March 2017 Newsletter

Upcoming School Closings:

Closing:               Friday, April 7^th at 12 noon – Easter Holidays

Re-Opening:       Monday, April 24^th at 9.20 a.m.

Closed:                Monday, May 2^nd – Public Holiday

Closed:                Friday, June 2^nd – School Holiday

                             Monday, June 5^th – Public Holiday

Closing:              Tuesday, June 27^th at 12 noon – Summer Holidays

Full calendar for the school year 2017/18 to be included with Summer Newsletter.

Parents Association Fundraising Events:

A Coffee Morning, Bake Sale and Monster Raffle will be held on Tuesday, 4^th April from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. in the School Hall.  Money raised will fund Extra Curricular activities including workshops such as Lego Learnit, and Parental Talks.  We would appreciate if parents could bake items for sale and drop into the school on Tuesday morning. Pupils will also have an opportunity to buy baked items. Raffle tickets will be on sale through the school (see note sent home during the past week) as well as outside the school and in Supervalu on chosen dates.  Fabulous prizes to be won!  The Parents Association would like to take this opportunity to thank all the local prize sponsors for their generosity.  They also wish to thank Supervalu, in particular, for sponsoring the prizes for the children’s Art Competition.

“Please come along and support”

Sing Out Loud:

Congratulations to all our superstars in St. John’s N.S. – 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th classes who took part in the “Sing Out Loud Concert” in the INEC Killarney on Friday, March 10^th.  All our pupils performed magnificently and should be very proud.  A big thank you to all those who helped out with the organising and supervising especially to our schools Musical Director, Órnait Ní Loingsigh for all her hard work in preparing the children. Check out pictures from the event on our website and facebook page.

Traffic Management:

Many thanks once again to all those who co-operate with our set down and collection procedures, traffic warden signals and school bus clearways.

Unfortunately a number of parents are regularly using the staff car park as a set down and collection area. We are very concerned that parents using the staff car park may be the cause of a serious accident.

At this stage of the school year when pupils are well settled and are well acquainted with assembly procedures in the school yard in the morning, it is not necessary to remain with your child in the assembly area. Supervision is provided prior to collection by class teachers and therefore your co-operation in this regard will ensure a better free flow traffic system in our set down area.

Appointment System:

Please be reminded that an Appointment System is in place for parents who wish to meet with a teacher. This appointment must be made at the school office. All items to be delivered to pupils should also be done through the school office. Please keep delivery of items to pupils to a minimum so that classes are not interrupted on a regular basis.

Active Schools / School Activities:

As outlined on previous newsletters we are committed to providing as much physical activity as possible for pupils during the course of the school week.  So far this year we have provided tuition free of charge for the following activities: gymnastics, Irish dancing, Gaelic football, hurling, spike ball, skipping and cycle training.  Peggy Healy has recently commenced providing instrumental music tuition to all classes. 6^th class pupils will be receiving tuition in French and a Transition to Secondary School programme during final term. We have plans to provide basketball tuition during the final term. We will also be holding an Active Schools Week in mid May with the highlight being a Sports Day. Further details to follow.

Website / Facebook Page:

Please keep in touch with our website, www.stjohnskenmare.ie  and new Facebook page for updated photographs of school events and activities.  Many thanks to teacher, Roisín O’Sullivan, for all her hard work in maintaining both website and Facebook material.

Sacrament of Confirmation:

Thirty six girls and boys in 6^th class received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Wednesday, March 15^th in Holy Cross Church, Kenmare. The pupils took part in a four week parish programme called “You Shall Be My Witness” in conjunction with their classroom preparation.  Many thanks to the class teachers, Mr. James Devane and Mr. Ronan Hussey, for all their hard work in preparing the candidates. Huge thanks also to the School Choir made up of pupils from senior classes, Director, Ms. Órnait Ní Loingsigh and Organist, Ms. Peggy Healy for enhancing the ceremony with wonderful singing and music.

Sacrament of First Holy Communion:

Congratulations to the girls and boys in Second Class who received their First Confession on Tuesday, March 28^th. These pupils are now preparing for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion which will take place on Saturday, May 6^th at 10.30 a.m. in Holy Cross Church.

Sporting Fixtures:

Best of luck to the boys and girls Soccer teams who will be taking part in the FAI Schools Competition in Tralee in the coming days and also to the boys Mini Sevens team who are competing in the next round of their competition in Tralee on Monday, April 3^rd.  “Go neirí libh!”

Used Clothes Collection:

Used Clothes Collection will take place on Thursday, May 11^th.  Bags should be dropped in to school by Wednesday, May 10^th.  Time to do that Easter clear out!  Funds from bag collection are used to contribute to payment for transport to school events and matches. We appreciate all your support.

Le gach dea ghuí,

Denis Courtney

Principal.