Newsletter February/March 2020
Monday, Mar 09

Road Safety Authority Visit

Leanne Mullery, the Road Safety Promotional Officer with the Road Safety Authority for our region, visited our school on Monday 24th February. She delivered an age appropriate, road safety programme to all classes, covering topics such as walking safely, cycling safely and travelling safely in cars and buses. We would like to thank Leanne for providing our school with this opportunity!

Safety Message

As a follow on from Leanne’s visit, the Board of Management, together with our Parents Association, would like to take this further opportunity, to emphasise the importance of being extra vigilant in the morning and afternoon, when dropping and collecting your child before and after school. Like so many rural schools, our school is located along a busy stretch of road. Please be reminded AND remind any designated adult who may be collecting your child at 3pm,  that we strongly advise children are collected at the school gate so that they can be escorted safely to cars. 

As always, the staff carpark cannot be used as a pedestrian entry/exit point to/from the school at any time. It is not a safe place for our children due to the high volume of traffic entering/exiting and manoeuvring into parking spaces etc.

Sacrament Classes

A beautiful, pupil led, First Penance Ceremony took place last Wednesday in Kilruane Church, thank you to Ms. Lawlor for preparing and guiding the pupils so well and to Peggy for her assistance. As you are aware, the First Holy Communion Ceremony will take place on Saturday 16th May, in Kilruane Church at 11am. 

Fr. Pat invited all the Confirmation pupils in the parish to attend and participate in last Sunday’s mass in Cloughjordan, to continue their preparation for the sacrament. They will also travel to Esker Retreat Centre on Thursday 26th March, for the annual Confirmation Retreat. As you are aware, the Confirmation ceremony will take place on Sunday 5th April at 11am, in St Michael and St John’s Church, Cloughjordan. Class teachers will update you all in relation to both Sacraments and the Esker retreat, closer to the time.

 Active Flag Renewal

The children at Kilruane NS are currently working hard towards renewing their Active Flag. The Active School Flag is a Department of Education and Skills initiative, supported by Healthy Ireland, which aims to get more schools, more active, more often. It is awarded to schools that strive to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community. Our school were proud recipients of this flag in 2015, one of the first schools in Tipperary to receive one! As our flag is now due for renewal, our Active Flag School Co-ordinator Ms. Lawlor, set up a committee of pupil representatives from all classes in January to help us on our journey. Our new Active Flag school slogan “Being active now and having fun, will help us out in years to come”, was quickly decided upon and now takes pride of place on our Active Flag notice board. As part of our Active Flag renewal process, all pupils recently completed the “Primary Aquatics Water Safety Course” and will be receiving their certificates very soon. In addition, all classes in the school recently engaged with the” Run a Day Challenge” and the “3 Active Breaks a Day Challenge”. Challenges such as these, encourage children to become more active daily, especially on rainy days when we can’t get outside to play. Children are also receiving one small piece of PE home per night from their class teachers, in collaboration with the “Super Troopers Programme”, so we hope you can help /support them with this each week.  

School Tracksuit Information  

As we are an Active School, it has been decided that pupils now have the option of wearing their tracksuit Monday to Wednesday OR their traditional uniform, shirt, jumper, trousers skirt etc Monday to Wednesday. Basically, pupils can wear their tracksuit all week or a combination of tracksuit/ traditional uniform. As always, children MUST WEAR their official school tracksuit on Thursdays and Fridays. The official school tracksuit is available to purchase at “A Sportsman’s Dream” throughout the school year. If your child has out grown his/her tracksuit bottom they are available to purchase singly. Please check in with ‘A Sportsman’s Dream’ if you want to purchase a tracksuit top singly. As you may need spare bottoms to get through the week, any alternative bottoms must be dark school uniform grey, of similar stretch fabric, without logo, stripes, piping etc. Children wear their tracksuit and light grey polo shirt to all sporting events and school tours, they are specified and compulsory items of uniform for all pupils.

Spare tracksuits/ socks

Please send any unwanted school tracksuit tops/bottoms into school (all ages), as we need a constant supply for pupils to change into on wet days. Your help here would be greatly appreciated. Please send in any odd socks for same reason, we are not fussy about pairs. 

Seachtain na Gaeilge

All classes are currently taking part in a variety of class/school based lessons and activities, colouring and art  competitions, to promote our Irish Language in celebration of Seachtaine na Gaeilge. The event will culminate in our ever popular Table Quiz, as Gaeilge, for senior classes, this week. Many thanks to Mrs. Kennedy who is co-ordinating Seachtaine na Gaeilge, once again this year.

FAI Soccer Event

The school has been invited to attend the  SPAR FAI Primary School Boys 5’s a side soccer competition will take place in Ballymackey FC, on Thursday 19th of March. Ms. Hannigan has entered four teams this year from 5th & 6th classes. More details to follow, closer to the time. 

St. Partick’s Day Closure

As per school calendar, the school will be closed on Monday 16th and Tuesday March 17th for St. Patrick’s Day.