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St. Colmcille's Senior National School, Knocklyon, Dublin 16.Tel. 4942527

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St. Colmcille's Parents Association

The May Newsletter is now available online. Click on the newsletters link to view the May newsletter.

Parent Zone

Pupil Zone

The last two weeks have been hectic in the life of the school with our classes heading near and far on their school tours. All of our 6th classes were on their travels last week to Achill, Killarney and the Avon Ri adventure centre in Blessington. A great time was had by all and thankfully everyone returned safe and sound to the school although there were a lot of tired bodies around - maybe that was just the teachers! Our fourth classes also had a blast on their trip to the National Aquatic Centre where Mr. Brennan began his training for the London Olympics.

The main event of the previous week was St. Colmcille's Day and all of the celebrations and festivities that we have come to expect. Our day began with a pilgrimage to St. Colmcille's well. With almost 270 people walking to the well it was a credit to our special guest for the day Garda Danielle Cummins that they all managed to make it to the well and back safely and without incident. Mr. P. O'Neill is still recovering from having to wait at every crossing to let everyone pass and then having to sprint to the front of the line for the next crossing! It was wonderful to see so many parents and friends of the school at the well in what has become a community event.

This was followed by our construction project which saw the pupils create a wide variety of wierd and wonderful buildings from recycled material. We had everything from a Crannog to the Statue of Liberty and local architect Mr. Louis Burke was very impressed by all of the designs on show. He was also a little bit nervous as he can see a lot of competition in the future! Well done to all of those pupils and their parents and grandparents who took part in the construction project. These buildings and other art work went on display in the school that evening where a large crowd also attended the exhibiton.

Of course this time of year is now well and truly established as the time when the teachers get to have their revenge on the sixth class pupils in the St. Colmcille's Day relay race and this year was no exception. The teacher's team was loaded with individual stars but could they work collectively. Mr. Sweetnam had worked his coaching magic and there was to be no France-like fall out as the teachers teams coasted to first and second places. At least, thats what they thought! Mr. Ruddy had other ideas. Perhaps he was slightly miffed at not being selected for the teachers but in a contoversial decision, both teachers teams were disqualified for 'cheating', leaving the Gartan team as the clear winners. Cries of injustice and unfairness fell on deaf ears as Sepp Blatter a.k.a. Mr. Ruddy handed over the cup to....wait for it....the members of his own class!!!! You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to work that one out!

With tour season fully in flow it seems that almost every day we have classes heading off to exotic and farflung places! Our fifth classes have been heading into town with local guide Tomás Maher and paying a visit to Dublin Castle and other places of interest. Last week also saw our third classes head off on a hike to Tymon Park where a great day was had by all in the sunshine. This week, the tours continue and it will certainly be another busy week for all concerned.

On the sporting front, Mr. Patten and Mr. Ruddy were the organisers of a very successful tournament for all of the Leinster winners of Cumann na mBunscoil senior football competitions that was held in Sancta Maria recently. Special thanks to Mr. Ray Hughes who helped out in the running of the day and of course to Ballyboden St. Endas for the use of the facilities.

Last week also saw our athletes head off to Santry on another successful trip for the school. Over the course of two days, our atletes from 3rd to 6th excelled in both the field and track events. Well done to the entire atletics team on their participation. Well done also to Miss Synott, Miss timmons and the mind fitness guru Mr. Gearty! Contract talks are ongoing to retain their services as coaches for next year!

On Friday next we celebrate St. Colmcille's Day here in the school. The annual festivities that have taken place now for the last five years will once again be the highlight of the day, starting with our pilgrimage to St. Colmcille's well, followed by the design and make display, the relay races on the green and the art exhibition at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening. This year's theme for the design and make exhibition is buildings. The teachers have left no stone unturned in their quest to win the relay races this year. Rumour has it that Mr. 'Jose' Johnston is attempting to get every last second from his troops and secure bragging rights for a year at least. If he manages that, he really is the 'special' one!

The last two weeks seem to have just flown by! It seems like only yesterday that we were welcoming people back after the mid-term break and now we are almost at the end of May. With the good weather last week it was great to see so many of our pupils walking and cycling to school and getting some exercise. On Wednesday last there were no fewer than 85 bicycles locked up at the rack outside the front door which is great to see.

Sadly, both of our senior teams crashed out of their competitions last week. The girls team were defeated in their quarter final on Monday last while the boys team lost out in their sem-final on Thursday afternoon. After their great exploits earlier in the year in the football finals, the hurling and camogie were just a bridge too far for our galant teams. Well done to all of those pupils that took part during the year in all of the school teams and a special word of praise to their teachers and coaches who give of their time without question or complaint.

Last week saw the launch of the All-Ireland hurling championship in Ballyboden St. Enda's and a number of our pupils were lucky enough to be invited to attend the event. The pupils were part of a photo shoot with several of the captains of the All-Ireland hopefuls and had a great afternoon meeting their heroes and playing hurling.

Preparation continues for our athletics team that will head to Santry in the coming weeks. Mr. Connolly, Ms. Synott, Ms. Timmons and Mr. Gearty have been casting a critical eye over their charges in recent weeks and the team for Santry has more or less been selected. Training continues this week.

Last Monday saw the drama group Clan Cluana visit the school and stage the play 'Deirdre of the Sorrows'. Pupils and teachers alike were very impressed with the show and Clan Cluana have once again brought Irish legends to life in a vibrant and exciting way for the pupils of St. Colmcilles.

Welcome back after the mid-term break! Hopefully everyone has managed to return to us by now and the Icelandic Volcano hasn't caused too much disturbance. Last week's break has obviously been kind to our pupils and teachers alike with great colours and broad smiles greeting us all yesterday morning.

As we enter the final stretch towards the summer, things will be getting hectic around the school. With school tours and school events aplenty, keep checking the website to keep up to date on the latest from the school. This week there will be a whole school mass on Thursday at 11:00a.m. in St. Colmcille's church on the theme of water.

The sporting season continued a-pace last week with all of our hurling and camogie teams in action. As these teams get closer to what Sir Alex Ferguson would call 'squeeky bum time', we'll keep you posted on their progress. Hopefully we may have a day out to look forward to in the coming weeks!

It promises to be a very busy week in school this week with our Science week and our Spring Clean taking place. Each day a number of scientists from I.T. Tallaght will be in the school carrying out workshops with the children. A special word of thanks must go to Mr. Ruddy and to Mary Costello for organising these practical and really interesting workshops.

If you see a class of children in your area with rubber gloves and plastic bags, don't worry - it's not CSI Knocklyon! Every year at this time, the school takes part in a clean-up of the local area. If you feel like taking part and making Knocklyon a cleaner and nicer place to live, simply choose a spot in your locality that you think needs a bit of a clean up and get cracking. Every little helps.

Well done To Evan Rossiter from PF3 who was awarded a prize by the Irish Patents office in their junior inventor competition. Evan's invention - a multi-purpose shoe - was chosen from thousands of entries and he will travel to Kilkenny today with some of his friends and classmates to receive his award.

It was a busy week in the school last week with things getting back to normal after the Easter break. The sports season continues to gather pace and particular mention must go to our senior camogie team who had a great victory during the week while our second camogie team gave a great performance and narrowly lost their game. Elsewhere, the senior boys team went down to Marino while our junior teams have continued to improve with every game. Best of luck to all of the teams in their remaining games.

This Wednesday night, the 21st of April, a meeting will be held in the school assembly hall for the parents of children in 5th class regarding the Accord programme, which will be taking place in the coming weeks.

Welcome back! The good weather seems to have finally arrived and with it comes the third term. It's hard to believe that the year has passed by so quickly. Well done to all of our pupils in a very busy and active second term and many thanks to the student teachers that were with us from St. Patrick's College and Froebel College in the run up to the Easter break.

As always, the final term promises to be full of activities and learning opportunities with tours, matches and plenty to look forward to. Remember to keep track of the goings on in the school with our weekly updates here on www.stcolmcilles.org

Last week was a very busy week in the school despite the day of for Lá Fhéile Padraig, with a large number of activities taking place to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge. It was great to see and hear so many of our pupils 'ag baint usáid as na frásaí éagsúla is ag baint taitneamh as an seachtain go léir'. Our third classes made the short trip to the Ballyboden St. Enda's clubhouse on Friday afternoon for a Céilí with Mr. Johnston as the master of ceremonies and a great time was had by all.

Our sixth classes continue their build-up and preparations for the confirmation ceremonies on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and the Grúpa Traidisiúnta and school choir are rehearsing around the clock for these very special occasions. Indeed, the choir and the grúpa were in action just over a week ago at the Córfhéíle in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, where, along with rooms 7, 13, 17 and 18 as well as the Scoil Rock band, they delighted the audiences present and did themselves and the school proud.

Pupils from rooms 7 and 13 along with the Grúpa Traidisiúnta at the Córfhéile.

On Friday last, Minister Eamon Ryan paid a visit to the school to chat to our sixth class pupils on life in politics and his role as a Minister. Mr Ryan, who has been instrumental in the advancement of our development plans for the school, was thanked by the pupils for all of his hard work on our behalf and also fielded a wide range of questions from our sixth class pupils.

This week, Córfhéile na Scoileanna takes place in the National Basketball arena in Tallaght and we are delighted to have four separate groups taking part. Our Grúpa Traidisiúnta along with rooms 7 and 13 will take to the stage on Tuesday night which also sees the debut of Scoil Rock at the event. The choir take to the stage on Wednesday night as weel as rooms 17 and 18.

It's hard to believe that it's March already but the year seems to be flying by. When our hurling and camogie teams are swinging into action in their various leagues, we know that the year is certainly moving on. Preparations are ongoing for these teams and it is great to see so many of our boys and girls taking part.

Last week Paul from Ballyboden began some hurling and camogie workshops with our third classes during P.E. These workshops will take place every Friday between now and Easter (weather permitting!) and will give a great basis for those wishing to take up or keep on playing the games in the future. Our fifth classes also had some expert coaching during the week on cycling safety. These lessons which are organised through South Dublin County Council are extrememly important and invaluable. In a bid to promote daily exercise, it is so important that we do not neglect the safety aspect of cycling to school. The world of the cyclist can be a pretty dangerous place and it is a great opportunity for the boys and girls to practice their cycling in a safe and secure setting.

Our Service of Light took place on Wednesday night last and it was a solemn and special night for all of our sixth class pupils and their parents. The Service of Light is a reminder that Confirmation is only a number of weeks away and prepares the pupils for the sacrament that they will soon be receiving. Well done to all concerned on a beautiful ceremony. To the sixth class teachers and the ever-present musical genius that is Mr. G., a huge thank you and a rather large pat on the back.

With the mid-term brak taking place last week, it's hard to believe that we are already more than half way through the school year. Nevertheless, prparations are in full flow for a number of upcoming events. On the sporting front, our hurling and camogie teams will be swinging into action shortly and it's great to see so many boys and girls out training despite the cold weather. Our sixth classes are also preparing for their upcoming Confirmation and Service of Light. These two very special events mark a significant milestone in the life of our sixth class pupils.

Last week we entered the season of Lent and although we were not in school on Ash Wednesday, it was heartening to see a large number of our pupils attending mass in St. Colmcille's church that day. For Lent we encourage the pupils to either give something, give up something or take up something. Father Jimmy has reminded us that the early morning mass will take place at 8:25 a.m. each day and all are welcome to attend.

Last week was an extremely busy week in the school with the Green Song Contest keeping all of the classes occupied. In what was a highly contested affair, the talent on show was exceptional and all of the competitors gave it their all. Indeed, Friday's final was only a small sample of those who took part with heats taking place during the week due to the large volume of entrants. Congratulations to all of the participants on a great effort and most importantly on spreading the message of water conservation.

We also had a visit from an old friend of the school on Wednesday. Niall De Búrca, a storyteller paid a visit to our assemblies and both teachers and pupils alike were highly entertained by his unique take on some old stories and Irish legends.

It's St. Brigid's Day and Spring is finally in the air, although you wouldn't know it with the cold temperatures outside! With our pupils going through their final preparations and auditions for next Friday's Green Song Contest, it promises to be a busy start to the new season.

Last week our hurlers and camogie players were back out on the training pitch with almost all of our year groups in action. Our third classes will be starting shortly and it is great to see such a large amount of pupils taking part. A special word of thanks to all of those teachers involved, ensuring that all pupils that wish to play hurling or camogie are catered for.

Last week saw the commencement of the 'You shall be my Witness' programme for the parents of those pupils who are preparing for confirmation. There was also a meeting on Wednesday last for all the parents of sixth class pupils and the large attendance present once again highlighted the depth of community and parental involvement in the school.

A special word of praise to Mr. Sweetnam's and Ms. Maher's class who organised a number of activities to support the relief efforts in Haiti. After such a devastating disaster it is heart-warming to see the many people from the area who have taken it upon themselves to raise funds for the people of Haiti. It is easy to be generous in times of plenty, however, true charity has been seen over the last number of weeks from those who do not have that much to give yet give as much as they can.

It was a welcome return to normality in the school last week with the snow and ice finally melting away. The local water shortages did not put effect the school thankfully, however, all pupils are still encouraged to conserve water where possible. This brings us nicely on to our Green Schools Song Competition. This week we will have the preliminary year group stages with the participants giving it there all at the various assemblies in an attempt to qualify for the final on February 5th. Will there be a budding Lennon and McCartney or maybe just a new Jedward? Only time will tell.

Last week saw a number of our sixth classes visiting town on a school tour. Indeed it was a very busy week for our sixth classes with an information evening for Confirmation classes taking place. The large attendance at the meeting is testament to the large amount of parental involvement and support that we have in the school.

Our after-school programme gets under way again next week. Details of the registration times and classes will be available shortly.

It was back to school at last on Wednesday last with the extended break very much the talk on everyone's lips. The hard work of some of the teachers and parents in clearing the ice and snow was clearly in evidence on Wednesday morning with almost everyone making it to school without falling or slipping on the ice. It was straight back into work for all the classes with the theme of 'Sneachta' making an appearance in a lot of cases. The inclement weather certainly didn't damage the spirits of the pupils with many of them hoping for even more snow!

Thankfully, the water shortages experienced in some other areas do not appear to have effected us just yet, however we urge people to try to conserve water where possible. As part of our green schools initiative we urge the children to use water sparingly as it is a vital and scarce resource. One only has to look at the devastation in Haiti to realise how lucky we are to have a source of clean water so freely available to us.

The picture above shows some of the pupils from Ms. Maher's class who won an a Christmas decoration competition in Nutgrove Shopping Centre recently.

The school will re-open on Monday next, the 31st of August at 8:50. a.m. and will close on that day at 12 noon to facilitate a staff meeting.

Please note that the Department of Education and Science has issued a circular in relation to the Swine Flu pandemic. Circular 47/2009 can be viewed on the Department website at www.education.ie

Click on the thumbnails below to see pictures of the model for the new school building.