June Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Another busy school year is drawing to a close! We would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your continued support throughout this school year.

Summer Holidays:

The school will close at 12 noon on Wednesday 25th June for the Summer Holidays

Sixth Class:

Congratulations to our 6th Class pupils who are finishing their time with us here at Glounaguillagh. We wish you every good wish as you transfer to your respective secondary schools. Our end-of-year service will take place on Monday 23rd June at 12 noon. You are welcome to come along and celebrate the end of the school year with us and wish our 6th Class children well as they embark on their next chapter.

Sports Day:

Our annual sports day will be held tomorrow. The children are asked to wear their PE uniform. Please put sunscreen on your child in the morning and pack plenty fluids.

School Reports:

The end-of-year report cards will be released on the Aladdin app tomorrow.

Calendar 2025/2026:

Please find attached the School Calendar for 2025/2026.

Class Groups 2025/2026:

Junior Infants – Mrs. Doyle

Senior Infants – Ms. Quirke

1st & 2nd Class – Mrs. Fleming

2nd & 3rd Class – Ms. O’Sullivan

4th & 5th Class - Mrs. Galvin

5th & 6th Class – Ms. O’Shea

SETs – Ms. Pigott and Ms. Tyther (Ms. McCarthy covering Maternity Leave)

Athletics:

Congratulations to all our students who represented the school so well in the Kerry AAI Primary School Sports last week in An Ríocht, Castleisland. It was a very successful evening for the school. With children from 1st to 6th competing in both individual events as well as relays, many of them qualified for the finals out of their initial heats. A special mention to Mia Bruton & Zoë Russell, who came 2nd & 3rd in the 4th Class 100m. Páidí O'Shea came 3rd in the 6th Class 100m, while our 4th Class girls' relay team came 2nd. Well done everyone! Thank you to all that travelled and our supporters.

Thank You:

• As we wrap up this school year, I want to extend a sincere thank you to our Parents’ Association. Your ongoing support, enthusiasm, and generosity have made a real impact—from organising events to helping enhance the student experience in countless ways. We’re truly grateful for your partnership and commitment to our school community. A special mention to Wayne Doyle, our PA Chairperson, for his help and assistance throughout the year. Wayne has been on hand for any job asked of him and we are very grateful.

• We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Fergus Clifford, whose term as Parents’ Nominee on the Board of Management has come to an end. Fergus has acted as Treasurer of the Board of Management over the last number of years. Fergus’s dedication, careful stewardship, and countless hours of behind-the-scenes work have been invaluable to the smooth running of our school. We are deeply grateful for your commitment over the years and the positive impact you’ve made on our school community.

Microsoft Dream Space Showcase:

What a great day we had at the Microsoft Dream Space Showcase! 5th & 6th Class, accompanied by Ms. O’Shea, Ms. Pigott and Ms. Quirke, headed for Dublin at 5:45am on Tuesday 10th June for the Microsoft Dream Space Showcase Day. We were treated to a wonderful day and the staff at Microsoft pulled out all the stops, with interesting speakers, a games room jam packed with various games and activities and lunch as well as giving the children the opportunity to present and talk about their projects. It was such a worthwhile day and the children were so well behaved throughout the day. Our thanks MTU Kerry for contributing half the cost of the bus. Thanks also to Kieran at Flynn's Coaches for getting us safely to Dublin and home again.

Active Schools Flag:

Our Active Flag Committee have been very busy this term promoting and encouraging activity throughout the school. We’ve had our skipping initiative as well as Active Week which were both hugely successful. Our thanks to the committee members; Ayda O’Connor, Ellie O’Grady, Donnacha O’Malley, Zoë Russell, Ruby Doyle, Dara O’Brien, Jack Moloney, Caoimhe O’Connor, Caoimhe Foley, Eimee Lynch, Sophie Moriarty, Síomha Clifford and Stephen O’Reilly for your great work. The team worked hard on our application and we are pleased to announce that following our accreditation visit on Wednesday 11th June, we have received our flag. Well done to all involved!

Amber Flag:

The Amber Flag committee have been working very hard all year promoting positive mental health and wellbeing at Glounaguillagh. Well done to our Amber Flag committee; Kate Buckley, Dillon Mullins, Mikayla Moriarty, Jonah Hellson, Fia Doyle, Eoghan O’Malley, Lorcan Doyle, Molly Cane, Kaia Ferris and Eliza Lynch, under the guidance of Ms. Quirke, for their hard work in compiling and submitting our Amber Flag application recently. We were absolutely delighted to receive our flag this week. Well done to you all.

Technology in Childhood Voluntary Agreement:

A note from the organising group: Thank you to all who contributed to the recent Technology in Childhood survey. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and in favour of establishing a voluntary agreement within our school community. The committee is making plans for Autumn 2025..... Watch this space.

School Therapy Dog:

We have applied for a school therapy dog through My Canine Companion (MCC). This program involves a customised training program where the dog lives with a designated staff member. We have not received a definitive answer yet but we are very hopeful. When we know more, further information and documents, etc. will be shared with you.

September Reopening:

We will re-open on Monday 1st September.

Finally, on behalf of us all here at Glounaguillagh National School, I wish parents, children and family members a well-deserved and enjoyable break.

Kind regards,

Sinéad Pigott

Principal