November Newsletter
- glounaguillagh
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Dates for your Diary:
Christmas Jumper Day – Friday 5th December
Christmas Carol Service - Tues 16th & Wed 17th December
Christmas Service - Friday 19th December
School will close for the Christmas Holidays at 12 noon on Friday 19th December
School Re-opens - Monday 5th January
Internet Safety Talk – Wednesday 21st January, 7:30pm
First Confession – Thursday 12th February, 7pm
Confirmation – Friday 27th March, 5pm
First Holy Communion – Saturday 16th May, 12 noon
Staff Update:
Interviews will take place next week to fill two upcoming maternity leave positions. We extend our best wishes to Ms. Aoife O’Sullivan as she begins her leave, and to Ms. Deirdre Quirke, who will commence her leave after Christmas. An internal interview for a new APII promoted post will also be held next week.
Enrolment:
Enrolment is opening for children starting school in September 2026 on Monday next, 24th November. A link to our pre-enrolment form will be shared with you later in the week and will also be available on the school website. The link will be live from 9am on Monday morning. Our enrolment window closes on Friday 30th January.
Christmas Carol Service:
Our Christmas Carol Services will be held on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th December. See schedule below.
Tuesday 16th December
Junior & Senior Infants – 11:30am
1st, 2nd & 3rd Class – 12 noon
Wednesday 17th December
Junior & Senior Infants – 11:30am
4th, 5th & 6th Classes – 12 noon
Christmas Remembrance Tree:
This year, we are launching a Christmas Memory Tree fundraiser - a light shining in honour of your loved one this Christmas. You are invited to purchase a personalised Memory Star (€5) for your own tree, while we honour your loved one in lights on ours. Our Remembrance Tree will be placed at the front of the school in early December, and will be lit with the switch on of the school Christmas lights on December 8th. Our Christmas Service on Friday 19th December will be offered for all those being remembered. The tree will light for a number of hours each night until January 6th. Stars will be available to collect from the office from Monday 15th December to Friday 19th December. A link will be shared tomorrow.
Primary School Survey:
The Department of Education and Youth are asking parents/guardians of children in primary school to ‘Have Your Say’ about your primary school. They are doing this through a short, confidential survey, which will take at most 5 minutes to complete. This is an important survey and is the first time that a survey of this scale is being run by the Department of Education and Youth. The results of the survey will help the department plan how the provide education at primary level. You will need your Eircode to take part. Click the link for the survey: www.gov.ie/primaryschoolsurvey
Astellas Art Competition:
Congratulations to Cillian O’Reilly, 2nd Class, on his success in the recent Astellas Art Calendar Competition. Cillian will be presented with his prize at the prize-giving ceremony in Astellas next week. Well done, Cillian!
Junior Achievement Ireland:
Mrs. Galvin’s 5th & 6th Class are working with Stephen Buttimer, Fexco on the module TecKno. TecKno educates the children on technology and tech careers. Using games, this SFI and Dell supported workshop/programme introduces students to AI, Data Analytics and cyber security. Thanks to Stephen and JAI.
Time to Count:
Time to Count will take place in 3rd Class after Christmas. Work is underway to source volunteers and Garda Vetting and training will take place over the coming weeks. As always, we are very grateful to Business in the Community Ireland and Fexco for continuing to work with us each year.
Halloween/Student Council:
The Student Council, assisted by Ms. O’Shea and Ms. Quirke, were very busy before the break getting ready for our Halloween fun. We had lots of lovely activities organised for our last day. Thank you all for a fun-filled day. Our thanks also to the Parents’ Association for decorating the rooms. We are very grateful.
Active School Flag:
Our Active School committee, comprising of Charlie (6th), Oisín (6th), Adam (5th), Réiltín (5th), Freya (5th), Aoife (5th), Ollie (4th), Alannah (4th), James (3rd) and Alannah (3rd), are busy promoting fun, fitness and wellbeing across the school. They act as playground leaders, where they work on a rota implementing a range of games for the infants.
Amber Flag:
The Amber Flag committee, Caoimhe (6th), Caoimhe (6th), Iveragh (5th), Cian (5th), Hayley (5th), Áine (5th), Zack (4th), Rachel (4th), Kayla (3rd) and Ivan (3rd), celebrated anti-bullying week last week by hosting a school wide art competition. Thanks to the children for promoting wellbeing and kindness across the school.
Acorn Quest:
We are again partaking in the Jam Jar Science project in conjunction with Local Roots. Local Roots is a community-based biodiversity project with a native tree nursery in Cromane. The project shows the children how oak trees grow from a single acorn. 1st and 2nd Class have been supplied with “oaky pods” and have gotten underway. We are excited to watch the process over the coming months.
Restart-a-Heart Day:
Thank you to Cromane Community First Responders for visiting our 5th and 6th Classes in October as part of Restart a Heart Day. Our pupils really enjoyed learning these vital life-saving skills and hearing about the important work the wonderful team of volunteers do in our community. We are very grateful to those involved for the time given and their dedication to help others in emergencies. Anyone interested in getting involved can find out more through their page. An important message that everyone can work on - teach your child your Eircode.
Swimming:
Swimming lessons are underway in 5th and 6th Class with the children on week three of six this week. It is wonderful to see the improvements being made by all the children each year. Lessons will take place for 3rd and 4th Class in March.
Rugby:
The children are thoroughly enjoying their weekly sessions with Lily Morris. She is working as a CRO (Community Rugby Officer) with Killorglin Rugby Club. Lily is currently a squad member of the Munster Senior Women's Squad. Prior to this she represented Ireland at U20 level. Next week, weather dependent, will be the children’s last session with Lily.
ISK Show:
Our 5th and 6th Class pupils had a fantastic afternoon at the matinee performance of the Intermediate School Killorglin show, "Popstars: The 90s Musical", in the CYMS Hall last week. The show was full of energy, fun and such brilliant talent. It was wonderful to see many familiar faces on stage. We loved every minute! Thank you to the ISK for inviting us along.
Lidl Visit:
Senior Infants were invited to visit the new Lidl store prior to it opening last week. The children got a tour of the new shop and warehouse, got to have some fun playing ‘shops’ and ended their visit with some yummy treats. They really enjoyed their visit. Thanks to Lidl for the invitation and for providing the bus.
Christmas Jumper Day:
Our annual Christmas Jumper Day will take place on Friday 5th December. The children are invited to wear their Christmas Jumper to school on this day. We will not be using it as a fundraiser this year.
Christmas Service:
Our annual Christmas Service will take place on Friday 19th December at 11:15am. Space will be limited but parents/guardians are welcome to join us on the day, should you wish to do so.
Christmas Holidays:
The school will close for the Christmas Holidays at 12 noon on Friday 19th December, after the Christmas Service.
Outstanding Fees:
We have a small number of outstanding dues. We would ask the remaining families to please complete the payment as soon as possible.
6th Class Hoodies:
Our 6th Class children received their leavers’ hoodies on Friday. There were lots of smiles, excitement and proud faces all around. A special keepsake for their final year. Thanks to the parents and the Parents’ Association for organising.
Hot Meals:
The Lunch Bag has been appointed as our hot meals’ provider. More to come on this in the coming weeks. We hope to be up-and-running as soon as possible.
Internet Safety Talks:
Mr. Ger Brick will attend Glounaguillagh NS on Wednesday 21st January to speak to the children from about internet safety / cyberbullying. He will also present a parent information evening that same evening, Wednesday 21st January, at 7:30pm at the school, which is open to parents from all classes to attend. We would hope to see a good attendance on the evening. In the age of devices and ever-changing apps, it is vital that parents are as informed as possible.
Kind Regards,
Sinéad Pigott
Principal
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