Monthly Archives: June 2020

Well Done Junior Infants

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Hello girls and boys in Junior Infants,

Well done for reaching the end of the school year. I am so proud of you all. You have all been so busy and active during the last few months. I have been amazed to hear about and see all the fantastic things you have been getting up to at home. You have all been keeping safe, remembering to wash your hands and have been behaving so well for your families. I really loved being your teacher. We worked hard and had lots of fun in Junior Infants. I have missed seeing you all in school but I’m already looking forward to seeing you in St. Gabriel’s in September. There are lots of fun times ahead for us when we return to school. Thanks so much to your parents for all your cooperation since September.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer break.

See you all in September,

From Ms. Leonard. x

P.S. Here’s a recording of the song that Junior Infants were due to perform at assembly for you all before the schools closed in March. Perhaps your child can perform for you at home to finish up the school year!   Click here for The Mountain Song. 

Communion Songs

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These are some of the songs from the First Holy Communion ceremony that you had been practising in school before the lockdown.  Please try to listen and sing along to these at least once a day until the day of your Communion.  You will find the words to the songs in the Communion booklets that were in your school pack.

1. This is the Day

2. My Shepherd is the Lord

3. I am the Bread

4. We come to you Lord Jesus

5. Go Now in Peace

Summer Holidays!

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Congratulations to the boys and girls of Senior Infants. You have completed all of your work for Senior Infants this year! Well done on the super work that you have done. You should be so proud of yourselves!!

A massive thank you to the parents of Senior Infants for all of your work and support, you have been amazing throughout all of this!!

I really enjoyed interacting with you all on the Seesaw and I have been very impressed with all the videos, pictures, voice-messages and activities you have done since the school closed in March.

Wishing you all the very best going into first class in September. I know you will all do fabulous!!

I hope everyone has a lovely summer and continue to enjoy our lovely weather!!

Miss Reynolds.

Not all superheroes wear capes!

‘Ní neart go cur  le chéile’ – There is no strength without unity

 

Have a lovely summer! from Ms Whyte

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Hello everyone!

I have really enjoyed our past three weeks of themed activities. All of your efforts for Sports Week, Art Week and Poetry Week have really been fantastic! Well done to all of you on your amazing creativity!

To our sixth class pupils, congratulations on completing your primary school education. I will miss you all, but as Ms Comerford said in her assembly piece last week, we hope to see you at a graduation ceremony in the autumn. Good luck in secondary school and enjoy!

I am still taking lots of photos of wildflowers when I’m out walking the dog so I have obviously included them in this post! As with my website post at the start of May I already knew the names of some of these flowers but I did have to look some others up to find out what they are called. I used the websites http://www.irishwildflowers.ie/ and http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/ again to help me, as well as a flower identification book. I hope I got them right!

The first two photos are of caterpillars gathered on plants. They are eating lots and lots of leaves as they get ready for the next stage of becoming a butterfly or moth. Find out more information here about the Peacock Butterfly and about the Cinnabar Moth.

Finally, click here and volume up to hear the Dawn Chorus. I took this video around 4am one morning when many, many birds were getting out of bed and having a lovely singsong to start off the day!

I hope you all have a lovely summer!

Stay safe,

Ms Whyte

Please note:

For SeeSaw and other internet based activities please ensure your children are supervised while accessing the internet.

 

Letter to the class of 2020

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To the Class of 2020,
First, I want to say how much I will miss you. I’ve known you all since you were 8 years old, bouncing around my 2nd and 3rd class classroom – reading, thinking and laughing with me. You indulged me when I made funny voices during reading hour or drama. You indulged me when I asked you to practice “one more time” for our great class performances.
I was so happy that our small school meant I got to teach you as your 4th, 5th and 6th class teacher as well. I loved watching you grow and become the marvellous young adults you are today. You made me so happy to be back in the classroom every day with you. You reminded me then (and now) that this is the best thing about being a teacher.

Second, I want to tell you how sorry I am. I’m sorry all the traditions you’ve been looking forward to for years are not happening as planned and for now have been put on hold. I remember watching your faces during last year’s graduation and knowing you were all thinking “Next year, next year this will be us!”

Schools are doing their best to get creative, but I sympathise with you knowing you feel that it’s just not the same. You’re right. It’s not the same and it is not fair. But we can always hold on to our wonderful memories that we have made over the past 4 years.
It is the class of 2020 that will have an amazing story to tell. You’re all a part of history.
During this pandemic, you’ve been using the technology  to raise your voices and share your ideas. You’ve been part of a Sports Week, Art Week and Poetry Week, as well as doing other weekly challenges. You’ve expressed yourselves in so many different ways and it’s been really enjoyable.
When you are older and look back on this time I hope that you will be proud of how you all moved forward with respect for each other and embraced the challenges ahead of you. Because, really, that’s what all the ceremonies and rituals you’re missing out on are—expressions of deep love, gratitude and affection.
You have laughed, cried and learned with each other for years. You’ve sweated in classrooms during tests, celebrated your victories and made it through the drama of table quizzes, football finals and our Christmas extravaganzas.
Finally, I want to say thank you. Thank you for being such an incredible class. Fun and inspiring, silly and intelligent. You not only made me a better teacher, but you made me a better person. I’ll always be grateful I got to spend four years of our lives working with you and getting to know you. I am excited to see where you go next. I wish you all the best in Secondary School.
Good Luck on your journey and don’t be strangers.
Your teacher, Ms. Sweetman 

 

Collection of Children’s Books & Resources

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As the end of the school year has arrived, the teachers and SNAs have been busy in the school building organising all the books, copies, Art work, etc. that we had to leave behind in March when the school closed. These items will be available for collection – along with your child’s school report for this year and other information letters – in the playground/yard (where the children line up in the morning) at the following times:

Thursday 25th June:

  • 9:30 – 11am:      Junior Infants (Ms. Leonard)
  • 11:30am – 1pm: Senior Infants (Ms. Reynolds)

Friday 26th June:

  • 9:30 – 11am:      2nd Class (Ms.Walshe)
  • 11:30am – 1pm: 5th/6th Class (Ms. Sweetman)

Monday 29th June:

  • 9:30 – 11am:      1st Class (Mr. Smyth)
  • 11:30am – 1pm: 3rd/4th Class (Ms. O’Dowd)

As you will understand there are a number of guidelines that we all must follow in order to stay as safe as possible at this time.

  • Please do not try to enter the school building.  All your child’s resources can be collected from the yard where the children normally line up in the morning.  We ask that – where possible – only one adult from a household comes to the school.
  • Cones will be used to mark a distance of 2 metres so that parents can line up safely when waiting to collect a pack.  Please stick to the allotted time for your child’s class to avoid too many people congregating at the same time.
  • Where a child may have a brother or sister in a different class, the siblings’ packs will be available to collect together. (For example if you have a child in 1st Class and a child in Junior Infants, both packs will be available to collect on Thursday from 9:30 – 11am at the designated time for Junior Infants)
  • If you are unable to come to the school at these times, we will send the documents (report, school calendar, information letter) by post to you.  Please contact the office if you need to avail of this option.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this unusual situation!