School Newsletter-September 2021

We welcomed four new Junior Infants to the school-Cillian McCann, Daniel Cassidy, Éabha Kelly and Allison Sharkey. We were also delighted to have Ewan Duffy join the pupils of Senior Infants. We wish these children every happiness and blessing for the years ahead.

As we approached the summer holidays, Kilmovee N.S. pupils bade farewell to school bus provider Sean McCann. Sean had been our provider for the past twenty years and during this time, he and his wife Ann became an integral part of our School Community. Not alone did Sean carry out the school run, but he also brought pupils to various venues for matches, sacramental rehearsals, Drámaíocht and much more. Sean has always been punctual, courteous and very accommodating of our needs. The manner in which he undertook his duties came from a lifetime of service in the transport industry. To mark the occasion, a presentation was made by Mrs Warde, to thank him for his many years of association with us. The pupils were also sorry to say goodbye to their driver, Billy Reid. Sixth Class pupil, Declan Duffy and Junior Infant pupil, Luke Duffy made a presentation to Billy on behalf of all the pupils who travel to school by bus. One of the gifts was a ‘Mayo’ hat, a nod to Billy being a staunch Roscommon supporter and all the banter and fun that had been had in this regard! We are very grateful to Sean, Ann and their team of drivers for their professionalism and kindness and we wish them well for the future.

Mr Aidan Geraghty is our new bus provider and we look forward to working with him and his driver T.J Doherty in the years ahead.

Clair Mulderrig joined the teaching staff this year as she and Ms. Kedian will job share the role of Special Education Teacher. It is a pleasure to have Mrs. Mulderrig on the staff and we hope that she will be very happy in the school.

It was with much delight that we welcomed Fr. Joseph Gavigan to the parish. We greatly appreciated that he visited our classrooms a number of times during the month and began to get to know the pupils. We wish him health and happiness as he begins a new chapter of his life in Kilmovee.

We were thrilled to place our beautifully decorated “buddy bench” in a shady spot of the school playground. Children took much enjoyment out of using it, to sit and chat with friends in the lovely September weather. We also displayed our new banner, wishing the Mayo team well in the forthcoming All Ireland Final.

A fire drill was held for all classes which familiarised the younger pupils with the designated assembly point.

GOAL Jersey Day was held to raise much needed funds for developing countries. Pupils donned their favourite jerseys and one hundred euro was raised for this most deserving charity.

On Thursday, September 23^rd – 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes went on a bus to Mellett’s Hill in Swinford for the East Mayo Cross Country competition. When we arrived, we had to walk down a lane. There were a lot of children there. We found a place to put our bags and began to do our warm-ups. 4^th class ran first. The length of their race was 1,000m. Then it was our turn. The distance for 5^th and 6^th was 1,200m. I had butterflies in my tummy as we were taking our places. I didn’t pace myself properly at the start of the race and I found it tough. There wasn’t much room to pass people out and I got a stitch in my side. Towards the end of the race I started to slow down. It was great to have a bus trip from school and to see so many children my own age.

Devon Purcell, 6^th Class

On Friday September 24^th, Garda Martin Coyle from Ballaghaderreen, brought 5^th and 6^th classes on a cycle. Before the cycle, Garda Coyle talked about the important safety features of our bikes. He checked our brakes and helmets. He explained the Rules of the Road as they apply to cyclists. The most important rule is to cycle on the left when you are cycling on the road. We wore Hi-Vis jackets as we headed out on our cycle. We went through the village of Ballinrumpa, came down to the crossroads and came back by the graveyard. The trip was about 4.5km long. On our return to the school, we were treated to crisps and a drink – donated by Tommy Horan. I enjoyed the cycle.

Emma Shiel, 6^th Class

Seven children from our school received the sacrament of First Holy Communion, as due to COVID-19 restrictions it had been postponed from the original planned date. Fr Sherlock returned from his new parish of Tubbercurry to celebrate the Mass and was joined on the Altar by Fr Gavigan. It was a very special occasion for the entire Parish as children from all three schools received First Communion together. Congratulations to Chloe Roddy, Áine Duffy, Carly Egan, James Kelly, Noah Duffy, Ronan Duffy and Jenson Burns.

The pupils of Sixth Class and our former Sixth Class pupils, who are presently in First Year, received the Sacrament of Confirmation. As with First Communion, this was a whole- parish occasion and a most special one, as it was the first Confirmation ceremony with Bishop Paul Dempsey. This Sacrament was celebrated in the Church of St Celsus, Kilkelly. Congratulations to all of our pupils who were confirmed and to Mrs Warde for her preparation of the children.

We were thrilled once again this year to hear the familiar jingle of the ice-cream van on a beautiful day in September. Many thanks to the Committee of the Kilkelly-Kilmovee Parish magazine for providing this wonderful treat!

As with last year, we took advantage of some of the fine weather to have band practice in the school playground! This was a very enjoyable experience and an opportunity to bring our learning outdoors.

The Aistear theme in Ms. Waldron’s room for the month of September was ‘The School’. There were lots of impressive teachers in the role play area, role playing a variety of situations and scenarios that occur in the school setting. At the construction station, the children built some fantastic schools using different materials and worked together to put their ‘plans’ into reality. For messy play the children used their playdough to sculpt a variety of objects. The children played lots of games, for example school bingo, which was a real favourite. They also designed school buses and raced them, which was lots of fun. On Fridays this year, outdoor play is being incorporated. Children have experimented with water and have played giant games such as connect four and phonics fishing. The pupils have used chalk to practise writing on the yard and used different construction materials to build outside. Learners have had so much fun in Aistear this month and can’t wait for their new spooky theme in October!