'Adoorable' Decorations

 

November Assembly

Time flies when you are having fun. Before we knew it we were gathered once more in the library for the November Assembly.

Congratulations to our Colourer, Writers and Mathematicians of the Month and keep up the good work.

Miss Phelan's First and Second Class were worthy winners of Class of the Month for November. Well done to all concerned.

RSA Visit

 On the 28th of November, we received a visit from the Road Safety Authority who came to talk to our students about various aspects of road safety.

They brought with them a giant street plan - so giant in fact, that we had no room large enough to accommodate it so we had to decamp to the Community Hall!

The students from all classes had a great time navigating the streets safely while learning about pedestrian, cyclist and passenger safety.

Science Week

 The students of Third and Fourth Class had a blast during Science Week with lots of Science and STEM activities.

Annual Admissions Notice

 

October Assembly

 Maybe it was the excitement of all the Halloween preparations but the month of October flew and before we knew it we were all gathered again for assembly.

Ruby got us underway by reading Our Lady's Prayer.

Mrs Egan congratulated everybody on all the effort they put into their Halloween costumes and thanked the Senior Room students for all their help in preparing the pumpkin soup and jelly.

Our Writers of the Month and Mathematicians of the Month were announced and the winners were presented with their certs.

We raffled off the €25 voucher generously given to us by the GAA Club and Ruby Darcy was the lucky winner.

Each teacher held the class draw for the Mystery Bag. Remember, the better the attendance, the more chance there is of winning. Well done to the four winners. Keep up the good work everyone!

The big news of course was that the Infant Room received their first Class of the Month award of the year. We hope they enjoy their two nights off homework.

Halloween

 Without the ghoulish spectre of COVID restrictions looming over us this year we got to enjoy a full scale Halloween again. That meant that pumpkin soup was back on the menu along with a devilish amount of home baked treats as our cake sale was brought back from the dead! Oh and there was jelly! Lots of jelly.

We had our annual Halloween Fashion Parade where our students and teachers strutted their stuff to rapturous applause. And everyone looked brilliant!

Irish History Live

 Our students enjoyed a hugely entertaining and informative visit from Irish History Live host Michael Moylan on Monday, October 17th. Michael came laden down with artefacts, costumes and old (and thankfully, decommissioned) weapons which really brought the past to life for our young historians. He had them laughing and learning at the same time as he dressed them up and armed them to illustrate the history he spoke about. 

We thank Mike for coming to see us again in Ballingarry and we look forward to his next visit whenever that may be.

Ballingarry GAA Club Visit

 On Friday, October 14th, (which was of course, Jersey Day) we received a visit from members of the Ballingarry GAA Club. The group, consisting of Juvenile Club Chairperson Patsy Maher, referee and coach Paddy Ivors, All Ireland winning Tipp minor hurler Simon Blackmore, Tipp minor footballer Michael Ryan and various members of the victorious Ballingarry minor hurling and u14 Camogie teams spoke to our students and showed them the silverware they accrued during the year.

The club generously provided the prizes for a trivia quiz and also brought with them a load of sweets and a €25 voucher for the club shop which we will raffle off.

Our students enjoyed the visit and were very excited to see the cups and their club heroes. It was great to welcome back so many past pupils and celebrate their success. 

Our thanks to all involved.

GOAL Jersey Day

 Poster by Orla Boylan, 5th Class

Sponsored Walk

 We were blessed with the weather today for our Sponsored Walk. Thank you to our students and parents who turned out in force to make the event a success.  Thank you to everyone who supported us by walking, sponsoring a walker, making a donation or by buying a raffle ticket.

Well done to Lucy Kennedy on winning the raffle.

September Assembly

 The first assembly of the year was a predictably busy one with lots of important and interesting issues to discuss.

Nathan read Our Lady's Prayer to open the assembly and Mrs Egan got proceedings underway by introducing and welcoming all our new students and Miss Phelan our new teacher. 

Mrs O'Dea spoke about the Green Schools Committee recruitment drive, Mr Gleeson reported back from the Cross Country Championships and Ms Conway spoke about our new Library Club.

Each class then held their raffle for the eagerly anticipated 'Mystery Bag'. A full week's unbroken attendance earns a ticket for a monthly raffle. As this was the first raffle everyone was intrigued as to what the bag may contain. The winners certainly weren't disappointed.

The Writers (and Colourers) of the Month received their certs as did the Mathematicians of the Month in recognition of their excellent work this month.

The big news of course was that Third and Fourth Class won the first Class of the Month of the year. Well done to them and their teacher Ms. Mason.

Cross Country County Championships

 We had waited a long time for Wednesday, September 28th. COVID 19 had robbed us of several opportunities to get out on the cross country course but at last we got the chance to stretch the legs again.

A 47 strong squad of young runners made up four teams to compete for County honours. 

Our 3rd/4th Class Girls' team kicked off proceedings in style by finishing 2nd in their group and securing a silver medal for their four top finishers, who were: Amy Burns (5th), Rachel Tye (7th), Irish Corcoran (12th) and Ciara Boylan (17th)

The 3rd/4th Class Boys' team finished 6th in their group. Our four highest placed finishers on the day were: Cody Hanlon (13th), Eamonn Quigley (20th), Harry Carroll (40th) and Tommy Butler (41st).

The 5th/6th Class Girls' team took the gold in their race. The four highest placed finishers were: Sarah Tye (1st), Orla McAree (10th), Orla Boylan (12th) and Dawn Darcy (17th).

Our last team to race was the 5th/6th Class Boys who came in 4th. The four fastest were: JJ Harding (7th), Tito Hehir (20th), Kean Burke (21st) and Nathan Rice (27th).

Well done to all who competed.

A few nervous faces on the starting line!

Parent Newsletter

 

21/09/22

Dear Parents/Guardians

I hope you are keeping well.

A warm welcome back to all our students, families and staff.

A special welcome to our new students in Junior and Senior Infants, and in 1st, 2nd. and 3rd.

Class.

As we settle into our first term there are a few 'Thank you’s I would like to make to all

those who helped improving our school amenities over the holidays.

 Thank you to Evelyn for all her hard work in cleaning the school for re-opening

 Thank to John Teehan for painting the 3 rd , 4 th , 5 th & 6 th Classrooms.

 Thank you to Liam Ryan for looking after the grounds during the summer

 Thank you to Parent Volunteers from Parents’ Council for all their hard work on

the Book Rental Scheme

 Thank you to Eddie Hearne for carpentry repairs carried out

 Thank you to the many Parent, Staff and Board of Management volunteers who

helped out in any way over this summer ensuring our building was ready for the

30 th of August. Your help and support is greatly appreciated.

Staff for the coming year

Infants – Mrs Egan

1st /2nd Class – Ms Phelan for Ms O’ Connor

3rd/4th Class – Ms Mason

5th/6th Class – Mr Gleeson

S.E.T – Mrs O’ Dea - Ms Conway

S.N.A. – Mrs O’ Brien - Mrs O’ Meara

Secretary – Rose Gahan

Cleaner – Evelyn Healy

We would like to wish Ms O’ Connor all the best as she takes Maternity Leave

We extend a warm welcome to Ms Phelan to Our Lady’s N.S.

We wish Mrs O’ Dea all the best in her new role as S.E.T.

This term is shaping up to be a busy one in Our Lady’s N.S..

Please note the following:

School Meals Programme

We are delighted to have been allocated funding for Breakfast Club and Hot Meals.

Our lunch provider is The Lunchbag. Bulk breakfast club items will come to each class

daily, one item of fruit or dairy and one snack such as rice cakes, cereals, popcorn etc.

The school has to order these items. Parents are asked to order hot meals on the App

for each week. It takes 36 hours for changes made to orders to come to the school so

The Lunchbag advises to place orders every Friday evening to avoid disappointment. If

you had credit on your cold meals lunchbag app please contact them directly for a

refund. Contact details are on the app.

A big “Thank you” to Rose for taking on the job of co-ordinating the Hot Meals on a

daily basis. We wish her well in her new role.

Athletics

3rd to 6th Class will attend County Tipperary Athletics Association Primary School County

Championships 2022 on Wednesday 28th September in Thurles Crokes.

€5 per child towards entry fee and bus please.

Sponsored Walk

We are delighted to have been granted a permit for the return of our “Sponsored walk”.

It will take place on Sunday 2 nd October at 11.45am. Sponsorship cards are gone home

today to each family. All cards must be returned to the school.

GOAL Jersey Day

October 14 th is GOAL Jersey Day and as usual the students and staff of Our Lady’s N.S.

will be wearing their favourite team colours in school to support the important work

done by GOAL.

This very worthy Irish Charity responds to humanitarian crises across the world,

helping vulnerable communities to rebuild their lives.

The students are asked to wear their favourite jersey or t-shirt on the day and bring in

€2.

Irish History Live

We are having a visit from the Heritage Council with their “1922” show on Monday 17th

October.

Halloween

Due to a clash with our swimming dates, Halloween Fun Day has been moved to Thursday

27th . Children can dress up and they may bring in some treats. The Cake Sale and

Pumpkin soup will make a return this year after Covid! €3 donation on the day please.

Swimming

We are looking forward to our return to swimming lessons for all this year. Please note

the following dates:

3rd to 6th class

Each Friday from 11.45 – 12.25pm

21st and 28th Oct

11th , 18th and 25th November

2nd , 9th and 16th December

Junior Infants to 2nd Class

Each Monday from 10.50am to 11.30am

20th and 27th March ‘23

17th and 24th April

8th , 15th , 22nd and 29th May

The subsidised cost per child is €8 per lesson. If you could pay for all 8 lessons in

advance it would be greatly appreciated.

Team Hope Christmas Shoe Box Appeal

We hope to fill boxes in school this year. Your child will be asked to bring in some items

over the coming weeks.

More information to follow.

Christmas Mass, Carol service, Raffle and Celebrations

More information to follow.

Aladdin

Please ensure your up to date contact details are with the school for Aladdin.

Parents should use Aladdin to explain absences, early leaving and late arrival. You may

send your child’s teacher a message on Aladdin.

Seesaw

We are continuing to use the Seesaw App in Our Lady’s N.S. to support teaching and

learning. Please ensure you have set up Seesaw for your child. All information and codes

have been sent home. If you do not have your codes please let us know and we can give

your child a new code.

School Rules and Annual Consent

School Rules and Consent forms have been sent home.

Please read school rules with your child and sign and return rules and annual consent to

the school.

Homework

Homework is given to all pupils on a regular basis. We ask you to ensure that it is done

carefully and child’s journal signed (1st – 6th class) each night.

Pupil Personal Insurance

We would encourage all parents to avail of the pupil personal insurance scheme. This

gives 24 hour insurance for your child at the cost of €9 for 24hr cover or €6 for in

school cover only. If you have not done so already please return slip and fee no later

than Friday 30th Sept.

Requisites

We would like to take this opportunity to ask parents who may not yet have sent in the

requisites money to do so as soon as possible please. Thank you to the parents who have

already done so.

Junior/Senior Infants €15, 1st to 6th class €21.

Uniform

Shorts and T-shirt may be worn for September

Tracksuit days from October to December

Infants: Tues and Thurs

1st and 2nd : Tues and Thurs

3rd and 4th : Tues and Fri

5th and 6th : Tues and Fri

Parent/Teacher meetings

We are delighted to be able to offer parents to option of face to face meetings this year

Meetings: Class teachers 

- Phone meetings – Tuesday 8 th Nov

- In Person meetings – Wednesday 9 th Nov

S.E.T. meetings 

- Phone meetings – Mon 7 th Nov

- In person meetings – Wed 9 th Nov

Appointment slots will be set up on Aladdin prior to the meetings so you will be able to

book your preferred time.

Online

Please monitor your child’s online activity and social media usage very closely. Snapchat

is not recommended for U13’s. Please ensure your child does not bring a phone to

school.

Health and Safety

The health and safety of all our staff and students is of paramount importance to

school management.

I would strongly urge any parent with any issues related to any area of school life to

follow proper procedures in having the matter dealt with.

If you have to collect your child early please notify the school on Aladdin the day

before where possible.

Office Hours

Rose, our secretary is available in the office Monday to Thursday from 9.30am – 1.30pm

I hope all our school community have a happy and successful year ahead in Our Lady’s

N.S.

Thanking you

_______________________

Deirdre Egan

School Calendar 2022-23

School Calendar 2022-23

Closures

Mid Term - Monday, 31st. October - Friday, 4th. November (Return on Mon 7th)

Christmas Holidays - Wednesday 21st. December - Wednesday 4th. January (Return on Thur 5th.)

St Brigid's Bank Holiday - Monday, 6th. February

February Mid Term - Monday 13th - Friday, 17th. February (Return on Mon 20th.)

St Patrick's Day - Friday, 17th. March

Easter Holidays - Monday, 3rd. April - Friday, 14th. April (Return on Mon 17th.)

Bank Holiday - Monday, 1st. May

Bank Holiday - Monday, 5th. June

Class of the Year!

 Well done to Mrs O'Dea's First and Second Class who deservedly won this year's Class of the Year.

Their hard work, good behaviour and all round wonderfulness paid off as they won four Class of the Month awards on their way to the title.

The prize? A big, big party, just for them!

And here they are enjoying their sports day in typically good natured fashion.

Graduation Day

Congratulations to this wonderful group of young people, who recently graduated from Our Lady's N.S.

We will miss the Class of 2022 and we wish them all the best for the future.

Sports Day

 Sun, ice-cream, fun and games...our Sports Day had it all. It was great to have the whole school out on the field together once more after the restrictions of COVID. As usual, we had our races in the morning followed by the ever popular 'Welly Throw'. The afternoon was all about the 'Superstars' event which left everyone exhausted and happy.

A big 'thank you' to our team of past pupils who came to help out. We couldn't have managed without their help and the patience and kindness they showed to our students was lovely to see. Thanks also to our parents who came to dish out the ice-cream.