School Newsletter- May 2023

Posted on June 30, 2023 by MrsMeehan

 

  • Bee Well, our Junior Entrepreneur company held a sale of its products at school. Hand painted stones, stress balls and book marks were much in demand by eager customers! Pupils have really enjoyed and benefitted from the process of learning about entrepreneurship, marketing, design and production. Children have developed the skills of problem-solving, teamwork and creativity through engaging with this empowering programme. Profits accrued will be put towards a trip for Fifth and Sixth Class.

 

  • The following article was submitted by Keith Regan, Sixth Class                                         Mike Raleigh is our hurling trainer and has been teaching Fifth and Sixth Class hurling every Tuesday for the past two months. We have had a lot of fun playing this sport. After all of our training we found out we would be playing Tooreen N.S. in a challenge game. Tooreen is a very good hurling team. We trained for the game and on the day we were all excited not knowing what might happen or how the game would go. We had our full hurling team on. We were doing very well and were winning by a few points at one stage. Then Kayleigh made a great save that could have been a goal for Tooreen. It was tight on the last quarter going back and forth, but at the end of the game Tooreen defeated us by a few points. After the game we picked our seven aside for the Cumann na mBunscol hurling blitz. We nearly went home with a victory!

 

  • Cumann na mBunscol Football Competition-by Ethan McCormack, Sixth Class.         The teams involved were Carracastle, Brusna and Kilmovee National Schools. Both girls and boys competed in this blitz. First up were the boys from Kilmovee vs Carracastle, where a strong Carracastle side outplayed us on the day. Next up we played an even stronger Brusna side, which went on to win the local derby outright. With no girls in Sixth Class and two injuries in Fifth Class, we went right down to Second Class to field a girls’ team. Kilmovee played another strong Brusna side, losing by just one point.  Next our girls played Carracastle. Kilmovee girls took a strong lead early on and went on to win the game well. As with the boys side, the Brusna girls went on to be crowned champions. A great footballing day was had by all!

 

  • The pupils of 2nd, 3rd and 4th Classes were delighted to welcome Dermot Horkan, a member of Charlestown Fire Service to their classroom. Dermot told the children about all of the common fire hazards in our homes and the safety measures we can employ to avoid a house fire. He also spoke about the importance of having an ‘exit plan’ in the event of a fire occurring. Children listened as Dermot told them about the sequence of events from when his bleeper goes off and he arrives at the fire station. Pupils also had the opportunity to ask questions. Learners were encouraged to be ‘fire safety agents’ in their own homes and to talk about what they had learned with members of their families.

 

  • Pupils worked on their entries for Community Games Handwriting and Art Competitions. They also reflected on the theme of “ A Helping Hand” for the local Bealtaine Competition, with senior children submitting poems and younger children (Second to Fourth Class) depicting the theme through Art. The Swimming Pool Committee also invited pupils to create aquatic-themed drawings for a competition which will see murals being painted at the pool based on winners’ creations!

 

  • Three children received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion in Kilmovee Church on May 13th. They were Ava Casey, Talia Reid and Molly Regan. The children were joined by the First Communicants from Kilkelly National School. In total, eleven pupils received First Eucharist. Afterwards children and their families were invited to celebrate at a party in the Community Centre organised by the Parents Association. Many thanks to the Parents Association for the party and to Fr Joseph for all he did in the lead up to the day and on the day itself.

 

  • We extend gratitude to the parents of the First Communicants who participated in the parish-based ‘Do This in Memory’ Programme throughout the year and the facilitators Mrs. Mary Warde and Mrs. Claire Hickey.

 

  • As part of the activities for the Blue Star Programme, Europe Day was celebrated at the school, with children from Second to Sixth Class working collaboratively in groups to showcase one of six different countries. The countries chosen were Italy, France, Spain, Finland Germany and Greece. To begin the celebration, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” was played as we all stood to attention. Groups had food, artefacts, flags, newspapers, maps and basic vocabulary associated with their chosen country. It made for quite a spectacle and great credit is due to the children and their parents who put so much effort into this event. Students had the opportunity to view and sample what other groups had on their tables, after which the children from Mrs. Shevlin’s room were invited in to view the various displays. Some parents and grandparents on the two o’clock pickup also dropped in and were very impressed by the hard work, creativity and flair exhibited by each group!

 

  • A very generous donation of two thousand euro was received from the Committee of the Seosamh Mac Gabhann Summer School. We are most thankful for this and look forward to purchasing instruments and providing musical experiences for our pupils in the years ahead as a result of this very kind bequest.

 

  • An Art workshop was provided by Anna from Ros Clay Pottery Studio who worked with children in each of the classrooms. Learners had the opportunity of painting a tile under her expert guidance. The painted tiles were then taken back to the studio to be placed in the kiln and glazed. We look forward to seeing the finished masterpieces!

 

  • On May 19th there was a surprise workshop for our pupils in the form of a mobile farm visit from AgriAware and Farmer Enda. Pupils were introduced to Khaki Campbell ducks, Tamworth pigs, Rhode Island Red hens, Zwartbles sheep and a Speckled Park calf. Children could both observe and feed the animals and birds. Enda provided interesting facts about each breed and had fun with the students in doing so!

 

 

  • Pupils from Junior Infants to Fourth Class were invited to visit Kilmovee Community Polytunnel. Children planted sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds under the direction of KCC gardener Heather. Heather also showed children the various fruit, vegetables and herbs that are growing, both in the tunnel and garden. Learners asked questions and got to eat delicious strawberries! Themes such as biodiversity and sustainability were discussed. An opportunity to play on the astro-pitch was also provided to the students. Thank you to Sheila and Heather for their informative and interesting workshop.

 

  • This article was written by Hadley-Jack Burns, Sixth Class.                                                On May 25th a hurling blitz was held in Ballyvary for the senior pupils. When we got to Ballyvary we entered the astro-pitch where we had a puck around. Soon we were called for our first game. We faced Meelick, then Straide and finally Parke. We won our first game but then lost our second and third games. We had one serious injury on the day. After the games we took a team photo. Next we met some pupils from St Attracta’s N.S. After that we got on our bus and headed back to school.

 

  • On Friday May 26th, all pupils travelled to the Centre of Excellence in Bekan for the Let’s Go School Tour. A range of activities awaited the children, including wrecking ball, bouncy castle, disco dome, wobbly ladder, air-mountain, zorbee ball roll and KMX karts. A super day was had by all!

 

  • Sixth Class pupils who have enrolled in St. Nathy’s College visited the school on May 30th. There they sat some tests and had a tour of the classrooms, which included watching senior students using some impressive equipment in the woodwork room. Sixth Class were also shown the sports complex. The pupils were then treated to refreshments. In addition they had an opportunity to meet Sixth Class children from a neighbouring school. It was a great chance to become familiar with St. Nathy’s ahead of the transition in September. The same opportunity was offered to one of our Sixth Class pupils, who chose to enrol in St Joseph’s Community College in Charlestown.

 

  • The lotto winners were Danny Egan, Tara Rose Lynchehaun and Eloise McDonnell.

 

  • Frása na Míosa- Ná dean rud ar bith faoi dheifir!

 

  • The Aistear theme in Mrs Shevlin’s room was Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Children enjoyed learning the poem, ‘The Three Bears’ and singing along to ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’. Through these poems pupils continued identifying rhyme and rhythm too. At the building station, learners built houses for the three bears and for Goldilocks too. Some houses even had swimming pools! While at the Art Station, pupils had fun using pastel chalks to create night time scenes. Children drew the bears looking at the stars, running very fast, becoming friends with Goldilocks and more. The class used torches to investigate transparent and opaque objects and worked very well together for this experiment. Pupils also worked at acting out the story of Goldilocks and recorded it on iPads. They are looking forward to more work like this!
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