December Newsletter 2024 - Clontibret National School

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:

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

Luke 2:11