St. Johns are delighted to have been awarded the Active Flag.  The Active Flag is awarded to schools who engage in a process of action planning and implementing projects in the school which encourage and develop physical activity in pupils and the school community.  The ASF is a non-competitive initiative which highlights the importance of physical activity and sport in school and communities in which they are based.  In order to be awarded the flag we must:

• Commit to a process of self-evaluation in terms of the PE programmes and physical opportunities that they offer.
• Plan and implement a series of changes that will enhance PE and extracurricular provision and promote physical activity.  

Along with the regular physical activity such as P.E classes, St Johns offers a wide range of extra physical activity throughout the school year.  Sports activities such as athletics, football, spikeball, soccer, basketball, Irish dancing, cycling and many more are run throughout the year. Pupils are encouraged to partake in physical activity during break times and internal competitions are run in a variety of activities. In the final school term the school will run an “Active School Week” during which we aim to show that physical activity is good for you but it is also fun and a great way to spend time with your friends.  St Johns also has strong links with a wide variety of local sporting community groups.  We also offer after school activities including Zumba for parents, Gymnastics, Kickboxing and Athletics.  The Parents Association are planning a fundraising walk in May.  We are on the road to fitness and health!

Here are some of our Activities that make us a Healthy School!

School Year 2018/2019

Celebrating Achievements

Well done to students from Kenmare Karate Club at the Best of the Best Invite Tournament in Dublin – Alexander Durmaj who won 1 silver and 1 bronze, Melissa Barry who won 2 gold and Gemma Meyer who won 2 silver.  Congratulations all!

Great excitement in St. John’s with the Kerry Minor Cup visit!  Thanks to Dan and James McCarthy for bringing in the Tommy Markham cup from their 5 in a row win this year!

Sports

Gymnastics is a fun and exciting way to do exercise.  All Classes get six weeks of Gymnastics training by professionals every year.  

Well done to St. John’s Boys who got to the Semi Final of the Cumann na mBunscoil 15 a side competition.  Although they didn’t win, they played their hearts out until the end and we are very proud of their performance.  Well done boys!

Notice Boards

School Year 2017/2018

Spikeball

Well done to our teams who took part in a Spikeball Tournament in St. Brendan’s College, Killarney today! Our mixed team qualified for Regional Finals on March 6th! Well done! The boy’s and girl’s teams got through to the finals but were beaten by a point. Hard Luck guys! Excellent teamwork overall! 😉👏

Munsters CRDM Winners

Some of our highly talented Winners from the CRDM Munster Championships Irish Dancing Feis in Killarney at the weekend! Well done all!! #DoingStJohnsProud 🎉😊🥇

Swimming Competition

Best of Luck to Anú Hayes from 5th Class who will be representing St. Johns in the All Ireland Swimming Competition in the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin on Sunday!  Anú will be taking part in the 50m Butterfly and the 100IM which is 25m laps of each stroke.  We are very proud of you here in St. Johns Anú!  Well done and Good Luck!

Active Flag Notice Boards

Kerry Minor Cup Visit

A big thank you to Donal O’Sullivan Down and Gearóid Fennessy from the All-Ireland Kerry Minor Team who completed a historic four in a row for taking the time out today to visit us.  They brought with them the Tommy Markham Cup which was a fantastic honour for us all.  The pupils and teachers were all delighted to be a part of the celebrations and the lads were great sports to stay around and sign quite a few jerseys!  Thanks also to Andy O’Sullivan and Joann Murphy who accompanied the lads on the visit.

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Irish Dancing Awards

At Assembly today, Mr. Courtney presented two students with Irish Dancing Awards on behalf of Bernie O’Sullivan School of Irish Dancing.  Bernie chose these two students because of their commitment and enthusiasm to the classes throughout the year and said that effort and attitude are the two most important talents.  Well done to Eva Lane from 3^rd Class and Óisín Hanley from 4^th Class!  Irish Dancing takes place for all classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays in St. Johns. 

School Year 2016/2017

Active Flag Ceremony

On Friday 16^th June, we held our Active School Flag Ceremony!  We were awarded the Active School Flag as part of a two year process for striving to achieve a physically educated and active school! 

We would like to say a special thank you to our special guests Tadhg Morley and Seán O’Sheá from the Kerry Senior Team and Amy Harrington and Aoife Crowley from the Kerry Ladies Under 14 Team for being in attendance at the ceremony.  Also, well done to our Active School Committee Darren Allman, Grace Foley, Gemmer Myer, Finn Murphy, Mark Foley and Adem Gul for their hard work all year.  Thanks to Danny Farkas for continuing the activities by holding Gymnastics in the hall all day and well done to all the students and teachers for making the school an active one and helping to achieve the flag! 

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There were some great days out at our many school tours this year. 

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As part of Active Schools and Green Schools Travel, children will walk to school some days!  #helptheenvironment

Playground Leaders

Our 6th Class teamed up with Junior Infants as part of our Active Schools Initiative to teach them traditional playground games.  The aim of Playground Leaders is to develop leadership skills and organisational skills in older children as well as increasing physical activity and positive social interaction for both older and younger children.  The children were taught ‘Stuck in the Mud’, ‘Duck, duck, goose’, ‘What time is it Mr. Wolf?’, ‘Penalties’ and ‘Tag’.  The Infants loved the games as well as the one to one interaction with the older children!  Well done 6th class!

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Basketball is ongoing in St. Johns at the moment with Coach Caroline Taylor.  Playing basketball helps children learn basic coordination and team-building skills.  It helps encourage exercise as well as serving as a foundation for staying active later in life.  Children aged 6 to 17 require at least one hour of moderate-intensity physical activity every day.  Learning basketball allows children to incorporate frequent physical activity into their daily routines and contributes to overall physical well-being and fitness.  A big thanks to Caroline for all her hard work! 

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Junior Infants had a real treat today when they went on their School Tour to Kennedy’s Pet Farm in Killarney!  We saw a range of pets from kittens and puppies to donkeys and pigs.  Our Tour Guide taught us a lot about the animals and we even got to pet them.  A very friendly bunch!  The playgrounds were also a lot of fun!  A great day was had by all! 

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As part of Active Schools Week which ran from May 8th to 12th, we did our best to be as active as possible for the week and held a Sports Day on Wednesday May 10th.  We were very lucky to have such good weather for the day and it was a great success!  The highlights of the day were the four fabulous bouncing castles which went down a real treat.  Other activities included egg and spoon races, sack races, a water station, hurdles, 3-legged race, obstacle course, parachute and penalties.  The teacher’s egg and spoon race as well as the backwards race was a lot of fun and there was even a 5-a-side soccer match – students against teachers!  To top the day off, Supervalu sponsored drinks and crisps for the whole school!  A lovely gesture!  A big thanks to the Transition Year Students from Pobalscoil as well as their teacher Máiréad Clifford for helping out for the day.  Also thanks to Gavin Crowley for taking the time out to take part, John O’Connor for the bouncing castles and to Supervalu for sponsoring the treats!  A great day was had by all! 

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Soccer team winners celebrating with fish and chips!

Boys 5-a-side

Congratulations to our boys who won the final of the FAI Schools 5 a side competition today and are now through to the Munster finals on Friday 12th May. Well done boys! 

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This April, we have been busy preparing for our Active Schools Week which we are running from May 8th to 12th.  We will also be having a Sports Day on Wednesday May 10th!  Pictures to follow… watch this space!

In other news, we have been busy with our Active Schools Running Initiative!  We are running from Kerry to Dublin… 352km!  We can do it.  All classes are taking part in the initiative and the class that has run the farthest will receive the Golden Boot Award for this year.  Our Active School Committee Student Representatives are in charge of keeping track!  This is a new initiative but we hope to keep it going every year!  #keepactive

We like to celebrate success and achievements in St. John’s and we are privileged to have three World Champion dancers among us after the Easter Break.  A big congratulations to Leon O’Sullivan who won the Under 16’s CRDM World Championships in Drogheda, County Louth and to Leona Delaney and Laura Wiley who came 1st and 2nd respectively in the Under 9’s World Championships.  Well done to all other contestants and a big well done to their teacher Bernie O’Sullivan from Bernie O’Sullivan School of Irish Dancing in Kenmare who guided them to these amazing results!  A very talented bunch!

A double whammy – while trying to take care of our Environment this Spring, we teamed up with our Green Schools Programme and decided to get the school involved in the local Spring clean up of Kenmare town.  Many hands make light work as they say and we got to make our town nice and clean while getting some exercise in, in the process! 

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Our Hurling Team taking on local team Cahir in a Match on 25th April.

Our 7 a side girls team.

Our School Slogan competition was held and here is our winning Motto!

In St. John’s, we are all active!  That’s what make us so fantastic! 

Cycle training for 3rd Class began in March with thanks to Mickey Ned O’Sullivan and the Ring of Beara Committee’s generosity with funding.  The children learned vital skills for cycling and had a lot of fun in the process!

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We are very fortunate to have Darina O’Shea for Yoga and Mindfulness for the older classes as part of our Health Promoting Schools and Active Flag Initiative!  Darina is a certified MBSR teacher with the Institute of Mindfulness-Based Approaches. 

Yoga increases flexibility and strength, curing, relieving and preventing injuries, aches, pains and stiffness.  It is also a mental science – fitness for the mind.  Mindfulness is learning to direct our attention to our experience as it unfolds, with kindness and acceptance.  It trains us to explore and respond to whatever is happening at present.  It relieves stress and anxiety.  Yoga and Mindfulness lead to a greater understanding of the body and mind empowering us to connect to peace of mind and inner freedom. 

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Operation Transformation 10@10

As part of our Active School Flag initiative, we have teamed up with Operation Transformation to promote physical activity in St. Johns! 

On Friday 10^th February, we took part in the 10@10 challenge where all classes did a range of exercises for 10 minutes.  We have been practicing over the past few weeks which have made our mornings very fun and exciting! 

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Skipping Workshops with Mark McCabe

We were very fortunate to have Mark McCabe from Skip ‘N’ Rope visit us in February for some skipping workshops!  Mark has visited over 550 schools in Ireland and showed us some very unique skills.  The pupils learned a host of footwork skills, beginner to intermediate skipping tricks, long rope games and partner skipping. 

Skipping is a terrific form of exercise that can help a child’s agility, balance, hand-eye co-ordination and increases speed through footwork.  It teaches children about rhythm as well as team skills and encourages them to have confidence in their sporting ability.  It is a great way to keep fit and maintain good health as well as being lots of fun. 

We all enjoyed the skipping workshops and especially the demonstration afterwards where pupils showed off their skipping skills to the classes.  The entire experience was energetic, informative and most of all fun!  Thanks Mark!

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Our New Year has been very active so far!  Our Active Committee have been busy with our Active Notice Boards!

Bernie O’Sullivan from Bernie O’Sullivan School of Irish Dancing began Irish Dancing Classes which all classes are enjoying!

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And we went on a Community Walk where we saw different Community businesses like the Hospital, the Fire Station, Supervalu, The Medical Centre, Lidl and Aldi.  We have a very exciting town! 

We also enjoyed being active in the snow!

Gymnastics finished for the time being to make way for Irish Dancing but will still continue as an After School Activity! 

And finally, our Active Team were hard at work thinking of ideas!

Overall a very eventful January!

December 2016

Friday 9^th of December was a very exciting day in St. Johns when we had a visit from four Kerry Minor players and the Minor Cups!  Seán O’Sheá, Kerry Minor football captain and Kerry Minor hurlers Christopher Creedon, Gearóid Fennessy and Michéal McCarthy were accompanied by Andy O’Sullivan, Chairperson of Kenmare Shamrocks.  They brought with them the Tommy Markham All Ireland Football Cup, the Peadar O’Liathain All Ireland Minor B Cup and the Kerry Coiste na nÓg Club of the year.  We were delighted to hear all about the wins and hope we will have a few pupils joining them in a few years!  It is great to hear of local success in the community!

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November 2016

Our Active Team is set up and we are busy getting fit and active with many sports available in our school.  Our Team Members Include:

• Coordinators: James Devane and Róisín O’Sullivan
• Teacher Representatives: Mona O’Donoghue and Ronan Hussey
• Parent Representative: Nora Crowley
• Student Reps: Darren Allman 6^th, Adam Gol 6^th, Grace Foley 5^th, Gemma Myer 5^th, Finn Murphy 4^th and Mark O’Regan 4^th. 

We are very lucky to have Vince Cooper teaching GAA Football Skills this term.  We are delighted to have his expertise and skills on hand for the children and they are picking up great tips from him! 

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5^th Class getting fit and active in P.E.

2^nd Class practising Ball-Handling Skills

5^th Class Ball-Handling Skills

4^th Class went for a lovely walk in Direen Gardens

October 2016

Gymnastics is taking place this term in St. Johns with Danny as we have decided to choose this strand to focus on for our Active School Flag.  Danny and his team make Gymnastics great fun while teaching vital skills to the children as well as safety techniques to avoid injury. 

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We were even thinking about our Active School Flag at Halloween when the children got all dressed up but wouldn’t miss an opportunity to be active in the school yard!  With witches, ghosts and skeletons, there were some spooktacular games taking place outside!

September 2016

St. Johns are currently working on obtaining the Active Flag.  The Active Flag is awarded to schools who engage in a process of action planning and implementing projects in the school which encourage and develop physical activity in pupils and the school community.  The ASF is a non-competitive initiative which highlights the importance of physical activity and sport in school and communities in which they are based.  In order to be awarded the flag we must:

• Commit to a process of self-evaluation in terms of the PE programmes and physical opportunities that they offer.
• Plan and implement a series of changes that will enhance PE and extracurricular provision and promote physical activity.  

Along with the regular physical activity such as P.E classes, St Johns offers a wide range of extra physical activity throughout the school year.  Sports activities such as athletics, football, spikeball, soccer, basketball, Irish dancing, cycling and many more are run throughout the year. Pupils are encouraged to partake in physical activity during break times and internal competitions are run in a variety of activities. In the final school term the school will run an “Active School Week” during which we aim to show that physical activity is good for you but it is also fun and a great way to spend time with your friends.  St Johns also has strong links with a wide variety of local sporting community groups.  We also offer after school activities including Zumba for parents, Gymnastics, Kickboxing and Athletics.  The Parents Association are planning a fundraising walk in May.  We are on the road to fitness and health!