May Newsletter 2026
I’m sure everyone is aware by now that I will be retiring at the end of this upcoming August. The procedure for appointing a new Principal will be beginning soon and we pray that the school will be blessed with a new Principal that will lead it with enthusiasm and wisdom into the future.
Upcoming Events
- End of Year SESE Assessments, Drumcondra Reading & Spelling Tests and Sigma T Numeracy Tests are taking place during the coming weeks of May.
- RSE Day will be held in school for 5th & 6th Class pupils on Wednesday 3rd Castleblayney Central pupils hope to join us. Consent forms have been sent home with 5th and 6th class pupils today– please sign and return asap.
- The School Tour will take place on Thursday 11th June to Todds Leap. We are attending the Open Park Day where students can explore the park more independently while still attending as part of our group. They can enjoy up to 15 self-guided activities and can go on activities as many times as they like, giving them the freedom to make the most of their day. The tour will be partly funded by the Board of Management funds. It will cost €25 per pupil.
- We hope to hold the annual BBQ at the school on Friday 12th
- Please find the Holiday List for next year attached.
- School closed Monday 1st June – Bank Holiday
- School closes on Friday 19th June for Summer at 12.00pm
- School reopens on Wednesday 27th August
I didn’t receive this from Mrs Crawford, but thought it should be mentioned in the Newsletter –
Huge congratulations to our very own Mrs Crawford on winning “Volunteer of the Year” award at the VEX Robotic event held in Combilift on Wednesday, 6th May. This award recognised Mrs Crawford’s support of the Vex initiative being rolled out in local schools. We are all so proud of her! It was also very special to have the award presented by one of Mrs Crawford’s past pupils, Stephen Johns. The trophy now has pride of place in the Senior Classroom.
Clontibret N.S.
School Calendar 2026-2027
School Will Reopen: Wednesday 26th August 2026
Halloween Half Term: School Closed Monday 26th – 30th October 2026
School Will Reopen: Monday 2nd November 2026
Christmas Holidays: School will close on Tuesday 22nd December 2026
School Will Reopen: Wednesday 6th January 2027
St. Brigid’s Day: Monday 1st February 2027
Spring Half Term: School closed on Thurs & Fri 18th & 19th February 2027
St. Patrick’s Day: Wednesday 17th March 2027
Easter Holidays: School will close on Friday 19th March 2027
School Will Reopen: Monday 5th April 2027
School Closed: 3rd May 2027 – Bank Holiday
7th June 2027– Bank Holiday
Summer Holidays: School will close on Friday 18th June 2027
Stationery List for Senior Pupils
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 (5th & 6th 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 (1st & 2nd class)
Please label everything
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Museum Visit By Joseph
On the 16th March we went to the museum in Monaghan on a school trip. We had to look for different artefacts and write our answers on a clipboard. The museum was fascinating, having many different artefacts like flint swords, a famine pot, a grinding stone, an axe, a birthing chair, drums, movie theatre seats, spear heads, outfits, a wing of a plane, guns and much more. We were amazed with all the items that the museum had collected over the years. It was fascinating.
We also watched a video showing lots of pictures from the olden days of Ireland (1900s) and it was very interesting! The museum was fantastic.
While we were in the museum the Junior Room went to the library.
After our museum visit we went to an Nead an Irish speaking café. We spoke in Irish and we got hot chocolate and some traybakes. The café looked very nice.
History of Bread Making By Olivia
On the 19th of April Lucy a bread maker came to school and taught us how to make wheaten bread. First, we put plain flour and brown flour into 2 different bowls. Then we mixed them together and added an egg and some honey to another bowl. We added buttermilk and baking soda together. The baking soda made the buttermilk fizz, which would help the bread rise. We mixed everything together and spread it out in a loaf tin. We put it in the oven and cooked it. After break when the bread had cooled we tasted the bread. It was very nice and tasty. We watched a video about milling. And we got to grind some wheat using a grinding stone. It was as very interesting day.
VEX Competition By Bonnie
We had two VEX Robotic competitions. The first one was on Thursday 23rd April. We left school at around 10am and set off for the Peace Campus in Monaghan. When we arrived, we went in and practised for a bit. The competition started and we watched the matches. Everyone was a bit nervous. Then it was our turn. There were a few qualifying rounds to get to the final. We got into the final, it was very exciting. The final consisted of 2 players. Each player had 30 seconds to stack, knock and move pins. When your 30 seconds were up you had to swap players. Then the next player had 30 seconds to do the same. We didn’t get a very good score but that didn’t matter because we still had another competition to take part in.
The 2nd competition was in Combilift. This competition was on Wednesday 6th May. We got the bus and headed for Combilift. We got to look at all the schools practising when we arrived. It was basically the same as the last competition but this time we got 3rd place!! Our score this time would have beaten the winning score last time. Mrs. Crawford also won “Volunteer of the Year Award”. It was a really fun day out and we had the best time!