they were off running. They ran 400m and didn’t stop until the finish line. After that race there were a few more races to go before Mary ran so she spent the time warming up. When it came to her race she did really well, nearly getting into the top twelve. Joe went to warm up for his race and went to the starting line. He did super as it was really tough race. We all left Lees Road with our head held high.
Mary and Joe.
STEPS Young Engineers Awards
STEPS Young Engineers Award competition encourages 3rd and 4th class pupils to explore the world of engineering by developing an engineering project that would help improve their local community.
3rd/4th class held an excellent Showcase Day where they shared their projects with parents and fellow pupils. Thanks to our past-pupil and engineer Cathal Roche for his help. Robert and Kate tell us more:
Our class was broken into groups and each group did an engineering project. We then held a Showcase Day so our parents and the rest of the school could see our projects. Cathal Roche, a past pupil of our school, came into visit us for our Showcase Day. He talked to us about engineering and our projects. Then all our parents came to see our projects. After that, all the classes came in one by one to look at our projects. We also had a zoom call with an engineer from Dublin. Thanks to Ms. Collins and Cathal for their help!
Robert and Kate.
Music with Aisling
Music lessons with Aisling Donnellan will continue in the New Year every 2nd Thursday. You can contact Aisling on 085-7690629.
Preparation for the Sacraments
Thanks to Tom O’Dea for his work with pupils and parents in preparation for the Sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation. There will be Mass on Sunday 8th January for these families. Tom will email parents with further details.
French Classes
French lessons with Rhona Gomes will begin on Friday 13th January. You can contact Rhona at info@frenchforfun.ie
Important Dates
Christmas Break School closes Wednesday December 21st @ 12 noon.
Reopens Thursday January 5th 2023
Lá Fhéile Bríde
(Public Holiday) School Closed Monday 6th February
February Mid-term School will be closed on Thursday 16th and Friday 17th February
St Patrick’s Day School Closed Friday March 17th
Kilmurry National School – Christmas Homework 2023
During the Christmas holidays, your teachers would like you to:
- Spend some time with the people you really care about
- Do something nice for somebody else each day
- Do the things that you enjoy
- Eat the food that you love
- Make somebody laugh or smile each day
- Watch your favourite programme or film
- Visit your favourite place
- Play with your toys
- Learn something new
And finally . . . . . . come back to school ready to learn!
Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise daoibh go léir! Have a lovely Christmas and see you in 2023.
Yours sincerely,
________________
Kevin Clohessy,
Principal.