School Closures

A reminder that the school will be closed for the mid-term break on Thursday, 20th and 21st February for the Mid-term Break.  It will also be closed on Thursday, 27th February to facilitate a whole-staff training workshop on the new Primary Mathematics Curriculum.  Afterschool @ KETNS will be running camps on these dates.

Parent-Teacher Association Meetings

The next Parent-Teacher Association Meetings will take place this week.  An in-person meeting will take place in the staff room on Monday, 10th February at 9.00.  For those who can’t attend the in-person meeting, there will be an online meeting on Thursday, 13th February at 18.30.  You can join the meeting using this link: https://meet.google.com/ftn-qenp-xdq.

Talent Show

The PTA has rescheduled the Talent Show to Friday, 28th February at the school.  This will give everyone lots of time to perfect their acts!  The event will kick off at 18.30.  This is a family event, and both children and parents are invited to share any talent.   

Mobile Phone Survey for Parents

The use of smartphones and other technologies are now a feature of daily life for people of all ages. As you are likely aware, they can particularly expose primary school children to a number of risks – including cyberbullying and encountering harmful content.

In response to this, many school communities have agreed to put an optional contract in place where they agree not to provide their child with a smart phone while in primary school (this does not include non-smart phones and other communication devices that allow for parent-child communications while not together). In many other schools, this initiative has proven to be very effective in alleviating the pressures parents can sometimes feel to buy their child a smartphone while in the senior end of primary school.

The Parent-Teacher Association respects each family’s right to decide whether or not their children have access to the internet or a smartphone, and as such we are first seeking to establish if there is interest in exploring this as an opt-in measure for those parents interested. 

The PTA is seeking parents’ opinions, and a link to a short survey will be emailed to all parents with children from junior infants to third class.

Basketball League

The senior yard recently finished a yard-time basketball league.  The final was an extremely well-matched game, and even with extensive overtime, there was a tie.  Congratulations to Teams 2 and 3.  Special thanks to the group of 6th Class referees who led the league so effectively.  A new soccer league will commence soon.

Learning about SDGs

Fourth Class have been learning about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the Learn Together Curriculum.  Many thanks to Aideen, Jamie’s mum, who visited the class to talk about her experience working as a nurse in Sudan with GOAL.

Creative February and the Texaco Art Competition

For the entire month of February, our Creative Schools Committee is promoting creativity across the school.  They recently met, along with the other school committees, to make plans to encourage creativity. 

We are encouraging all children to consider making a submission to the Texaco Art Competition.  The school is happy to provide supplies, and we will organise and post the entries.  The deadline to submit an entry to the school will be Tuesday, 25th February.  Details about the competition will shared with all the classes on Monday.

Engineer’s Week Family Fun Day

The Engineering Faculty at will be hosting Their annual Engineers Week Family Fun Day in Alice Perry Engineering Building at University of Galway on Saturday, March 1st. There are different shows, workshops and activities scheduled throughout the day, all designed for primary school children. Booking of tickets for some of the shows is required and full information is available at this website:  https://www.universityofgalway.ie/engineersweek/familyfunday/.

Junior Park Run

A junior parkrun takes place every Sunday at Westside running track at 9.30. It is aimed at 4- to 14-year-olds. It is 2 km but very much non-competitive. The goal is to do it rather than be first. Rewards in the form of wristbands are given to children who complete 11, 21 and 50 runs. It complements involvement in other sports but also suits children who dont like other sports. Anyone can walk, skip or run the distance. Parents are welcome to run with their children if they wish.