Upcoming Closures

The school will be closed for the bank holiday on St Patrick’s Day, Tuesday, 17th March.  We will be open, as normal, all other days next week.  The Spring Break is coming up soon.  We will have an early dismissal at 11.50 for infants and 12.00 for all other classes on Friday, 27th March.  The school will re-open following the break on Monday, 13th April.  Afterschool @ KETNS is two four-day camps during the break.  A reminder that the school will be closed for one week in May following the bank holiday (Monday, 4th May to Friday, 8th May inclusive).  Also, in addition to the school closure for the June Bank Holiday, we will have another closure to facilitate further professional development related to the new Primary Curriculum Framework on Wednesday, 3rd June.

New Secure Entrance

As you may be aware, a new secure entrance has been installed on the main doors in the school.  While there are some small adjustments, we hope this will address potential security concerns and provide greater safety for our learning community.  All visitors, including parents, should enter via the door at the main office by ringing the doorbell. 

Swimming Lessons

Swimming lessons will commence after the Spring Break, starting from the 14th April and continuing for 6 sessions, excluding the first week in May when the school is closed.  Swimming lessons will take place from 1st to 6th Class.  These will be taking place at the Kingfisher Club at the University of Galway.  There will be six 45-minute lessons that will finish the week before Spring Break in April.  The cost of the lessons, including bus transport, will be €60.  The easiest way to make this payment is to use the Aladdin epayments option.  Just login to Aladdin Connect to make a payment using a debit or credit card.  A separate email will be sent to each family providing further details next week about the specific swimming times.

Hot Meals Survey

Parents have one more chance to complete the survey for families from our hot meals provider, Bradbury and Connolly (www.hotschoolmeals.ie).

World Book Day

Many children showed off amazing costumes for World Book Day.  Well done for all your creativity and enthusiasm.  More photos can be found on our website.

 Seachtain na Gaeilge

Thosaíomar ag céiliúradh Seachtain na Gaeilge.  Dé Céadaoin seo caite, mhúinigh Fionnuala ceachtanna peile le gach rang trí mhéan na Gaeilge.  Déardaoin mhúinigh Matt ceachtanna damhas cruthaiteach le na ranganna ar fad.  Dé Luain beidh Lá Glas againn.  Beidh gach duine ag caitheamh éadaí glasa agus féiliúil.  Beidh Kahoots trí mheán na Gaeilge ann agus dioscó sa chlós.  Dé Céadaoin beidh ceachtanna mata trí mhéan na Gaeilge ar siúl.  Déardaoin beidh tionól Gaeilge ann ar maidin agus tráth na gceist sa tráthnóna.

We started celebrating Seachtain na Gaeilge. Last Wednesday, Fionnuala taught football lessons to all classes through the medium of Irish. On Thursday, Matt was teaching creative dance lessons to all classes.  On Monday we will have a Green Day. Everyone will be wearing green and festive clothes. There will be Kahoots through the medium of Irish and a disco in the yard. On Wednesday there will be math lessons through the medium of Irish. On Thursday there will be an Irish assembly in the morning and a quiz in the afternoon.

Ceacht damhsa

Ceacht corpoideachais le Fionnuala

Chess and Student Council

On Wednesday twenty children went to Kilcolgan Educate Together NS to participate in the annual John Farrell Connacht Educate Together Chess Tournament as well as to participate in a session for student councils.  Our chess team came in 3rd Place overall, and the Student Council had a great day getting to know children from other schools as well as to discuss children rights and ways they think problems in the world could be addressed from a rights perspective.

Parent Visits to Classrooms

Both 4th and 6th Class had a fantastic session at Silver Strand with Ilaria, who works at the Marine Institute, where they learned more about marine life and the work scientists are doing to protect our oceans. Mark also visited 3rd and 4th Class to give a fascinating presentation about medical device research.  We always are delighted to welcome parents who wish to share their knowledge or interests with classes. 

Child Safeguarding Statement

A comprehensive revision of the Child Safeguarding Statement has now been completed.  Sincere thanks to the staff who conducted a thorough review of the risk assessment, all the children who completed the review survey, with the assistance of 6th Class students, as well as all the parents who provided feedback.  The Board of Management endeavoured to address any concerns raised, and parents are always welcome to follow up on any concerns they may have by making an appointment with Matt or Paul Adams, the chairperson of the Board, to discuss the concerns.  Well done to the Student Council who have drafted a child-friendly version that will be posted in the school and used to speak with children about the Child Safeguarding Statement.  You can find the completed document on our website.