December 2024

Dear Parent,

• Congratulations to Ms Hall on her wedding on Friday and becoming Mrs Mayne.
• We will travel to the Christmas Panto, Rapunzel in the Market Place Theatre, Armagh next Wednesday 4^th December at 10am. We will leave the school at 9am sharp. The cost is €10 per child, this should be sent to school asap.  The children may bring a snack for break and we will be back to school for our hot dinners.
• The Christmas Carol Service is St. Colman’s church of Ireland will be held on Sunday 15^th December at 3.30pm. Children should be at the church by 3.20pm.
• E. will be on Wednesdays until Christmas, including the 4^th December. P.E. gear and runners should be worn then.
• Christmas jumpers may be worn on Thursday and Friday 19^th and 20^th
• School will close on Friday 20^th December at 12 noon and will reopen on Monday 6^th January 2025.

Agri Aware

On the 5^th November 2024 Alma from Agri Kids, John from Irish Rural Link and a farmer called Donal came to our school to tell us about Farm Safety and we were the first school she was speaking to.  At the start of the morning she told us that there are about 100400 farms in Ireland and they feed about 50 million people every year.  Then Alma told us about the PTO (Power Take Off) shaft.  They are one of the most dangerous things on the farm because if it is moving and you touch it, your body will get caught in it and it will pull you with it.  This is why you need a guard for it.  She also told us about the slurry tank and agitator.  When you are mixing the slurry tank you need to make sure that all of your animals are out of the shed and that you stand well away from it because of the fumes.  She told us that bulls and cows are really dangerous.  Bulls drag their feet on the ground to signal that they are going to chase you.  She told us that her Dad called it ‘revving the engine’.   Donal had brought his T6 New Holland to show us the blind spots on a tractor, that the driver can’t see.  Alma also told us that you should be aware of animal body language because when you are petting a dog you shouldn’t squeeze them because they will feel threatened and scared.  She told us a poem which told us one hand is enough and two are too rough. 

By Daniel

Farm Safety

On the 5^th November 2024 Alma from Agri Kids, John from Irish Rural Link and a farmer called Donal came to our school to tell us about Farm Safety.  Alma told us that there were 100437 farms in Ireland and they feed 50 million people a year.  The PTO shaft is dangerous because it is like a hoover, it will suck up anything that comes too near to it.  You have to be aware of slurry pits as they send poisonous fumes when the farmer is mixing them that can make you sick.  Bulls are dangerous as they will start pawing at the ground when they are going to charge at you.  If you want, you can get a ring in their nose so you can put a rope through the ring to bring it about the farm safely.  Cows are 7 times more dangerous that the bull because the cow is more subtle than the bull and it will protect its calf from people.  Signs are important on a farm as they tell people what we can and can’t do.  Green means you can, red means you can’t, blue means you must do it and yellow is a warning.  Tractors are very dangerous on farms because of their blind spots and how big their tyres are.   You have to be aware of animals’ body language.  If a horse’s ears are down it means they’re tired and if they are straight up that means they are happy. Be aware of them if they are straight backwards as this means they’re scared.  Alma told us a poem that says one hand is enough and two hands are too rough.

By Aaron

Agri Kids

Alma came to the school on the 5^th of November from Agri Kids.  She talked about farm safety dealing with animals and machinery.  She told us about the blind spots on tractors and said to be very careful around them.  She showed us all the different signs and different colours of warning signs.  Yellow means warning, red means danger and you mustn’t do it and blue means you must do it and green means you can do it.  There are about 100437 farms in Ireland.  Irish farms can feed 50 million people. 

By Adam

On 5^th November 2024 John, Alma and Donal came to talk about farm safety.  Alma told us that there are 100437 farms in Ireland.  She said that the PTO, bulls, cows and tractors are the most dangerous.  PTO stands for Power Take Off and when you turn it on it spins really fast and if you touch it, it will really hurt you.  Cows are seven times more dangerous than bulls.  Bulls start scraping their feet along the ground and then it charges.  But a cow just charges straight away!  People that are driving tractors have blind spots.  If you stand too close to a tractor the driver may not see you because that’s his blind spot.  If you are petting your dog only pet it with one hand because two hands are too rough.  Don’t hug your dog too tight as they don’t like it.  There are four warning signs yellow, blue, red and green.  Yellow means warning, blue means do, green means can do and red means can’t do.  Did you know that you have to be 7 or older to be a passenger in a tractor and you have to wear a helmet on a quad at all times on the farm?  A horse uses its ears to talk.  If a horse is twitching its ears it is listening.  If its ears are back it is mad, if its ears are dropped she is tired.  When their ears are up they are alerted.  Slurry tanks are also quite dangerous and the smaller the animal poop the smellier the slurry.  If the air under the slurry gets trapped it may block all your senses of smell so don’t get too close to slurry or you might fall in.

By Lucy

Our pupils’ pictures have hit local and national papers.

  Here’s the run down so far:

• Wicklow News
• Lmfm
• Kildare Now
• Leinster Leader
• Dundalk Democrat
• Farmers Journal (Online and print)
• Wexford Weekly

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

November Newsletter 2024

Dates for your diary

Tues 22^nd Oct                       Junior Room trip to the library

Wed 23^rd Oct                       5^th & 6^th Class trip to Beech Hill

Fri 25^th Oct                           Ditch the Dark Day – wear your brightest most colourful clothes

Mon 28^th-Fri 1^st Nov          Mid-term – School Closed

Mon 4^th Nov                         Return to school

Mon 4^th Nov                         Return Shoeboxes for Team Hope Appeal

4^th & 5^th Nov                        Cash for Clobber – bags of clothing may be left into school for   collection on Wed 6^th Nov (early)

Tues 5^th Nov                         Visit by Agri-Aware Rep. The AgriKids™ Farm Safety Ambassador programme is an all-school approach to farm safety education. It enables all primary school children to collectively engage, educate and be empowered on the topic of farm safety.

Mon 18^th Nov                      School closed. Teacher Training – Maths curriculum

Fri 22^nd Nov                         School closed.

Sun 15^th Dec                         Carol Service in St. Colman’s Church of Ireland at 3.30pm

Changemakers – 7^th -18^th October 2024

On Monday 7^th October Richard Truell came into our school.  He is a County Councillor from the Ballybay Clones area.  He became a County Councilor to make a difference.  He goes to lots of meetings.  He helps to get new equipment for playgrounds.  He helps get roads and houses fixed.  He has to get votes by going to people’s houses.  They meet twice a month.  He finds it frustrating when jobs take too long.  He spends 30 hours a week doing council work.  He is making a difference by helping people in Monaghan.           By Elea

On Thursday 10^th October Bishop Ellis came into our school.   When he came in we asked him questions like ‘Did you have any job before becoming a Bishop?’ and ‘What is your favourite part of the job?’  he answered these questions and said he used to be a Secondary School Science Teacher.  He also said he didn’t want to stop teaching but God was calling him to become a minister.  His favourite part of being a Bishop is going to different schools and meeting the students.  He is in charge of 30 Rectors in 75 churches.  He had one job he hated.  This job was a market gardener.  He had to go out in the rain making holes in the dirt, planting seeds and cutting cabbages.  He has been a Bishop for 4 years now.  He got ordained 35 years ago.  When he was a child he went to Sunday School all the time.  When he was old enough he started to help out and teach Sunday School.  He had a few jobs before he became a Bishop.  By Bethany

On Monday 14^th October Richard Lowey came in to talk to us about his trip across Route 66.  It took 10 days and he had one day off.  He had to train at Templemore Garda Training HQ in co. Tipperary.  The way he got the idea was because he always wanted to do Route 66 and wanted to raise money for Irish Children’s Hospitals.  There were about 100 people involved. He was nervous about not coming home safely but he was excited about going to do it.  He travelled across America by motorbike – it was a Harley Davison.  The journey was from Chicago to L.A.  It was about 3000 miles.  He said he travelled about 300 miles a day.  He saw a car in the Guinness World Book of Records with 36000 stickers.  He made a couple of new friends on the journey.  He said one guy crashed into a car and took the front bumper off.  Richard raised over €9500.                          By Reuben

On Wednesday 16^th October Bertha Wallace came to visit our school to tell us about her amazing sunflower field based in Co. Monaghan.  This was the first sunflower field ever in Co. Monaghan and it was very popular.  She got this idea from a man who was at a Board Meeting and he mentioned a sunflower field and said it would be a good idea to raise money for charity.  Her goal was to raise €10,000.  The charities she chose were Monaghan and Cavan Palliative Care and Braddox Presbyterian Church.  She chose Monaghan and Cavan Palliative Care because they don’t get any payment from the Government and she wanted to help pay bills for sick families.  She chose Braddox Church because they took out a loan to build their new church hall extension and they didn’t have enough to pay off their loan.  To set up their ground to grow the sunflowers Bertha and Robert had to firstly plough the field and Robert picked all the stones.  After all the stones were gathered she got a man to sow the field with about 130,000 seeds.  Then just after 2 weeks sealant had to be sprayed over it to stop weeds from growing and stop insects from eating them.  Then she just had to watch them grow.  She was nervous about them being ruined with the weather.  It took 3 months for them to grow.  They were so surprised when on the first Friday they raised €10,000 and at the end they raised over €50,000.  People came from all over the country.  This was Monaghan Cavan Palliative Care’s biggest ever donation.  The field was open for 3 weeks.                                    By Leah

 On Monday 21^st October Brian Carleton visited our school to talk about the residential campsite for Portuguese children.  C.E.F. is a Bible organisation that tells children all over the world about the Bible.  It stands for Child Evangelism Fellowship.  27 other people were there. Brian arrived on Sunday.  There were loads of builders, plumbers, road workers and one electrician.  The first thing they did was pray.  They read the Bible before breakfast.  Brian had loads of jobs like digging, brick paving and erecting solar panels on the roof.  Everything was revamped.  New kitchen, redecorated bedrooms, a new car park and plenty of other improvements were added to the facility. Brian has made a difference by spreading awareness about C.E.F.  and giving kids a better place to stay in Portugal.            By Joseph

Internet Safety

On Thursday 17^th October a lady came to speak to us about Internet Safety and Online dangers.  She explained what she was going to speak on and asked us to write down what we did on the Internet in our spare time.  She showed us some apps and told us of the dangers of them.  We are to make sure they are suitable for our age.  We should not pretend to be older than we are.  She told us not to post anything bad, nasty, mean, rude or inappropriate on our Social Media platforms as this will always be with us.  It will be like a bill board in front our homes where everyone can see it, even if we delete it.  This could damage or future career.  Employers can check over our posts even if we have cleared anything inappropriate and this may lead to us not getting the job that we really wanted.  She taught us some actions, if someone we didn’t know tried to contact us – STOP communicating, BLOCK them and TELL our parents/teachers or a trusted friend.  Imagine a stranger walked up to you when you were with some friends and asked you some private questions.  You wouldn’t talk to them.  You would tell your parents or teachers or someone you could trust.  This is how you should treat your phones.  We should make sure we have a strong password on our phones and change it every couple of months. 

We all thought she was very interesting and helpful.  Much of what she told us was all new to us and we are very grateful that she taught us so much about the dangers of the internet.                                            By Lexi and Bonnie

Clontibret N.S. Newsletter

October 2024

Dates for Your Diary

Wed 2^nd Oct         School Photographer at 9.30am

7^th-18^th Oct             Changemakers in Our Community Fortnight

Mon 7^th Oct           Visit by Cllr Richard Truell

Thurs 10^th Oct        Visit by Bishop of Clogher, Rev. Ian Ellis

Wed 16^th Oct          Visit by Bertha Wallace – Sunflower Field

Thurs17^th Oct         Online Safety Workshop for Senior Pupils

Mon 21^st Oct          MMR Vaccine for J.I. at 12pm

Tues 22^nd Oct         Junior Room-Monaghan Library-Draw Along Adventure with Gerry Daly

Wed 23^rd Oct          5^th & 6^th Class-Beech Hill College Musical “We will Rock You”

Fri 25^th Oct            Ditch The Dark-Dress up in your brightest coloured clothes.  This is our 2^nd year celebrating all things bright.

                                  “I am the Light of the World”  John 8:12

28^th Oct-1^st Nov     Midterm Break

Tues 5^th Nov          Agri-Kids Farm Safety Talk

Wed 6^th Nov          Cash For Clobber – Clothes collection of second hand clothes, shoes and household textiles (not duvets or pillows).  Please ask friends and family members to help out so we can have as large a collection as possible.  It’s a good time of year to have a clear out.  Clothes can be brought into school from Monday 4th.  All money raised is used to buy resources for the school, where all children benefit.        

Thurs 7^th Nov        Parent Teacher Meetings

Mon 18^th Nov        School Closed for Primary Maths Inservice Training

Wed 20^th Nov        Nasal Flu Vaccine J.I.

Fri 22^nd Nov          School Closed

Wed 4^th Dec           Pantomime visit – Rapunzel in Market Place Theatre, Armagh

Sun 15^th Dec          Carol Service at 3.30pm in St. Colman’s Church, Clontibret

Fri 20^th Dec            School will close for Christmas at 12pm

Dyan Mill Farm Caledon

On Friday 27^th September the Junior Room travelled to Dyan Mill Farm. We

had our lunch break before our tour began. It was very interesting as there were

so many animals to see. 

 We got to hold baby rabbits, snakes, lizards, bearded dragons and chinchillas.

 We saw wallabies, alpacas and chickens.

There was a stick insect which was too delicate to touch. 

We got to feed goats, deer and calves, which were fed with large milk bottles.

There was a pig that would do tricks and we fed it grapes. 

There were colourful parrots that climbed around their cage.                         

We watched the tortoises and meercats. 

As a treat before we went back to school we played in a ball pit in a trailer

and played in the park.

We had a great day out.

By Tara, Olivia, Emily and Jake

Clontibret N.S. Newsletter                        September 2024

Welcome

We are delighted to welcome everyone back this term and a special welcome to Rebekah, Jamie, Seth and Ovie.  We hope and pray that they will settle in quickly and enjoy many happy days in our school.

• If your child is not taking the school hot lunch, we would encourage you to send healthy lunches to school. Some healthy snacks that we encourage include wraps, pasta, sandwiches, bread sticks, rice cakes, crackers, yoghurts, fruit, vegetables, cheese, water, diluted orange juice or milk (which can be stored in the fridge).  No sweets, biscuits, chocolate, crisps or fizzy drinks Monday-Friday please. A small treat is allowed on Friday. 
• It is important that all pupils go outside to play every day at lunch time. All children should bring coats so they may go outside on damp days.  A child may only stay inside if they have a note from home. 
• Please remember to wear the full school uniform and attach names to jumpers as sometimes they can be misplaced.
• Infants should be collected at 2pm, all 1^st-6^th class children should be collected at 2.50pm. Children may arrive at school between 9.00-9.20am.
• P.E. will be on Fridays. P.E. clothes should be worn then. 
• Pupil insurance cover is limited to School Related Activities Only and still costs €5.30 per pupil. This is a ‘compulsory’ basis whereby all pupils are covered during school hours/school activities. We have used this insurance cover for several years and we feel it the best cover out there at the moment for school pupils. Please forward this to the school asap.
• Please find an Internet Acceptable Use Policy sent home today, read through it with your child/children and make your child aware of the importance of Internet safety and netiquette. All 3^rd-6^th class pupils should sign the policy and return the form ASAP.  A parent should also sign the form.  Parents sign on behalf of Junior Infants-2^nd class pupils.  Please also sign the publication consent form at the bottom of the page.  PLEASE RETURN THE CONSENT FORM ASAP as pupils will not be allowed to use the ipads if they have not returned a signed form.  This form must be completed in September every year.
• Please also find the consent form for the school for school outings and events. This also needs to be returned ASAP.
• The Department of Health and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer have advised that: Children should stay at home if they are unwell.  The best way to keep all viruses out of school is to stay home if you are unwell and until your symptoms have substantially resolved for 48 hours.                     We will continue the following in school:                                                                                             Maintain a good standard of hand hygiene                                                                                       Adhere to good respiratory etiquette                                                                                                        Ensure good ventilation arrangements                                                                                                    Continue to maintain good levels of cleaning
• Primary Curriculum Day for New Maths Curriculum – Teacher Training Day – school closed on Monday 18^th November

PLEASE NOTE:

The Principal has to inform Tusla if a child missed more than 20 days during the school year.  Please ensure that your child attends school as much as possible.

                         June Newsletter 2024

Reminder:

• The school tour for all pupils will be to Tannagh Outdoor Pursuits outside Cootehill and a visit to Dartrey Forest on this Thursday 6^th June.

Children need to bring:

• A substantial packed lunch
• Swimsuit or T-shirt & shorts for under the wetsuit
• Full change of old clothes
• Runners that will get wet & dirty
• Plastic bag to hold all wet gear inside kit bag
• Towel & Toiletries
• Sun cream if weather hot
• Coat & hat if weather cold
• LOTS & LOTS of ENERGY!!!!!!!

Please DO NOT bring good/branded clothing, jewellery or valuable

equipment such as cameras or other electronic valuables. Tanagh Outdoor Education & Training Centre is not responsible for personal items.

The tour will cost €25 per child and is now due.  We hope it will be a fun-packed day.

• Next Tuesday 11^th June we will have a joint Sports Day in Ardaghy Community Centre with Drumacruttin NS, Rachwallace NS, Garron NS and Clara NS. We need to be in school at 9.10am – wear sports clothes and runners.  Bring lots to drink and a snack for break time.  School lunches will be served as usual in Ardaghy.  If it rains it will be cancelled as there won’t be enough inside space.
• We will have our BBQ on Thursday 13^th June at 7.00pm.  There will be stations/activities on the night.  These will begin at 7.15 and we will need parents to volunteer to help man the stations.  The BBQ will be served after this.  Food lists went home with your child on Friday, is you didn’t receive yours, please contact Emma McChesney.  Help will also be required to serve food and help clear up afterwards.    Parents, grandparents, past pupils and pupils are all invited. 
• Our new pupils’ Induction Day will be Wednesday 12^th June from 9.20 til 12.00. This will consist of a teddy bears picnic, where the entire classroom may bring a teddy to school that day.  Bring something for break time as they will go home before lunch time.
• School Sports Day will be held on Wednesday 19^th
• Like this year there will be no book rental bills next year. Children may bring a packed pencil case – see list below.  School will provide all school books, workbooks and copies/stationery as school will receive a book grant to cover these expenses this incoming year.  School books must be looked after and returned at the end of the academic year.
• Active school month will be held during the month of June with lots of activities each week.
• All assessments have been completed. Reports will be available after Wednesday 12th June.
• School finishes for summer on Friday 21^st June at 12.00
• We will return to school on Monday 2^nd See holiday list below.

Biodiversity Conference Daniel, Reuben, Joshua, Bethany, Zac and Arianna

On Friday 24^th May we went to The Hillgrove Hotel to a Biodiversity Day.  We left the school at 9.30. the day started off with some information about the 1^st Biodiversity event for kids in Ireland.  Monaghan County Council ran the day.  There were 8 schools involved in the day with 6 students from each school.  We were split into pairs and grouped with another school around 6 different tables – Holly table, Yew table, Oak table, Ash table, Willow table and Hawthorn table.   There were 6 different activities, 5 inside and 1 outside. 

Activity 1 – Learning about bees.  There are 3 types of bees in Ireland – Solitaire, bumble bee and honey bee.  Bees are good for the environment.  We were taught the life cycle of a bee. 

Activity 2 – Freshwater insects.  We collected insects from the water with tubes and put them into separate cups of water.  There were sheets with pictures of insects and we had to figure out what insects we had chosen.

Activity 3 – Painting.  We had to paint a picture of biodiversity on a large canvas.  Joshua painted a large plant with flowers.  These pictures are being brought to the library to teach people about biodiversity.

Activity 4 – Bird Donuts.  We made rings with clay and covered them with bird seeds.  We could use these in our gardens to feed the birds.

Activity 5 – Leaves.  Outside we picked leaves and tried to guess what trees they came from.  The leader outside told us about the different leaves – cherry, Japanese maple, oak, ash, ash and chestnut leaf.

Activity 6 – Wild flower bombs.  These bombs were made out of clay and flower seeds.  We rolled out the clay flat and put some soil into the middle of it.  We sprinkled the wild flower seeds into the soil and folded the clay over the seeds and pinched it round the edges.  Then we rolled it into a ball.  We put the bomb into some newspaper to dry out.  We took them home to throw it into the garden to create a wild flower garden patch.

We made posters about biodiversity and the County Council hope to make the best posters into signs to be shown off around the town.

There were rescued birds of prey on display – 2 barn owls, 1 snowy owl, 1 long eared owl and a golden eagle.  They were all named.  Arianna got to hold a black barn owl.  It is very rare, only 1 in 500,000 in the world.  This is because the mother owl thinks a black baby owl isn’t part of her family and she kicks it out of the nest and it won’t survive.  The wings of the golden eagle were approximately 1 meter each and it wasn’t fully grown. 

If we have any unusual birds/animals in our gardens/farms we should contact the biodiversity group as it may be endangered.

We had a lovely dinner and dessert.  We had a choice of sausage/chicken nuggets/pasta and chips with vanilla ice cream with cookies and chocolate for dessert.

We got a gift box for the school of a bug hotel, a bird house, a magnifying glass and a plant pot with an acorn seed planted in it which will grow into an oak tree.  We personally got a gift bag containing a water bottle, a colouring book, an activity book, a recycled cardboard pen, a pencil and a notebook.  We were back in school for 3.10 after having the best day and having made lots of new friends.

Swimming & the Greenway                   Lucy, Bonnie and Elea

We have enjoyed swimming every Monday this term.  The instructors were great and we learned so much.  Last week we learned the pencil dive.  Some of us couldn’t swim before we started lessons through the school and now over the years we can.  Last week we walked part of the Greenway to the pool.  And next week we hope to walk it again.  The Greenway is safe and we like it because it is so green with the trees and the sounds of the birds.  It is nice to walk with our friends.

Schools Horse Jumping                            Holly

On Saturday 1^st June Holly’s riding instructor hosted the School Jumping at Mullaghmore Tydavnet/Scotstown.  Holly was jumping the 50cm and 60cm and got clear in both.  There were 4girls on the team.  There were 8 teams and the competition was fierce.  Our team come 4^th overall.  Holly come 1^st individually in the 50cm jump on Flashy.  There was ice cream after and it brought a perfect day to an end.

Cavan Monaghan Underage League                Lexi

Lexi plays for Monaghan United U12 Girls team.  In April they won the Monaghan U12 Girls Championship Division League topping the table.  They also won the U12 Championship Shield Cup Final against Kingscourt Harps AFC Whites 3-0.  Well done to everyone involved – such a great achievement!

Clontibret N.S.

School Holiday List 2024-2025

School Will Reopen: Monday 2^nd September 2024

Halloween Half Term: School Closed Monday 28^th Oct – 1^st November

School Will Reopen: Monday 4^th November 2024

School Closed: Friday 22^nd November 2024

Christmas Holidays: School will close at 12 noon on Friday 20^th December

School Will Reopen: Monday 6^th January 2025

St. Brigid’s Day:  Monday 3^rd February 2025

Spring Half Term: School closed on Thurs & Fri 20^th & 21^st February 2025

St. Patrick’s Day: Monday 17^th March 2025

Easter Holidays: School will close at 12 noon on Friday 11^th April 2025

School Will Reopen: Monday 28^th April 2025

School Closed:  5^th May – Bank Holiday

                            2^rd June – Bank Holiday

Summer Holidays: School will close at 12 on Thursday 26^th June 2025

 Stationery List for Senior Pupils – 2024/25

10 – HB pencils (keep some at home until they are needed)

Rubber, sharpener, ruler, protractor, colouring pencils/twistable crayons, scissors &

Pritt stick.

Blue pen, red pen, calculator (5^th & 6^th class only)

A4 Plastic document folder (they are usually made of card) for worksheets

2 Folders with 40 plastic pockets

Please label everything

Stationery List for Junior Pupils

10 – HB pencils – that do not break easily when sharpened (keep some at home until they are needed)

Pencil case, rubber, sharpener, Twistable crayons & Pritt stick

Ruler (1^st & 2^nd class)

Please label everything

         Clontibret N.S. Newsletter                         May 2024

 A big thank you for all your clothes donations – please leave them in by tomorrow, Wednesday as they will be collected early on Thursday morning. This money will go towards transport costs.

• P.T.A. will be held next Tuesday 14^th May.
• The month of May will be our revision and assessment month – SESE, History, Geography and Science assessments will take place every Friday in the Senior Room.
• Swimming lessons are continuing on Mondays. The children are really enjoying the lessons and are making good progress.
• The school tour for all pupils will be to Tannagh Outdoor Pursuits outside Cootehill and a visit to Dartrey Forest on Thursday 6^th

Children need to bring:

• A substantial packed lunch
• Swimsuit or T-shirt & shorts for under the wetsuit
• Full change of old clothes
• Runners that will get wet & dirty
• Plastic bag to hold all wet gear inside kit bag
• Towel & Toiletries
• Sun cream if weather hot
• Coat & hat if weather cold
• LOTS & LOTS of ENERGY!!!!!!!

Please DO NOT bring good/branded clothing, jewellery or valuable

equipment such as cameras or other electronic valuables. Tanagh Outdoor Education & Training Centre is not responsible for personal items.

The tour will cost €25 per child.  We hope it will be a fun-packed day.

• School hot lunches are very popular and working well, although we won’t have any on the day of our school tour.
• Monday 3^rd June – no school: Bank Holiday
• Active Week: 4^th -7^th  P.E. clothes should be worn for the week.
• Monday 27^th May/10^th June – We will walk the Greenway on the way to the Swimming Pool.
• Annual BBQ will be held on Thursday 13^th

Potty Art Workshop                 By Lucy & Zac

On Thursday 18^th April Potty Art came to school.  We had the opportunity to work on a potter’s wheel.  First of all the lady explained what we needed to do.  We took turns to use the wheel and made our pottery pieces in the shape of a cup.  When they were dry we could paint them.  We made small shapes to stick onto them.  We also painted our small shapes which were them stuck on to the cups.  We could also paint images on our pots.  They were left to dry and we could take them home on Friday. 

Amazing Journeys                   By Lucy & Zac

On Thursday 2^nd May, Keady Baptist Church came to school to teach us some Bible stories.  They came early and set up 3 back drops for the stories.  Members of the church dressed up and retold the Bible stories.  We listened to the stories of ‘Adam & Eve’, ‘Noah’s Ark’, ‘Moses’, ‘David and Goliath’ and the ‘Birth of Jesus’.  At the end, we all got to dress up as Bible characters and try Old Testament food.  We didn’t really like the olives but loved the honey, grapes, apples and bread.  We enjoyed listening and watching the bible stories being acted out.  We also got the opportunity to sign a form for a free Bible and Bible activity sheets.

Dates for your diary

Monday 27^th May                 Greenway walk to swimming pool

Monday 3^rd June                   Bank Holiday school closed

Thursday 6^th June               School tour

Monday 10^th June                 Greenway walk to swimming pool

Thursday 13^th June              BBQ

Friday 21^st June                     Summer Holidays school closing at 12.00

Monday 2^nd September       School re-opens for new term

Newsletter 2024

• Welcome Back to the last term, we hope everyone had a lovely Easter and is now ready to settle down for this busy term.
• Before we finished up we had an Egg Hunt which was lots of fun.
• Lá Glas raised €100 for Homeless Ministry in Dublin, thank you very much for donating.
• We have started with our Hot Lunches on Monday which are proving very popular and we look forward to the rest of the week’s choices.
• Swimming lessons have commenced and will continue on Mondays, except for Bank Holidays for the next 7 weeks.
• There will be a pottery Workshop by Potty Art in school on Thursday 18^th April.  Each child will get an opportunity to work on the wheel.  The school will subsidise this activity.  P.E. clothes and runners to be worn on that day.
• Keady Baptist will lead the Amazing Journey presentation will come to Clontibret NS on Thursday 2^nd May.  It uses creative storytelling, colourful displays and Bible characters to introduce children to the key stories and message of the Bible.
• School will be closed on the 6^th May for the Bank Holiday.
• Cash For Clobber will have a collection on Thursday 9th May, after the May Bank Holiday 

          Clontibret N.S. Newsletter

                         March 2024

Upcoming Events:

• Thursday 7^th March – Dress up as a Book Character for World Book Day. There will be a Character Catwalk and Collaborative Art.
• Monday 11^th March – Junior Infant Vaccinations in school.
• 11^th-15^th March – Seachtain Na Gaeilge Activities. Pupils will work in groups and will get rewarded for speaking as Gaeilge – Duaiseanna Spotaí
• 15^th March – Lá Glas                                                                                                                                              Everyone to wear green on that day, we will play games in Irish.  €2 donation each per child for Dublin Central Mission, Homeless Ministry.  Any homeless people they meet are offered tea/coffee/hot soup and sandwiches.  This is run by a Christian organisation and all money raised will help support their work. 
• Monday 18^th March – No school St. Patrick’s Day.
• Friday 22^nd March – School will close at 12.00 for Easter. There will be no hot lunches on that day.  We would like to thank Marissa and the Braeside for their delicious hot lunches since September 2019.  We really appreciated the Friday hot lunches as they were such a treat at the end of the week.
• Monday 8^th April – School Re-opens.                                                                                                                               1^st day of our hot lunches.  Pupils will need to bring a knife and fork, a breaktime snack and a drink every day.  Swimming begins on Monday 8^th in Monaghan Leisure Centre.  We will leave school at 12.20 for our lesson at 1.00.  Junior and Senior Infant children may be collected at the pool after the lesson.  All lessons must be paid for in advance this year.  It will cost €56/child for the 8 weeks.  The lessons/bus are also subsidised by school funds.  P.E. clothes to be worn on Mondays.  Lessons will run to Monday 10^th June.

Friday Hot Lunches:

8/3                   Pasta Bolognese

15/3                 Sausage in a Bap & chips

Ulster Scots Dancing               By Adam, Bonnie & Emily

We went to Corcaghan Community Centre on Thursday 22^nd March and Wednesday 28^th March with Drumacruttin N.S., to practise Ulster Scots Country Dancing. 

It was fun and we enjoyed it.  ‘Dosie Do’ was one of the dances we learned.  There was lots of skipping and jumping around with our partners.  The dances were sometimes with large groups and sometimes small.  We went around in circles and made arches which others went under and joined a new group but always ended up with our original group.  Last Wednesday we went back to Drumacruttin N.S. and had our lunch and playtime with them.  Some of our school played football with them.  Then we went back to school.

On Friday night 1^st March Drumacruttin N.S.  had a Ceilidh with the Scottish Country dancing in Corcaghan Community Centre.  It was a great night with lots of the dances we had practised with them.  In one dance we had a partner and we had to swing around.  In another one we were in a square of 4 people.  We also did the ‘Dosey Do’ which we had learned.  We went home at 10.30 after a great night.

    February Newsletter 2024

• September 2024 Applications
• We held our Open Afternoon last Thursday afternoon. Continue to spread the word that enrolment is now open in Clontibret NS for next year 2024/25. The closing date for applications is 22^nd
• Mid-term will take place this Thursday and Friday 15^th and 16^th and school will be closed.
• Due to no electricity in Aughnameal next Tuesday 20^th February, school will also be closed.
• World Book Day will be on Thursday 7^th March, when the children will have the opportunity to dress up as their favourite book character.
• Hot Lunches €4 (on Fridays) will continue as usual. Please order and bring in the money on Tuesdays.     

   Menu as follows: 

16^th February – Mid Term

23/2               Chicken Curry & Rice

1/3                 Goujon Roll & wedges

8/3                 Pasta Bolognese

15/3               Sausage and chip

Easter Holidays closing at 12 on 22^nd March.

Dates for your Diary – School Closed

Mid-term break                        Thursday/Friday 15^th /16^th February

No Electric in school                Tuesday 20^th February

St. Patrick’s Day                        Monday 18^th March

Easter Holidays                         School will close at 12 noon on Friday 22^nd March

School will reopen on Monday 8^th April 2024.

Prom Praise                   By Holly and Joshua

On Saturday 3^rd February the Senior Room travelled to the Peace Proms in the RDS (Royal Dublin Society) in Dublin.  We met at school at 9.15 and left at 9.30.  As we arrived in Dublin we saw the River Liffey and lots of different bridges.  When we arrived at the RDS, teacher told me this is where the Dublin Horse Show takes place.  While the parents got a bite to eat, we were practising with the CBOI, which means Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland and a conductor.  When the parents started to arrive, we waited to begin.  Over 2000 children were in the choir. We had to wear white t-shirts with no logos or collars.  We sang over 20 songs such as, “We are one”, “It’s Friday again” and “Pompei”.  There were Irish Dancers and Scottish Dancers and special soloists.  One of them was called Alisha Weir.  It was amazing to be part of such a large choir.  When it was finished we went back to the bus and stopped at Applegreen on the way home where we got food and took videos and got pictures with the Monaghan boxers, the McKenna brothers.