St Lukes National School Newsletter June 2017
New school uniform
We will have a new school uniform and tracksuit
from September 2017. Children have up to three
years to switch. The new uniform is much cheaper
and you can buy it in stores such as Dunnes,
Aldi and Mr. Price. The school crest needs to be
attached to your jumper and can buy this in the
office from Kate. By Callum, Shadrac and Ruby. WELCOME to our annual school newsletter as
another successful year draws to a close at St Luke’s N.S.
A BIG THANK YOU to Pupils, Staff, Parents, The Board of
Management, The Parents’ Association, the Parish and
the wider community that have made the academic year
2016 – 2017 a huge success. Success can be measured
in many ways. When all the partners in education
are working together to provide the children with a
worthwhile and meaningful education success is likely. In so many ways St Luke’s N.S. has been successful this
year. Success has been achieved on the football field, on
the basketball court and on the athletics track – where
great credit is due to the pupils and the teachers who
give their time to train the children in these and all the
other activities. The generosity of the children and their
families in St Luke’s is second to none – not only in the
donation of money to Trócaire, for the Lenten campaign,
to the Dylan Finglas campaign, to Temple Street
Hospital, to the Breakfast club and the school’s needs
as well – but the generosity of time, care and concern
shown by so many people – especially the Parents’
Association in their dedication to the children in the
school. Thank you one and all. There is such a wonderful sense of community in
Tyrrelstown. We feel blessed and lucky to have the
support of our neighbours, our local businesses and our
local parish with Monsignor Thynne, Collette & Conor.
It is a privilege for us here in the school to have the
pleasure of educating your children. We feel lucky to be
a part of this warm and vibrant community every day. We
thank you for all of your support and kindness. Have a safe and enjoyable, relaxing Summer break. Is mise le meas Vivienne Bourke
Label Personal Belongings
We would like to remind parents to label their
children’s jumpers, jackets, hats, scarves, gloves
etc. If something goes missing or gets mixed up it
is easier to find if it has a name on it. All lost items
are left in the entrance area to the school. Please
check there if you are missing an item of clothing
Summer camp: Due to the
success of Easter camp St.
Luke’s will be running a
summer camp from the 3rd to
the 7th of July. The children
will take part in activities such as baking,
sports, art, games, lego and learning pads. It
will be lots of fun! If you would be interested in
putting your child’s name down you can fill out
the summer camp form available from Kate in
the office. Prices are €55 for one child, €80 for
two children and €105 for three children.
Please visit the noticeboard section of the school website www.stlukesns.ie to see more photographs from throughout the year.
Afterschool Clubs and Activities
Our School Garden
Lego Club began in March this year. Boys
and girls from First, Second and Third
class showed off their building skills on
Wednesdays after school. Ms. Butler and
Ms Geraghty marvelled at the children’s
creativity each week. They used teamworking
and problem solving skills during free builds
and challenges to build lots of cool and
imaginative structures. The children were
enthusiastic and enjoyed presenting their
lego creations to the group. They really are
master builders!
Here at St. Luke’s we are all really
proud of our new school garden. It all
began back in November when pupils
from Fifth and Sixth class braved
the cold to help build our very own
wattle fence, using willow rods. Of
course our Fourth class pupils knew
that no garden would be complete
without a scarecrow or three to
watch over the vegetables.
The garden was ready just in time for spring and
everyone was eager to get growing. Junior and Senior
Infants sowed mange tout and early onward peas.
First and Second classes sowed scallions, beetroot
and sweet pea. Third class sowed carrot seeds high
up in dustbins to keep the root flies away. Fourth and
Fifth class planted lots of seed potatoes while the
green fingered Sixth class opted for lettuce. Staff and
pupils alike have ensured that our vegetables have
had all the water they need. As we make our way
into school every morning, it’s wonderful to see our
vegetables growing and thriving. Soon our vegetables
will be ready to harvest and we cannot wait! We would like to commend Ms. Demetriou and our
caretaker John who put so much time and thought
into organising our beautiful garden. And a special
thanks to Kate, Ms. Butler, Fiona, Ann and Ms. Coffey
who worked hard as part of the garden committee.
Board Games Club
An afterschool board games
club was set up on Tuesdays
for students in classes first to
fourth. Children and teachers
had a great time playing
Uno, Connect 4, Guess Who, Jenga, Draughts and
Snakes and Ladders. Children learned new games,
played really well together and made lots of new
friends.
Ms Sturzel set up a knitting
club in the school for Fifth
class children this year.
The club took place each
Thursday after school. The
children really enjoyed
learning their new craft.
They have learned to cast
on, knit and cast off. Their
first project was a Christmas decoration. They also
made pompoms and mini hats. We thank Ms. Sturzel
for giving her free time and skills to the club which
the children enjoy so much.
Parents Association
The Parents Association has had an event filled year
and we would like to thank all the parents/guardians
for their donations. Their generosity allowed us to
provide all the children with fun activities during the
year. We hosted a Halloween disco in October and in
December arranged for Santa to come and visit.
Our Communion and Confirmation classes and their
families were all invited to join us for tea, cakes and
sandwiches after their masses. We were also able
to treat them to a present and a pizza disco to say
congratulations! Their teachers were not forgotten
either and received flowers to thank them for
preparing the children for these special sacraments. We also organised a fun day for our graduating
Sixth classes to wish them well in the next step of
their journey into Secondary school. Without the
involvement of parents we would not be in a position
to provide the activities for all our children. The Parents Association will be holding their AGM
in the new school year and we would encourage all
parents/ guardians to come along on the night, join
the committee and help our children make many
happy memories of their schooldays in St. Luke’s. You can keep up to date with all school acitvities
on the school website at www. stlukesns.ie,
contact the Parents Association by email to
stlukesparentsassociation@gmail.com and also keep
track of school notifications by liking our Parents
Association Facebook page. This year Ms. MacNally’s class made a road safety
video. A lot of time and effort went into it. It was a
lot of fun to make and everybody in the class had a
part to play. The video shows the steps of the safe
cross code. It is important to be safe on the road.
Check out their video in the noticeboard section of
the school website.
ART
Ms. Brennan’s Fourth class entered an Art Competition for the Festival
of Russian Culture Dublin. The children created an art piece based on the
fairytale ‘The Goldfish’. Isabella Pagallaman won the 2nd prize in the Pushkin
Art Competition. Isabella and 2 guests were invited to a Lord Mayor’s
reception in Mansion House on Thursday the 27th of April to attend the
award prize giving ceremony. The prizes were awarded by the Lord Mayor
and the Russian Ambassador. All pictures can be viewed at Swords Kids Club,
Unit 8, 60 Main Road, Applewood Village, Swords.
Green Schools
Cricket This year fourth class children participated in cricket training. The Sixth class played a
one day test match against Castaheany. The children did themselves and the school
proud on the day. This year the students of St
Luke’s worked hard to win
their second Green Schools
flag for energy conservation.
Each class was encouraged to save energy by
turning off lights when leaving a room, switching
off electricity at the socket and closing doors
behind them. We had a visit from a Green School
representative who was very impressed with all our
hard work and awarded us our second Green Schools
flag! A huge thank you to Ms. Hardiman, Ms. Doyle
and all the children on the Green schools committee.
This means so much to the school and is a huge
achievement for St. Luke’s. Well done to everyone
on this fantastic school wide event. FOOD DUDES: This year the whole school took part
in the Food Dudes programme. Food Dudes is a
programme designed to encourage children to eat
more fruit and vegetables both in school and at
home. It is based on positive role models (the Food
Dudes characters), repeated tasting of fruit and
vegetables and rewards. In large-scale studies the
programme has been shown to be effective and
results long-lasting across the primary age range,
regardless of gender, school size, geographic and
socio-economic factors. The programme in Ireland
received a “Counteracting obesity” award from the
World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2006. A special
thank you to Ms. Cullinan who organised this event
for the school. You can find out more about Food
Dudes at www.fooddudes.ie
Cycling
Jiu Jitsu The boys and girls from second to sixth class took
part in Jiu Jitsu classes which began in March 2017.
In these classes, the children learned about the
principle concepts of Jiu Jitsu and how it is used
as an effective form of self-defence. They learned
how and why to correctly warm-up and stretch
before and after exercise. They also acquired some
beginner Jiu Jitsu techniques. A big thank-you to
Mr. Mulroy and his coach, Patrick from Satori BJJ
academy for organizing and running these classes. In March the Fifth and
Sixth class children
learned about road safety
and cycling skills with the
Irish Centre for Cycling.
Mick Breen and his team
coached the children
on how to ride their bikes safely. The children got
plenty of practice on the bikes supplied by the
Irish Centre for Cycling and hopefully this initiative
will encourage more children to ride their bikes to
school. Intercultural Day Intercultural Day has become one of the biggest
events in the school calendar and this year was no
different. On 24th March St. Luke’s became a sea of
colour as the children sported clothing from their
native countries and had the opportunity to dance,
play drums, sing, partake in art and crafts, visit the
reptile hut and go on a fact finding hunt that lead
them all around the world! This was yet another
wonderful day at St. Luke’s. Thanks to Ms. Connolly
and the team.
Seachtain na Gaeilge
Collaboration with ITB
Sports Management Course
This year St. Luke’s has been collaborating with
the Institute of Technology in Blanchardstown. Val
Andrews, Senior lecturer at ITB from the Sports
Management Degree Programme brought 40 of
his students here every day to coach the children
on various sporting disciplines and games. Our
students are very lucky to have this chance to
be exposed to such a wide variety of sports and
coaches. We thank Val Andrews and all of his
students for coming to St. Luke’s and giving us this
wonderful opportunity to advance our sporting
skills.
Bhí am iontach ag gach duine i rith Seachtain na
Gaeilge. D’iMr.íomar cluichí greannmhar , rinnemar
tráth na gceist spéisiúil agus fiú bhí díolachán cácaí
an-bhlasta againn as Gaeilge! Bhí céilí ar fheabhas
againn agus tháining damhsóirí ó ranganna éagsúla
amach chun taispeántas álainn a chur ar siúl dúinn!
Is é na fírinne é ‘Ní neart go cur le chéile’ tar éis an
obair den scoth a chonaiceamar ó gach múinteoir, ó
gach páiste agus ó gach duine sa scoil. Míle buíochas
Ms. Connolly agus Ms. Ní Lorcáin as na himeachtaí a
eagrú. Táimid ag tnúth go mór le SNAG 2018!
Daniel and Andrew Roban represented St. Luke’s
in Kilkenny in the Leinster Schools Gala on Sunday
28th of May. Both boys performed spectacularly!
Daniel won a Bronze medal for his breaststroke.
Andrew also did very well with all personal bests.
He knocked 7 seconds off his front crawl! St.
Luke’s are very proud of the two boys!
Talent show winners Congratulations to our Sixth
class pupils Sarah & Allanah
who scooped second prize
t in the New Cross College
Talent Competition in
December.
St. Luke’s Saving Club
Children from First to Sixth class
can join the saving club that
is organised by Margaret and
Sarah from Community Credit
Union who visit the school every week to collect the
children’s savings. When you join, the Credit Union
will put €5 into your account to get you started and
give you a little gift.
You can only lodge money in the school. Withdrawals
can be made from their offices in Blanchardstown
Centre, Castleknock, Cabra
and the Navan road. We
have over 100 savers in the
school, so if you would like
start saving, watch out for
the information that will be
sent home in September.
Credit Union Quiz
In January, St. Luke’s teams entered the Blanchardstown Credit Union Quiz. Four teams
went to represent the school and they did us proud. Our thanks to all the children
who took part and to Mr. Neary and Ms. Connolly for their support on the night.
Congratulations to them all
Basketball
Parish News This year has been such
an exciting year for
Basketball in St. Luke’s. We began our basketball
year with league games,
where not only did the
children play basketball but they had to help the referees keep the
score and times too! The boys and girls then played their finals in
the National Basketball Arena where they fought tooth and nail for
every basket and even made new friends from other schools! There
were wins and losses but mainly lots of fun! After that the children
were invited to the opening of the wonderful National Indoor Arena.
The children were trained by Ireland’s FIBA coach Jason Kileen and
got to meet some of Ireland’s best basketball players. The children
played, shot and wowed all the invited guests, including Taoiseach
Enda Kenny with their energy and skills! Furthermore the children
represented St. Luke’s N.S in a 3V3 league for the first time ever!
As always they were up for the challenge and came back exhausted
but delighted at their hard work! We ended the year playing in the
Annual Dublin Primary Schools Basketball Tournament, where all
the boys and girls of St. Luke’s played their best and as always, were
fantastic representatives of the school! We look forward to next years basketball events and to all the new
players and old players to continue their great work. A special thank
you to Ms. Burke, Ms. Geraghty, Ms. Walsh and Ms. Ní Lorcain who
donated their free time to coach the children. Another school year has come to an end; a year where teamwork continues
to be the hallmark of St. Luke’s. The success and achievements of the past
year were possible due to the great partnership the school – the St. Luke’s
family – has with the wider community. What a privilege as a member of the parish team, with Colette and Conor, the Parish Pastoral Workers, to be
part of the St. Luke’s family. Looking back over the year of 2016/2017, I never fail to be amazed at the number
of activities that take place in addition to formal school life. There is literally something for every boy and
girl to participate in and enjoy. With such an array of activities, combined with caring and innovative teachers
as well as a kind and dedicated support staff, it is no surprise families are proud to send their children to St.
Luke’s. To the boys and girls who are moving on to second level education; may you be blessed with a bright
and healthy future, may your God given gifts and talents continue to develop and be valued and may you
always have a clear understanding of who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. My heartfelt thanks to all
in St. Luke’s NS for making another perfect year so memorable for all of us here in the parish of Mulhuddart,
Tyrrelstown and Hollystown.
Mgr. Eoin Thynne
This year Catholic Schools Week 2017 ran from the 29th January – 4th February with activities throughout
the week. The theme for the year was “Catholic Schools: Learning with Pope Francis to care for Our Common
Home. Wednesday 1st February was especially important as many Grandparents visited us in our classrooms to
celebrate Grandparents day and Ms. Connolly for all their hard work. The boys and girls put in a huge amount
of preparation and looked splendid on the day. Congratulations to all.
Football
FUNDRAISING
Carol Singing This year the children sang carols in Tyrrelstown
Shopping Centre for the breakfast club. Well done
to the choir, Ms. McGuane, Ms. Coffey & Ms. Murphy. Yard/Library fundraising Just before Easter Julia, Nancy and Mary from Ms.
Doyle’s Fourth class took it upon themselves to raise
money for the school. They knew we needed new
yard equipment and books for our library. They ran
their own art competition to raise much needed
funds for the school. They opened the competition
to all students from First to Sixth class. The prizes
were gel pens, homework passes and a few goodies
A big thank you to these three girls for their
wonderful efforts and a big congratulations to all
the children who took part in the competition. Temple Street/SavingDylan Fund Students in Mr. Lynch’s
class ran a Bake sale in
March for Temple Street
& The Dylan Finglas
Fund. Many thanks to the
students in Mr. Lynch’s
class for their initiative. Easter Raffle Many thanks Ms Browne who once again ran
an easter raffle with all funds going to school
resources. The boy’s football team is
made up of boys from Sixth
class. The boys started training
in February and have been
training every Monday after
school. This year the boys took part in the senior Pegasus cup football competition. They were narrowly
defeated in the last 16 knock out stages. The Sixth class boys and girls also took part in the Spar 5 a-side
football competitions held in Abbotstown and in Lucan. Such was the dedication and eagerness from the boys
to compete; we entered two teams into the competition this year. The girls narrowly missed out on qualifying
from the group stages. The children really enjoyed this competition and both teams can take great pride in
how they represented themselves and the school during the competitions
We are starting our journey to becoming an Active School.
We have announced the school representatives in each
class. We will be putting all the updates on the school
website in the Active School’s section, so keep an eye out
over the coming year to see all of our exciting activities!
If any boys or girls have new ideas be sure to tell Ms.
MacNally and Ms. Walsh. During the summer months,
encourage your child to be as active as possible so that we
can get our Active Flag next year.
Celebrating the Sacraments
GAA
Girls Fifth and Sixth class girls
started GAA training in September
this year. They participated in the
Cumann na mBunscoil league
and played really well in all their
matches. Fourth, Fifth and Sixth
class girls began their training in April and have been
working hard on improving their skills in training and
challenge matches. Ms. Brennan and Ms. Barrett are
so impressed by the huge numbers of girls who have
showed up for training.
Boys The Fifth and Sixth class boys in St. Luke’s began
training for their season soon after coming back to
school in September. Mr. Lynch, Mr. McKeown and Mr.
Molloy were in charge this year and large numbers
of boys trained and showed great dedication. The
team was entered into the Dublin 15 League as well
as the Cumann na mBunscoil competition. Games
were played on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and
the team was involved in lots of exciting matches.
The boys represented the school with fantastic
distinction, were encouraging to each other and
always had a never say die attitude. They can be
extremely proud of their efforts this year. A special
thank you to Mr. Lynch, Mr. McKeown and Mr. Molloy
for giving up their free time to coach the children this
year. Sam Maguire visit On Monday 5th December we
were thrilled to welcome the Sam Maguire Cup back
to St. Luke’s. The children will gathered in the hall for
the huge celebration of Dublin’s All Ireland football
win. It was great to see Sam again! First Holy Communion: On Saturday the 13th of May
the boys and girls from Ms. Hardiman’s, Ms. Butler’s
and Ms. Quinn’s classes celebrated their First Holy
Communion in Saint Luke the Evangelist Church.
They worked hard in preparation for the day, learning
lots of songs, readings, responses and prayers. The
day was a wonderful occasion and the children did
themselves proud. We would like to say thank you
to Monsignor Thynne along with Collette Kavanagh
and Conor McCann for all of their help and support
throughout the year. Thank you also to the wonderful
choir led by Ms. McGuine, Ms. Peterson, Ms. Murphy
and Ms. Coffee.
Ms Butler’s 2nd Class
Ms Hardiman’s 2nd Class Confirmation: Some of the pupils from
Sixth class received
the sacrament of
Confirmation on 11th
May in St. Luke’s Church.
The children put in a huge
amount of work preparing
for this sacrament
including completing a
workbook and attending
a prayerful retreat at
Emmaus on 25th April. On the day we had the
honour of a visit from
Archbishop Diarmuid
Martin who presided over
the ceremony making it
an extra special occasion
for the children, their
families, the school and
the parish. It was a wonderful occasion enhanced by
the beautiful singing of the school choir directed this
year by Ms. Deirdre McGuane, Ms. Clare Peterson,
Ms. Yvonne Murphy and Ms. Niamh Coffey. Our
sincere thanks to all involved especially Monsignor
Thynne, Conor McCann and Colette Kavanagh
from the parish council, the parents association for
providing refreshments afterwards and to the class
teachers Mr. Lynch and Ms. Connolly for all their
hard work. The boys and girls put in a huge amount
of preparation and looked splendid on the day.
Congratulations to all.
Ms Quinn’s 2nd Class
Cumann na mBunscoil Athletics, Santry
Ms. Demetriou, Ms. Geraghty and Ms. Butler, trained our athletics teams for
the Cumann na mBunscoil Athletics day in Santry this year. We participated
in both the field and track events. Our children trained very hard. We were
successful in the following events:
• Daniel Legaci- Bronze medal in the open age Shot-Putt
• Raphaella Uzoma- Bronze medal in the open age Shot-Putt
• Aaron Omoruyi- Bronze medal in the U11 Sprints
• Chloewine Makas- Bronze medal in the U10 Sprints
• Boys U11 Relay- Bronze media- Chinedum Dim, Fawaz Ayanyemi,
O’Brien Akpaka and Max Poituk.
The teachers were very proud of all the children on the day and were
delighted with the great effort and determination they competed with.
The children showed great sportsmanship. We were very fortunate with
the weather we had on both days and both the children and the teachers
enjoyed themselves tremendously. The children cannot wait to participate
in Santry again next year. We would like to thank the teachers involved who
gave their coaching skills and time on a voluntary basis.
Ms Connolly’s 6th Class
Photo credits: Cahill Photography
Mr. Lynch’s 6th Class
News from the Classrooms
Junior Infants
Junior Infants had a fantastic year! We did lots of
great activities starting in September when we had
a drumming lesson in the school hall. We attended
our first school disco for Halloween and dressed up
in costumes. We performed in our first school play
where all our friends and families came to see us and
Santa came to visit our classroom! In February we
attended our first Valentine’s disco! We celebrated St.
Patrick’s Day and Seactaine na Gaeilge. We dressed
up in green, white and orange clothes and danced in a
ceilí outside on yard! We also celebrated Intercultural
Day in March, where we got to play some drums and
bodhrans, participated in a flag hunt and tried some
foods from around the world. In May the farm came
to visit our school. We got to pet lots of animals! In
June we went on our first school tour to Newbridge
House. We got to see and feed lots of farm animals,
had a picnic and got to play in the huge playground.
We even got little puppets! We had a great year. Senior Infants Senior Infants, along
with their teachers Ms.
Coffey, Ms Jordan and Ms.
Peterson had a fun filled
and active year. In class, we
have been reading lots of
new stories; writing about
them and acting them out
through role play in Aistear. We visited the Botanic
Gardens in October where we met squirrels and had
a picnic in the pumpkin patch. We loved learning
all of the songs for our Christmas play and getting
to perform them for our families in December. On
Intercultural Day we tasted food from other countries
and learned some fun rhythms on the drums.
Students from ITB taught us some fun games in P.E
along with Larry teaching us GAA. The Wolly Wards
Petting Zoo came to visit us in April. We loved holding
the tiny chicks and baby rabbits. Our school tour this
year took us to Imaginosity where we played in the
shop, hospital, dress up area and got to be on TV
reading the news. It was a great day and year! First class First class had a great year this year with their
teachers Ms. Barrett, Ms. Walsh, and Ms. Demetriou.
We participated in lots of different activities such
as Tae Kwon do, hip hop dancing, Jiu Jitsiu, and not
forgetting Jabba Jabba Jemba drumming with David.
We had a brilliant Intercultural day celebrating all the
different cultures in our classes. We participated in
a flag hunt, a table quiz, as well as tasting different
types of food from all over the world. Each first class
pupil planted their own spring onion seeds in their
classrooms back in February before re-planting them
out in the school garden in April. Ms. Walsh’s class
participated in “Fighting Words” in January where the
children were encouraged to create their own stories
using a range of different writing techniques. This
year we also learned all about India. We learned all
about the different clothes that are worn in India, the
foods that are eaten, and about India’s native animals.
Wooly Ward’s Petting Zoo visited the school in April
and we got to hold lots of different farm animals
such as rabbits and chicks. We even got to see a pet
rat! We can’t wait to go on our school tour to the Zoo
on the 15th of June where we will see even more
animals. It has been a very busy and exciting year for
the children and their teachers. We hope you all have
a fantastic summer. Second class Second class had a very busy year. In October we
went on a trip to the Botanical Gardens in Glasnevin.
We visited in October and were lucky to see lots
of pumpkins in the Halloween harvest display. We
learned all about magical plants from our guides.
During the year we learned about different countries.
We studied China, Poland and Africa. We loved
creating traditional art from these countries. At the
Christmas concert the children performed songs such
as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Welcome and
Santa Claus is coming to town. Second class enjoyed
reading new novels this year like Diary of a Killer cat
and The Twits. We loved doing book reports and
writing activities based on the books. We went to Crystal Maze in Cavan on May 17th. We
had a great day in the sunshine carrying out the wide
variety of outdoor activities and challenges set by
the team leaders. We had a brilliant time completing
physical and mental challenges. Our teachers, Ms.
Butler, Ms. Hardiman and Ms. Quinn loved seeing us
work so well in our teams. Third class The children in Third class have had an exciting,
educational year. They really enjoyed learning about
the wonders of ancient Egypt, vicious vikings and
peaceful monks from long ago. They further explored
these topics on their trip to the National Archaeology
Museum. In December the children spent many hours
learning songs to sing to their adoring fans for the
Christmas Concert. This year were introduced to
new topics in maths such as multiplication, division
and area. The children had fun on their school tour
in Adventure Agency Wicklow. They participated
in archery, orienteering and survival camp. It has
been a very busy and thrilling year in Third class for
the children and their teachers, Ms. MacNally, Ms.
McHugh and Ms. Ní Lorcáin. Fourth class This year Fourth class went on a school trip to the
National Gallery of Ireland. We really enjoyed looking
at the paintings by the famous artists and learned
so much about the different art styles. We especially
loved the exhibition of portraits and chose our
favourite one. We had a lovely picnic in the sun in
Merrion Square Playground and spent some time
playing on the swings, slides and climbing frames.
When we returned to school we painted a piece
inspired by our visit to the gallery. Fourth class went on their school trip to Clara Lara
on Thursday 1st June. We had a wonderful day. We
loved playing in the water and we especially loved
going down the water slide. The highlight of the year
in Ms Phelan’s class was a construction project we
participated in throughout the year. Ms Brennan’s
fourth class participated in the Incredible Edibles
programme, as part of this programme we planted
and grew fruit, vegetables and herbs. They also made
a scarecrow called Billy Bob. Ms. Doyle’s classroom
had some new arrivals this year, five caterpillars! We
kept the caterpillars in our class until they developed
into cocoons and eventually developed into five
beautiful Painted Lady butterflies, we then released
them into the wild. Fifth class This year Fifth class got
to use the Learn Pads to
research projects and work
collaboratively. The Learn
Pads are a great way for
the children to be active
learners in their own work
while still having fun at the
same time. In October, the children visited a wind
farm in Edenderry, County Offaly. They learned
about the importance of renewable energy and how
wind farms are constructed. They also got a view
from the top of a wind turbine through 3D virtual
goggles. The children in Ms Kilcommins’ class created
Energy Superheroes and the characters monitored
the corridors to prevent energy wastage. This year
Fifth class studied various styles of art including
mosaic, print, pop art, portraits and researched
different artists including Monet, Dali and Matisse. At
Christmas, they went ice-skating in Blanchardstown.
They completed a 6 week cycling programme on
Road Safety with the Irish Centre for Cycling. Ms
Kilcommins class became entrepreneurs and set up
their own wholesale companies. They had a very
successful trade show where parents, teachers and
pupils were invited to attend and view the products.
In May, the class attended Roddy Doyle’s Fighting
Words workshop where they created and published
their own book. To complete the year, Fifth class
visited Clara Lara Adventure Park where they had to
test their bravery skills as they had to swim, slide and
dash through numerous obstacles. Mr. McKeown and
Ms Kilcommins are extremely proud of their classes
and the huge amount of effort and work that they
achieved this year! Sixth class Ms. Connolly and Mr. Lynch ensured that the Sixth
Class children put in an excellent years work in their
final year. The children have written a selection of
short stories and poems that will be published into
a book and we look forward to seeing the finished
product at the end of the year. The children went on a
variety of different school tours including Jump Zone,
enjoyed the Christmas cheer in the Blanchardstown
Ice Rink and reaching great heights on the climbing
rocks of Awesome Walls! They finished this special
year in Primary School on a very special trip to Clara
Lara. Mr. Lynch and Ms. Connolly are incredibly proud
of this Sixth class and would like to wish them every
success in their futures. Well done class of 2017.
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