Latest News - Page 8 of 34 - Scoil Mhuire National School

Introducing John Spillane; musician, songwriter, performer, recording artist, storyteller, poet and dreamer! Scoil Mhuire NS were honoured and very fortunate that John visited our school last week and entertained us for well over an hour. In the relaxed and intimate setting of Fr. Hurley Hall, John sang many songs from his album “Irish Songs we learned at School”. He was ably accompanied throughout by our pupils from Junior Infants to 6th class along with many parents who came along to enjoy the event. Classics such as Baidin Fheilimi, Oro se do Bheatha Abhaile, Seamusin, An Poc ar Buile and many more were blasted out in between colourful and entertaining anecdotes from the dreamer and poet himself. Many thanks to Ms. Pauline O’Sullivan for organising the event and also to all the class teachers for helping the children learn the songs prior to John’s arrival.

5^th and 6^th class Confirmation pupils took part in the Team Hope Ireland Confirming Hope appeal this year. Team Hope is a charity organisation who helps poor children in third world countries who cannot get an education. The Confirming Hope project focuses on the country of Malawi and the need for education to break the cycle of poverty.

5^th and 6^th class pupils learned about life in Malawi, Team Hope Ireland and how they can make a difference. The pupils made a donation of €220 from their confirmation money to the Confirming Hope project which provides school packs to students in Malawi, Africa. Only for these school packs many children in Africa cannot go to school or receive an education. These packs included a school bag, copybooks, pens, pencils, ruler and erasers.

It is so wonderful to see young people taking action to help other young people across the world. It means so much to those on the receiving end.

A huge thank you boys and girls for your generous donations!

“Teach the kids,” they said! “It’ll be fun,” they said!!

Many thanks to our local friendly fire fighters who were popular and informative visitirs to our Junior and Senior Infants last Friday. The welcome visit marked the end of a week long period of learning all about the emergency fire services. During this time elaborate fire stations had been designed and created out of Lego, buildings and fire trucks were explored, play dough was used to create fire hoses and hats, fire engines were created out of shoe boxes, and role play was utilised to recreate real life interations at a fire station. Well done all!

Fun and sun were in the air yesterday morning for our annual Parents’ Association Fun Run and what a success it was too! The event which was once again very kindly sponsored by the Little Way Charity Shop in Schull (€500), attracted in excess of 100 participants who donned their running shoes and strode it out along Colla Road on a beautiful Spring morning.  Special mention to SCC for the use of their facilities and all those who volunteered their time in helping out with the event. Finally and most importantly, heartiest congratulations to all those who walked, jogged or ran the route.

Note; Friday this week is the final day to bring in sponsorship money for the event and thanks so much for the very generous donations received thus far!

It’s been a busy week at Scoil Mhuire NS with lots going on. Congratulations firstly to our Confirmation class of 2018 (5th and 6th class) who were confirmed on Tuesday by Bishop Noel O’Regan. It was a special day in our community and many thanks to Bishop O’Regan and to Fr. Alan, but in particular to Mr. O’Callaghan for all the fantastic work and guidance he gave to the children in preparing them for the sacrament. Also thanks to the parents who helped out with baking and refreshments in the parish hall directly after the Confirmation. It was very much appreciated and it helped in making it a special day for all involved.

On Thursday some of our senior classes had the privilage of calling into our local bookshop Anna B’s to listen to renowned author Elizabeth Rose Murray. It was a rare but beneficial opportunity to meet and chat with a proven author and ask those questions which might one day help some of our students become authors themselves! Thanks to Elizabeth and Anna B’s for the invite!

On Thursday and Friday Brigid Hartnett, community Garda from Bantry Garda station accepted our invitation to visit us at Scoil Mhuire NS where she gave a fantastically informative chat to our pupils about understanding the internet environment and its potential dangers. In this digital age, empowering your child to remain safe online is imperative and the setting of clear boundaries as well as parental involvement, right until they have the maturity to go it alone, is crucial. Brigid is very experienced, knowlegeable and skilled in this area. She spoke with all classes adapting her material accordingly and she will return after Easter on Wednesday April 11th when she will give a parent advice night. This will begin at 8pm in Fr. Hurley Hall and we ask and encourage all parents of the school, particularly parents of 5th and 6th classes to attend and gain some valuable information which will help you become more aware of how to ensure your child is safe online.

On Thursday Scoil Mhuire NS played host to somewhat of a mobile farm when Tomás and Marian Lannin kindly brought two young calves on a visit to the school. Junior and Senior Infants got to see and even pet the young animals. Some of the children took the visitors in their stride but for others it was a real ‘mooo’ving and fun experience!

This past week also marked Seachtain na Gaeilge, a celebration of the Irish language and culture. All classes learnt the song ‘Cé a chlúdaigh mé le Gaineamh?’ and we performed it together in Fr. Hurley Hall on Friday. As you will notice from the photos we also had a Lá Glas or Green Day where children dressed up in green and Irish colours for St. Patrick’s Day! Our 4th, 5th and 6th classes also took part in a ‘Trá na gCeist’.