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All Ireland Debating Champions
May 19th
Hearty congratulations to our School Debating team who won the All-Ireland Concern Debating Final competition in June 2021. Read the report, as posted in The Donegal News newspaper.
ALL-IRELAND DEBATING SUCCESS FOR KILMACRENNAN SCHOOL
All-Ireland debating success for Kilmacrennan school
Posted: 9:57 am June 24, 2021
A DONEGAL village is celebrating after a team of primary school children won a new national debating contest that had over one hundred teams participating from around the country.
Fifth and sixth class pupils from Scoil Cholmcille in Kilmacrennan won the final of the inaugural All Ireland Concern Primary Debates, which is run by the humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide.
The champions successfully argued for the motion that “GM Crops are key to ending world hunger” in their word-clash with Scoil Bhride from Paulstown, Co. Kilkenny.
Concern Primary Debates was set up to encourage awareness of global issues through debates about serious world topics and to improve the level of debating skills amongst young people.
The Kilmacrennan debaters – Conn McGettigan, Sadie McGettigan, Orla Kearney and John Cannon (captain) – were praised by their school principal and debating mentor John Devenney, who said: “We are delighted with this victory for the school.
“There has been a strong record of participation in debating competitions here in recent years, which is thanks to our teachers who have been fostering this tradition.”
The hundreds of students who participated in the competition each get a medal for their efforts and the winning school is awarded with a large wooden wall map of the world while the runner up will receive an engraved plaque.
The debates took part online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Concern Worldwide congratulated and thanked all participating pupils, their parents, teachers and wider communities.
“We applaud all Concern Primary debaters and those who supported them,” said Concern’s Head of Active Citizenship, Michael Doorly.
“Debating teaches us how to put our points across in a respectful, dignified, yet convincing way.
Any school that wants to participate in the next Concern Primary Debates competition can email debates@concern.net
May Newsletter
May 5th
We welcome all back to school after the Bank Holiday weekend and look forward to the remainder of term. We are doing our best to maintain our best practices in relation to Covid and, on behalf of the school, Mrs Doherty, our Covid Officer, wishes to commend the pupils and the wider school community for their continued efforts. It is important that you keep your child at home if you have any medical or Covid contact concerns, and that you follow HSE medical advice in this regard. We also request that the school is informed of any such concerns.
The ongoing concerns in relation to Covid is likely to impact on school religious services this year. A decision regarding Confirmation will be taken later in the term while we will follow guidelines from the Bishop and the government that strongly recommend that First Holy Communions are postponed until the Autumn term. We hope to give a provisional date for the Communions shortly.
The School Debating Team will compete in the Concern All Ireland Quarter-Finals on May 18. We are opposing the motion that ‘Tomorrow’s children will inherit a better world’. We wish the team all the best.
There will be no school for pupils on Friday 21 May (to facilitate Staff training).
I have posted details of the provisional dates for the forthcoming School Year on the school website.
Pupils from First to Sixth Classes will undergo standardised testing in English and Mathematics over the coming weeks, with selected classes also participating in testing in Irish. These results will issue to parents in June.
The Board of Management has submitted an application for a prefabricated building to house the second ASD Class which we are opening in September. The Board are also progressing plans for a permanent extension to the building (for Special Education).
Donegal Debating Champions
Mar 26th
We wish to warmly congratulate our School Debating Team on winning the 2021 Donegal Primary Schools Concern Debating Championship. John, Conn and Orla represented the school and came out as winners in a tense final against a school from Ballyshannon. We successfully opposed the motion that ‘Children Can Make a Big Difference to the Environment’. The team will now represent Donegal in the National Stages of the competition.
Indeed, the school is maintaining a proud record in this competition, claiming our third title in four years. Last year, Oisín, Damhán and John were 2020 County Champions but Covid restrictions meant that the National Stages weren’t held.
Online Webinairs for Parents
Mar 26th
Please find attached information regarding upcoming webinars that may be of interest to you.
Cyber Safety Webinar for Parents, to be held on Thursday, 29th April at 7pm
Making an Effective Transition to Second Level: Coping with Change, to be held on Tuesday, 18th May at 6.30pm.
Let Go and Be Still Wellbeing Webinar for SNA’s & Parents, to be held on Thursday, 6th & 13th May at 7pm.
Online booking on www.donegaledcentre.ie
| Administration Department |
| Donegal Education Centre |
| Floor 2 |
| Pier 1 |
| Quay Street |
| Donegal Town |
| Co. Donegal |
| www.donegaledcentre.ie |
Covid Update
Feb 25th
As part of the gradual phased return to schools, Kilmacrennan NS will open for pupils in Junior Infants, Senior Infants, First and Second classes only on Monday, 1 March 2020.
The target return date of pupils in Third to Sixth Classes is Monday, 15 March 2021. Online teaching will continue as normal for these pupils until they return.
A Return to Education Form will be required for each pupil returning. Class teachers will issue this information to their pupils.
Parental communication with the school should continue via phone or by email only.
Parents/siblings etc are to adhere to public health guidelines and not to congregate at the school gate.
Teachers will greet the pupils on the return to school and re-establish our Covid protocols – such as sanitising at entry and exit, segregated yard areas, class lining up areas, classroom pods and bubbles etc.
Know the Sympoms of Covid-19
Feb 25th
In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 it is important to know and recognise the symptoms. They are:
High temperature
Cough
Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
Loss of smell, of taste or distortion of taste
Infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 can cause illness, ranging from mild to severe, and, in some cases, can be fatal. It can take up to 14 days for symptoms to show. They can be similar to symptoms of cold and flu. Common symptoms of coronavirus include:
a fever (high temperature – 38 degrees Celsius or above).
a new cough – this can be any kind of cough, not just dry.
shortness of breath or breathing difficulties.
loss or change in your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
If you have any common symptoms of COVID-19 (coronavirus), self-isolate (stay in your room) and phone your family doctor straight away to see if you need a COVID-19 test.
Other people in your household will need to restrict their movements (stay at home).
Getting an early diagnosis means, you can get the help you need and take steps to avoid spreading the virus, if you have it. For the complete list of symptoms, please refer to the HSE Website.
Return to Education Form
Feb 25th
Please note that it is necessary to complete a Return to Education Form for each pupil upon returning to school
Return to Educational Facility Parental Declaration Form
| Child’s Name: | |
| Parents/Guardian’s Name: | |
| Name of Setting: Kilmacrennan NS | |
| This form is to be used when children are returning to the school after any absence. | |
| Declaration: I have no reason to believe that my child has infectious disease and I have followed all medical and public health guidance with respect to exclusion of my child from educational facilities. Signed Date: |
December Newsletter
Dec 11th
Christmas is upon us and it is the season to be merry. The children have been practicing some Christmas tunes and songs recently and we hope to record these in a ‘socially-distanced’ manner over the coming week. Teachers will inform each class individually of the arrangements.
All pupils are presently taking part in a ‘Leg it to Lapland’ challenge where we collectively walk/run the 4,070 km distance to Lapland. The challenge is going well; we have 3,052 km covered to date, and we hope to finish the challenge before the holidays.
We will hold a Christmas Draw in the school on Friday, 18th December. Tickets are €2 each or three for €5. Prizes include a Christmas Hamper, a Christmas Cake etc. You may send the money in on any day during the week, if you so wish.
Christmas Annuals for the pupils are available to purchase from the class teacher, if you so wish. They are €2 each.
We are scheduled to close at 12 noon on Tuesday, 22nd December and to re-open on Wednesday, 6th January 2021.
I wish to inform you that Master O Donnell has recently been appointed as Deputy Principal and we wish him well in the post. Every Principal needs a good carer!
Finally, I wish to thank you all for your co-operation in relation to Covid issues over the term. It has been greatly appreciated and has contributed greatly to the wellbeing of all.
Take care,
Yours sincerely,
John Devenney.
