October Newsletter 2019

Congratulations to Alisha Tate who was a pivotal player in O’Neill Shamrocks. The team won the under 12 Gaelic Final.
Congratulations to Vicky Donaldson who received a trophy for being ‘Players Player of the Year 2019’ in Blayney Rovers soccer club.
And congratulations also to Ben Lowey who won most skilful player for Clontibret GAA team under 11s.
We are extremely proud of Alicia, Vicky and Ben’s achievements in their football clubs. They also display great sportsmanship during sporting activities in school and we wish them continued success.

Congratulations to:
Students of the week – Vicky and Bonny Sports Player of the week – Scott
Gaelgoir na seachtaine – Danielle Kind Act of the week – Olivia

We are delighted to have Mrs. Flack as our Special Education Teacher while Ms. Johnston is attending the Graduate Diploma in Inclusive Education, Learning Support and Special Education in DCU, Dublin.
Elections for appointing 2 new parent reps will be taking place soon for the new BOM.
Reminder: Brennan Insurance €5.30 and Book Bills €60 per child is now due. If you have not done so, please forward to the school.
Cash for Clobber: This collection will take place on Wednesday 6th November, so all your good quality second-hand clothes, shoes (in pairs) bed clothes may be left into school before this date.

Dates for Your Diary
Halloween Half Term School is closed Monday 28th October-Friday 1st November.
School will re-open on Monday 4th November
Cash for Clobber Collection Wednesday 6th November

A Report on County Monaghan by Aaron Wallace
Firstly Monaghan is a great town filled with lots of towns and monuments, but let’s starts with some simple facts. Monaghan is located on the border of Northern Ireland. It is one of three counties that are in Ulster but in the Republic of Ireland. Monaghan’s population is approximately 60,000. Monaghan is the 6th smallest county in size.
Landmarks in Monaghan: beautiful landmarks in Monaghan are the Big Tom memorial statue in Castleblayney, the Rossmore monument and Monaghan courthouse in Monaghan town. There are also lots of natural landmarks that are terrific, for example Muckno Park. Muckn o has a wonderful forest and playground. Same goes for Rossmore Park.
Famous people in Monaghan: there are alot of famous people that come from Monaghan, for example Patrick Kavanagh, an Irish poet. Thomas Bracken another poet, Charles Duffy a journalist and poet. Tommy Bowe a Rugby player and of course Big Tom.
Monaghan is a great county filled with great landmarks and beautiful towns. I really enjoyed learning about Monaghan and can’t wait for our tour around Monaghan town.
French Revolution by Olivia McChesney
My dearest Sally,
I am writing to tell you lots about King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of France. At the moment they are being very rude and unfair. My family and I are starving, while the King and Queen are living in luxury. It takes about one week of work to get one piece of bread. In the King and Queen’s Palace they have 100s of rooms, where in our houses, we have only one room! It is horrible but the real reason the revolution actually took place, was because of the storming of the Bastille. We burst into the jail and freed the prisoners. We also seized all the weapons. That was on the 14th of July. And guess what! There was an Irish man in the jail! He was one of seven prisoners there. One day when the peasants went to the bottom of the palace gates, we pleaded for some bread. One of the Queen’s peasants’s told her that we wanted bread. All she said was, “Well, if they have no bread, let them eat cake”. I think that was extremely rude of her. We decided we had to stop King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. So a man named Dr. Guillotine invented a machine. The machine can chop off sixty heads in less than an hour and a half! He named it the “Guillotine”. We used this machine on the King and Queen, the clergy and the King and Queen’s friends. Also some people that disagreed with killing the royalty got their heads chopped off too. The day we started using this machine, there was blood streaming down the streets, covering my feet in blood. Since we got rid of our King and Queen we made up our own government. We call it “The National Assembly”. We will have no King and Queen now for a long time. We will set the taxes and laws. We also have made up a new flag. Its colours are blue, white and red. Our slogan is “Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!
When the rich people were killed we burnt down their houses. But we kept their animals. They had very unusual pets. We put the animals into zoos. Now people can go visit all the different types of animals. France is now such a nice, friendly country. People no longer starve. Thank you so much for reading my letter, Sally. Goodbye. I hope to write to you again soon.
Your loving friend,
Olivia.

Clontibret N.S. Newsletter
May 2019

Welcome back to what is possibly the children’s favourite term! I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter break and is ready to settle down for this usually busy term.

Swimming
Swimming starts this Friday the 13th April from 10.50-11.50 for 7 weeks. The cost will be €6/lesson or €42 for the 7 weeks. Lessons can be paid for in total or if you are paying weekly please bring the money in on Thursday as Mrs. McBride is in the office.
P.E. clothes should be worn on Fridays for swimming. Children will need a swimming hat. It is the policy of Monaghan Leisure Centre to check every child’s feet for verrucas on the first day – if your child has a verruca they should wear swimming socks. It is also a very good idea to wear swimming socks if you wish to avoid catching a skin infection. Every junior/senior infant child will need an adult to help them get dressed as teachers are not allowed to help the children.
Shared Education
The Junior Room will travel to Derrynoose tomorrow Wednesday 1st May for our final Shared Learning Day.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Lucy Moorehead on collecting the most sponsorship money for the sponsored walk in Rossmore Park on the 18th March.

Active Learning Week
The Coral Leisure Centre team will visit the school at 9.30am on Thursday 9th May. P.E. clothes should be worn.
Senior School Tour
The Senior Room will travel to Craigavon Ski Slope for their tour on Friday 17th May with Derrynoose P.S. There will be no swimming on that day. Activities include snow tubing, archery, climbing foot golf and food is included. We will leave the school at 9.00am and return at approx. 3.30pm.

Lighthouse Presentation
Last term we were learning about lighthouses and we created 7 lighthouses between the Senior Classes. On the 12th April we presented our lighthouses to the parents. We described our lighthouses to the parents and told them facts about them. We had written stories about them and the adults got to read them. We had spent a lot of time working on them and the parents appreciated the work put into our projects. We enjoyed learning about lighthouses from all over the world.
By Olivia

Sweet Pots and Sales
Last term we went to Derrynoose P.S. to set up the Junior Entrepreneur Programme (JEP). The idea that was chose was mini sweet pots. We produced the sweet pots in Derrynoose P.S. – we has 2 assembly lines and we choose our sweets for the pots. We brought 100 pots back to our school to sell to the families. We priced them at €3.50 each or 3 for €10. They sold really well. We made €335. We had a great time planning and setting up our JEP in Derrynoose P.S.
By Owen
Swop Shop
On Thursday 11th April we went to Derrynoose P.S. and took part in Swop Shop Day. We had to bring 3 identical items each. We sold them for up to €2.50 each. We brought flower pots, picture frames, sweet jars and buns. Derrynoose P.S. brought some of their toys from home. We set up our stalls and had a look at the other stalls. When the bell went we could then buy from the stalls. When the 2nd bell went we could swop our items. There was a donation box for a little girl with cancer and the school wanted to support her. We had a good day and I would like to do it again.
By Sophia

Dates for your diary
Monday 6th May Bank Holiday school closed
Monday 3rd June Bank Holiday school closed
Wednesday 26th June Summer Holidays school closing

Clontibret N.S. Newsletter
April 2019

Peace IV Lego Mindstorm Primary School Showcase Event
On 9th March 2019 Tristen, Callum, Jonathan, Aaron, Olivia, Leah, Sophia and Mrs. Crawford got the bus with Scoil Mhuire and headed towards the Tommy Makem Arts and Community Centre in Keady for the Peace IV Lego Mindstorm Primary School Showcase Event.
We had two teams and we each set up our Lego projects and information display boards. There were other competitors from St. Tiernach’s in Clones, St Mary’s in Granemore, Scoil Mhuire Clontibret and Drumhillery.
Reviewers came around and interviewed each team. We told them about our Moon Base and our moving Moon Buggies which could collect water and air supplies. Other teams made fans and sensor doors. All the Lego projects were very impressive.
We were given lots of fruit, water, chips and chicken nuggets to eat. Everyone got a goodie bag which contained popcorn, a bar, Lego, a book, a ruler, a pencil, a pen and a lollipop. We also received a moving Lego Medal each and each school got a lovely Lego Trophy. After the prize giving we went to the Crazy Photo Booth where we had lots of fun getting silly photos taken. We really enjoyed our day and look forward to creating more Lego projects.
By Callum
Derrynoose 14th March 2019
On 14th March the Junior Classes went to St. Mochua’s, Derrynoose to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Everyone wore something green. P5 in St. Mochua’s held their assembly and told us the story of St. Patrick and illustrated his life story through drawings. They sang and played traditional Irish music. Soon it was time to play outside with our friends in P1-P4. All the classes had prepared a song or a game which they preformed to the rest of the school to help everyone celebrate our Irish culture. Clontibret N.S. pupils introduced themselves ‘As Gaeilge’. We all sang ‘I’ll Tell Me Ma’ and ‘Ireland’s Call’ together. P6 signed the chorus of ‘Only You’ while the O’Neill Pipe Band, Clontibret played along in the background.. P3 played ‘Cén tAm É a Mhactíre’ which we had also been playing in the playground in Clontibret N.S. We all enjoyed a roast chicken lunch together followed by more outdoor play. We really enjoyed our joint ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ celebrations in Derrynoose and we look forward to having the Derrynoose pupils back in Clontibret next week.
Sponsored Walk
The children, teachers, and parents went to Rossmore Park for our Sponsored Walk on the St. Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday. It was a wet day but it wasn’t too bad. We walked for about ¾ hour. The forest looked lovely. After the walk we had a BBQ cooked by Brian McChesney, Alistair Graham and Bertha Wallace. We ate sausages and rolls and drank orange and tea. We all enjoyed a chat and enjoyed the event. A BIG thank you to all the parents for working so hard and making the Walk such a success. We made a whooping €1333 which will be put towards bus hire and Arts & Crafts for all pupils.
FAI Soccer Tournament
On Monday 1st April we entered a team in the Spar Five-a-side soccer Tournament held in Gortakeegan, Monaghan. Well done to Luke, Tristen, Thomas, Owen, Callum, Jonathan, Aaron and Alicia who was our Woman of the Match. Firstly we played Ballybay Central. The game ended 7-5 to Ballybay. Tristen scored 2, Luke scored 2 and Thomas scored 1. In our 2nd game we played Gransha Blue. We beat them 10-1. We had a great mornings sport. The team all played brilliantly even though we didn’t get through to the play-offs. Thank you to Euan our soccer coach who visited the school and gave the team some very good coaching tips leading up to the tournament. We are also very grateful to John McCrudden FAI for supplying the school with a kit.
By Luke
Volleyball
We have taken part in 4 weeks of volleyball. We have learned so much about the game. The coach taught us how to ‘spike’. This is the third contact when a player uses one open hand and swings at the ball to send it over the net. He also taught us how to ‘dig’. Digging is essential for having a successful defence. The job of a volleyball digger is to prevent the ball from hitting the floor after being spiked by the opposing team. To dig, the volleyball players must anticipate the spike and be prepared to quickly dive in any direction. We did warm up exercises with 6 balls in the middle of the hall and split us into 2 teams at either side of the hall, when he blew the whistle you had to run and get a ball. It was fun to learn volleyball as I knew nothing about it and I would continue it as a sport in secondary school.
By Zoe Dickson
Dancing
For the past 3 weeks we have been dancing with Rosita. It has been great fun and we have learned some new dances. We have been jiving and line dancing. We all partner up for the jiving and it is good exercise for us. The music has been super!
By Max

Sweet Treat Pots
We have been working on Junior Entrepreneur Programme (JEP) with Derrynoose P.S. We decided to produce 350 Sweet Treat Pots. We went to Derrynoose on Wednesday 3rd April. Mr. Farrell chose 5 pupils from Derrynoose and 5 from Clontibret. We picked a pot and went down the sweet lines (which made us very hungry). We put on gloves and filled our pots. We had a chocolate egg, a burger sweet, an icecream or banana sweet, love hearts, marshmallows, chocolate coins, sweet teeth, squashies, cola bottles, sour strip and marshmallow eggs. We covered the pots in cellophane. We are selling the pots for €3.50 each or 3 for €10. We think this is very good value so please support us, pots are selling quickly so it’s first come first served with your payment.
By Tristen
Swop Shop
As part of the Shared Education Programme and JEP the Senior Room will host a Swop Shop Day in Derrynoose on Thursday 11 April 2019. The Swop Shop is aimed at making the pupils:
• Think about the value of things
• Think about the value of money
• Manage their money
• Realise decisions in relation to buying/selling
• Using money in the real world
Each child can bring in:
• A total of 3 items to either sell or swop
• Each item should have their name and price on it (Maximum £2.00/€2.50)
• A total of £4.00/€5.00 to spend – parent’s discretion
The children will all get the opportunity to browse all items brought in. There will then be a period where they can swop items only. After this, items can be sold/bought. Any child that sells an item will be encouraged to give £1.00/€1 to charity.
We hope all children will take part in this initiative.
Farewell to Rev. Phair
Today 4th April we said ‘Goodbye’ to the Rev. Phair with a special assembly with music from, our senior guitar players. We wish him God’s richest blessing in his new parish in Donabate.

Swimming
Swimming for all pupils commences after Easter for 8 weeks, at Monaghan Leisure Centre from 10.50 to 11.50am. More details including costs will be available shortly.
Awards
We are continuing to award pupils for Pupil of the week/ Gaeilgeóir na Seachtaine/ Sportsperson and Kind Act of the week
Pupil of the week – Seniors Pupils of the week – Juniors Gaeilgeóir na Seachtaine Sportsperson Kind Act
8/3/19 Zoe Dickson Daniel Harry Max Zara
14/3/19 Rory Danielle Olivia Ashley Vicky
22/3/19 Ben Lexi Juliette Luke Ben
29/3/19 Tristen Aaron Joseph McChes Timothy Thomas/Callum

Dates for your diary:
Friday 12th April Easter Closing
Monday 29th April Reopening after Easter Holidays
Monday 6th May Bank Holiday school closed
Monday 3rd June Bank Holiday school closed
Wednesday 26th June Summer Holidays school closing

Matthew 28:5 – 7 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Clontibret N.S. Newsletter
March 2019

Lego Mindstorm Project
The 5th and 6th Class pupils enjoyed Afterschool Lego Workshops and have prepared Space Projects based on how astronauts get water and energy on the International Space Station. They have created moving Lego space rockets and buggies that they will showcase at the Peace IV Lego Mindstorm Event in the Tommy Makem Arts & Community Centre on Saturday 9th March from 11-2pm. Why not drop into the centre during this time on Saturday and support our participants.

Shared Education
We had a busy month of Shared Education with St. Mochua’s, Derrynoose. Senior pupils worked in groups and devised various Easter products including special pictures, Easter Egg Trees, Easter Bunnies and Cupcakes. After much deliberation the “Easter Sweet Pot” was chosen as our Enterprise Product – pupils may sell up to 3 pots each and they will cost €2.50 each. There will also be a very limited edition of a Cookie Mix Jar – well done everyone for creating such a wide variety of very interesting products and for working so well together in your teams – as collaboration and team work are the most important skills being developed during these activities. The Senior pupils will spend another day in Derrynoose assembling the product and preparing it for April.
The Junior pupils welcomed P1 and P2 pupils for our Outdoor Play Day in Clontibret. Elaine made fantastic outdoor toys which all our pupils have enjoyed every day at lunchtime – “A Mud Kitchen”, Sound Wall, Boomwhacker Stand, Road Pallet, Gravel Path and Digging Pit. Colin Tate supplied the stones and bark. The children were delighted with their sausage hotdogs cooked by Marissa. Pupils also enjoyed the warmest day in February playing in Derrynoose playground, playing hockey and space related classroom games. Junior Room pupils will return to Derrynoose for a St. Patrick’s Celebration Day on Thursday 14th March – please note the change of date.

Pancake Tuesday
Sandra cooked lots of delicious pancakes for everyone on Pancake Tuesday. Thank you Ann Potts for providing the eggs.

Sponsored Walk
We are looking forward to our Sponsored Walk in Rossmore Park at 10.45am on Monday 18th March. Thank you to Bertha and the PTA for organising the sponsor cards and route. Health and Safety will be important on the day – parents are responsible for their own children and it will be important that all the group stays together. Refreshments will be provided at the end.

Money Due
Photo money is now due as it will be collected by the photographer on Friday 8th April. Book Rental – €60/pupil is also due, if not already paid.

Volleyball
Volleyball has started on Fridays and will continue for the month of March.

Dates for your diary
Primary Language Curriculum Day No school – Friday 15th March
St. Patrick’s Day No school – Monday 18th March – Sponsored Walk in Rossmore
Easter School closes on April 12th and re-opens on Monday 29th April

Fundraising
A big thank you to everyone for bringing in all your unwanted clothes, shoes and bed linen. We raised a fabulous €220.
We are looking forward to our School Sponsored Walk in Rossmore Park on Monday 18th March.
Food Dudes
We are participating in the EU Funded Food Dudes Programme. The Junior Class have been tasting and eating carrots, cucumber, sweet corn, peppers, apples, oranges, grapes and bananas. The grapes seem to be the favourite fruit while carrots have been the favourite vegetable. A big thank you to Chloe, Zoe Donaldson and Zoe Dickson for helping to make a delicious carrot soup last Friday which was enjoyed by young and old at lunch time. We would encourage all the children to eats lots of fruit and vegetables at home too.
100 Day Walking Challenge
Why not take up the challenge of walking for at least ½ hour every day whatever the weather for 100 days to improve health and fitness. It’s free and easy. After 20 days it becomes a habit and you won’t want to stop! Any more get fit and keep fit ideas? Share on the Whats App group.
Photographer
The photographer is coming to school next Tuesday morning – younger/older family members welcome. Full uniform to be worn for school photos.
Enterprise Ideas
We loved all the brilliant Enterprise ideas. We are inviting the children to make 3 of their products each and we will host our very own SALE DAY on Friday 12th April.
Dates for your diary
Open Day for new pupils Tuesday 19th February 2-3.30pm (Please let us know of any new families in the area so we can sent them an invite)

Mid-term break No school – Thursday/Friday 21st/22nd February
Primary Language Curriculum Day No school – Friday 15th March
St. Patrick’s Day No school – Monday 18th March – Sponsored Walk in Rossmore

The Peace Link
On the 16th November we travelled to Clones Peace Link with Derrynoose P.S. as part of our Shared Education. We split into 6 teams and we went to the running track and the astro turf pitch. We did different activities such as obstacle course, rounders, Olympic hand ball, javelin, long jump relay race and high jump. During our two breaks we spent time with our friends from Derrynoose P.S. After lunch Derrynoose P.S. went home first while we waited for our bus. We had an enjoyable day and the weather was pleasant.
By Olivia & Aaron
The Orchestra in Derrynoose P.S.
On the 17th December we were invited to Derrynoose P.S. to listen to the Orchestra. When we arrived the Principal welcomed us and we took our seats. The orchestra played some Christmas pieces like ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Rudolf’. They also played ‘Baby Shark’ and a piece from ‘The Greatest Showman’. They showed us their instruments and we had to guess what they were called. There was a dance competition – the girls against the boys. The girls won. We enjoyed our musical afternoon and we were back to school for 3pm.
By Zoe Do & Luke
Our Christmas Plays
On Wednesday 19th December we held our Christmas plays in Tullycorbet Hall. The Junior Room did a Nativity play. The Senior Room did a play on Christmas 1914. It was based on a boy called Joe who wanted to sign up for the war. He liked a girl called Grace and he wrote her a letter before he went. There was confusion in getting the letter to Grace and it was misplaced. Joe signed up and Grace thought he didn’t care about her and she went off by train to London to train as a nurse. When 4 children found Joe’s letter Grace was already gone to London. In the last scene in the ‘children’s Carol service’ Grace was delighted when she came back got her lost letter from Joe. In the last song the soldiers marched onto stage. We had tea after the play and we all had a great night.
By Leah B & Tristen
Shared Education with St. Mochua’s P.S. Derrynoose
On Monday 21st January 3rd-6th Class went to St. Mochua’s P. S. Derrynoose at 9.45am. We were welcomed and sorted into groups. Mr. Woods had 5 groups, Mrs. Gilmour had 5 groups, Ms. Hamilton and Ms. Johnston had 5 groups. We had to work with each other and come up with selling ideas. We mixed well and had some very interesting ideas. After break we had to draw out our idea, colour it in and work out prices.
We got a hot dinner – a choice of irish stew, stuffed bacon and chicken roll with potato and gravy. For dessert we had fruit salad or rice pudding. We really enjoyed dinner. We went outside for a break. We went back to class to write up a slide about our idea. We were back in Clontibret for 2.30pm.
By Zoe Dickson and Callum
On Tuesday 22nd January the Junior Room went to St. Mochua’s P.S. in Derrynoose. The children were all divided into groups. They had 3 different stations – outdoor play, P.E. and class activities. In outdoor play they had balance bikes and scooters to share. There was an outside kitchen playhouse and shop. There was also a digging area. In P.E. they played some team games and basketball. The children mixed well and worked well as a team. In the class activities they had a choice of painting, play dough, lego, roll play and drawing/cutting/sticking. They children enjoyed their day out.
Lego Mindstorm Project
As part of our afterschool Lego project Ethan, out teacher gave us a new Lego kit. We built scraper robots and had to collect little bricks on the table. We did different challenges. One was to use the scraper robot, come out of your garage, put bricks around the wall and then try to get the bricks back into the garage. We are doing the Lego Mindstorm for 4 weeks and then we are going to have a competition to build a space robot.
By Jonathan and Thomas

January Newsletter

Welcome back to school. We trust everyone enjoyed their Christmas holiday and had a fun family time. We hope you are all rejuvenated for the New Year.
Upcoming Events and Activities:
• The P.T.A. are hosting a Pyjama Movie Night in the school this Thursday evening at 6.30. Children may bring in their own snacks, non-spill juice bottles and duvets.
• The photographer will be in school on Tuesday 5th February.
• PE will be on Thursdays until the Mid-Term break when the GAA coaches will be teaching ball handling skills to the children. PE clothes and runners should be worn by all on Thursdays only. ( A gum shield should be worn by Senior room pupils)
• Our Shared Learning activities with St. Mochua’s Derrynoose will be taking place this term. The junior room pupils will be involved in Outdoor play activities on the following Tuesdays-
29th January, 12th February, 26th February, 12th March, 26th March and 9th April.
Juniors – It is essential that pupils wear warm coats and warm jogging bottoms on these days. They will also be supplied with waterproof leggings in school.
Junior pupils will also need a pair of wellington boots that they can leave in school. They should both be labelled with the child’s name. The children may take them home at the end of the school year.
The senior Enterprise Project Days will be held in Derrynoose on Monday 21st January, Monday 4th February, Monday 11th February, Thursday 21st March and Thursday 11th April.
• As part of our participation in the Peace IV LEGO Mindstorms project, we will be offering a number of LEGO Afterschool workshops as part of our preparation for the Peace IV FIRST LEGO League Jr. Showcase (FLL Jr.). FLL Jr. is an exciting Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) programme for primary school students. Each year a theme relevant to the world around them is chosen as a focus for the children’s work with this year’s theme being ‘Mission Moon’. The teams research the topic, displaying their ideas on a Show Me poster and they also build a coded & motorised LEGO® model. FLL Jr. rapidly develops teamwork, design, programming and communication skills, but the most important thing is that it is great fun and aids the children’s enjoyment STEM subjects.
These afterschool workshops will take place in Clontibret NS on the following times/dates:
• Tuesday 15th January – 3.00pm to 5.00pm
• Tuesday 22nd January – 3.00pm to 5.00pm
• Tuesday 29th January – 3.00pm to 5.00pm
• Tuesday 5th February – 3.00pm to 5.00pm
• Lego showcase 9th March
These workshops are not compulsory; students are free to attend if they wish.
This project is aimed at 5th and 6th Class pupils.
• For safety reasons it has been suggested that pupils who go home by car should be collected by their parents from the classrooms. We will try this on a trial basis during the month of January. Pupils should not run out to cars or play in the area in front of the school. A teacher will escort pupils to the bus.
• We hope to set up new Outdoor play activities in the playground and we would be grateful if parents could give us any of the following items that you may no longer need at home: old large Tractor tyres, old car tyres, crates, plastic bottles, washed out plastic milk containers , drain pipes, guttering-without sharp edges, plastic/cardboard tubing, flexible tubing, old kitchen pots, pans, baking trays, wooden spoons, metal spoons, old large electric wire spools, old go cart tyres, broom handles, old but not broken toy dumper trucks/ tractors/ diggers, dress up clothes, old catering buckets ( without holes !).
Look up Outdoor play ideas on Pinterest and you will see what we are looking for!
• Post Office Savings and After School for Infants will continue as usual.
• We hope to have a Clothes Collection to raise funds for the school. Please leave bags in before 23rd January.

Dates for your Diary
Open Day for new pupils………Tuesday 19th February 2-3.30pm
Mid-term break………………Thursday/Friday 21st/22nd February
St. Patrick’s Day……………Monday 18th March

Monaghan County Council/Library Service are hosting a Children’s Book Festival next week and we hope to participate. The Junior Room pupils are going to Scoil Eanna, Ballybay on Tuesday 9th October for a story telling session with Joe Brennan. We hope to follow this with an Autumn walk around the Wetland Centre.
The Senior pupils will attend a Story Writing Workshop with author Cathy Cassidy in Castleblayney Library on Tuesday 9th October. They will also follow this with an Autumn walk around Muckno.

During the coming school year Clontibret NS pupils will be working together with pupils from Derrynoose PS on Shared Learning projects. This cross border initiative is sponsored by the EU Peace IV Collaboration through sharing in Education (CASE) which aims to build a culture of good relations among school children and to give them the skills to create a culture where collaboration and co-operation is the norm.

Dates for your Diary –
Halloween Holidays: School will be closed from Monday 29th October til Friday 2nd November.
School will reopen on Monday 5th November.

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The Ploughing by Chloe
On Thursday 20th September our family travelled to the Ploughing Championship in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. We left around 7.30am and arrived at 10am. Grandma was helping at a stall ‘Cavan Christian Bookshop’. Their stall had been destroyed in the wind and they got the Big Red Bus to replace it on Thursday and Friday. The bus travels throughout the country providing a range of activities for all ages in co-operation with local churches and local communities. We went there first and then we went to the Lely stand which had robotic milking systems on show. They had previously come out to our home and filmed our farm and the robots in action. This was shown on the screen at the show. After that it started to pour and we got free ponchos to keep us dry. There were a lot of people there, we stood at the top of the hill and watched everyone moving about. We went round lots of stalls and really enjoyed the day.

Volcanoes by Tristen
Volcanoes can cause damage. A volcano is a mountain with a large crater or opening at the top. Due to the pressure under the ground, lave bursts through to the surface. This is called a volcanic eruption. The lava flows down the mountainside destroying everything in front of it. There are over 1000 active volcanoes in the world today. Volcanoes have buried cities, towns and villages throughout the world in the past and many people have lost their lives.

Storm Ali by Zoe
On Wednesday 19th September we had a really windy storm. When we were driving home after school a tree had fallen at the side of the road and the roots had taken up part of the road. As we arrived home we found a tree in our garden had fallen over. The electricity was off and didn’t come back on til 7.30pm. There was a lot of damage done throughout the country and unfortunately two people lost their lives. It can be very dangerous to be out in a storm.

ICT by Leah
This year 3rd and 4th Class meet on a Monday afternoon and 5th and 6th Class on a Tuesday afternoon at 2pm in Mrs Crawford’s room for ICT. We are learning how to make timetables. We are going to be learning about Word Art and how to create documents. I am enjoying this class as it is very important to be able to use computers properly.

We trust everyone had an enjoyable and rejuvenating summer holiday.
A special welcome to our new Junior Infants—Lexie, Eryn, Adam, Harry and Joseph and to Owen in 5th Class. We wish them well in their time with us. It is my hope that this school year will be full of successful experiences for all pupils.

We are delighted to have purchased and installed 7 new laptops in the Senior classroom. Pupils will only be allowed to use the computers when a teacher is in the classroom. Food and drink are prohibited at the laptop desks.

P.E. this term will be on Friday, so no uniform is needed then. Remember suitable runners and loose, comfortable P.E. clothes.

It is important that all pupils go outside to play everyday at lunchtime. 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.

If your child is upset by work, or another pupil/teacher please contact the class teacher so any problems can be dealt with immediately. You may ring the school between 9.00-9.20 and 3.00-3.20 to make an appointment to speak to the teacher.
Please find attached a copy of the school year, Brennan Insurance and yearly consent form.
Please return your yearly consent form and Brennan Insurance forms by 25th September.
Tin whistle and guitar classes will recommence next week for the Senior Classroom—tin whistle on Tuesday 11th September and guitar on Wednesday 12th September.

Post Office savings will begin on Tuesday 18th September. Children may bring savings in weekly in a clearly marked envelope and in turn we will buy post office saving stamps which will be returned to the children at the end of the year.

Well done to all the children who are continuing to bring lots of fruit and vegetables every day. Treat day is on Fridays. Some healthy snacks that we encourage include wraps, pasta, sandwiches, bread sticks, rice cakes, crackers, yoghurts, fruit, vegetables, cheese and cream crackers.
Junior infants may be collected from school this week at 1.00pm.
All infants should be collected at 2.00pm sharp from 10th September.
Are you interested in sending your Junior or Senior Infant child to an After School Club from 2-3pm on Monday-Thursday? It would cost €12.50 per week or €4 per day. Most children would need to use the service regularly to make it viable. Activities would include—craft, playtime, outside games, story time, cookery, construction toys, playdough etc. Please let Mrs Crawford know ASAP.

It will cost €60/child to rent books and workbooks for the school year. This also includes photocopying. Pupils need to take good care of readers and text books that will be used every year. This may be paid before 25th October 2018.

All homework should be completed neatly every day. Pupils should always try their best. If you child is unable to do their homework due to illness please send in a note. If a homework assignment is forgotten it should be given to the teacher the next day. If there is not a legitimate excuse explained by a parental note for not presenting a homework the child will complete it at break time in school.

Our school web site is now up and running—please feel free to take a look.
www.clontibretns.com