Nothing to do with Jim Morrison and his band I'm afraid but everything to do with bringing some Christmas cheer to Our Lady's.
This week, students in all classes have been busy decorating the doors (and windows) of their classrooms.
Here is what the Senior Room have come up with so far.
No, we're not sure where exactly the month of November went either. Before we knew it our November Assembly was upon us and we were looking back over another busy month.
We applauded the exploits of our u13 Girls Football team who won the Roinn F County Championship after a dominant display against Templetouhy NS. We spoke of Milo's high octane Late, Late Toy Show appearance. Didn't he do well? Updates on the doings of our Library and Green Schools Committees were updated by Miss Hogan and Mrs O'Dea respectively.
We gave out a few awards too, honouring our Writers and Mathematicians of the Month. We acknowledged some of the little kindnesses we witness here every day by presenting a Kindness award to a deserving child in each room.
And then of course we presented Third and Fourth Class with their first Class of the Month award of the year. Well done everyone on another fruitful month.
A big 'thank you' to our neighbour and former student, Ricky Cashin who came to the school to show our Third to Sixth Class students how to play Futsal. A great time was had by all and FAI coach Ricky was very impressed with the skill levels on display.
Well done to our U13 Girls' Football team who won the Roinn F County Final in Littleton today. The final score was 10-6 to 2-3 but in truth the match was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests. Templetouhy put up a great fight and never let their heads drop. However our girls proved to be too strong on the day and their athleticism, determination and skill ensured the Girls' Roinn F Shield made its way to Ballingarry for the first time.
Congratulations to all the girls who played today. They were magnificent and represented their school with great distinction. Tribute must also be paid to the girls who didn't play today but played their part in getting us to the final in the first place. Well done to all of you.
Thank you to Paddy Ivors for his tireless work in coaching all of our budding GAA stars in both football and hurling. His astute coaching and motivational skills really paid dividends today.
Thank you also to the parents who came today and other days. Your support is much appreciated.
Friday, October 27th was the last day before the Halloween break and was the perfect time to hold our October assembly.
Miss Hogan, our new Library Club coordinator, had a nice surprise for the Junior Infants when she presented them with their 'My Little Library Book Bag'. These bags, containing three lovely books, (amongst other items) are part of an initiative to encourage the use of our wonderful (and free) nationwide libraries as well as helping young students navigate the big step into Primary School.
Our attendance raffles were held as well. Congratulations to our lucky winners and well done to all our students on their efforts to improve their attendance.
Our 'Writers of the Month' and 'Mathematicians of the Month' were also presented with their certificates. Well done to all and keep up the good work.
First and Second Class have been very busy since September! We completed our first project, taken many trips to the library, preformed some Halloween themed experiments and shown off our mathematical skills during Maths Week.
Maybe it's a bit of Halloween wickedness in me, but I just wanted to make you all jealous!
Here is a sample of some of the wonderful baked goods donated by parents for our Cake Sale today. Yum!
A big thank you to Tracey Cormack, Colette Rice and Frances Horgan for all their help today.
Thursday, October 26th was Halloween Fun Day at Our Lady's NS. The students and the teachers dressed up for the occasion and they looked frighteningly good.
Wicked appetites were sated by the cake sale in the morning. Many thanks to all who donated baked goods and thanks also to the parents who came to help organise the sale.
Mrs Egans's pumpkin soup was a hit again this year. Thank you to the Fifth and Sixth Class for all their peeling, chopping and cooking.
The Halloween Fashion Show was high octane fun as usual and there were plenty of other Halloween activities and treats to keep the boys and girls happy during the rest of the day.
Well done to our u13 Girls Football team who today qualified for the County Final. Clonmore was the venue for the semi-final against Rathcabbin NS. Our girls started very strongly and managed to hit the frame of the goal three times in the opening minutes. Once they found their range the scores started to come. Rathcabbin had their chances but a mixture of poor finishing and alert goalkeeping kept them scoreless at half time, by which time Our Lady's had amassed 5-1.
The second half was a far more even affair but Our Lady's couldn't be caught and ran out winners on a scoreline of 6-4 to 1-0.
Panel
Orla Boylan, Orla McAree, Lily Ivors, Niamh Quigley (c), Hannah Shelly, Róisín Norton (vc), Amy Burns, Sarah Tye, Amber Hearne, Taylor Rose Rice, Sophie Hayes, Aoibhinn Rice, Grace Croke, Iris Corcoran.
On Sunday, October 15th we had our official opening of our new yard. The large crowd who had gathered in front of the school after participating in our Sponsored Walk were led down to our new yard by Fr Quirke.
Fr Quirke gave some insight into the amount of planning, preparation and background work that went into making our dream into a reality. He thanked the Board of Management for all their work. And he also thanked Des Morris and his team for doing such a wonderful job in constructing the yard.
Our eldest and youngest students, together cut the ribbon to officially open the yard.
There was cake for the parents and some goodies for the children. Sixth Class students helped the younger ones plant some daffodils in our new beds in the revamped school garden. Members of last year's Sixth Class were present to help plant the tree they gifted the school on the occasion of their graduation.
It was a busy but memorable day. Thank you to all who attended to share it with us.
A big 'thank you' to our wonderful students and parents who turned up en masse to support our Annual Sponsored Walk. We were lucky with the weather on Sunday. The bright, crisp morning only served to highlight the lovely part of the country we live in. The views from the Slí na Sláinte route were beautiful in the October sunshine.
Thank you to all who sponsored a student or who bought a raffle ticket. Your support is, as always, very much appreciated.
Our u13 girls' football team braved the cold today in O'Sullivan Park to record two victories in the Roinn F Section 4 Blitz. This was enough to see them top the group and progress to the semi-final.
Well done to all concerned.
Panel:
Niamh Quigley (c), Róisín Norton (vc), Amber Hearne, Orla Boylan, Hannah Shelly, Órla McAree, Sophie Hayes, Taylor Rose Rice, Lily Ivors, Sarah Tye, Iris Corcoran, Kellyann Donovan, Amy Burns, Aoibhinn Rice, Grace Croke, Chloe Fennelly.
Game 1
Our Lady's NS 8-3 Poulacapple NS 2-2
Scorers: Amy Burns 3-1, Niamh Quigley 2-1, Róisín Norton 2-0, Hannah Shelly 1-0, Órla McAree 0-1.
Game 2
Our Lady's NS 5-3 Grangemockler NS 1-0
Scorers: Taylor Rose Rice 1-2, Iris Corcoran 1-1, Sarah Tye 1-0, Kellyann Donovan 1-0, Lily Ivors 1-0.
Our first assembly of the year took place in the library on Friday, October 6th. Mrs. Egan welcomed everybody back and commended the children on a good first month back in school. Miss Hogan and Mr Gilvarry were welcomed to Our Lady's NS.
As is tradition 'Our Lady's Prayer' was read to begin proceedings, this time by Róisín Norton. 5th/6th Class and 3rd/4th Class both sang songs from the Grow in Love programme and the teachers spoke about the various activities their classes had enjoyed during September.
Our 'Writers of the Month' and 'Mathematicians of the Month' were announced and awarded with their certificates. Well done to all and keep up the good work!
The news that everyone was waiting for was of course who won 'Class of the Month'. It was 5th/6th Class who secured the first victory of the year and the happy students get to enjoy two nights free of homework, much to the envy of the other classes.
October 3rd, 2023 was a memorable day in Our Lady's NS as our boys and girls got to enjoy their new playground and basketball court for the first time. And it was worth waiting for......
