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November in Junior and Senior Infants
November was a fun and busy month. We learned all about the Antarctica and Weather.
Our Aistear theme for the first half of November was Tom Crean and the Antarctica. We made penguins from 2D shapes, built igloos, made Antarctica animals using playdough and built exploration ships to explore floating and sinking.
Our STEM challenge this month was to build an igloo using marshmallows and matchsticks. The children had to plan, design and evaluate their work. The children enjoyed the challenge.
During the second half of the month, we focused on Winter and Weather as our theme for Aistear. The children designed wooly hats using marble printing techniques, made and tested windsocks, created and recorded their own weather forecasts and sorted clothes according to the weather.
Toy Show:
We had our very own Toy Show in our classroom. The children were invited to bring in their favourite toy for a “Show and Tell”. It was great fun and made us even more excited for the RTE Toy Show.
Birthdays:
We had lots of birthdays this month:
In Junior Infants, Mikey, Shay and Cían Quigley turned 5 while Nathan and Vivienne in Senior Infants turned 6. Happy Birthday!!
December 2019 Newsletter
On behalf of the management and all the staff of Ballyneale N.S. I wish you and your families a Happy and Holy Christmas and Peace and Health in the New Year. The school will close on Friday December 20th at 12.30pm for the Christmas Holidays and re-open on Monday 6th January 2020.
Christmas Pageant: This year’s Christmas Pageant will be held at St. Mary’s Church, Ballyneale on Tuesday December 17th December. Thanks to Mary O’Hanlon for directing the Christmas Pageant. Thanks to Miss Dempsey for her work with the choir and to Miss O’Neill for preparing the infants. Thanks to Jane for her contribution with her guitar. Thanks to all the staff for their time and effort and to all the children. It is great to see the whole school community working so closely together.
Board of Management: Our new Board of Management begins its four year term on December 1st. Thanks to the parents who turned up to our meeting on November 13th to elect our two parent representatives. The following were elected as Parents’ Representatives: Collette Gleeson and James Walsh.
The members of the new Board of Management are as follows:
Fr. Jimmy Browne (Chairperson), Michael McHale (Secretary), Clare Dempsey (Teacher Representative), Shirley Griffin (Community Representative), Eugene O’Keeffe (Community Representative).
We wish the new Board of Management every good wish for the next four years.
Knitting: Knitting lessons are continuing at the school on Wednesday evenings from 3-4pm. Thanks to Miss Whelan for organising this and to all our volunteers – Mary Walsh, Anne Strappe , Caroline Dowley, Vera Power, Mary Blanchfield and Sharon Harte – for all their help.
Old Mobile Phones: We continue to collect old mobile phones, clothes and stamps.
Parents’ Association: Thanks to all the parents who have volunteered to help in any capacity at the school. The Parents’ Association will hold their Annual Christmas Hamper Raffle on Friday 20th December. It is important that you support this draw and the money will be used for the hiring of buses for swimming, out of school activities etc.
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Thanks to all the parents who attended Parent Teacher Conferences. I hope you found it a worthwhile experience. It was very beneficial for staff to get further insights into your child.
FAI Futsal Competition: Pupils from 3rd and 4th class attended a blitz on 6th November. Thanks to Miss Whelan, Ian Sheehan and Alex Sheehan for bringing the children. A great time was had by all.
Student Council: Congratulations to our Student Council on a most successful cake sale on 25th October. They raised €900 on the day. The proceeds were divided between Carrick-on-Suir Day Care Centre and Carrick-on-Suir Meals on Wheels. Many thanks to the volunteers who attended the school for the cheque presentation. They spoke to the children about the services they provide and were very grateful to the Student Council for thinking of them and raising such a wonderful amount. Well done!
Biodiversity Dress-Up Day: Thanks to Miss Dempsey and the Green Flag Committee for organising a dress-up day on 22nd November as part of the Biodiversity Green Flag. Also thank you to the children for putting such effort into costumes and face painting.
Junior Entrepreneur: 5th and 6th class pupils are busy getting their produce ready in time for selling at their Christmas Craft Fair which will be held in the school on Wednesday 11th December from 9.30-11am. All are welcome.
GAA Quiz: Conor O’Meara, Zach O’Keeffe, James Walsh and Scott Harte represented the school in the GAA quiz in Clonmel in November.
Swimming Lessons: Swimming lessons will begin at Clonmel Swimming Pool for children from 3rd to 6th Class on Wednesday January 15th for seven weeks. These lessons are subsidised by the Parents’ Association and will now cost each child €30.00.
Yoga: Pupils from Junior Infants to Second Class will begin yoga lessons in January for 6 weeks under the instruction of Muireann Morris. The cost per pupils is €10.00.
Art: Congratulations to Alvin Zheng 6th Class who won a prize for his artwork in the local Lions Club Competition.
Shoe Box Appeal: The children of Ballyneale N.S. recently donated a substantial number of boxes to the Shoe Box Appeal to bring joy to children in developing countries this Christmas. Thanks.
Little Red Kettle Theatre Company: The Little Red Kettle Theatre Company visited the school in November to perform their interactive play “What a Massive Calamity”. The children had great fun.
Debating: The school has entered the Concern’s Primary Schools’ Debating Competition. The school debated against Rathgormack N.S. and will debate against Ballyduff Upper in on 12th December.
Santa Walk: Our annual Santa Walk will take place around Ballyneale on Friday December 20th at 9.30am. All are welcome. Hot chocolate will be served by the parents at the school afterwards. Wear your Santa hat!
School Grounds: A sincere thanks to Michael and Eileen Holloway for all their work on the school grounds throughout the year. A special thank you to J.J. Crowley for all his voluntary work on the school grounds. It is much appreciated. The sweet pea looked very colourful during the summer.
Junior Achievement: Merck Sharpe and Dohme volunteers are working with all classes teaching them about the world of business and industry. We thank M.S.D. for facilitating their participation.
Chess: Thanks to Vanessa Hahessy for volunteering to teach the rules of chess to pupils from 3rd to 6th class. It is a skill the children will have for life.
Pantomime: The children from 3rd to 6th class will travel to University of Limerick, Concert Hall on Wednesday 18th December to see the pantomime “Aladdin”. The cost per pupil is €20.00
Cycling: Cycling lessons have concluded at the school for 5th and 6th class pupils. Thanks to Donal and Ollie for conducting the lessons. The children have made great progress.
St. Vincent de Paul: The Carrick-on-Suir Conference of St. Vincent de Paul are holding a food collection point at the school for the next couple of weeks. Donations of non-perishable foodstuffs would be greatly appreciated.
Liam McCarthy: There was great excitement in the school on 11th November with the visit of the Liam McCarthy Cup. Seamie Callinan gave an inspiring talk to the children followed by a signing of autographs and taking photographs. Hopefully he will return again next year!
Angela McGuigan: Congratulations to Angela McGuigan, past pupil, on winning an All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Medal with Tipperary. We are so proud of Angela’s achievement and wish her the best of luck and happiness for the future. Angela visited the school recently. Her father Eugene donated a buddy bench to the school in memory of the occasion.
With renewed good wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
Thank you for all your help and support during the year.
Christmas Craft Fair
Children in 5th and 6th class are holding a Christmas Craft Fair on Wednesday 11th December from 9:30am to 11:00am.
All parents, grandparents and family members are invited to enjoy tea, buns and music prepared by the students.
There will be an opportunity to buy some Christmas decorations that the students have created. All small hanging decorations will be priced at €2.50, the cone Christmas Trees will be €4, Shell Jars will be €3:50 and Stained Glass Jars will be €3:00.
€3:50 
€4 
€2:50 
€4 
€2:50 
€2:50 
€2:50 
€3
We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday morning!
Biodiversity Day
Thanks to Miss Dempsey and the Green Flag Committee for organising a dress-up day on 22nd November as part of the Biodiversity Green Flag. Also thank you to the children for putting such effort into costumes and face painting.
The Little Red Kettle
The Little Red Kettle Theatre Group visited our school last week with their production of ‘What a Calamity’. The children thoroughly enjoyed the performance and learned a lot about Climate Change from it.
A huge well done to all children who performed. You were all excellent!
Cake Sale
A huge thank you to everyone involed in this years cake sale. €900 was raised for the Carrick-on-Suir Meals on Wheels Service and the Daycare Centre in Carrick, both receiving €450 each.
All pupils had a chance to buy some treats and win prizes.
Congratulations to all who won prizes in the raffle.
The Student Council were given the opportunity to present cheques to representatives from Meals on Wheels and the Carrick-on-Suir Daycare Centre.
A huge thank you to all who contributed cakes and buns and to those who helped out on the day.
Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal
Thank you to all those who brought in their shoe box for the Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal. We’ve had a great response yet again this year.
They were collected this week and will be delivered to children in need in Eastern Europe and Africa.
Well done to all involved!
