February Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Dates for your Diary:

Thursday 2nd March – World Book Day – Turkey/Syria Fundraiser

Friday 17th March - St. Patrick's Day (School Closed)

Monday 3rd April - Friday 14th April (inclusive) - Easter Holidays (School Closed)

Welcome:

We welcome Finley (5th Class), Avrahm (4th Class) and Phoebe (Senior Infants) who have joined us recently from California. We hope you will be very happy here in Caragh Lake.

Turkey-Syria Fundraiser:

We have all watched the catastrophic effects of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The loss of life has been enormous, and the destruction of buildings and infrastructure will take generations to repair. Solidarity with those who are suffering is what the moment calls forth from us. A fundraising concert is taking place in the CYMS on Friday, March 3rd at 8.00p.m.

As well as the concert, all the schools in the Parish are organising their own fundraiser next week to raise further funds. As World Book Day falls on Thursday 2nd March, we have decided to organise a World Book Day Dress-Up Day as our fundraiser. We are inviting the children to come to school in a costume for World Book Day on Thursday 2nd March. The important thing to remind the children is that their costume should reflect their choice of reading/their favourite book character. Please do not purchase costumes, keep it simple using props or choose a character that wears everyday clothes. We are suggesting a donation of €1 or €2 - all proceeds will go to the Turkey-Syria fund.

Sacraments:

First Confession - Thursday 2nd March, 7pm

First Holy Communion - Saturday 13th May

Confirmation - Friday 24th March

Time to Count:

We are moving from our traditional Time to Read programme to a new (but very similar) Time to Count programme this year. Time to Count will be getting underway in 3rd Class in the coming weeks. We are delighted that Business in the Community Ireland and Fexco are continuing to undertake these programmes with us all these years later. The Time to Count programme returns to in-school sessions where volunteers from Fexco will call to the school once a week to play maths games with the children. These sessions have proven very successful in many schools over the years and have shown an improvement in many areas & skills for the children involved.

Junior Achievement Ireland:

Breeda is joining us weekly from Fexco to work with 5th & 6th Class while David is visting from BNY Mellon in Cork to work with 4th & 5th Class. Mrs. Galvin's 5th & 6th Class will be working on the topic "Our World" which explores the importance of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths). The children will be learning about sustainability, engineering, technology and the importance of innovation, all while developing their teamwork and problem-solving skills. Mrs. Fleming's 4th & 5th Class will cover the topic "It's My Business" where they will experience the initial steps necessary to start a business as they identify their own entrepreneurial characteristics, develop a startup from its ideation, innovation, and market research through to pitching their new business idea to potential “funders”. Our thanks to Junior Achievement Ireland and our volunteers, Breeda and David, for working with us on these topics.

Killorglin.ie Christmas Colouring Competition:

Congratulations to Olivia Bruton (Senior Infants), Sophie Moriarty (4th Class) and Kaia Ferris (4th Class) who were successful in the recent Killorglin.ie Children’s Christmas Colouring Artwork competition. Each winner received an art hamper – congratulations girls!

Addditional Accommodation:

We are currently accepting tenders for our new build. We are looking forward to breaking ground and getting underway as soon as possible. It has been a long, drawn-out process but will be worth it in the long run.

Kind regards,

Sinéad Pigott

Principal