Junior School
And so the Christmas season is here again! Time to relax and to enjoy the festivities of the season, and also time to take a moment to give thanks for all that we have shared in our first term of the academic year 2017/2018. We started last September with the excitement of new books, new classrooms, new faces and new beginnings. Our eager new Junior Infant pupils and somewhat anxious new Standard 6 pupils (along with some new pupils in the classes in between) were most welcome additions to our Junior School. It is always a pleasure to see how quickly their anxiety and nervousness turn to joy and familiarity as everyone is warmly welcomed into our school community. We also welcomed a new member of staff – Ms. Katie Maguire, who has been filling the Standard 6 classroom with energy, enthusiasm, learning and fun. It has been such a busy and productive term! Storm Ophelia stole our opportunity to hike up Sugarloaf on St. Gerard’s Day, but we celebrated Mass for our school feast day at half-term and we look forward to a sunny climb up Sugarloaf in the Summer term. The visit of students from Cheadle Hulme school in Manchester is always a wonderful occasion. Our young visitors were hosted by our Standard 6 pupils and they all enjoyed an action-packed weekend of hockey, rugby, friendship and fun. A high point of the term for me was the visit of Professor Kevin McGuigan who spoke to Std.s 5 and 6 about his ground-breaking and life-saving water purification system. The children listened spell-bound as Professor McGuigan described the conditions in which millions of children in the world live - without access to clean water. He then explained how a simple water purification system (and the science behind it) has improved everything from the children’s health to their school attendance. Prof. McGuigan then held a Question and Answer session with the children and afterwards he tweeted “The pupils in St. Gerard’s grilled me in an intense and incredibly insightful way...some of the best questions I’ve been asked anywhere, even at international conferences!” I was so proud of our young pupils and their palpable interest, care and concern. A core aim of our Catholic education in St. Gerard’s is to instil from a young age a sense of social awareness and a desire to make a difference in the world. And our young girls and boys have certainly made a real difference in myriad ways this term - each child in the Junior School placed a new toy under the Christmas tree which will bring happiness to many families in Bray this festive season; each class also brought in an
item of toiletries to place in “Dignity Packs” for the homeless and the Student Council packed each of the back-packs with care and with love; the Toy Stall, which was run by our fantastic Std. 6 pupils at the annual Bazaar, raised an incredible E2,500 for local charities; the Read-a-Thon raised E750 for MS Ireland; and our Student Council Raffle raised E1,000 for the Make A Wish Foundations. A huge thank you to one and all! The term ended with the Montessori Nativity and the Christmas plays which were, as always, simply magical; and our Carol Service on the last day of term was a most spiritual and moving occasion. Life in all its complexity is lived out in our school on a daily basis and I am constantly reminded of how lucky we are to be part of a caring, loving school community which supports us on life’s journey. A sincere word of thanks is due to the many people who make our school the special place that it is. Firstly, my thanks to all of the staff in the Junior School for their commitment, boundless energy, good cheer and for their caring ways. My thanks to you the parents for your encouragement and endless support, and for your kindness and generous co-operation with all school activities. And my special thanks go to all the girls and boys in our Junior School - for the joy they bring into all our lives. Finally, to work in a primary school at any time of year is wonderful, but to work here at Christmas time is truly magical! Although the days are dark and cold, even our most cynical selves cannot help but be moved by the children’s sheer excitement and sense of anticipation, by their delight in the giving and receiving of gifts and by their wonder and awe at the story of that first Christmas. And perhaps we all need to experience a little of that same childlike faith, hope and joy, and to rejoice again in the simple things in life - like spending family time together, remembering old friends, revisiting our Christian heritage and allowing ourselves to be renewed and re-energised by the magic of Christmas. May the peace of the Christ child be a special gift to each of your families this Christmas. Nollaig shona daoibh go léir
2017
~L i r o Montess
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So far this year the Montessori pupils have been having great fun. They performed a wonderful Ballet Display and the icing on the (Christmas!) cake was definitely the Nativity Play the children performed for their parents before the Christmas Holidays. Earlier in the year, each child planted bulbs which have now sprouted into lovely little plants. They have been learning about the six continents and have also created amazing works of art including a hibernating bear – and they learned all about hibernation in the process! Every year the children in Montessori go on a school trip to the Puppet Theatre and this year was no different. On the 8th December they headed off to see Beauty and the Beast. You could tell how much they loved the show and didn’t want it to end!
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St . Ge rard’s Junior School
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Montessori Nativity
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G sw ar D w y e r ~ & S audents min h te _M e s e t t s s o n t e t h a i t n ifth w ot wa I n e r n J o m a i n u c o h e g w ! n e i c d a o rf n g su ady a e r l a s e r u t n citriintgerasd.ve exw ynd They have b een so busy unt h _ b toring#tze ior n Ju ! in a g a s k throiDld ic ! his amazing has been up tos _hM tr r s e is y wterm p ra b G r ze t o e S g th b r e @ e Z en t re sc n to help thenmup to on Twitteeirrssstvriepryyfrcie e re g g n si U . l d o n s ely and e th e w te a b c i lo t e h to v y a tl t n h e h c e re e ir home lneearupdated on Zeb’s whereab w d we cannot everyo ning! Zeb p e e k poart itstto news rew o see what h e children complete their fir see eth’ll get up t o time and he was able to Our Junior Infant pupils have thoroughly enjoyed their first term of ‘big school’, making new friends and learning new things in the classroom. The boys and girls have come to realise that there is never a dull moment at St. Gerard’s! Our new Lego wall is a big hit with the students and has conjured up copious amounts of creativity. Colourful patterns, letters, shapes and minions are just some of the wonderful things to have been created on this vertical Lego surface!
#zeb_hunt Zeb the zebra has been up to his old tricks again! Junior Infants had to go on a Zeb Hunt recently to locate their stripy friend. Using green screen technology, the class produced fun news reports to keep everyone updated on Zeb’s whereabouts! Luckily, Zeb was found just in time and he was able to see the children complete their first little Zeb book!
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#zeb_adventures Junior Infants are becoming wonderful readers and writers. They have been so busy this term learning all the letter-sounds. Zeb has been monitoring this amazing progress very closely and he has even been going home with the students to help them with their home learning! Zeb has been on many exciting adventures already and we cannot wait to see what he’ll get up to next term! Check out what we have been up to on Twitter @StGs_MrDwyer!
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It has been a great year so far in Senior infants. We began back in September welcoming Freddie to our class and have recently had a new addition in Alvaro. Both boys are now simply part of the family.
Senior Infants ~ Ms. McCabe
We have sung songs about bees and skeletons. We have been working as artists. We have been out through the grounds as budding horticulturalists. Our Wellie Wednesday has become a must on a Wednesday afternoon. “It is always time to be kind” is a motto in our class. This was further highlighted as we learned about Mother Teresa. Our favourite story this year has to be Room on a Broom. We really had fun with that. Another favourite was The Owl Babies and the beautiful art that followed was a delight. In our class room we have all been striving to be the best we can be. There has been a lot of emphasis on teamwork and sharing our talents. The children have had great times with Julie in games, with Cathy in ball skills, with Mrs Olahan and Ms Carney in music and drama. We have even joined in the hunt for Zeb for Junior Infants. I think it is fair to say there is never a dull moment in our class. Although we missed out on St Gerard’s Day mass, we shared in a very meaningful service in our school church with Junior Infants.
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l a ys P s a m Christ The excitement before the Christmas play was just humming as brilliant parents beavered away putting together 130 costumes in the costume room and more brilliant parents painted the backdrop in preparation for the Christmas extravaganza. The delicious offerings this year were X Factor Christmas with Junior Infants, Senior Infants and Standard 1, while Std 2 and 3 stepped back into Dickens’ time with Scrooge. All through the week you could hear Wise Men rapping, Mr. Fezziwig singing, Angels laughing and any number of rehearsal sounds as Ms. Carney and Ms. Olohan worked their magic in the hall. The Matinee was a great success with the whole school cheering on our young actors. The parents were a brilliant audience and there was much laughter and huge applause on the day. Thanks to all our young performers for bringing us one of our favourite parts of Christmas once again. And so say all of us!
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Reporter
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Sadhbh McG
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1 d r a d Stan
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Standard 1 got off to a great start with the addition of three new friends to the group – Ewan, Mysha and William. They feel like old friends already!
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Along with new friends, there were new books, new activities and lots of new things to learn about. Getting a school journal for the first time caused great excitement. Playing together first thing in the morning is a lovely way to start our day – sharing, discussing, planning etc. The imagination has time to run riot. We had great fun on Tree Day with a walk around our beautiful grounds collecting conkers and acorns. During Science week we explored Insulation. This involved a presentation with Std 2 on animals and an experiment with ice trays. We made a trip to the school dining hall where Brien surprised us with Rice-Krispie bars – yum! The class started beginners hockey and rugby on Tuesday afternoons – most enjoyable. With storytelling mornings, the reada-thon, roald dahl day, biodiversity day, extra-curricular activities and the Christmas Play, it has been a very busy term!
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Standard 2 ~ Ms. Byrne
What a busy and fun filled term we have enjoyed in Std.2. The boys and girls are making great progress with their reading and just love their visits to our school library. This year my boys and girls were introduced to the Accelerated Reader programme and are busy borrowing books and taking reading quizzes. Our highlights were celebrating Roald Dahl Day, attending the fabulous storytelling sessions with Mr.Mansfiled and supporting MS Ireland in this year’s Read a Thon. Well done boys and girls! My class explored Report and Narrative writing this term and budding authors are rising to the surface. Don’t miss our talented poem of the week entries on our classroom door!
In October we ventured into the great outdoors to participate in a series of activities celebrating National Tree Week. We had a nature trail Tree hunt and a fun obstacle race to the finish line. Thanks to Ms.Flanagan for organising the brilliant activities. We had great fun! Our annual Green School’s Fashion Show was a superb success and the children outdid themselves with a stunning array of costumes, posters and accessories. They really are ‘Superheroes’! What superb artists I have! Our silhouette owls for Halloween, Van Gogh inspired ‘Sunflowers’, celebrity symmetry drawings and self portraits are just some of the skilful creations produced by my class this term. The children are enjoying their Grow in Love religion programme and in November they held their Enrolment service for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion in our beautiful school chapel. We look forward to working hard and
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playing hard in the New Year with projects, Sacraments, Write a Book and much more to enjoy! I want to thank my boys and girls for all their hard work, energy and enthusiasm. What a talented group of boys and girls you are! I would like to thank all the parents for your generosity and support this term and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and blessings in abundance for 2018!
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3 Standard
. F la ~ Ms
na gan
What a busy term we’ve had in Standard 3! The boys and girls made the big move seamlessly upstairs and are enjoying all the new experiences that being a senior brings. From hot lunches in the canteen to games after school and starting a new language - Bonjour!- Std 3 are thriving in their new surroundings! It most certainly has been a jam packed term with lots of wonderful highlights. We had a wonderful day in Glendalough with Std 4 to celebrate Tree Day. The boys and girls worked together in teams to complete a treasure trail around the stunning surrounds of Glendalough learning many interesting tree facts along the way. They also competed in pinecone and spoon races, stick puzzles and working out the height of a tree. What fun! We have started our cursive handwriting this term and the boys and girls have been putting time, effort and a lot of patience into their writing, producing beautiful work. Well done everyone! We had great fun celebrating Science Week! Std 3 teamed up with Std 4 to explore the impact of melting ice in the Polar Regions on sea levels. The results were very interesting! Our annual Biodiversity show was a great success and Std 3 put on a great display of wonderful outfits and projects all showcasing the biodiversity theme. Fantastic!
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The Student Council held their elections at the beginning of the year. The committee is made up of pupils from Standard 3 to Standard 6. This includes Caoimhe, Emily and Jack from Standard 3. Sam and Thea from Standard 4. Timothy, Harry and Amy-Kate from Standard 5. Leah, Charlie and Leon from Ms Maguire’s class. Ryan, Cian and Myself (Lily!) from Standard 6. During our first meeting we elected our Secretary, Treasurer and Chairperson. The Secretary is Leah, the Treasurer is Leon and the Chairperson is me!
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During this term the Student Council has been working extremely hard and we have accomplished a lot including a Christmas themed day and our Annual Christmas Raffle. The tickets for the Christmas Raffle went on sale on 8th of December and we raised an incredible â‚Ź1,070 which will go to the Make a Wish Foundation. With lots of excellent prizes on offer there was great excitement at assembly when the Raffle took place. The tuck shop will hopefully be up and running after Christmas and I think you should keep an eye on the canteen menu too!!
ffle a R as Christm
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n e e r G
s l o o sch
This year the Greenschool Committee has already achieved so much. We are continuously monitoring the classroom bins and carpooling every week. The very popular Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council recycled Christmas tree decoration Competition took place again this year – Congratulations to Isabelle Lynch who was our overall Junior School winner this year.
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Our Recycled e re Christmas T s Decoration St . Ge rard’s Junior School
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G r e e nsc h ool s The Biodiversity Superhero Day was a huge success as everyone put a lot of effort into the project – whether it was a poster, mask or costume. Maria Bisgood and Rayan Ali were the Std 6 winners. Their posters along with all the other fabulous entries can be seen on display around the school.
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earc s e r hedgerowly tbeoenpverroy bm m o r f , m r e t is syothte bio u in d i v eastiint e rr c d n a s d 4 have certa ie r t n u o c n on Europea w nretseinntSingtagndttahhredire4 pfroijencitss h e w , y a D e e r T ld r o ct in e W d e t a p r r b o le j e e c o t , r e b J a m n e t u p n e u S o r In a ! t s n r u e t h s e n e r t mo a e took part in . Gle ~ Ms
es o n
on y r e v e e r e u h s w a e h g m u o t w o h d Glendalo e r cove is d o ls a e w d n a s e d n a e c a r ’ n o o ifferent native tre p s d ne an o ‘c e h t e k li s ie it iv h t 4 d t S in n o g also lots of fun act in o aths g m d n a e c n ie c s f o b ’s s s la c r u o t n There’s been lots e s e r rep y ll a u is v o t h p a r g r el m e ic e h t w made a human ba o h e t estiga v in o t 3 d t S h it w e e h t g in t c u d n Std 4 teamed up o c g orkin w n u f h c u m o s s a will affect us. It w St an d artda4nt job this year of looking afte por im y r e v e av h t h e e v w a h S D R e Std 4 h t Std 4 have certainln in ir eenFveary busy this term, from re c y be ie c S y r a im r P e h se ar esenting their projects on ecr iv d io b e t o our project for t mpron m Eu ro o r pe p an co o un t tries and creatin ror,wto ce ebe g d e ste h erw s! In Se pt n em a r o f le g br Wor ldoTrje eecDtayin , wJeaw r Glendalough where evere finishateed p and researchin th yone took part in a tree hunt aroun g in t n e s e r p o t di ff d er r en a t native trees and we also discovered how to measu is looking forw Std 4 have certainly been very busy this term, from researching local landmarks in Wicklow to presenting their projects on European countries and creating amazing but terrifying clay monsters!
In September, to celebrate World Tree Day, we went on a fantastic day trip to Glendalough where everyone took part in a tree hunt around the lake learning about lots of different native trees and we also discovered how to measure how tall a tree is. There were also lots of fun activities like the ‘cone and spoon’ race and solving the stick puzzles!
Std 4 have the very important job this year of looking after our new school garden. As part of our project for the Primary Science Fair in the RDS we have been busy measuring, planning and researching for a new hedgerow to promote biodiversity in our school grounds. Everyone is looking forward to presenting the finished project in January!
also lots of fun activities likegoing theon‘cinon There’s been lots of science and maths Stde 4 this anterm. d spDuring oon’Maths race and s TherWeek e’s be we made a human graph to visually represent our class’s birthday en lo ts ofbar sc ie nc e an d mStdat3hs going on For Science Week Std 4 teamed up with to investigate how in the St ice d 4 this mademonths. a huinm melting thean North South Poles will affect us. It was so much fun conducting baand r gr ap h to vi sually represent our clas together! s’s bir Std 4theteexperiments amed up with Std 3 to investigate how the ice meltin will affect us. It was so m uch fun working conduc ting the exp Std 4 have the very impo rtant job this year of look ing after o our project for the Primar y Science Fair in the RDS we have b and researching for a ne w hedgerow to promote biodiversity is looking forward to pres enting the finished projec t in Januar
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~ 5 d r a Stand
Standard 5 has always been one of my favourite year groups to teach and when this was combined with a really delightful, hard working, good humoured class, we were off to a great start. There is one overriding principle that underlines our class and that is - we are a team. This team spirit is very evident in their classwork and sport and was particularly evident at a recent Cross Country event. Some ran their hearts out, the rest supported their hearts out. But special mention must be given to Mia McGonnell whose determination and athleticism gained her 6th place in a field of 100. This class takes pride in their work and are very innovative in presenting their knowledge. From archaeology to rocks,
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poetry to pottery, long division to hotly contested mental arithmetic quizzes, they always shine. Their assembly for St Gerard’s Day reflected the class’ sense of community and Christian values. A visit from Gillian Lynch, the school archivist, and Maureen Byrne, former matron, painted a wonderful picture of school life in St. Gerard’s and brought our history class alive. Our Robotics Competition will take place on February 3rd. So far we have built the field pieces for our games table, built and programmed our robots, and started practicing our challenges. We are identifying problems in the Human Water Cycle for our projects and working towards finding a solution.
M
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We are very lucky to have Kevin McGuigan, development aid researcher, John McQuerins from Rainsafe Water Treatment and Deputy Stephen Donnelly to act as our professional mentors. Synchronicity prevails as the Core Values that underlie this project fit well with the values we hold as a class. This has been a very exciting term and we are looking forward to the adventures and learning that lie ahead.
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Standard 6
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Ro d M s.
ger s
Our year in Std 6 so far has been funfilled and hectic. As a class we have done lots of projects. We learned all about the European Union and the countries in Europe. Each student picked the name of a country out of a hat and then we presented projects on that country. We learned interesting facts about many countries and it was a really fun project to make and present. We also learned about “Feasts and Festivals” all over the world. We each were paired up with a student from Ms. Maguire’s class and we joined up with our partner to create a project. We’re also reading one of our class novels “Goodnight Mr. Tom”. It’s about a young evacuee named Willie Beech from London who goes to live with an older, kind-hearted man named Tom Oakley in the countryside town of Little Weirworld. We’ve also done lots of Art. My favourite piece of art that we’ve made so far were the Christmas prints. This year in Std 6 has been really amazing and filled with learning.
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The Christmas Bazaar is one of the most important fundraising events of the school year. We have very fond memories of the Bazaar throughout the years but in Std 6 we really get to participate by running some of the stalls. This year the toy stall was a huge success due to the generosity of our school community. And due to popular demand, the In House Committee Christmas Wreath Service retuned for another successful year. The festive food was wonderful and by the end of the evening Std 6 had raised€@2,500 through the Toy Stall and the overall monies raised was @22,000 which will be donated to various local charities in the Bray area. Pag e 16
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This year started off with a bang by welcoming 26 new students to Std 6! Everyone is settling in well and we are all becoming very good friends. They are getting very good at rugby and hockey even though some of them have only been playing for three months!
Reporter
y
Leon Stanle
Standard 6
.M ~ Ms
a g u i re
Along with 26 students, we also had the pleasure of welcoming our new teacher Ms. Katie Maguire all the way from Limerick. Just like the students, Ms. Maguire has settled in to life in St. Gerard’s like a duck to water – it feels like she has been here for years already! From the curricular point of view sixth class has been an intense but fun learning experience. We have learnt so many new things and we are soon doing our Christmas exams. Maths has been one of our main focuses this year. We have been getting straight into Maths every morning and we do maths tests every Friday. We have also been working on a number of
projects this term. One of the most interesting was our project on Feasts and Festivals which we displayed outside our classroom and everyone, from students to teachers, enjoyed browsing through them everyday!
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e m l u Cheadle H
Following rotating annual tradition, it was the turn of St. Gerard’s Junior School to host Cheadle Hulme School this year. It was an exciting weekend for all of us. We had great fun on Friday evening at the Ceile in the school hall. It was a great opportunity to get to know our visiting guests. On Saturday morning the rugby kicked off at 9:30am with St. Gerard’s and Cheadle Hulme playing Willow. St. Gerard’s won their match 12-7 and Cheadle lost their
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AIJS Soccer Tournament
match 43-14. The girls were mixed with Cheadle Hulme and split into two teams for some team building before the cup game on Sunday. After lunch, most of the students went to the movies in Dundrum and at 5:00pm we all went to bray bowl and played either bowling, laser tag or arcade games. At 6:30pm we all went to the Wilton hotel where we had a buffet dinner which was kindly provided by the Sweeney family. On Sunday the boys’ rugby and girls’
We were really excited to be participating in the AIJS Soccer Tournament which took place on 7th October. We trained hard for the 2 weeks leading up to it and had really good fun in the process.
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hockey teams competed for the Shield and Cup. After a very exciting rugby match St. Gerard’s won the game with a final score of 17-5. The girls had a very challenging game of hockey and it finished 2-1 to St. Gerard’s. We were delighted to take back the cup and the shield to our school. After the match we went to the dining hall for lunch and heard lovely speeches from our rugby captain Cian Geraghty and our hockey captain Katelyn Glass. I would like to thank Dr. Farrell for presenting the trophies, our coaches and Julie for a wonderful weekend.
The boys and girls were separated into 2 teams each – blue and green. When the matches kicked off we worked really hard and gave it our best throughout. We played a couple of matches and in the end it was both green teams who got to the final with both teams coming out victorious. Captains Kate and Cian were very proud of their teams. After the final we were treated to orange juice and crisps. It was a fantastic day!
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Foley Ciaran
AIJS Cross Country In the AIJS Cross Country in Santry we had to run 1km across a course that had many ups and downs and steep hills. Standard 5 and 6 took part in this competition and a special mention goes to Mia McGonnell, Hugo Smyth, Amelie Moore and Ciaran Foley who put in a super effort in their races. Everyone who took part in the Cross Country got a t-shirt and we were all extremely proud of ourselves and our achievement. We were all winners on the day!
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What a busy term we had, filled with fun reading and writing events. We kicked the year off with a bang by celebrating Roald Dahl Day on September 13th. Sporting Dahl’s favourite colour, streams of yellow flooded the hall as the whole school joined together for a fun interactive Roald Dahl quiz before being treated by Mr Mansfield to a passage from Dahls, ‘Minpins’ much to the amusement of the children and staff! The boys and girls were then treated to a scrumdiddlyumptious chocolate bar. A big thank you to everyone for their participation in this year’s Read a Thon as once again the children were challenged to read 5 books and raise 5 euro. MS Ireland are greatly appreciative of our annual support. Thank you all! Book Club is up and running and over a breakfast of orange juice and croissants, we enjoyed our first meeting where we discussed ‘The Secrets of Grindlewood’ by local author and school visitor Jackie Burke. Our Christmas story, ‘The Polar Express’ is a firm favourite with the boys and girls and brought a festive feeling to our final meeting for 2017. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the reading notice board and for posters on the classroom doors upstairs for upcoming meetings! I look forward to many more great reading and writing events in the New Year from Write a Book competitions and World Book Week dress up days to author visits and Spelling Bees! I can’t wait! Wishing you all a fabulous Christmas with lots of books under the tree!
Roal d D a h l D a y
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One of the highlights every month is our visits from talented storyteller Mr William Mansfield who treats the boys and girls to an entertaining array of stories that make them laugh out loud! It is pure magic to witness the joy and awe that a simple story can bring to every child.
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Literacy Corner with Ms Byrne
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Christmas in the Junior School
Newsletter Team
Once again this year our Newsletter has been researched, written and designed by our wonderful Standard 6 Newsletter Team, working under the direction of our talented and tireless Stephanie! I congratulate each one of them for their energy, commitment and hard work… So well, well done ................ You should be really proud of this production and keep it in your “memory box” for years to come. I am proud of you too!”
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Wi t h T hanks
This photo montage gives just a taste of the hive of activity that is our Junior School on a daily basis and so a huge and sincere thank you goes to: Our Library Team. Our Gardening Team. Costume designers, back-drop creators and make-up artists for our School Productions. Our Tea and Coffee Makers on freezing hockey and rugby side-lines! Our dedicated Student Council and Green Schools Committee.Our amazing Maintenance Team and InHouse Committee who transform the Junior School into a Christmas wonderland. All of our staff, pupils and parents who help to make our Junior School such a special place!