Easter Newsletter 2022
Some classes in Scoil Mhichíl Naofa have been on the move this week, relocating to new prefabs. It's great to see how well the children made the transition and are now settled into their new surroundings before their return after Easter.
Our Green Card Mystery Bus Tour finally took off from the front of our school on Friday April 1st. This was no April Fool's joke as the long awaited tour finally returned to Scoil Mhichíl Naofa. Children had a fantastic day out at Castlecomer Discovery Park. An added surprise was in store for the run up to Easter as there was an 'eggstra' draw from the Green Card box. The raffle resulted in 'eggstra' names being pulled out to win a well deserved Easter egg. Well done to all.
Seachtain na Gaeilge was celebrated across the school this year. Céilí were witnessed in the school yards with groups taking part in Shoe the Donkey agus An Poc ar Buile! Pupils took part in a Tráth na gCeist and various other activities as Gaeilge throughout the week. Children finished off with dress up day at the end of the weeks celebrations.
All classes celebrated World Book Day in March, with pupils dressing up as their favourite character. Indeed, author Mike Egan visited 3rd class to read some of his very own published 'Declan Kirby GAA star' books and shared some new ideas with the children!
Garda O'Mahony visited 5th class pupils for a talk on 'Safer Internet Day' in February. The children engaged in a good question and answer session on this topic.
Staff hosted a coffee morning with monies raised being donated to the Irish Red Cross which supports national and international projects.
Keep an eye on the Aladdin messages from Olga HSCL about upcoming events for parents after Easter.
Junior Infants were looking for signs of spring recently and grew cress seeds to bring home. They also explored the 5 senses and enjoyed tasting various foods that were sweet, salty, sour and bitter. They have been busy making new friends and moving classrooms too!
Senior Infants are in full flight taking part in Literacy Lift-Off. They are concentrating on their reading, sight words, sentence building and phonics as part of this group work. The children had a wonderful opportunity of working with a visiting artist in their classrooms this term. They engaged in lots of artistic skills and were immersed in a world of art during her visit. They made vibrant, colourful butterflies as part of printing and symmetry in art and displayed them for all to see.
First class took part in swimming lessons which they thoroughly enjoyed. They too have been working hard at World Book Day activities, reading buddies, creating and designing bridges, daffodil art as well as drama 'as Gaeilge' for Easter.
Second class have been working their socks off in all areas especially English, Gaeilge and maths. Group work and team efforts are the order of the day. Building word walls and peer learning is going down a treat as is their amhrain Gaeilge agus dánta ó Bua na Cainte.
Some Third class pupils have been busy visiting the church and practising their singing. They have also made play-doh miniature earth models, with each layer represented by different colours which they labelled and displayed. These were very impressive pieces of art work linked in with their SESE lessons. It was a very effective and informative display.
Fourth class have completed their 6 swimming sessions in K-Leisure this term. Great improvements were made by all and pupils were visibly more confident in the water by the last session.
They have been learning a new game of Spike Ball over the past couple of weeks and everyone is enjoying learning this new team sport together.
They also participated in their first in-class session of cycling and will be beginning their practical lessons after Easter.
Just before the break the children went on a history trail of Athy. It was a most enlightening experience for the classes with lots of new local knowledge gained.
Some Fifth class children have started choir practice for the Confirmation mass in June. They are beautiful singers and can be heard filling the Halla Mór to the rafters with their songs. Simon Cowell had better watch out!
Tadgh began his tag rugby sessions with this group too and they are having lots of fun acquiring new skills.
The pupils were lucky enough to take part in a sketch notes webinar. This allowed the children to learn a different method of studying using a mix of visuals and words.
They also participated in a zoom with the Dog's Trust. This informed them of the amazing work the trust carries out and any questions about caring properly for dogs were answered on the day.
A group of children from 5th researched Sustainability Around the World as part of a project. They then discussed how the town of Athy could be made more sustainable. These pupils engaged in a zoom with representatives from Kildare County Council as part of their research. Afterwards they sketched their ideas and made a 3D town along with creating a Sustainable Athy using Minecraft.
Sixth class have been taking part in a a basketball tournament among the classes. This has created great excitement and competition among the teams.The fitness levels have gone through the roof and break times are a hive of activity with pupils practicing their skills on the outside courts. Well done to Mr. Donergan's team who won the final in the end.
The children also worked with Ms. Scott to identify the amount of sugar in certain foods and drinks as part of Science. There were some big shocks during the lesson and we hope pupils can make informed decisions in the future!
Finally, the students created their very own PowerPoints and presented them to the class. This was a most enjoyable learning experience for all with great flair and creativity being used among our most senior pupils.
Beannachtaí na Cásca Oraibh!
Happy Easter to all!