Nuachtlitir na Scoile

Scoil Mhuire Maigh Cuilinn

Eagrán 1 Nollaig 2015

Fáilte go dtí an chéad eagrán do Nuachtlitir na Scoile. Táthar ag súil go bhfoilseofar an nuachtlitir seo ar a laghad uair amháin in aghaidh gach téarma chun pobal na scoile a choinneáil ar a neolas faoi imeachtaí na scoile agus na gníomhaíochtaí éagsúla a bhfuil páistí agus múinteoirí na scoile páirteach iontu. Tá súil againn go mbainfidh sibh taithneamh as.

Welcome to the first edition of our School Newsletter. We hope to publish our newsletter at least once a term to keep the school community up to date with all our news and the activities in which our pupils and teachers are engaged. We hope you will enjoy it.

New Doors and Windows! The Board of Management of Scoil Mhuire applied to the Dept. of Education to have new windows and doors installed in the main school building as part of the Summer Works Scheme. We’re sure you’ll agree that the school looks great, especially the colourful new windows in the Halla Mór. The work was completed by Ard Rí Windows. Thanks to Board of Management member Patrick Byrne for heading up the project and to our School Caretaker Pat Walsh for being on site all summer.

Our new Front Door and Halla Mór windows.

Scoil Mhuire’s Campaign for a School Extension In early September, the Board of Management decided to forge ahead with a campaign to secure approval from the Department of Education for a badly needed school extension in order to replace our aging prefabs. A petition to the Minister for Education and Skills, Ms. Jan O’Sullivan was launched, which involved the collection of over 4,500 signatures. On Wednesday 7th October, the Principal Mr. Kavanagh, accompanied by Mr. Joe Howley, Chairperson of the Board of Management and Board of Management member Mr. Patrick Byrne travelled to Leinster House to present the petition to the minister. Scoil Mhuire’s case was outlined to the minister and the need to replace our prefabs with a modern school building was stressed. Local T.D. Sean Kyne, who had facilitated the meeting, introduced the Scoil Mhuire delegation to Minister O’Sullivan. Also in attendance in support of our petition was Derek Nolan, T.D.

SCHOOL  BUILDING  PROGRAMME  On  Tuesday  17th  November,  the  Government’s  School  Building  Programme  was  announced,  bringing  the  much  anticipated  good  news  for  Scoil  Mhuire  that  we  had  been  included  on  the  list  of  schools  to  receive  funding  for  refurbishment  and  extension.  This  work  is  set  to  begin  in  the  2019-­‐2021  phase  of  the  programme.  The  Board  of  Management  will  now  embark  upon  the  design  and  planning  stage.  Finally,  after  all  these  years,  our  hopes  for  decent  accommodation  for  our  pupils  and  teachers  are  set  to  become  a  reality.  

Scoil Mhuire’s delegation present the petition to Minister Jan O’Sullivan at Leinster House.

Go raibh maith agaibh as ucht na tacaíochta! THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

WORLD CLASS HANDBALLERS VISIT SCOIL MHUIRE

Past pupils Martin and Diarmuid Mulkerrins paid a visit to Scoil Mhuire back in September, bringing with them an impressive haul of two gold medals and one silver medal that they won at the 2015 World Handball Championships in Calgary, Canada in August. Scoil Mhuire is very proud of Martin and Diarmuid, not only for their sporting prowess, but also because Irish Handball in general, and Moycullen in particular, could not have better ambassadors than these two fine young gentlemen.

Martin and Diarmuid Mulkerrins visit Scoil Mhuire

 

Ladies  6  Nations  Trophy  Comes  to  Scoil  Mhuire  The  6  Nations  Trophy  won  by  the  Irish  Ladies  Rugby  Team  back  in  March  was  brought  to  the  school  by  members  of  the  Connacht  Branch,  accompanied  by  Rugby  Coach  Matt  Henderson  from  Oughterard  Rugby  Club,  who  comes  to  the  school  each  Tuesday  to  coach  classes  in  Scoil  Mhuire.  Unfortunately,  none  of  the  Connacht  players  were  able  to  attend,  as  they  were  working  in  their  day  jobs  at  the  time,  but  it  was  good  to  see  and  hold  the  trophy  and  hear  about  the  huge  effort  and  commitment  by  our  players  in  winning  the  6  Nations  for  Ireland.  Mná  na  hÉireann  Abú!    

Fundraiser for Brendan “Beano” McDonagh The spirit of goodwill, generosity and decency of the School Community was in evidence yet again in support of former pupil Brendan “Beano” McDonagh, who suffered terrible injuries in a motorcycling accident while on holidays in Thailand. Scoil Mhuire held a fundraiser on Friday 23rd October, the day of the Halloween mid-term break. Children brought in €2 each for the privilege of being able to dress up in Halloween costume, and many kind people donated cakes and buns which were sold in the Halla Mór to raise money for the Beano Fund. Over €1800 was raised in total. Thanks to everyone who contributed in any way. Is féidir le Muintir na Scoile a bheith an-bhródúil astu féin.

Our Monster Halloween Cake Sale Fundraiser for Beano

Bronnadh  na  Bratach  Náisiúnta  ar  Scoil  Mhuire On  Friday  4th  December,  the  National  Flag  was  presented  to  Scoil  Mhuire  by  Lieutenant  Cillian  Browne  and  Corporal  Jason  Wallace  from  the  2nd  Field  Artillery  Regiment,  Custume  Barracks,  Athlone.  The  presentation  was  done  as  part  of  the  1916  Centenary  Commemoration.  The  flag  was  accepted  on  behalf  of  the  school  by  John  Faherty  of  Killagoola  and  Marcus  Thornton  of  Clooniffe,  both  of  whom  have  links  to  the  1916  Rising  in  that  their  fathers  were  members  of  the  Irish  Volunteers.  Lt.  Browne  and  Cpl.  Wallace  explained  the  origin  of  the  National  Flag  and  the  etiquette  connected  to  it  to  the  children.   The  school  was  also  presented  with  a  copy  of  the  1916  Proclamation.  A  number  of  6th  Class  pupils  read  from  the  Proclamation,  and  all  the  children  joined  together  to    give  a  fine  rendition  of  Amhrán  na  bhFiann    On  March  15th  next  year,  every  school  in  the  country  will  raise  the  Tricolour  at  the  same  time  in  memory  of  that  pivotal  event  in  the  nation’s  history.

 

Scoil Mhuire on Tour! On Thursday 26th November, Mr. O’Flaherty’s 6th Class and Ms. Sweeney’s 5th and 6th Classes travelled to Tallagh Stadium to support the Irish Ladies in their bid to reach the Euro 2017 Finals. Scoil Mhuire had been invited by the F.A.I. to attend the Ireland v Spain match as Julie Ann Russell, a past pupil of the school, is an ever-present member of the team. Unfortunately for all concerned, the Irish came out on the wrong end of a 0-3 scoreline, and the Spanish, recognising Julie Ann’s ability, marked her out for some rough treatment. Despite the loss, it was an enjoyable day out, and it was great to see yet another former pupil perform on the international stage. Julie Ann Russell was awarded Senior Women’s International Player of the Year in 2014 and remains one of the finest players, boy or girl, ever to have kicked a ball in Scoil Mhuire.

LOVE MOYCULLEN The pupils of Scoil Mhuire played their part in Love Moycullen Day on Tuesday 8th December. Ms. Brown, who trains Scoil Mhuire’s Choir, brought a group of children to An Cearnóg Nua, to accompany Ireland’s and Moycullen’s Junior Eurovision Entrant, the wonderful Aimee Banks, in a fabulous performance of Oh Holy Night and Realta na Mara. The performance was broadcast live on Galway Bay FM, which covered the event. As always, the children did their school and their community proud, and got an opportunity to sing with a real star in the making.

Wedding Bells! Congratulations to Ms. Kate Joyce, 5th Class teacher in Scoil Mhuire, who was married on Friday 11th December. Having joined us as recently as last September, Ms. Joyce is already a firm favourite among the pupils in her class. On Tuesday 8th, before departing on wedding leave, the staff, of whom she has become a popular member, made a small presentation to her to mark the occasion. The pupils of 5th class also made a surprise presentation of their own to Ms. Joyce at the end of the day. The pupils and staff of Scoil Mhuire wish her, and her new husband Brendan, all the very best in their new life together.

Ms. Bane presents a gift to Ms. Joyce

Foireann Peile na mBan, Maigh Cuilinn

Foireann Peile na mBan Everyone at Scoil Mhuire has followed the heroic exploits of the Moycullen Junior Ladies Football Team with great interest. In reaching the All-Ireland Semi-Final, the girls have done themselves and Moycullen proud. Many members of the team are past pupils of Scoil Mhuire, and so, the school was more than happy to hold a Jersey Day Fundraiser for the team, to help to cover some of the considerable costs that come with such success on the field. In total €590.50 was raised. Thanks to all who supported our football heroines. Despite the loss to Dunboyne in the semi-final, we know it is only a matter of time until the girls add the All-Ireland Club Title to their already impressive haul of silverware.

Music and Song in Scoil Mhuire We have come to the end of the first term of Colourstrings Kindergarten Music for this year. Involving children from Junior Infants to Second Class it is being run in conjunction with Maoin Cheoil na Gaillimhe, the Galway Music Partnership and the Galway Education Centre. Colourstrings seeks to develop early music literacy through the medium of Gaeilge/ Irish, songs, music and movement. We are very lucky to have our Colourstrings teacher Hazel, herself a professional cellist and Colourstrings teacher, who always does outstanding work with our young pupils. We will be having our annual Christmas show in the Halla Mor on Thursday, December 17th at 10am for children from Naíonáin Bheaga to Rang a Dó. All parents are welcome to attend.

GALWAY PEACE PROMS

Cór na Scoile

We are delighted to announce that the tickets are now on sale for the Galway Peace Proms taking place in January 2016. Our concert is on Saturday January 30th, 2016 at 2pm in the Kingfisher Hall, NUIG. Tickets are priced at €15 per person or €50 for a Family of four and can be purchased directly from the CBOI website www.cboi.ie or by using this website http://peaceproms.com/buy-tickets/.

Féilire na Scoile 2016 Míle buíochas le Coiste na dTuistí as an bhféilire iontach ata foilsithe acu. Thanks to our Parents Association for producing this year’s fabulous School Calendar, and to our pupils for their beautiful illustrations. Many thanks also to McCann’s Supervalu and CL Print for their kind sponsorship, and to Noel Cassidy, who designed the calendar. The calendar is on sale in the foyer each morning, and is available for purchase from the Secretary’s Office, at a cost of €5.

Global  Hour  of  Code  Ms.  O’Toole’s  Rang  a  hAon  took  part  in  the  Global  Hour  of  Code.  They  completed  7  levels  of  the  Minecraft  Challenge  without  help  and  went  on  to  finish  the  levels  at  home.  Maith  sibh  a  pháistí!    

COMHGHAIRDEAS! Congratulations and best wishes to Ms. Maria Uí Fhatharta, who has recently given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Aoibhí. What a fabulous Christmas present! Comhghairdeas ó chroí agus beannacht Dé ar do leabh nua.  

Bus Drop-Off Zone You will have noticed a new demarcation barrier in place outside the front gate of the school . This is to facilitate the school bus in safely dropping pupils off each morning at 8:45 and collecting them each evening at 2:30. Thank you for not parking either in front of or behind the school bus, or in either of the disabled parking bays (unless you are a permit holder). Please note that the front gate must be kept clear at all t imes. The safety of our pupils, your children, is our primary consideration. Please remind your child(ren) to use the pedestrian traffic l ights when crossing the road. Thanks for your cooperation.

Beidh Scoil Mhuire ag dúnadh le haghaidh Saoire na Nollag ar an Mháirt 22ú Nollaig ag 12:30 i.n. LEATHLÁ atá I gceist anseo, mar sin, ná déan dearmad socruithe cuí a dhéanamh don lá sin le do thoil. Beish an scoil oscailte arís oscailte arís i ndiaidh Saoire na Nollag ar an Déardaoin 7ú Nollaig.

Go raibh maith agat.

SCOIL MHUIRE WILL CLOSE FOR CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS ON TUESDAY 22ND DECEMBER AT 12:30 P.M. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A HALF-DAY, AND AS SUCH, PLEASE MAKE THE

APPROPRIATE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THAT DAY. THANK YOU.

Beannachtaí  na  Nollag  oraibh  uilig  agus  Athbhliain  faoi  shéan    

agus  faoi  mhaise  daoibh  go  léir.  

God  bless  you  all.  Have  a  wonderful  Christmas  and  a  very  happy  New  Year.  

 

 

Oíche Nollag le Máire Mhac an tSaoi Le coinnle na n-aingeal tá an spéir amuigh breachta, Tá fiacail an tseaca sa ghaoth ón gcnoc, Adaigh an tine is téir chun na leapan, Luífidh Mac Dé ins an tigh seo anocht. Fágaidh an doras ar leathadh ina coinne, An mhaighdean a thiocfaidh is a naí ar a hucht, Deonaigh scíth an bhóthair a ligint, a Mhuire, Luífidh Mac Dé ins an tigh seo anocht Bhí soilse ar lasadh i dtigh sin na haíochta, Cóiriú gan caoile, bia agus deoch, Do cheannaithe olla, do cheannaithe síoda, Ach luífidh Mac Dé ins an tigh seo anocht.

CHRISTMAS EVE by Maire Mhac an tSaoi With candles of angels the sky is now dappled, The frost on the wind from the hills has a bite, Kindle the fire and go to your slumber, Jesus will lie in this household tonight. Leave all the doors wide open before her, The Virgin who’ll come with the child on her breast, Grant that you’ll stop here tonight, Holy Mary, That Jesus a while in this household may rest. The lights were all lighting in that little hostel, There were generous servings of victuals and wine, For merchants of silk, for merchants of woollens, But Jesus will lie in this household tonight.

Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn Nollaig 2015