NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2024
Term 2 Newsletter- February 2024
Happy New Year to all our families and welcome to Term 2 in Kiltallagh! We had a very busy and enjoyable Term 1 and we look forward to more of the same in the months ahead.
Kindness Café/Tír na nÓg Fundraiser:
What a wonderful way to end Term 1 with a surprise visit from Louise Quill of the Tír na nÓg Childrens Foundation. We were overjoyed to present €571.81- the proceeds from our Kindness Café which we ran in our school prior to Christmas. Louise told us exactly how she planned to spend this money - to buy some much needed toys for the children in the orphanages there. On February 1st, Louise sent us some lovely photos and a video of the children playing with all the fabulous toys she had purchased for them from the proceeds of our Kindness Café.
If you would like to contribute to this amazing organisation….you can do so via their website on tirnanogchildrensfoundation.com. For just €25 a month, you can sponsor a child and help change their life forever .
Fundraising:
Sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of our Christmas Cookery Fundraiser in November. A total €3,343.81 was raised! A special mention to parents Cynthia Flynn-Chairperson of the Parents Association and Beauty for their incredible work in co ordinating the fundraiser. The money raised will go towards subsidising many of the educational trips and activities that the children will enjoy throughout the year as well as funding our weekly Artist in Residence, Cathy Giles and our specialist PE teacher, Amy Foley. Many thanks for all your support.
Congratulations:
Comhghairdeas to our Artist in Residence Cathy Giles on her substitute appointment in Killorglin Community College. We are delighted to inform you that Cathy will still be in a position to continue to provide Art lessons to the children in Kiltallagh every Friday.
Amber Flag/Friendship February:
As part of our continued work in conjunction with our Amber Flag Initiative, we here in Kiltallagh are very much looking forward to supporting the work of Special Olympics Ireland by making an extra effort to celebrate the importance of friendship this February.
Some of our best friends are made playing sports in the schoolyard, or training at your local club. This could not be truer for the athletes of Special Olympics Ireland. Ask any Special Olympics athlete why they enjoy being part of the Special Olympics family and the answer will always include “making new friends”. We are encouraging everyone in our school to focus on small steps to try to boost happiness - for themselves and others around them - to spread kindness and hopefully inspire others to do the same. Happier-Kinder-together!
At the end of Friendship February, we hope to proudly raise our Amber Flag awarded to us by the Pieta Amber Team for promoting Positive Mental Health in our communities.
A Date For Your Diary:
Following the overwhelming success of our Easter and Christmas Cookery Demonstrations with chef Andrew Foley last year, what better way to prepare for the summer season than to enjoy a wonderful BBQ masterclass with him on Thursday May 16th in Killorglin Golf Club. Please Save The Date!
MEP Visit:
For the academic year 2023/2024, we here in Kiltallagh have embarked on the Blue Star Programme. What is the idea behind the Blue Star Programme you may ask? The idea is simple: to foster a better understanding and knowledge of Europe and how it affects the lives of Irish citizens. This is done in a curriculum-friendly manner through creative activities and projects which complement the national primary curriculum.
As part of our Blue Star Programme research , we have invited Mr Seán Kelly, MEP for Ireland South, to visit our school on Friday March 8th , to speak to us about all the wonderful work he is doing in the European Parliament.
Over the last number of years, Seán has worked in the European Parliament to put in place the policies that will move us here in Ireland towards a low-carbon economy, in line with the EU’s law to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Seán’s main priority this year is the ‘Just Transition to a Low Carbon Economy’
Since the first year of the Programme in 2011-2012, the Blue Star Programme has had just over 1,000 primary school registrations across the country, as the Programme grows from strength to strength!
Enrolments 2024/2025:
We are delighted to announce that we will be welcoming five new junior infants for the coming academic year-2024/2025. Should you know of anyone who may have a child commencing school, you might perhaps let them know all about our wonderful school here in Kiltallagh. As you know- positive word of mouth is a fantastic way to promote our school.
Clothing Collection:
Míle buíochas to all for your wonderful support of our Term 1 Clothing Collection which raised €160. This money will be used to subsidise the bus to our next outing to Crag Cave on February 23rd 2024 .
- Our next clothing collection will be in Term 3, on Thursday May 9th
School Absences:
We request that in the event of an absence, parents message the school with a reason that their child/children is/are unable to attend. This will be recorded on our Aladdin system. If a student is absent for more than 20 days, the school is obliged to make a report to TESS-Tusla Education Support Services. In the event of such a report, it is essential that each absence can be accounted for.
Term 3 Activities:
- Swimming lessons commencing on April 12th 2024
- Scholastic Book Fair: April 18th 2024 - Parents are invited into our school between 1.30 and 2.30 to browse through the extensive array of books with their child/children and purchase if they wish.
- Our trip on Tuesday May 21st, to the University of Limerick for our Science Blast Exhibition
- Annual Sports Day (co-ordinated by our PE Teacher Amy Foley) in collaboration with Ballyfinnane N.S. June 11th 2024 (weather dependant) at Milltown/Castlemaine GAA Pitch
- Infant Happy Hour-Thursday June 13th 2024
- End of Year Service on Tuesday June 18th at 11 a.m.
- Our School Tour on June 25th 2024 to Ballyhass Lakes Activity Centre, Coachford
Further definitive details to follow on all the above events.
Swimming: TERM 3:
We will commence swimming lessons in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre on April 12th. The dates for swimming are as follows:
Friday April 12th, 19th,26th, May 3rd and May 10th 2024. The cost will be €50 in total - €10 per lesson per pupil.
***We would appreciate if this €50 could be paid for in advance by electronic payment using your unique family identity code and the reference term ‘SWIM’
Curious Minds Gold Award:
Pupils and staff in Kiltallagh are now fully immersed in all the elements associated with our Curious Minds Gold Award application.
To consolidate our work so far and satisfy our ever Curious Minds, in the coming weeks we will participate in a series of Computer Programming classes - Lego WeDo and Blue Bots- with Miss Corcoran and Miss Cronin. We will be using resources kindly loaned to us from Tralee Education Centre.
We will also participate in an engineering workshop by Mirka Dowling from Young Engineers Kerry and finally we will also engage with Catherine Daly from Heritage Ireland in two workshops on Mini Beasts and Irish Wildlife. All of this will surely satisfy our ever-growing curiosity !
Crag Cave Visit:
We had an amazing trip to Crag Cave in conjunction with our Curious Minds Award on Friday February 23rd 2024. During this trip the children learned all about stalactites and stalagmites while exploring this ancient fossil limestone cave.
The cave tour was followed by a picnic and a much-anticipated playtime in the centres amazing indoor play and adventure area. Thanks to our exceptionally supported clothing collection in Term 2, the cost of this excursion was subsidised to allow us offer our outing at a reduced rate . A wonderful day of learning and fun was had by all !
Scholastic School Book Fair:
We are delighted to announce the return of our School Book Fair .
What is a Book Fair you may ask ?
A Scholastic Book Fair is a pop-up celebration of reading that puts the very best books directly into our pupils’ hands, all while raising Rewards to spend on free books and essential resources for our school. There are countless reasons to run a Book Fair at our school – here are just a few:
- Our school will be supplied with mobile bookcases packed with over 200 of the newest and best booksfrom over 60 publishers, including exclusive titles that you won’t see in shops or at any other Fairs. The books will arrive on April 17th and will be collected on April 24th During this time, the children will be given lots of opportunities to browse through all the books.
- Amazing things happen when a child can choose their own book to read, and with amazing discounts and prices from just €3.70, a Book Fair helps our pupils to access the right books for themselves.
- Any purchases made directly in the Scholastic Shopwill also earn our school 20% back in Rewards.
Rite of Confirmation:
The Rite of Confirmation with Bishop Michael will take place in St. John’s Church, Tralee on June 9th 2024 and in St. Mary’s Church, Killarney on October 13th 2024.
Further details regarding the Confirmation in Tralee are available from Rev. Canon Jim Stephens on 087/0529107 and for the confirmation in Killarney - please contact Archdeacon Simon Lumby on 086/8703997.
Wellbeing in Education:
The promotion of wellbeing is central to enabling children to achieve their full potential. Promoting the wellbeing of our children is a shared community responsibility. Over the coming term, through staff, pupil and parent questionnaires, we will be looking at how we are doing in the area of Wellbeing here in Kiltallagh.
Your co-operation with this survey, the results of which will guide our Wellbeing School Improvement Plan, is very much appreciated .
School Policies:
All school policies are available on our website. All policies are also available in the Policy Section on our school notice board.
School Lunches:
We wish to remind all families availing of the free hot lunches of the importance of cancelling your order if your child is absent or if he/she/they no longer wish to receive the lunches. Surplus money at the end of the school year can be used to fund the ice cream van visit and the refreshments for our End of Year Service.
Transport Re-imbursement/School Tour:
The Office of the Ombudsman for Children has very kindly given us a transport re-imbursement following our trip to Dublin in October. Our treasurer - Jenny O’Reilly has said that this most welcome grant will fully fund our bus transport to Coachford for our school tour in June, which will cost €595. This will reduce the total school tour cost from €75 to €50 per pupil. In Coachford, the children will enjoy a fantastic day of friendship and fun with their classmates-participating in a variety of exciting land and water activities in one of the largest water obstacle courses, soft play and inflatable water parks in Ireland.
***The school tour payment of €50 can be paid in June-directly into our school bank account using your unique family code and the reference term ‘TOUR’
End Of Year Service : June 18th 2024
On Tuesday June 18th, we will say farewell to our two exceptional 6th class students Solanna and Ciara at our End of Year Service in Kiltallagh Church-commencing at 11a.m.
We will return to the school afterwards for some Afternoon Tea. We will also welcome our 5 new Junior Infant boys - Shane Oliver, Fiachra, Hayden, Ethan and Conor for the next academic year.
We hope you will all be there to share this very special day.
Standardised Testing :
These are the dates for testing in Kiltallagh:
- Drumcondra Testing will take place in the months of May and June. We would appreciate if you could ensure your child is in school on these dates.
- 1st and 2nd class – testing will be on Tuesday May 14th and Thursday May 23rd 2024
- 3rd to 6th class - Drumcondra Testing will take place on Thursday May 16th, Tuesday May 28th and Wednesday May 29th
SCHOOL CLOSURES:
- St Patrick’s Day: School will be closed on Monday March 18th 2024
- Easter 2024: School will close on Friday 22nd March 2024 and will re-open on Monday 8th April 2024
- Staff Meeting: Thursday April 25th School will close at 12.30pm. (Please note, this meeting is taking place on a Thursday for this term as our swimming lessons are on Fridays)
- May Bank Holiday: School will be closed on Monday May 6th 2024
- June Bank Holiday School will be closed on Monday June 3rd 2024
- Summer Holidays: School will close on Wednesday June 26th 2024
- POST SUMMER HOLIDAYS -
- SCHOOL WILL REOPEN ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 28th 2024
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