January Newsletter
Jan 20th
Please note that we will host Grandparents’ Day on 1 February in the School Hall from 10am until 12 noon. We hope to do some St Brigid Cross Making on the day too. Tea will be served and all are welcome (parents/ guardians too).
The school will enter teams in the annual Credit Union Quiz, scheduled for Monday 30 January at 7pm in the Mount Errigal Hotel (registration by 6.30pm). Other forthcoming events include the Vex School’s Robot tournament in the ATU, Sportshall, Indoor Football, Internet Safety Day, Loreto Feis (Irish poetry and music) and round three of the Concern National Debating competition.
We are in the process of gradually replacing our Interactive whiteboards throughout the school with new updated Smart Screens. With a further two installations in place this week, we are delighted to now have this technology in eight of our ten classrooms. We hope to be in a position to replace the final two screens over the next few months.
Please note that the Confirmation of Sixth Class pupils is scheduled for Sunday 26 February at 12.30pm. The First Communion is scheduled for Saturday 13 May at 11 o’clock.
Please note that we are currently accepting Enrolment Applications for mainstream and ASD classes for the 2023-24 school year. The closing date for applications is Tuesday 31 January 2023 at 3pm.
Please note our amended school calendar to include an extra day off on the May Bank Holiday (Tuesday 2nd May) and the Summer closing date of 23 June 2023. It is anticipated that there will also be a School Planning Day (with the date yet to be confirmed).
Pupils and staff in our Solas Rooms were quite busy yesterday (as you may see from our wonderful snowperson) !
Admission Policy and Application Form
Jan 10th
Admission Policy and Application Form
A copy of the school’s Admission Policy and the Application Form for Admission for the 2023/24 school year is available as follows:
On request: By contacting the School Office, by emailing kilmacrennanschool@eircom.net, or by writing to: Scoil Cholmcille, Kilmacrennan, County Donegal.
PART 1 – Admissions to the 2023/2024 school year
Application and Decision Dates for admission to 2023/2024 school year
The following are the dates applicable for admission to Junior Infants
| 1. The school will commence accepting applications for admission on | Monday January 9th 2023 @ 8.00am |
| 2. The school shall cease accepting applications for admission on | Tuesday 31st January 2023 at 12pm |
| 3. The date by which successful applicants will be notified of the decision on their application is | Friday, 10th February 2023 |
| 4. The period within which applicants must confirm acceptance of an offer of admission is | Between 10 February 2023 and 24th February 2023 at 12pm. |
Note: applications made after the 31st January 2023 will be processed as late applications, the school will consider and issue decisions on late applications in accordance with the school’s admission policy.
Failure of an applicant to accept an offer by the 24nd February 2023 may result in the offer being withdrawn
Special Class Application and Decision Dates for admission to 2023/2024 school year
The following are the dates applicable for admission to the school’s Special Class which caters for children with Autism.
Note: The figures set out below in relation to the Special Class are subject to change dependent on whether current students in the Special Classes retain their place in the school and whether a student/students transfers into the school after the publication of this Notice.
Note: Applicants must meet the specified criteria and have a professional recommendation for an ASD Class.
| Note: applications made after the 31st January 2023 will be processed as late applications, the school will consider and issue decisions on late applications in accordance with the school’s admission policy. Failure of an applicant to accept an offer by the 22nd February 2023 may result in the offer being withdrawn 1. The school will commence accepting applications for admission to the special class on Mon January 9th 2023 @ 8.00am | Jan 9th 2023 @ 8.00am |
| 2. The school shall cease accepting applications for admission to the special class on Tuesday 31 January 2023 at 12pm | Jan 31st 2023 at 12pm |
| 3. The date by which applicants will be notified of the decision on their application for admission to the special class is Friday 10th February 2023 | Feb 10th 2023 |
| 4. The period within which applicants must confirm acceptance of an offer of admission is Between 10th February 2023 and 24th February 2023 at 12pm | Feb10th 2023 and Feb 24 at12pm |
Other Year Groups Application and Decision Dates for admission to the 2023/2024 school year
The following are the dates applicable for admission to other year groups (SI to 6th class)
| 1. The school will commence accepting applications for admission to other year groups on | Monday January 9th 2023 @ 8.00am |
| 2. The school shall cease accepting applications for admission to other year groups on | Tuesday 31st January 2023 at 12pm |
| 3. The date by which applicants will be notified of the decision on their application is | Friday, 10th February 2023 |
| 4. The period within which applicants must confirm acceptance of an offer of admission is | Between 10 February 2023 and 24th February 2023 at 12pm |
Note: applications made after the 31st January 2023 will be processed as late applications, the school will consider and issue decisions on late applications in accordance with the school’s admission policy.
Failure of an applicant to accept an offer by the 22nd February 2023 may result in the offer being withdrawn
Number of places being made available in 2023/2024
The figures set out below in relation to the Special Classes are subject to change; dependent on whether current students in the Special Classes retain their place in the school and whether a student(s) transfers into the school, or from within the school, after the publication of this Notice
| The number of places being made available in Junior infants is | 30 |
| The number of places being made available in the special class* catering for children with Autism is | 1 (at present) |
December Newsletter
Dec 14th
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Christmas is upon us and it is the season to be merry. The children have been practicing Christmas plays, tunes and songs recently and we will host our Christmas Concerts next Tuesday, 20 December. Classes from Junior Infants to Second inclusive will run from 10am until 11.30am. The Parents’ Association will provide teas from 11.30 until 11.45am. All help is welcome, with donations of food greatly appreciated. The Third to Sixth Class concert will start at 12 noon, running until 2.30pm approximately. We will hold a Christmas draw in the school on the day. Tickets are €2 each/three for €5. Prizes include a hamper, a cake etc.
On Friday of this week, as part of our wellbeing Amber initiative, pupils are free to wear Christmas jumpers; an optional €2 donation per pupil would be appreciated with proceeds in aid of Pieta House. Santa is due to call to the school on Mon 19th December; we also hope to have a dress rehearsal of our concerts for all classes that day too.
In other school news, we wish to congratulate our U 9 Girls Athletic team on winning the County Donegal Large Schools Cross-Country Championship recently; to all who performed brilliantly at the Irish poetry festival in Downings (winning some medals too), to our School Debating Team on winning the second round of the All Ireland Concern National Debating Championship. The next meeting of the Parent’s Association is scheduled for Wed 18 January 2023 at 8pm.
We are scheduled to close at 12 noon on Wednesday, 21st December and to re-open on Thursday, 5th January 2022.
Finally, I wish to thank you all for your co-operation over the last term. It has been greatly appreciated.
Take care,
Yours sincerely,
John Devenney.
November Newsletter
Nov 16th
Dear Parent/Guardian,
All pupils are busy at school at the moment and have been enjoying swimming, football leagues, Science Week, Anti-Bullying week activities and Wainfest over the past few weeks.
Please note that a photographer will visit the school on Monday, 21st November 2022. We request that all pupils wear the correct uniform on the day. Please let us know if you have any individual requests. There is no obligation to purchase.
While some teachers have started their meetings early, Parent-teacher meetings are scheduled for Thursday 24th November. The individual class teachers will notify you of the times. As the meetings are scheduled for after school class times, and as the School Hall will be used on the day, please note that pupils are not to be present in the school or on the grounds.
The Christmas Show is scheduled for Tuesday, 20th December. We hope to schedule Junior to Second Classes from 10am onwards with a 12.30pm start for Third to Sixth Classes. We will clarify these times closer to the date. We will hold a Christmas Draw in the school that day. 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.
Our Christmas holidays are scheduled to begin at noon on Wednesday 21st at 12 noon.
Christmas Annuals will be available to purchase from the school in December at a cost of €2 per annual.
We hope that all pupils will take part in a ‘Leg it to Lapland’ challenge where, during the month of December, we will collectively walk/run the 4,070km distance to Lapland.
The Parents’ Association are holding a table quiz for adults in Nora’s Bar on Friday 18th November at 8.30pm. €20 per table with nibbles supplied by Nora’s. All are welcome.
Regards,
John Devenney
October News
Oct 19th
O
Note from the Parent’s Association:
The Kilmacrennan Parents’ Association are pleased to announce the return of their annual Halloween Family Quiz. The quiz will be held in the school hall on Wednesday, 26th October at 7.30pm. There will be spot prizes for the best fancy dress. This is a family quiz and all children should attend with an adult. We would ask for parent volunteers from 2nd & 4th class to help out on the night. Please contact Pauline Gallagher if you’re available to help out on the night. The Parents’ Association would also ask for donations for prizes for the night: tins of biscuits/sweets, small vouchers etc. It’s €5 per family for the quiz and and raffle tickets will be sold on the night. The Parents’ Association will have a tuck shop on the night for the children. Kilmacrennan Parents’ Association
Other News
Sixth Class pupils are scheduled to visit the Ulster-American Folk Park on Wednesday of this week. A six-week Swimming lessons course – beginning on 8th November – is planned for pupils in Second and Fifth class. Respective class teachers will furnish further details nearer the time.
Our school had a successful outing at the recent Cross-Country Athletics in Milford and we now look forward to competing in the Donegal Finals in Buncrana on 20 October.
Further upcoming events include Maths Week, the Letterkenny & District Schools Soccer League and Cumann na mBunscol GAA blitzes. We also hope to reschedule the events from the Wainfest Literary Festival that were cancelled due to the tragic events in Creeslough.
I respectfully request that you please refresh your child’s name on school jumpers, coats etc over the coming days. I also wish to restress the importance of keeping the school car park for bus and staff parking only. Finally, I wish to remind you that the school does not accept responsibility for the supervision of pupils before the opening of the School Gates at 9 am.
The school will close for Mid-term break on Friday, 28th October at 2/3pm for pupils and re-open on Monday, 7th November.
Yours sincerely,
John Devenney.
Free Coding Workshop
Oct 13th
| Free coding workshops from DojoMór 2022, funded by the HEA, will be running online, from 10am to 1pm, on Saturday 22nd October 2022, offering a range of activities to suit all ages and interests. On the day, 24,000 students, from primary and secondary schools around Ireland, can learn to code in a fun and exciting virtual environment. This event is being supported by Munster Technological University, Atlantic Technological University, South East Technological University, Maynooth University, Dún Laoghaire Institute of Design Art and Technology Design, and Offaly County Council. Coding Workshop List for DojoMór 2022: Coding for Beginners with Lightbot Build an App with Thunkable & Bubble Code a Virtual Robot with VEX Code VR Code like a Pro with HTML Create a Story/Game with Scratch Code a Micro-chip with Micro :bit 3D Modelling with Blender Making Music with Soundtrap The Magic of Augmented & Virtual Reality We would appreciate if you could share this with your teachers and students. For information and bookings – www.dojomor.ie Or scan here – For updates and competitions – @dojomor2021 Bookings are open now We hope you can make it, The DojoMór Team |
September Newsletter
Sep 7th
Dear Parent,
I wish to welcome you all for the school year. All children appear to have settled quickly and we are looking forward to the term. We particularly welcome all our new pupils, including Ms Hegarty’s Junior Infants Class, new pupils throughout the school, and our pupils from Ukraine.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a few issues:
Please note that we call pupils to class each day at 9.20am. We open our school gates from 9am onwards but cannot accept responsibility for pupils who arrive before this time. We therefore request that you do not leave unsupervised pupils at the school gates, whether they arrive by bus or otherwise.
The pupils have a mid-morning and lunchtime break. Lunches are generally eaten in the classroom and we encourage the children to take any litter or wrappings home each day. We respectfully request that our Healthy Lunches policy is adhered to. This means that sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks etc are not sent to school as part of a lunch. We ask that items such as school jumpers, stationery, lunch boxes etc are labelled and that the labels are regularly refreshed.
We request that the school uniform is worn at all times. Our stock of spare uniform items in the school is quite low and we would appreciate the donation of any spare uniforms you may have. Non-branded grey tracksuit bottoms may be worn on PE days only. Teachers will inform you of the day your child is doing Physical Education. Pupils are not wear to jewellery during PE classes.
We request that we are at all times provided with up to date contact numbers, particularly with reference to mobile numbers. We operate a school text service and we will send a greeting to all numbers on our database later this week. Please inform the school on Friday, 9th September if you have not received the introductory message.
The school provides school books to Junior and Senior Infants for a fee of €60. We thank those who have paid this amount and encourage any outstanding fees to be paid in the coming days. We also operate a School Book Rental scheme for pupils from Third to Sixth class and ask that anybody participating in the scheme to do so by Friday of this week. Details are on the website.
We ask that you pay particular attention to road safety issues and request that your child is accompanied to and from the school gates. Parents are to park in the carpark near the chapel, or along the Main Road, observing normal parking regulations, paying attention to double yellow lines etc.
The car park at the school is for staff and bus parking only. Extra traffic in this area leads to greater risk for pupil and adult safety and we request that this zone remains free of parent traffic. Please relay this information to all adults who drop off or collect your child from school.
The spectre of Covid has eased somewhat at the moment though it is still present to a small degree in our school community. We will continue to promote good hygiene practices and standards. We continue to encourage the use of personal hand towels etc at school
We do not allow mobile phones in the school. The school office can relay messages from a parent to a child or from a child to a parent. Pupils who have been using phones to facilitate translation will have the use of an i-pad at school if so required.
Parental Support is a huge part of our school community and we encourage all to attend a Parents Association meeting in the School Library on Wednesday 14th September at 8pm.
All teachers have/are in the process of setting up Seesaw as a means of communication with parent. Please scan or download the app to your phone.
We encourage you to contact the school at the earliest opportunity if you have any queries or concerns and we will seek to address any issues at the earliest opportunity. Please note our telephone (0749139295) and e-mail contact details (kilmacrennanschool@eircom.net) or visit the school website at www.kilmacrennanschool.com. Please call the School Office in advance if you wish to arrange an appointment with a teacher. In order to minimise disruption, we try to arrange such conversations outside of class teaching hours.
Yours sincerely,
John Devenney.
This note can also be viewed under the School News drop-bar on our website at www.kilmacrennanschool.com
Вересневий інформаційний лист
Шановні батьки,
Вітаю всіх вас з початком навчального року. Здається, всі діти швидко
освоїлися, і ми з нетерпінням чекаємо семестру. Ми особливо вітаємо всіх наших
нових учнів, у тому числі молодших учнів міс Хегарті, нових учнів у всій школі
та наших учнів з України.
Користуючись нагодою, я хотів би нагадати вам про кілька питань:
Будь ласка, зверніть увагу, що ми запрошуємо
учнів на уроки щодня о 9.20 ранку. Ми відкриваємо ворота нашої школи з 9 ранку,
але не несемо відповідальності за учнів, які прибули раніше цього часу. Тому ми
просимо вас не залишати учнів без нагляду біля воріт школи, незалежно від того,
прибули вони автобусом чи іншим способом.
Учні мають ранкову та обідню перерви. Обіди, як правило, їдять у класі, і ми
заохочуємо дітей забирати будь-яке сміття або обгортки додому щодня. Ми з повагою
просимо дотримуватись нашої політики здорових обідів. Це означає, що цукерки,
шоколад, газовані напої тощо не приносять до школи як частину обіду. Ми
просимо, щоб такі предмети, як шкільні джемпери, канцтовари, коробки для обіду
тощо, були марковані та регулярно оновлювалися.
Ми просимо постійно носити шкільну форму. Наш запас форми в школі досить
низький, і ми будемо вдячні за пожертвування будь-якої запасної форми, яка у
вас може бути. Сірі спортивні штани можна носити лише в дні фізичної
підготовки. Вчителі повідомлять вам день, коли ваша дитина займається
фізкультурою. Під час уроків фізкультури учні не носять прикрас.
Ми просимо, щоб нам завжди надавали актуальні контактні номери, зокрема мобільні номери. Ми працюємо зі шкільною
текстовою службою, і пізніше цього тижня ми надішлемо привітання на всі номери
в нашій базі даних. Будь ласка, повідомте школу в п’ятницю, 9 вересня, якщо ви не
отримали ознайомче повідомлення.
Школа надає шкільні підручники дітям молодшого та старшого віку за оплату 60
євро. Ми дякуємо тим, хто сплатив цю суму, і закликаємо сплатити всі непогашені
збори найближчими днями. Ми також використовуємо програму прокату шкільних
підручників для учнів з третього по шостий клас і просимо всіх, хто бере участь
у програмі, зробити це до п’ятниці цього тижня. Деталі на сайті.
Просимо вас звернути особливу увагу на питання безпеки дорожнього руху та
просимо, щоб вашу дитину супроводжували до та від воріт школи. Батьки мають
паркуватися на автостоянці біля каплиці або вздовж головної дороги,
дотримуючись звичайних правил паркування, звертаючи увагу на подвійні жовті
смуги тощо.
Автостоянка біля школи призначена лише для паркування персоналу та автобусів.
Додатковий рух у цій зоні підвищує ризик для безпеки учнів і дорослих, тому ми
просимо, щоб ця зона залишалася вільною від руху батьків. Будь ласка, передайте
цю інформацію всім дорослим, які підвозять або забирають вашу дитину зі школи.
Загроза від Covid на даний момент дещо зменшилась, хоча зараз він все ще невеликою мірою присутній у
нашій шкільній спільноті. Ми продовжуватимемо просувати належну практику та
стандарти гігієни. Ми продовжуємо заохочувати використання особистих рушників
для рук тощо в школі
Ми забороняємо використовувати мобільні телефони в школі. Шкільний офіс може
передавати повідомлення від батьків до дитини або від дитини до батьків. Учні,
які користувалися телефонами для полегшення перекладу, матимуть можливість
використовувати i-pad у школі, якщо це буде потрібно.
Усі вчителі мають або перебувають у процесі
налаштування додатку Seesaw як засобу
спілкування з батьками. Відскануйте або завантажте цей додаток на свій телефон.
Ми заохочуємо вас якнайшвидше зв’язатися зі школою, якщо у вас виникнуть
запитання чи проблеми, і ми постараємося вирішити будь-які проблеми якомога
раніше. Будь ласка, зверніть увагу на наші контактні телефони та електронну
пошту на веб-сайті школи www.kilmacrennanschool.com і, будь ласка,
зателефонуйте в офіс школи заздалегідь, якщо ви бажаєте домовитися про зустріч
з учителем. Для зручності , ми
намагаємося влаштовувати такі бесіди в позаурочний час.
Щиро Ваш,
Джон Девенні.
Цю замітку також можна переглянути під панеллю «Шкільні новини» на нашому
веб-сайті www.kilmacrennanschool.com
May Newsletter
May 12th
May Newsletter
We are all settled back at school for the final term of the year and I’d like to update you on some current school news. The Board of Management were delighted to recently receive news that our proposed SEN permanent extension plans can now proceed to tender preparation and we hope to make continued progress in this regard during the next school year (or two).
We wish to thank you all for the support for our recent Kilmac NS 5k. A total of €1855 was raised on the night. We wish to thank our generous sponsors. All proceeds will go towards upgrading our Classroom Interactive Boards.
Our School Debating team bowed out at the All-Ireland Quarter Final stage but can be proud of their endeavours. They had a great campaign and are worthy County Champions.
Our Annual Testing of pupil attainment in Numeracy and Literacy will take place over the coming weeks. Pupil End of Year Reports will issue in June.
The pupils are quite active at school this term and we have teams representing the school in athletics, soccer and gaelic. Middle and Senior class pupils are also enjoying a Lunchtime Basketball League. We will also host a Junior and Senior Sports Day later this term. Our School Tour dates have been pencilled in for June and individual teachers will notify their own class of the relevant details.
We are hoping to have an In-School History Week during the week beginning May 23rd with walks, talks etc for different classes.
Fifth Class pupils have been busy planting and sowing in our School Garden over the past few weeks and we look forward to reaping the benefits of their harvest later this year.
Our Senior pupils also welcomed members of An Garda Síochána for an informative talk on Internet Security.
First Holy Communions are scheduled for this Saturday, 14th May at 12 noon and we wish Ms Wilkins class a lovely day. All are invited to the School Hall for a cup of tea following the Communions.
Finally, we extend a warm welcome to nine Ukrainian pupils who joined our school community this week. We wish them well.
Active Flag is Raised
Apr 28th
Kilmacrennan NS recently raised their 3rd Active School Flag much to the delight of both staff and pupils in the school. The Active School Flag is awarded to a school for striving to ‘achieve a physically educated and active school community’.
The guest of honour on the day was former Donegal GAA All-Ireland winner Mr Christy Toye who indeed is a member of the teaching staff in the school. He raised the flag with members of the Student Council. A lot of hard work went into achieving the flag under the leadership of Mr Mel O’Donnell (coordinator) along with members of the student council from the senior classes who were voted onto the committee by their peers.
Over the course of the two year programme, a huge number and range of activities were provided for the children in Kilmacrennan NS including an Active School’s Week. Some of the many fun activities they engaged in included:-School House Leagues in GAA, soccer and basketball-Gymnastics-1km run daily -Outdoor Adventure and Orienteering-Circuits-Swimming-PAWS Water Safety Programme-Active Homework-PE Art Slogan competition-Fun Run to Lapland-Fun Day Fridays-Annual Sports Day-Cumann na mBunscol -FAI soccer-Cross Country -Track and Field athletics-Tag Rugby-Basketball
