Congratulations to all the recipients of our mid-year Attendance Awards which took place today at Scoil Mhuire NS. Scoil Mhuire NS places a strong emphasis on regular attendance which is proven to make a significant difference to a child’s learning and progress over the course of a full year. We had three categories of prize giving; those who only missed two days of school in this current year, those who missed a solitary day and finally those with a 100% attendance record thus far! Prizes of certificates and priceless homework passes were presented to each award winner as well as the added bonus of a Cadbury’s selection box for those with a perfect attendance.

The good news is that the awards will once again take place next June so from January onwards, the slate will be wiped clean and it will be another opportunity to encourage excellent attendance for your child! Well done to all our winners!

Ms. Fitzmaurice’s 4th and 5th class were recently introduced to the Junior Entrepreneur Programme. This innovative programme opens the minds of primary school pupils to the joy of entrepreneurship at a time in their lives when they are full of imagination and open to new possibilities. The programme helps participating pupils to develop a number of skills including literacy, writing, presentation, drawing, technology, research skills, numeracy, financial, consumer awareness, storytelling, listening skills, creative thinking, problem solving, team building and collaboration skills.

The programme has a significant personal development impact on participating pupils, building confidence, self-awareness and self-esteem, and an appreciation of individual skills and talents.

The first step of this programme involved challenging the children to come up with an inovative idea, the ultimate aim being to become a profitable venture. The children worked hard in small groups; collaboratively thinking, creating and researching until they were finally satisfied with  their respective business ideas. Each group were then faced with the onerous challenge of presenting their idea to some unforgiving ‘Dragons’; local business owners John Murray from Modern Botany and Miriam Pyburn of Barnetts as well as school principal Mr. Duggan! However our budding entrepreneurs took it in their stride as they confidently pitched their ideas and competently answered questions. After listening to all groups, the Dragons deliberated for quite some time before finally announcing the winning business idea to be ‘Pet Pals’! Pet Pals produces homemade dog treats for sale and congratulations to the winning group on this innovative idea! Congratulations also to all of the other groups who contributed so well to the process.

The next stage of the programme will take place after Christmas and will involve the whole classs working together to make Pet Pals a reality and hopefully a lot of money for our budding entrepreneurs!

PS; Our Dragons were actually really nice!!

Congratulations and well done to our first class pupil Kelly-May Cogan Flynn who travelled to the top of County Hall on Thursday to receive a prize from Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Declan Hurley at the inaugural Primary Schools Road Safety Short Story competition!

The competition, launched earlier in the year as part of the Children’s Book Festival Week 2017, asked entrants to feature 2 children, Sally and Jake, aged 8 and 10, who are great friends and love to get up to all sorts of fun and games together. A requirement of the competition was that children would demonstrate within their story that they understood key road safety messages and that these messages would be relatable to other children.

Kelly May won the aged 6 to 8 category and her short story was deemed the best among hundreds of entries! Her winning story has now been included in a booklet which will be distributed by Cork County Council during educational visits to schools throughout the county. Well done Kelly-May!

Friday 8th December Feast of the Immaculate Conception; 10.30am Mass in Schull Church. Children will walk from the school to the church and return to the school immediately afterwards.

Saturday 9th December Children from Scoil Mhuire NS are invited to the Schull Christmas Fair in the Harbour Hotel to play music and sing carols for all those present. 4th, 5th and 6th class will play the tin whistle but children from all classes are both welcome and encouraged to join in with the singing. The children are timetabled to perform from between 2.45pm and 3.45pm. Christmas Cake to be raffled also.

The Scoil Mhuire NS Parents’ Association’s Christmas Wish Tree will also be lit on Saturday 9th of December at 7pm outside the Bunratty Inn. A raffle ticket will be given to each child present at the event and one lucky child whose ticket will randomly be picked out will be awarded the honour of turning on the lights on the tree. A very special visitor along with his entourage is expected to visit during the event and there will be hot chocolate and treats for the children afterwards. All are welcome to come along to join in the festivities!

The concept of the Christmas Wish Tree is to remember a loved one who is not here, be they no longer with us, abroad or elsewhere for any reason. A light will shine on the Christmas wish tree at the top of the village throughout the Christmas season. Your intentions will be remembered at mass and service on Christmas Day. A gift card comes free with the light which costs €5. A list of those for whom the lights are dedicated to, will be posted on the tree. All proceeds go to Scoil Mhuire National School Parents’ Association and will be used for the benefit of the children. Cards are now on sale in various outlets throughout the village.

Sunday 10th December Carol Service in St. Mary’s Church Schull at 5.00pm. Children from the school will be taking an active part among other choirs in what is always a beautiful occasion.

Thursday 14th December A whole school trip to the Pantomime ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at the Everyman Palace in Cork City.

Tuesday 19th December Christmas Jumper Day in aid of The Schull Le Guilvinec Twinning Association. More details to follow next week.

Friday 22nd December Christmas Holidays at 12.00pm

Sunday 24th December Christmas Eve Mass in Schull at 7.00pm. Our school choir will as usual peform throughout the mass.

Third class pupils were EXPLODING WITH EXCITEMENT in preparation for their 2017 Science Fair Exhibition. Pupils from all the other classes came to visit and learn ‘How to make a lava lamp’, ‘The science of slime!’, ‘How to sink a marshmallow’, ‘How to create milky madness’, ‘What happens when u drop a mentos in a bottle of Coca Cola’, and ‘How to make invisible ink’ … to name but a few experiments. Our budding scientists explained the scientific thinking behind each experiment and now unanimously agree that Science really is lots of fun! Well done to all.