e-Zine/Update Events October 2014

Music

Music lessons have resumed for those who have already subscribed.  They take place on alternate Wednesdays for 2nd and 3rd classes and all ukulele players and Thursdays for 4th to 6th classes, unless the children are told otherwise.

Drumming Workshop

There was great excitement at the recent drumming workshop, where the children experienced different drumming techniques.  A very enjoyable and fun time was had by all.  Once again we would like to thank the Parent’s Association for kindly funding the cost of running this workshop.

Leave No Trace   

Last term the then 3rd class students entered a competition under the Leave No Trace Programme and won 1st and 2nd places.  Programme organisers will be visiting these students, who are now in 4th class, to present them with their prizes on Wednesday 8th October.

Parent Teacher Meetings

This year’s parent teacher meetings will be held on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd October.  The school will close at 2pm as usual for infants and at 2.30pm for the rest of the children on these days.  You should have received your appointment times, should you wish to reschedule, please contact your child’s class teacher.  Ms Kneafsey and Ms Breen will be available to meet with parents on these evenings also.

Fundraising:

Sponsored Walk

The children will participate in a sponsored walk on Friday 24th October, sponsorship forms have been issued to the children on 13th October.  We hope to raise funds this school year for playground equipment and we hope we will have as much support as we did for our very successful inaugural sponsored walk last year.  Please ensure all sponsorship money is returned to the school by Thursday 23rd October.

Cash for Clobber

We will be holding another cash for clobber collection, following on from our very successful collection last year. This year the school has the chance of entering their competition – the school that collects the most clobber per pupil could win a cash prize of €3,000 – that would be a massive amount of money for the school!  So we need to get collecting! The collection period will be announced shortly, but we intend to have the actual collection after the February midterm break.

Christmas Annuals

Any child wishing to purchase Christmas annuals should return order forms and money to school no later than Wednesday 12th November please, to avoid disappointment. Only orders placed using the official order forms will be accepted, to avoid any confusion or omissions.  The cost per annual is €4.

Comenius

As you are aware we are participating in the Comenius project. Over the past year teachers have visited schools in Norway, Germany and Latvia, in addition to hosting our Comenius partners in March 2013. We have found participation in the Comenius project to be an enriching and worthwhile educational experience.  We intend to travel to Spain in November to visit our partner school in Rivas, Madrid and would like to extend an invitation for children in sixth class to join us. We are in a position to bring approximately 6 children on the trip, and we are currently looking for suitable students from sixth class. We look forward to the experience the Comenius project continues to give us.

 Athletics

All pupils from Junior Infants up to 6th class will be attending athletics in Claremorris over the coming weeks.  The cost per child is €5 please; this covers the charge for the athletics track and for the transport by bus/coach to and from the venue.

Mass for Holy Souls

We will hold Mass for the Holy Souls in the school hall on Thursday 6th November at 11.30am.  All parents and grandparents are welcome to attend.

Yoga Workshop

There will be a yoga workshop for all classes (JI-6th) on Wednesday 3rd December.  This will give the children an opportunity to sample the benefits of yoga exercise.  The cost will be €2 per child.

Swimming

Swimming lessons will re-commence on 5th January 2015 for Mrs Coyne’s and Ms Boyle’s classes.  Lessons for 1st class with Ms Coyle and Ms Horkan’s class will start on 16th February 2015.  Information regarding payment etc for the January classes will be sent out shortly and for the February classes will be sent out in January.

Board of Management

Yvonne Duffy is the new mothers’ parents’ nominee, as she had the next highest number of votes from the BOM 2011 election.  Many thanks to Gráinne Kelly Frayne for acting in this position for the last three years, which is a great support of the work we do in the school.

School Email Address

The school email address is admin@knockns.ie.  If you wish to email the school for any reason, please use this email address only.  Please do not reply to the e-zine/update as this is sent from a separate email address, used solely for the purpose of sending out updates to parents.

School Closure Dates

The school will be closed on the following dates:

Mid-term break: Monday 27th to Friday 31st October

Holy Day (Immaculate Conception): Monday 8th December

Christmas Holidays: Monday 22nd December to Friday 2nd January 2015 (school re-opens on Monday 5th January 2015)

Holy Day (Epiphany): Tuesday 6th January 2015