May Newsletter
- glounaguillagh
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Congratulations
Many congratulations to Ms. Tyther on the birth of her baby girl recently. We wish Ms. Tyther and her family all the very best. Enjoy this special time.
Dates for your Diary
Wednesday 28th May – Junior & Senior Infant school tour to Kennedy’s Pet Farm
Monday 2nd June – Public Holiday (school closed)
Friday 13th June – 1st – 3rd Class school tour to Active Kingdom, Castleisland
Friday 13th June – new Junior Infant visit
Monday 23rd June - End-of-Year/Graduation Mass at 12 noon
Wednesday 25th June – School will close at 12 noon for the Summer Holidays
Standardised Tests
Testing in Maths, Reading and Spelling for children from 1st to 6th class is currently underway and will be finalised in the coming weeks. Standardised tests are just one form of assessment used in primary schools. They are a snapshot of how a child performs in Maths and English on a specific day and should be interpreted with caution. As in other years, if a teacher has concerns, she will be in contact with you with advice as to how you can help your child. As usual, results of your child’s standardised tests will be communicated on your child’s summer report, to be issued in June. As with previous years, we will report on your child's Standard Score. If you have any questions when you receive your child's results, please contact your child’s class teacher.
Next Year
It’s the time of the year when our attention turns to allocating next year’s classes. To that end, if you know your child will not be returning to our school after the summer (other than 6th class pupils), please let the office know as soon as possible.
Confirmation
Congratulations to the children who received the sacrament of Confirmation on Friday 4th April. We hope you all had a special day with your friends and families. Our thanks to the children who took part in the choir on the evening and to Seán Treacy for his help. The choir and music really add to the occasion. We are very grateful for your help and support.
First Holy Communion
Congratulations to the boys and girls from 2nd Class who received the sacrament of First Holy Communion in St. James’ Church on Saturday last. We hope you had a lovely day celebrating with your families. Our thanks to the school choir for giving of their time to attend on Saturday, to Seán for accompanying the children, and to the Parents’ Association for their support with the after-party and treats. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
6th Class Graduation/End-of-Year Service
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.
Junior Infant Visit
We will hold our Junior Infant Open Day on Friday 13th June from 1:45pm- 2:30pm. The incoming Junior Infant class are invited to come to the school on that afternoon. We will organise some games, colouring and fun for the children. The children will get to meet their new classmates while parents will get to chat and begin to get to know each other and it will give an opportunity to ask any further questions you may have. We are really looking forward to meeting our new cohort.
Astellas
Thank you to the staff of Astellas Pharma, who visited the school in April to donate 4 large bags of cans for us to recycle and use the money for the benefit of our school. When exchanged, the bags raised €274.32 for the school. Thanks to Tracy Murphy for nominating our school and to all involved.
Re-Turn Bin
We introduced a Return Recycling Bin as part of our school’s fundraising and environmental awareness initiative in early April. Students and staff, along with the community, can donate empty plastic bottles and cans that have the Return symbol displayed. Every bottle and can collected is then recycled, with the funds raised going directly towards supporting our school. Our first run to the machine came to a total of €21.35 with the bin requiring another run this week as it is currently full. This will mean approx. €50 raised since we introduced the bin not even two months ago. All of this money will go straight back to the school and pupils, buying resources for the classrooms and outdoor activities. Don't forget you can return your bottles & cans from home in our bin to help fill it faster. Every little helps!
Biodiversity – Cara Credit Union
In early April, we were very excited to receive the news that our school was one of the lucky ones chosen to partake in a project in collaboration with Cara Credit Union and Tralee Bay Wetlands. Mrs. Fleming's 1st & 2nd Class were joined by Philip from Cara Credit Union along with Alan and John of Tralee Bay Wetlands, who visited to school to work with the children to plant an apple tree, some fruit bushes along with peas, spring onions and pak choi. We are very grateful to Philip, Alan and John for giving us this wonderful opportunity. They worked with the children to show them how best to plant our new additions. The children were very helpful and did a great job digging the holes and helping our visitors. Before they left, 2nd & 3rd Class were on hand to plant the peas. We are looking forward to seeing our hard work grow and thrive over the coming months and years.
Code Green
"Code Green" at Munster Technological University (MTU) refers to a collaboration between the IKC3 at MTU and Microsoft Dream Space with support from RTÉ Learn. It's an educational series designed to empower young people to understand their role in creating a sustainable future, focusing on digital and green transitions. 5th & 6th Class have been taking part in this initiative this year. The children have been working on various projects and using the mirco:bits we were gifted over the last number of months. As part of this, a Showcase Day will be held at Microsoft Headquarters in Dublin in early June. We have registered to attend and are looking forward to the day.
Congratulations to:
Cormac Doherty – Congratulations and well done to Cormac Doherty, who was selected for the Primary Game football team. Cormac lined out at half-time in the Kerry vs Cork Munster Football Semi-Final on Easter Saturday in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. We hope you enjoyed the day, Cormac.
Eliza Lynch – Eliza represented the school at the Mid-Kerry Primary games trials. Well done, Eliza.
Mid-Kerry Skills Teams - Well done to our boys and girls skills teams, Cormac Doherty, Dylan Scott, Páidí O'Shea, Éadaoin Clifford, Síomha Clifford and Sophie Moriarty, who represented the school at the Mid-Kerry Skills competition recently. Thanks to PJ Reidy and his team of helpers for organising both days. A big thank you also to the parents who drove the children to the football field.
Time to Count
3rd Class visited the RDI Hub in April for the "wrap party" to conclude the Time to Count programme. Having thoroughly enjoyed the programme itself, the children marked the end with a tour of the facility on the Killarney Road before enjoying some yummy treats. Our sincere thanks to Cliona, our wonderful volunteers and the management of Fexco, and also to Eileen from Business in the Community Ireland for their commitment to the running of these programmes. This year was an extra special year as it marked the end of the 10th year of our involvement in the programmes and continuing our partnership with Fexco and BITCI. To mark this special occasion, we presented both organisations with a painting by Mrs. Doyle, decorated with the fingerprints of 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th classes, the children that have been involved in the programmes over the years. Andrea, Head of Education in BITCI, travelled from Dublin for the occasion and presented us with a framed certificate to mark this special day. Thank you all!
School Tours
Junior Infants and Senior Infants – Wednesday 28th May – Kennedy’s Pet Farm
1st, 2nd and 3rd Classes – Friday 13th June – Active Kingdom, Castleisland
4th, 5th & 6th Classes – Had a great trip to Ballyhass Adventure Centre in Mallow last week.
Hot Meals
We are delighted to be included in this round of the Hot School Meals programme. We look forward to getting it up-and-running and to the benefits it will bring to our school community.
ISK Blitz
5th Class were invited along to the ISK blitz held recently. The children had a great day. Our thanks to the TYs along with Mícheál Ó Sé for having us.
Athletics
Well done to the children for representing the school so well at the Mid-Kerry School Sports on Friday in Beaufort. Congratulations to those who were victorious and the very best of luck for the county races in June.
Active 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 are busy working on our application and will be submitting it in the coming days.
Amber Flag
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 last week. The Amber Flag committee have been working very hard all year promoting positive mental health and wellbeing at Glounaguillagh. Well done to you all.
Green IT Competition
GreenIT are offering schools in Ireland a chance to win a technology bundle worth €12,000 for their school. We would love to win this wonderful prize for our school. To vote, simply click the link below and fill out the voting form. For a vote to count, you must include our special Unique Competition Number. Our Unique Number is GIT-COMP-546847
Summer Holidays
We will close for our Summer Holidays on Wednesday 25th June at 12 noon.
Kind Regards,
Sinéad Pigott
Principal
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