Voting at Knocknacarra ETNS

While the citizens of Ireland were voting in the general election on Friday, the children of our school also exercised their right to vote.

The junior infants voted whether to continue using crayons or to begin using colour pencils.  Arguments were presented back and forth, voter ID cards were made and the children voted.  The ballots were counted Friday afternoon, and the results are 21 for using colour pencils and 6 for using crayons.  The colour pencils will be in class from Monday morning onwards!

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The senior infants, as a culmination of this month’s theme on transport, voted on which type of transport would be the focus of Friday’s lessons.  We used the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, just like the adults, to choose among seven nominated forms of transport.  The vote was extremely close, with the votes redistributed as different options were eliminated.  It came down to a tie of 10 votes for scooters and 10 votes for helicopters, so the tie was broken by checking first-preference votes.

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We learned a lot about different scooters, read a story about a scooter and talked about how to stay safe when riding them. In the afternoon we tested out our new “wiggle scooters”.

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St Patrick’s Day and Spring Break

School will be closed from Thursday 17th March and will re-open on Monday, 4th April for the mid-term break.

 

Camp Between Terms

There are still places available for the camp during the Spring Break.

Times: 8.30 to 13.30 (regular school hours)

Dates: Monday, 21st – Thursday 24th March and Tuesday, 29th March – Friday, 1st April

€85 per week (four days)

 

Visit to the Library and City Museum

On Friday, (4th March) we will take a bus into the city centre.  First we will visit the library to celebrate World Book Day.  Second, we’ll walk over to the Galway City Museum for a visit.  If the weather is favourable we’ll also walk over to the Claddagh and Nimmo’s Pier.  Parents are welcome to join us on this mini-tour.  We’ll leave at approximately 9.30 and return in the afternoon.

 

World Book Day Vouchers

World Book Day Vouchers will be distributed this week.  These can be exchanged for specially selected books or can be used to save €1.50 at bookshops.

 

Scholastic Book Orders

There is one more week left to purchase books online with Scholastic by visiting the website shop.scholastic.ie/schools/knocknacarra-etns.  All purchases help us buy books for our school.

 

Parent-Teacher Association Meeting

The PTA met at the Clybaun Hotel this past Wednesday.

  • The Child Protection Policy was reviewed and discussed.
  • The financial arrangements were also discussed. It was agreed that for the present the PTA will not open a separate account, but a line-item for PTA expenses will be added to the general school account.  Membership dues for the National Parents Council will be paid.
  • The Spring Fair was confirmed for the Saturday, 16th April from 12.00-16.00. There will be a craft market, bouncy castle, café, workshops and raffle.  To support the Spring Fair, please help by:
    • bringing food items for the café,
    • bringing gently used toys and bric-a-brac (no clothes, please) for the school stall in the craft market,
    • sourcing raffle prizes and
    • spreading the word about the event.
  • The next meeting will take place at the Clybaun Hotel on Monday, 14th March at 19.00.