February e-Newsletter
Dear Parent(s),
Dates for your diary;
Thursday 20th & Friday 21st February - Mid Term (school closed)
Monday 16th & Tuesday 17th March - School Closed
Monday 6th - Friday 17th April - Easter Holidays (school closed)
Wednesday 22nd April - Confirmation at 3:30pm in St. James' Church, Killorglin (school open)
Saturday 2nd May - First Holy Communion at 10:30am in St. James' Church, Killorglin
Monday 4th May - Bank Holiday (school closed)
Monday 1st June - Bank Holiday (school closed)
Staff:
We welcome back Mrs. Emer Fleming (3rd & 4th Class teacher) who returns after her Maternity Leave.
Enrolment:
Enrolment of Junior Infants for September 2020 is now open. Contact the school office for an Enrolment Application Form.
Aldi Stickers:
Just as we got around to opening the latest delivery from Aldi, our first 2 posters for the new campaign arrived! We would be delighted if you think of us when shopping in Aldi and drop in any stickers you collect. It would be fantastic to win €50k or €10k to use towards improving the sports facilities!! We may not have won the last Play Rugby Sticker Competition but it was worth all the effort - we can't wait to put all our new equipment to good use when the weather improves!
Quiz:
Thank you to everyone who supported our recent quiz night at the Red Fox Inn. Much needed funds were raised on the night. These will be put to very good use in the coming weeks and months. My thanks to the Parents' Association for hosting the annual event. Your hard work is very much appreciated.
Relax Kids:
We were very excited to welcome back Sarah Cunningham, Relax Kids coach, who will be providing a number of sessions to the children from Junior Infants to 1st Class. Relax Kids is a programme that uses movement, stretching, drama and storytelling to teach children how to cope with everyday stresses. It is thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Parents' Association that we are able to provide these classes to the children.
Time to Read:
The Time to Read programme continues in 2nd Class with the new group of volunteer readers calling to us every Wednesday. We received a lovely new box of books recently for the children to enjoy, during the new term, with their buddy. The boys and girls from 2nd Class, along with Ms. Quirke and Ms. Pigott, enjoyed a visit to Fexco at the end of January, as part of the Time to Read programme. The children were given a tour of the building, where we learned about the board room, office life and the importance of reading and maths for every day working life. We visited the finance room, where we saw the employees working at their desks - some even let us try on their head sets and have a swing on their chairs!! Next we were lucky enough to be given a demonstration of some of the projects the design team are working on. We tried out the virtual reality goggles as well as having some fun with the on-screen animations. To finish it off, we were treated to some lovely goodies in the canteen. A huge thanks to Anne, Eileen, the volunteer readers and everyone involved for making it a very special trip for the children! As always, our thanks to Fexco for committing to the programme.
"I AM":
We were delighted to welcome Nikki Roberts, Art Psychotherapist, to Glounaguillagh N.S. last week. Nikki will be working with the children from 3rd to 6th Class over the next number of weeks. The "I AM" programme introduces the children to techniques and strategies for self-regulation, processing and self-soothing. The course aims to improve resilience and self-empowerment. We hope the children take a lot from the sessions. Again, it is thanks to the hard work of the Parents' Association that we are able to fund the cost of these sessions.
Junior Achievement Ireland:
We were recently notified that two volunteers, again from Fexco, will be working with us this year as part of this programme. Jean will be working with 5th Class and Helen will be working with 1st & 2nd Class. The Junior Achievement primary school programmes show young students the vast array of opportunities there are for them to use their talents, imagination and creativity when they grow up. Last year the children in 3rd & 4th Class took part in the "Our City" module where the children considered economic development, local businesses, and career opportunities in our towns and cities. The Junior Achievement classroom volunteer, Jean, helped the children build a city. They constructed paper buildings, mapped out a city, wrote newspaper articles, planned their own restaurants, and examined why banks are important. We are looking forward to seeing what programmes our classroom volunteers have for us this year! Again, our thanks to Fexco for committing to this programme. More information about the programmes can be found HERE.
The MacGillycuddy Reeks EIP Project:
We had a visit from Patricia Deane, Project Manager, and Mary O'Neill, Project Ecologist, who work with The MacGillycuddy Reeks European Innovation Partnership Project, based in the Old Barracks in Beaufort. As part of the project, Trish & Mary want to share information around the project itself with a view to increasing knowledge and awareness of what a habitat is, what species are found in the Reeks and why it is important to continue to farm, live and work in the area. Trish & Mary spoke with the children in 4th, 5th & 6th classes. The children carried out some lovely experiments, watched a short presentation and completed some fun activities. Our thanks to Trish & Mary for the visit!
Virtual Reality Demonstration:
5th & 6th Class were treated to something different recently when past pupil, Muiris O'Grady, Learning Technology Specialist at the AgriTech Centre of Excellence at IT Tralee, as well as his colleague, Hans Moolman, stopped by to show the children some virtual reality and augmented reality demos. Muiris & Hans brought the children on 2 Virtual Reality tours - one of the North Pole and the other of the International space station, as well as 2 augmented reality tours – one of dinosaurs and one of space rockets. The children thoroughly enjoyed the demonstrations and loved the opportunity to use the headsets! Our thanks to Muiris and Hans for giving us the opportunity!
Standardised Closures:
The Department of Education has released the standard breaks for Christmas, Easter and mid-terms for 2020/2021 & subsequent school years. See link HERE
Enjoy the mid-term break!
Kind Regards,
Sinéad Pigott
Principal
