Dear Parents,
As we come to the end of the summer term, we look back at some of the events and initiatives that have been going on this year.
STEPS -Engineering Project
STEPS Young Engineers Award encourages 3rd and 4th class pupils to explore the world of engineering by developing an engineering project that would help improve their local community.
With the help of our past pupil, Cathal Roche, 3rd and 4th class designed some excellent projects and presented them via Zoom. One of our projects, The Helpful Hand, made it all the way to the National Finals! There was great excitement in the class and the whole school was very proud of their achievement. Kielan, Zoey, Harry, Donncha, Molly and Elsie tell us more about it:
3rd and 4th class took part in the STEPS engineering program. Over five hundred schools took part this year. Cathal Roche, a past pupil, helped us with our projects. Our class was divided into four groups; Life Savers ,The Potato Union, The Super Six and The Dream Team. Our group, The Life Savers designed the Helpful Hand. This is a device that helps elderly and disabled people to reach objects more easily. We got through to the final. The best part about STEPS was getting to work with our friends.
Intel Mini- Scientist Competition
There was great rejoicing in Kilmurry when it was announced that Joe, Zack, Heidi and Aishling had achieved second place in Ireland in the National Intel Mini Scientist Exhibition. Schools from all over the country competed in the early stages of this event with the winners qualifying to take part in the Mini Scientist Grand Final event.
The whole school community was hugely proud of them and delighted they continued the school’s long history of success in the competition. The Clare Champion visited the school and published an article and picture of the project.
Aishling tells us more about their project:
“Hello, my name is Aishling and I am a member of the 5th Class Sleepless Scientists in Kilmurry N.S., Sixmilebridge. We came second place/ runners up in the Grand Final of the Intel Mini Scientist competition. I’ll explain to you what happened.
It all started in October, Heidi, Zack, Joe and I teamed up. We decided that we would see what would happen to our bodies if we stayed up for 24 hours. Of course, this was very difficult and we weren’t able to last the full 24 hours, but we stayed up for roughly 19 hours. We recorded our information in a booklet and on a YouTube video. In November, we presented it to the class and our school judges Ms. Fogarty and Mr. Clohessy.
When Mr. Clohessy told us we were crowned school winners, we were all thrilled! It felt like a weight had been lifted off our shoulders and our hard work had paid off. But this wasn’t the best feeling that we were to feel, that was still to come.
On the 9th of March, we attended a live zoom-call with Phil Smith and 70 other schools. Ms. Gleeson did a rocket experiment, the rocket blasted into the ceiling. Eventually, the awards were given out. It was so nerve-wracking when they were announcing them. We all had our fingers crossed and finally, the judge announced that we were in 2nd place! The class exploded! The whole school could hear us cheering!
To conclude, Mr. Clohessy gave us our medals and we won the school a glass trophy. It was a brilliant adventure that ended superbly!”
Huge congratulations to Heidi, Zack, Joe and Aishling on winning such a prestigious award. Their teacher, classmates and the entire school community are very proud of this great achievement!
Lunch Bag
Thank you to all the parents who completed the survey on the Lunch Bag service. We have had a very positive response, so we hope to introduce the service to the school in Mid-September. We will send more details closer to the time. https://www.thelunchbag.ie/
Cumman na mBunscol Hurling and Camogie
It was great to have the Cumman na mBunscol back this year! Well done to all the boys and girls who participated! Thanks to Brian Culbert for his help throughout the year. Sarah and Dougie tell us more:
The Kilmurry girl’s team captained by Sarah played against Kilnamona, Kilmaley and Ballyea. We played Kilnamona in Kilnamona pitch. We played Kilmaley and Ballyea in a blitz in Ballyea. We lost our matches but we really enjoyed our day out.
Kilmurry N.S boys captained by Dougie played in the Cumann na mBunscol, We played in a blitz in Ogonnelloe pitch against Ogonelloe, Parteen and O’ Callaghans Mills/Kilkishen.
We beat Ogonelloe by 6 points but lost to both Parteen and O’Callaghans mills/Kilkishen. It was a great day out and we had a lots of fun.
Junior Entrepreneur Programme
The Junior Entrepreneur Programme aims to explore and develop the entrepreneurial talents and skills in children. This year, 5th and 6th classes came together to design and sell customisable drawstring bags. Thanks to local business Classy Creations for their support! Isla and Sophie tell us more:
‘To begin with, we all got into groups and picked a business project to work on.
There were ten groups each with a business idea, but only one idea could be the winner!
The Dragons came in and we presented our ideas to them. They then decided the winner. It was like the TV show Dragons Den!
The winner of Junior Entrepreneur 2022 was CCLAZ BAGS!!!
Then, Mr Clohessy came in and we had a choice of multiple groups we could join such as Finance , Sales , Marketing and Production.
This was a really great experience for us and can’t wait for next year!’
French
Kilmurry NS was chosen as one of the first schools in the country to take part in the Primary Language Sampler. We picked French as our language because we have some families in the school with French connections. Raphael and Heidi tell us more about it:
We began French lessons in May. Our teacher’s name is Rhona. She is teaching us how to speak the French language and learn more about France. We have learned to greet others and describe ourselves. We are really enjoying learning to speak a new language.
By Raphael & Heidi
Morning Drop Offs 2022-23
We would like to sincerely thank you for support and cooperation around the changes we made for Morning Drop Offs during COVID.
Given the very welcome return to a more normal school life at this point, there will no longer be a need for staggered drop-offs in the morning. However, as we must comply with Child Protection Guidelines as well as Health and Safety protocols, we find that we have to restrict access to the school building until 8.40am when supervision will be in place. School will begin as usual at the normal start time of 8.50am.
The Primary Game
Cian and Céire from 6th class were selected to represent the Clare Primary Schools Hurling and Camogie teams. They played at half-time during the Munster Final. They tell us more about their day:
We arrived in Thurles and received our jerseys and gear. We then walked with our team to the stadium. We lined out for the guard of honour for both teams. The atmosphere was electric when the teams arrived onto the pitch. At half time we played against Limerick. We lost both of our matches but we really enjoyed our day in Thurles. We have made memories for life!
By Cian and Céire
New Website
We have launched a new school website: https://www.kilmurry-ns.ie. Here you can find our enrolment form, policies, calendars, newsletters and learn more about the initiatives we have going on in the school.
Active School Week
We had our Active School Week during the last week of May. Thanks to Brian Culbert and all the parents who helped out for Sports Day. Seán and Larry tell us more about their Active School Week:
Active week started off with all the classes going out for gymnastics. We did a lot of stuff when we were outside including an air track and tumbling.
Next day we had sports day where we did lots of activities, different races, penalties and we went on a bouncy castle.
On the last day of Active School Week we had a hurling blitz which Brian Cullbert organized on the astro and we got to dress up in our Clare colours for the Munster Final.
In conclusion we had a great active week!
By Seán and Larry.
Calendar for 2022-23
The School Calendar for 2022-23 can be found on the school website – https://www.kilmurry-ns.ie/calendar/
Kilmurry NS has joined Instagram! You can follow us to see pictures of our work and the fun things we get up to in school. You can find us at kilmurry.ns or by clicking on the link: https://instagram.com/kilmurry.ns?utm_medium=copy_link
Well-Being Week
We had our first every Well-Being Week this year. We had lots of mindfulness activities, yoga and we made a special effort to practise our Fun Friends! We hope to have a Well-Being Week every year from now on! Thanks to Ms Fogarty and Ms Collins for organising it and there are some lovely pictures on Instagram.
Seachtain na Gaeilge
Bhí a lán rudaí ar siúl sa scoil chun Seachtain na Gaeilge, a cheiliúradh cosúil le tráth na gceist, ceol tradisiúnta, ‘ag caint le chéile’, ‘ag léamh le chéile’ agus ag feachaint ar TnaG.
Comhgairdeas dár mbuaiteoirí ‘Gaelgeoir na Seachtaine’ agus an comórtas Seanfhocail.
Standardised Testing
Testing in literacy and numeracy has been completed in all classes from 1st to 6th . Your child’s results in these tests will be communicated through end of year report cards.
This year we used a standardised test called the Drumcondra Primary Achievement Tests. Standardised testing can sometimes be accompanied by an unnecessary level of pressure or expectation on the part of pupils, parents and teachers. Whether a score is high or low, one score would not necessarily confirm a child’s achievement level. A child’s score will naturally fluctuate from year to year. If you have any queries or concerns regarding your child’s result, you can make an appointment to see your child’s teacher.
Marion Keane Basketball
Well done to our boys and girls who took part in the Marion Keane Basketball Competition. Colum and Calum tell us how the boys got on:
Kilmurry N.S boys played a basketball tournament in Doora-Barefield hall. We played three teams Parteen, Tulla and Kilkishen. We beat Parteen in a close game, however we lost to both Kilkishen and Tulla. We really enjoyed our day out representing our school.
Colum & Calum
Ipads
We made great use out of our new Ipads this year! Thanks to all the parents who helped us buy them. Fionán and Aishling tell us about the Lego Engineering and coding they did on the ipads:
This year, a few students from 4th, 5th and 6th class got to participate in a Lego Engineering program. It was fun yet educational (but mostly fun!) Ms. Coughlan was supervising us as we built little robots. We started off with an easy project and gradually got harder until we were making robots and morse-code translators. Our overall favourite project was when we attached all of the “Milo The Space Rovers” (which was a robot that could move forwards and backwards and turn anti-clockwise and clockwise) and we programmed them to go around an obstacle course. After each project we recorded it by either writing it down in our booklets or recording its talents on the iPads.
It was a great experience that we would all love to do again.
Jimmy’s Lunchtime Champions League
It was great to have our Lunchtime Champions League back again! Cian and Céire tell us more:
This year 3rd to 6th took part in the annual Jimmy Conlon soccer league. There were seven teams in the soccer league. Each team had seven players. The first semi final was between Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and Barcelona won 5-4. The second final was between Real Madrid and Dundalk. The first match was a draw so we had to go to penalties, and Dundalk won 3-0. Dundalk and Barcelona played in the final. Dundalk went on to win 2-1 with 2 goals from Cian Mullins and 1 from Dougie Brew.
Parents’ Association
Thanks to Sarah Justice and all the Parents’ Association for their great support to the school throughout the year. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes and it is much appreciated. From organising goodie bags, graduation presents, discos, book schemes etc etc – the work of the Parents’ Association adds to every occasion in the school! They are looking for new members, so if you can help out please contact kilmurryparentsassoc@gmail.com
Local History and Archaeology
Our past pupil, Jake Justice, gave a very enjoyable and informative talk on our local history and sites of interest in our local area.
Graduation and End of Year Mass
Our Graduation and End of Year Mass will take place on Wednesday 22nd June at 7pm in Kilmurry Church. All welcome!
Moving to Secondary School
We all wish the very best to our students who are moving on to secondary school and also to their families. These students have contributed a lot to the school and we have enjoyed watching them grow into mature, confident and very capable young people. Can I remind those students and their families that they can keep in touch with what is happening in Kilmurry School by checking out our Instagram page.
School Books and Supplies Scheme
Reminder that the closing date for the School Books and Supplies Scheme is Friday 15th July
School Finances
The school accounts are available for parents to view on request.
Tidy Towns Committee
For the first time, Kilmurry NS set up a school Tidy Towns Committee. They have been working with Carmel and Deirdre from Kilmurry Tidy Town’s Committee. Sarah and Ronan tell us more:
‘This year the Tidy Towns Committee included Sarah, Ronan, Renata, Darcy, Alex and Zach. We have done and learnt a lot of different things in the short time we had this year such as…
- Turning on the swift box at the side of the school.
- Taught the different classes about the swifts.
- Learned about how many different types of bees and how important they are
- We put up posters and signs.
- Learned about the butterflies and their habitats.
- We also planted flowers all around the school.
- We are watering the flowers during the nice weather
It was so much fun to do all those things and it was a great thing to do.’
Gaisce Award – Bulbs for Bees
We have been working with Kilmurry Tidy Towns to apply for the ‘Bulbs for Bees’ Gaisce Award. Raphael tells us more:
‘In the month of October, at the top of the yard around the Astro-Turf Supporters’ Wall we planted bulbs of many sorts for a rare sort of bee. We had volunteers from the Tidy Towns Committee (Carmel, Deirdre, and Monika) to make this possible. The bulbs are already growing their roots probably due to global warming. Students in 5th and 6th have also given a hand by bringing out their rulers and measuring the size and length of the planter boxes. A while after that we started planting the bulbs with our volunteers. All students again from 5th and 6th Kilmury NS came outside and broke up the soil and planted the bulbs. We went through a few challenges along the way but after a while we made it possible.’
By Raphael
School Policies
All curricular, organizational and administrative polices are available for parents to view on request.
Important Dates
School Closing for the summer on Tuesday 28th June 2022 at 12noon.
Graduation Mass Wednesday 22nd June at 7pm in Kilmurry Church
School reopening on Wednesday 31st August 2022
Can I take this opportunity to thank our school community – parents, pupils, Board of Management, Parents’ Association, teachers, Fr. Harry, Jimmy, Mary, Anne and Sandra for all their hard work, dedication, commitment and help in what has been another extremely busy and successful school year. Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
Have a wonderful and safe summer and we look forward to seeing you all safe and well for the next school year.