March Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Dates for your Diary:

• Confirmation: Friday 4th April, 5pm

• Friday 11th April - School will close at 12 noon for the Easter holidays

• Monday 14th April - Friday 25th April (inclusive) - Easter Holidays (school closed)

• Monday 5th May - Public Holiday (school closed)

• Internet Safety Day – Tuesday 6th May (Evening Parents Session)

• First Holy Communion: Saturday 17th May, 12 noon

• Monday 2nd June – Public Holiday (school closed)

• Wednesday 25th June – School will close at 12 noon for the Summer Holidays

Easter Holidays:

The school will close for the Easter Holidays on Friday 11th April at 12 noon. The school will reopen on Monday 28th April.

Sacraments:

Best wishes to our 6th Class pupils who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday evening. We are very proud you all and we wish you well on your special day. Have a wonderful time with your families. Our thanks to the children who are partaking in the choir on Friday. We are very grateful to you all for giving your time to be with us on the evening.

Lá Glas:

Well done to everyone who participated in our Lá Glas recently, which concluded our Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations. Bhí lá iontach againn ag céiliúradh Seachtain na Gaeilge agus Lá Fhéile Pádraig. Bhí a lán rince, ceol agus spraoí againn. We started the celebrations with a concert packed full of music and dance before moving outside for a whole school céilí mór sa chlos. Rinne gach duine iarracht maith and bhí an spórt ag na páistí. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and honour our language, culture and heritage and to see the joy, laughter and fun on all the faces. A huge thank you to Ms. Quirke and Ms. McCarthy for the effort they went to. The day was a great success.

BLAST Project:

Ms. O'Shea's 5th & 6th Class recently completed their BLAST project with local artist, Barbara O'Reilly. Barbara visited the school for various sessions over the last number of months. The completed project is full of the children’s artwork, including relief printed oak leaves, leaves with positivity messages along with beautifully illustrated native birds, animals and flowers. We are awaiting a Perspex cover to finish off the art piece so that it can be admired and viewed for years to come. We are looking forward to sharing the finished artwork with you all.

FAI Primary 5s:

Well done to our two boys’ soccer teams, who represented the school very well at the FAI Primary 5s soccer tournament held in Killarney Celtic at the end of February. Thanks to Ms. McCarthy and Ms. Pigott for accompanying the teams and to the parents who came to support us on the day. A special thanks to Peter at FAI Kerry for another well organised day.

Football:

Our boys’ team, made up of boys from 4th, 5th & 6th Classes, had a trip to Beaufort in mid-March for the Mid-Kerry Mini 7s competition. Mixed fortunes in the group stages; a defeat by Scoil Mhuire and a win over Kilgobnet, saw us through to the Quarter-Final, where we bowed out to eventual winners Nagle Rice. All the boys played brilliantly and really gave their all.

The following week, it was the turn of our girls to take to the field in the Mid-Kerry Mini 7s competition. Again, we had mixed fortunes in our group but turned around an opening defeat to Kilgobnet N.S. with two great victories over Castledrum N.S. and Glenbeigh N.S. to progress to the semi-finals where we were defeated by eventual winners Nagle Rice. All our girls played some fantastic football and are a credit to their clubs.

Our thanks to Kevin and Mary Jo for organising two great days. Thanks also to our referees, Mike, Gerry and Nora, and to Beaufort GAA for the use of their facilities.

Cross Country Running:

Well done to Zack Scully (3rd Class) Zoë Russell, Mikayla Moriarty, Mia Bruton, Julia Seagrave, Adam Houlihan, Dara O’Brien, Vincent Lucey (all 4th Class), Lorcan Doyle, Jack Moloney, Charlie Enright and Eoghan O’Malley (all 5th Class) who competed in the Cumann na mBunscol Chiarraí Cross Country running competition in Caherslee recently. In cold and windy conditions, everyone tried really hard. All teams performed very well, with the 3rd and 4th Class girls’ team doing superbly in their 1000m race with Zoë finishing in 13th place in a field of approximately 200 girls. Mia, Mikayla and Julia also placed very well in the race. Well done girls!

Cumann na mBunscol Quiz:

Well done to our quiz team of Stephen O’Reilly (6th Class), Charlie Enright (5th Class), Eoghan O’Malley (5th Class) and Dara O’Brien (4th Class) who participated in the Cumann na mBunscol Chiarraí sports quiz at the end of February in The Meadowlands, Tralee.

Swimming:

Swimming lessons concluded for 3rd and 4th Classes last week with 5th & 6th Classes having finished their six sessions earlier in the new year. I think all children enjoyed the lessons. Thank you to the Parents' Association for contributing to the cost of the swimming lessons and to the parents of the classes involved for supporting us to offer these lessons to the children.

Cycle Right Programme:

Ms. O’Shea’s 5th & 6th Class children headed for Killorglin in small groups early on Monday morning, under the watchful eye of Pat & Conor, bringing their cycling programme to a close. This programme has been such a valuable experience for the children. While they might have been tired upon their return, the children thoroughly enjoyed putting their practice over the last number of weeks to the test. Our thanks to Pat Clifford and Conor Gleeson for delivering a brilliant programme. Thanks to Kerry Recreation and Sports Partnership for contributing towards the cost of the sessions as well as the other agencies involved. A final thank you to the parents for supporting this very worthwhile initiative.

Book Fair:

Our thanks to everyone who supported our recently book fair. Thanks to your generosity, we have over €1000 for the school to use to update and improve our classroom libraries.

Time to Count:

Time to Count is coming to a close in 3rd Class. We will finish the programme with our visit to Fexco and wrap-up party on Wednesday next, April 9th. We are delighted that Business in the Community Ireland and Fexco continue to undertake this programme with us. 2025 marks 10 years of our partnership with both organisations and we are very grateful to all involved for continuing their involvement with our school.

Kind regards,

Sinéad Pigott

Principal