Well done to the senior school girls who participated in U13 football blitz in Drombane on Wednesday 5th of October. They put up a great fight in all four games and showed great spirit and teamwork. A credit to themselves and the school. Congratulations also to our U11 boys and girls teams who also participated in blitzes during the month of October. In both of the U11 blitzes, the final match of the day decided who the winners of the blitz were. Unfortunately for Scoil Naomh Cualan, we did not progress to the next round in either competition. Saying that,both the boys and girls showed great skill and teamwork in all their games.
A very tasty savory dish was cooked by the children in fourth class during the first week of October. The children got the opportunity to cook pasta bake. They were delighted with their end product and all agreed it was a delicious meal. Fourth also got to bake Halloween themed cupcakes on the week before mid-term break.They showed fantastic creativity when decorating their buns.
On Friday 14th September we hosted our Charity Breakfast Morning. This has become one of the highlights of the year for all pupils and this year was no different! Every child in the school shared a tasty breakfast in the company of their friends. This year all money raised went to a very worthwhile cause.The money is going to Gina Heraty, a Mayo woman who is doing phenomenal work with the poor, orphaned and disabled in Haiti. The devastation that Hurricane Matthew has caused in Haiti has been horrendous. We come from a community with a very proud tradition of missionary work and consider it a very important part of children’s education to continue this tradition of sharing with those in need among our future generation. We thank all children and parents for their very generous donations. We also sincerely thank in particular three of our main sponsors Stapleton’s Bakery, Thurles Milk and Marie and Sean Shanahan. Their generosity is much appreciated. Thanks also to Brian O’ Farrell for the beautiful hot food which he provided on the day. We have raised 811.17 for this cause.
Our older Green School Committee members have been very busy planting in our newly painted tyres. A huge thanks to the boys and girls in fifth and sixth class who helped make our school garden a lot prettier.
Maths Week told place on the week of the 17th of October. A pictogram of birthdays is on display in the school hall.The project had many positive results last year including fostering links between junior and senior children who share the same birth month and assisting younger children in awareness of time/ seasons/ date of birth etc. The compilation of a pictogram of birthdays was a very special Maths Week project and we thank Mrs. Slattery and her class for their work on this. All classes have been busy during Maths Week doing fun Maths activities eg. Maths trails, games etc.
This year, we are again doing a School Calendar as any people have commented during the year that the calendar brightened every month of the year and that they looked forward to each new picture which underlines what a great Christmas present it was for many families and friends. The theme for each month will focus on a different school subject. Jim Whelehan, school photographer, came to take the photographs on Monday, October 17th.
Our School Sale of Work took place on Thursday, October 27th in the school hall and was a tremendous success thanks to the Parents’ Council and all our sponsors. A big thanks also to the sixth class children who sold tickets in the lead up to the day. We are sincerely grateful to all the parents who supported us in any way for this years Sale of Work. We managed to raise over 1,400 euro in total.
Children in the older classes really enjoyed pumpkin carving before the Halloween break. They came up with fantastic designs for their pumpkins.
Scoil Naomh Cualán was a really scary place the day of the Halloween holidays. Children dressed up in their Halloween costumes. We had ghosts, vampires, witches and pumpkins (to name but a few). All children from juniors to sixth had great fun on their last day in school playing traditional Halloween games, doing art and crafts, having parties, making toffee apples etc.
We held a Used-Clothing Collection on Wednesday, October 26th. This year we have managed to make over 600 euro for the school. A sincere thanks to all the people in our parish that donated unwanted items.
On Wednesday, 19th of October all children from third to sixth class travelled to Our Lady’s Secondary School in Templemore to see their production of Les Miserables. The show promised to be an extravaganza of fantastic music and choreography and it achieved that and more! Congratulations to all the wonderful singers, musicians, actors, actresses and team involved in this production. Well done to Shane Maher and Hope Bergin who won prizes in the Art competition. Congratulations also to Rhona Lyons, Anna Harkin, Razuk Atik, Aisling Boyle and Evan Ryan who were the winners of the book report competition. Alesha Fanning and Darragh Chute were the raffle winners on the day. All children had a very enjoyable day at the show.
We regret to inform you that we have experienced some anti-social behaviour in the vicinity of the senior school recently. The Gardaí have been informed and are monitoring the situation closely. We ask parents and families to keep an eye out for any such activity if passing the school outside of school hours and to report any suspicious activity to the Gardaí or to a staff member.
A huge thanks to Antoinette and Laura from St. Joseph’s College, Borrisoleigh who came to the school on Tuesday, 25th October 2016 to talk about their very original idea to help save our oceans and its marine life from plastic life. We wish the girls all the very best in Belgium in December when they will be presenting their project at a European level.
Finally, and most importantly, Road Safety remains a top priority for us. We thank parents and childminders for keeping the ‘Bus’ area clear and ask all to remain constantly vigilant when driving past, dropping off or collecting children from school. Please remind your children of the importance of Road Safety on a regular basis. We would encourage pupils from the senior school to use the safety walkway which should give parents an opportunity to collect and drop off children over a larger area and reduce traffic build-up at busy times. We also request parents/ childminders not to park outside the gate of the senior school as it creates a serious hazard for children or pedestrians who need to cross the road. We are grateful for your co-operation with these matters in the interests of your child’s safety.