P.E.

We thank Sharon for continuing basketball during the month of January.  P.E. days will continue to be Tuesdays and Thursdays until further notice.  

We also thank Sarah from Rinka for her gymnastic and dance work last term.  We thoroughly enjoyed her lessons.

Congratulations

We send our congratulations to Bishop David McClay, a former pupil of our school.  He was consecrated in St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast as the new Church of Ireland Bishop of Down and Dromore on Saturday.

P.T.A. Update

Thank you to all those who attended our P.T.A. meeting last week. 

Thanks were extended to everyone who helped with fundraising last term and helped with organising the Christmas party.
 
Money raised since September was used to purchase Mrs Patterson's Interactive Flat Screen and to cover the costs of the Christmas party.  All three classrooms are now fitted with new Interactive Flat Screens.  These are much brighter and clearer than the old ones and will benefit the children greatly. Our fundraising money enables us to provide the children with opportunities and experiences that we would not be able to provide otherwise.  Examples of this in recent years have included - external tutors and coaches, subsidising the buses for swimming and trips, the playground project, keeping book rental costs as low as possible, visiting workshops/speakers, play items and construction toys.  We aim to give the children access to as wide a curriculum as possible and your help is much appreciated. 

P.T.A. information will be sent home in note form or via the school's text message service as we are aware there may have been some parents who did not get information before Christmas - our sincere apologies to anyone who was inadvertently missed.  

The children are loving the new outdoor space.  As it can be a little wet and messy at times, any parent who would like to send spare clothes or waterproof clothing is welcome to do so.

We hope to organise the Tea/Coffee morning on February 29th.  Please get in touch if you can help.

Paul Gallagher, who is dad to Ryan in Senior Infants hopes to organise a fundraising play in the autumn term.  We thank him very much for undertaking this project. More details will follow after the next meeting.

Part of the role of the P.T.A. is to help parents support the children's learning at home.  School is interested in hearing what types of help you feel would be most useful. Some of the suggestions included Internet Safety talks, Stay Safe information, specific courses on Dylexia, Story Sacks or helping with homework.  School will soon send out a questionnaire to hear your views. Please take the time to respond. 

Basketball Posts

You may have noticed that our basketball posts were damaged in the windy weather before Christmas.  We are very grateful to Ian and Michala for making us new backboards and for decorating them with the school logo.  

Dates

Open Day:              Open Day for new Infants will be held on Wednesday 19th February from 2 - 3
Half-term:                School will be closed on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st February
St. Patrick's Day:    School will close on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th March
Easter:                    Last day of term is Friday 3rd April.  School will open again on Monday 20th April
Summer Holidays:  Last day of term Thursday 25th June

Forest School

We hope to take the Infants and First Class to Forest School after the half-term holiday.  Details will be sent home shortly,

Ulster Scots

Tutors from the Ulster Scots Agency will be visiting us over the next few weeks.  These sessions are always fun and each one has a different theme - these include drama, dancing, music and storytelling. 

Reading Volunteers

If anyone would like to join us and help with listening to reading, we would be very grateful.  Please get in touch.

Welcome

We have had several new pupils in recent months.  We extend a very warm welcome to these children and their families.

Board of Management

We thank Alan Mahon for his 8 years of help and service to school as a valued member of our Board of Management and we welcome Lorna Murphy to the Board.  We thank our Board members for their help and support as a new four year term begins. 
Board Members
Chairperson         Canon Russell
Secretary              Dawn Somerville
Teachers' Rep       Ann Gourley
Patron's Rep         Francess O'Connell
Parents' Rep         William Goodwin
Parents' Rep         Lorna Murphy
Community Rep    John Barnett
Community Rep     Emma Pearson

Met Éireann have issued an Amber Weather Warning for wind tomorrow. School will be open as normal but please take care when travelling to and from school.
If this warning is upgraded to Red before morning, school will be closed in accordance with Department of Education guidance. Please make sure to have alternative child care arrangements in place in case a school closure message is issued at very short notice.

Forest School

Our trips to Murvagh Forest finished on Thursday.  We thank Aíne and Marie for all the time and effort they put into this project.  We also thank those parents who gave their time to come along and help out with supervision.

Sympathy

We extend sympathy to those school families who have suffered a bereavement in recent weeks.

We also extend our sympathy to the Russell family.

Fundraising

Thank you to all those families who have supported our Sponsored Unihoc, Quiz Sheets and the Table Quiz.  If you have not already returned your sponsorship money, please can it be sent in as soon as possible?  At present we are fundraising for new Interactive Boards for our classrooms.

P.T.A.

A meeting of the P.T.A. will be held in school on Monday 18th November at 7.00 p.m.  Your support would be much appreciated.

Dates

School will close for Christmas on Friday 20th December and will open again on TUESDAY 7th January.  Please note that school will remain closed on Monday 6th January as staff are attending training for the New Language Curriculum.

Carol Service - Tuesday 17th December @ 7.00 p.m.

Student Teacher

We thank Miss Harron for her hard work in our school and, in particular, the middle room over the past few weeks.  We wish her well as she continues her teacher training.

Parent Teacher Meetings

Thank you for your recent support of our Parent Teacher Meetings.  We hope you found them helpful.  Please remember that staff are always happy to facilitate meetings to discuss concerns.

P.E. Curriculum/Active Flag

You will be aware that we currently have basketball coaching and Rinka sessions in school.   P.E. uniform should be worn on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Our Active Flag committee are also busy at work planning busy breaks and activities for all children.

Dates

School Active Week - Monday 27th - Friday 31st May
Sports Day - Friday 31st May
Junior School Tour - Friday 7th June
New Infant Morning - Thursday 13th June
End of Year Show - Tuesday 18th June @ 7 p.m.
Last Day of Term - Wednesday 26th June
New School Year starts - Monday 2nd September

Congratulations

Congratulations to the Dinsmore family on the birth of baby Abbie!

Playground Project

You will notice that work is ongoing in the school playground.  We hope to have this finished shortly so the children will have time to enjoy it before the school year ends.  Thank you to all those who have already returned their Sponsored Walk money.

Cycling Training

The children in 4th - 6th Class are doing cycling training for a period of 5 weeks. 

Weather

Hopefully there will be no disruptive weather this year, but as a precaution and because colder weather is forecast, please take time to read the following.
We will make every effort to ensure that school is open for the children, regardless of the severity of the weather. Please assume that school will be open unless you are informed otherwise.
Text messaging will be the main point of contact with parents but please also keep an eye on the school website and listen to local radio. Please make sure that we have an up to date mobile number for you.
It may be necessary to delay the opening time for school - you will be notified by text message as early as possible if this is the case.
Most staff members have long journeys to make in the mornings and may be delayed by the weather too, so please make sure that someone is in school before leaving children at the gate.
I have no input with regard to the school buses. The decision not to drive is made by the drivers themselves and Bus Eireann. McGloin's hope to make contact with myself and Aveen McGuinness if the bus is not running. If you are unable to make the journey safely at your normal time, please let us know. I am keen that every effort will be made to get children to school, albeit later than normal.
Please make sure that the children are bringing warm coats, hats and gloves to school. The playground can be very cold.

Head Lice

We ask that all parents check their children's hair on a weekly basis to ensure that if head lice are present, they are found and treated quickly.  This will minimise the spread in school and help prevent children from repeated infestations.

Please take time to read the following leaflet.

https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/child/head-lice/parents-leaflet.pdf

Condolences

Our sincere sympathy to the McGuinness family and the O'Connell families on their recent bereavements.

Get well soon wishes

We send our best wishes to those members of our school community who are unwell. We would like them to know that we are thinking of them and hoping they are soon feeling better.

Welcome back

Christmas Thanks 
Thank you so much to our hardworking members of our P.T.A. who organised the children’s Christmas Party.  A huge amount of work, effort and time went into arranging everything so we thank them very much.

Thank you also to everyone who came along to the Carol Service.  As always thank you to those parents who provided food and sweets for the evening and helped to serve tea and tidy up afterwards.  Copies of the show DVD are available from school for a donation of €5 to school funds.  Our thanks to Ezra and Muriel for their help with recording.

Condolences
We offer our sympathy to the Dinsmore Family on their recent bereavements.

Fundraising - Thank you

Quiz
On behalf of everyone in school, I would like to thank Nan Leslie and the ladies of Hilltown L.O.L. for the hard work they out into organising this year’s Table Quiz.  A total of €1,085 was raised for our school.

Unihoc 
The total raised from our sponsored Unihoc was €922.  Thank you to everyone who supported the event and to Muriel and Ezra for organising it.

Open Day for new Junior Infants

We will be holding our annual Open Day on Tuesday 19th February from 2.00 p.m. until 3.00 p.m. If you know of anyone who may not be aware of this date, will you please let them know.

Peace Proms

The children have a Peace Proms practice in Belfast on Wednesday 13th February.  This will be an exciting day out for us as not only will we have the opportunity to visit Queen’s University in Belfast, but we will also be visiting the Ulster Museum.

The Peace Proms concert itself takes place on Sunday 24th February at 3.00 p.m. in the SSE Arena in Belfast.  If you have purchased tickets for the concert and would like to travel on the bus with us, please ring the school office to book your seats.

Staff Training

School will be closed on Monday 25th February for Staff Training

Book Fair
The Book Fair will be in school from Thursday 7th March to Wednesday 13th March.

P.E.  Uniform

P.E. uniform to be worn on Mondays and Thursdays until further notice.

Dates

Mid-Term: Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd February. 
Staff Training: School will close on Monday 25th February. 
St. Patrick’s Day: School will close on Monday 18th March.
Easter Holidays: School will close on Friday 12th April and will re-open on Monday 29th April.

​Unihoc

We had a very energetic and fun-filled afternoon of Unihoc on Friday! ENORMOUS thanks to Muriel and Ezra for organising this for us...thanks also to those parents who helped and those who were brave enough to compete against 6th Class.

Hallowe'en 

Children may dress in costume or own clothes on Thursday 25th October.  No scary costumes or masks please.

Brownhall/Autumn Walk

Weather permitting, we are hoping to walk to Brownhall on Friday 26th October.  Children will need warm, waterproof clothes and wellingtons/old shoes.  Please also send a change of clothes in case we get wet and muddy.  

Shoeboxes

Filled shoeboxes will be collected in school on Monday 5th November.   


Fundraising Quiz & Sheets

We thank Nan Leslie for organising this year's Quiz Sheets.  We will be sending home a number of sheets for each family to sell.  Completed sheets may be returned to school or directly to Nan.  This year's Quiz will be held on Saturday 10th November.
​
Peace Proms

We are delighted to be included in the choir for this year's Peace Proms Concert in the S.S.E. arena in Belfast in February.  4th, 5th and 6th Class will be taking part and will be working exceptionally hard to learn all the songs in time.  

Súgradh le Chéile

We were delighted that all of the children in the Junior Room had the opportunity to play with parents and relatives last Friday morning.  We sincerely hope that the experience was enjoyed as much by the grown ups as it was by the children.   It was particularly nice to see so many Dads...hopefully they enjoyed the visit to school and will visit again soon.

Visitors/Workshops

You might have heard the children talking about or have spotted visitors in school over the past few weeks.

• Mr Barnett has resumed his weekly visits to help with Literacy, Maths and Gaeilge activities.

• Reverend Corrie and Jenny Mahon are helping out with reading on a weekly basis.

• Troy (from the Balor Arts Company) is running music workshops every Wednesday with all children.

• Sarah from Rinka is in school every Friday - her sessions incorporate dance, gymnastics and fitness work.

• Ms Currid has resumed weekly music lessons.

• Brian Donaghy visits every Thursday for Bible readings and activities.

• Canon Russell, Reverend Montgomery and David McAllister visit on Thursday mornings for assembly.

• Mrs Russell is working with the 4th, 5th and 6th Class children in R.E. 

• The Brickz for Kids afterschool club is being held in school on Monday afternoons and during Maths Week all children in school took part in a Lego session.

We thank all these people for helping us provide the children with a wide and engaging range of activities.


Cheerios Morning

Thank you for your support of this.  €150 euro was raised for Childline. 


Library Visits

As part of the Wainfest activities, all children in school visited the local libraries.  The Junior Room saw a puppet show in Bundoran.  The Middle Room had a science display in a pop up planetarium.  The Senior Room had great fun listening to a presentation by children's author, Jonathan Meres.

Co Donegal Schools' Service

5th Class and 6th Class enjoyed their outing to Ramelton Presbyterian Church on Thursday 5th where they joined with over 600 other children from the other 30 schools in Donegal which are under Church of Ireland or Presbyterian management.  We say well done to Andrea Moore for reading a 'Sorry' prayer on behalf of our school.

Parent Teacher Meetings

We hope to hold Parent Teacher Meetings between 12th and 23rd November.  More details to follow soon.

School Closures

School will be closed for the week beginning 29th October. 

Christmas Holidays - Last day of term will be Friday 21st December.

Thank you George and Paul for the logs for the playground.  The children are really enjoying playing with them.   

Thank you 

​Thank you George and Paul for the logs for the playground.  The children are really enjoying playing with them.