December 2017 Newsletter

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December 2017 Newsletter

NEWSLETTER – December 2017

Upcoming School Closings:

Closing:  Friday, December 22nd for Christmas Holidays at

11.45 a.m. for Infant pupils and 12 noon for pupils from 1st to 6th Class.

Re-opening:  Monday, January 8th 2018 at 9.20 a.m.

Closed: Wednesday, February 7th for Teacher In-service – Primary Language Curriculum.

Closed:  Thursday, February 15th and Friday, February 16th – Mid-term break.

Carol Singing:

Please support Carol singers from St. John’s N.S. who will perform a medley of Christmas  favourites  on Thursday, December 21st in SuperValu, Kenmare from 1.15 p.m. – 2.30 p.m.  All proceeds collected will be donated to Cork Simon Community.  Carol singing entertainment will also be provided for Kenmare Community Hospital and Taobh Linn during the week prior to Christmas holidays.                     

M.S. Readathon:

Well done to all our pupils in 1st and 4th classes who took part in the recent M.S. Readathon. The final amount collected was €2239 and 10% of this is retained by the school and will go towards funding of class reading resources.

This was an exceptional amount in view of the present financial climate. Many thanks to all! Pupils who collected money will be receiving prizes in the near future and the school will also be entered for prizes in a nationwide draw. Many thanks to school co-ordinator, Louise Doyle, to everyone who contributed money and, of course, to the pupils for reading hundreds of books. This has its own benefits and we hope that the reading will continue into the future. We encourage you, your friends and relatives to give books as presents this Christmas.

Parents Association:

The Parents Association are currently distributing pupil designed Christmas Cards which they have organised throughout the school.  Well done on all the hard work to the committee.  The Parents Association have also organised for Santa to visit all our classrooms on Thursday, December 21st.  Proceeds of the cards will go towards our school sports jerseys which have recently been purchased by the school.

Christmas Performances:

Christmas Carol Services will be presented in Holy Cross Church, Kenmare for pupils from 3rd to 6th class on Wednesday, December 13th at 12.45 p.m. and on Wednesday, December 20th for pupils from Junior Infants to 2nd class at 12.45 p.m.  All are welcome to attend.

Please note Infant pupils will be collected from the school only following the performance in Holy Cross Church on December 20th.

Christmas Jumper Day:

Friday, December 15th is designated as Non-uniform Day when instead of uniform pupils can wear a Christmas Jumper, T-shirt or Christmas colours.  By wearing your festive wear to school you can help sick children in Our Lady’s’ Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, so please support this worthy cause by giving €2 to class teacher on December 15th.

Soccer Winners:

Well done to the girls from St. John’s N.S. who were overall winners of the Kerry FAI Soccer finals held in Killarney recently.  The winning team included Phoebe O’Shea, Kate O’Connor, Alison Murphy, Thien Doran, Klaudia Merchel, Paige Cronin, Alice Granville and Lauren O’Shea.  Well done girls!

Hard luck for the boys soccer team who were narrowly defeated by Gael Scoil Aogáin, Castleisland.  A very gallant effort from all.  Many thanks to Mr. Devane and John Granville from the local Soccer Club who helped coach the teams.

Erasmus+ Project:

On Friday, 24th November our Erasmus+ Committee, Rachel O’Sullivan, Elisha Murphy, Gerald O’Sullivan and Alex Moore got the opportunity to showcase our Erasmus+ Project at the Bank of Ireland enterprise night in Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine.  They made a presentation as well as getting the opportunity to sell some of their products at the event.  The response was phenomenal.  Thank you to all those who supported the project.

Pupils from 4th class also took part in a Bizz World Dragons Den workshop during the month of November and came up with some wonderful business ideas which they showcased at the enterprise night event.  Many thanks to the programme facilitator, Shane Enright and class teacher, Tadhg Morley for all their hard work.

Meanwhile, our German Team, Darragh O’Sullivan, Gemma Meyer, Sylvia Grebowiec and Gerald O’Sullivan did a remarkable job in representing our school overseas in Doberlug-Kirchhain, Germany.  They brought our products abroad and sold them at the Christmas Markets and presented the project to the local school.  They also met with teams from our partner countries, England, Greece, Spain, Poland and Germany and shared ideas about the Erasmus+ Programme while taking part in cultural activities. These involved participating in workshops which included baking and making Christmas decorations as well as visiting cultural sites including a Monastery and the Doberlug Castle.  It was a very successful as well as enjoyable trip!  Well done all!

On behalf of all the staff and pupils of St. John’s N.S. we would like to wish you a Happy, Holy and Peaceful Christmas and New Year.

Many thanks for your co-operation during 2017.                                      

Denis Courtney,

Principal & Staff.