SCOIL COLM NEWSLETTER

1. SCOIL COLM NEWSLETTER Principal: Ms C NíChianáin Deputy Principal: Mr O’Donnell Volume 2, Issue 5 March 19th 2013 EasterClosure The school will be closed for the Easter holidays on the following dates: 23rd March to 7thApril. It will re-open at 8.50am on 8th April Dear Friends The last few weeks have been very busy here in Scoil Colm. Our Confirmation ceremony took place on Thursday, 7th March in St Agnes’ Church. Our sixth class pupils in Ms Watkins’ and Ms Coady’s class were a credit to the school as they received the sacrament and took part in the ceremony. The choir sang beautifully to accompany the mass and the walls of the church were adorned in beautiful artwork. I would like to thank all who helped to make the ceremony such a memorable event for our boys. Our second class boys had an important day too on Tuesday, 12th March as they made their First Confession. Fr Paul led Ms Gilheaney’s boys in a very special ceremony in St Agnes’ Church as their parents watched on. We were very proud of our pupils. Our Annual Fair was a huge success this year and raised over €3,000 for ICT equipment for the school. A tremendous effort went in to the fair by our Parents’ Association and Ms Devaney. On behalf of the school, I would like to extend our warmest appreciation for their efforts and congratulate them on the funds raised. May I take this opportunity to wish all of you a happy Easter and thank you for your continued support of our school. Kind regards Claire Ní Chianáin Write-a-Book Aaron J, Room 7 Yesterday, we started Write-a-Book. We are using A4 pages that are really big and I am hoping to write 3 chapters. I can’t wait to see who wins and what the prizes are. The title of my book is ‘Four Fangs and Wings’. Seachtainna Gaeilge All classes are making an extra special effort to speak cúplafocailGaeilgefor 'SeachtainnaGaeilge!'. All pupils are learning 'Sé do bheathaMhuire', which we will say together in assembly every morning. Boys will enjoy some of the following activities: TráthnagCeist (Question Time), CeolGaeilge (Irish Music), Réamhaisnéisnahaimsire (Weather forecast), Biongó, AmhránGaeilge (Irish songs) Fílíocht (Poetry), ClárraidióGaeilge (School Radio Programme), CluichíGaeilge (Irish games). Please check back to see who our GaeilgóirínaSeachtaine are!! Orchestra Brandon, Room 7 Two weeks ago, James and I went to St. Agnes’ and asked Joanna if we can join the orchestra after Easter. We want to play the cello. It will be great fun.

2. Page 2 of 4 Students’ Page Scoil Colm Newsletter My First Penance By Kian, Second Class My First Penance was on Tuesday 12th of March. It was on in St. Agnes’ Church. I did a reading. I read a story about the Good Shepherd. I was very happy. My mam came to the church to see me. She brought me up to Father Tom to say my confession. Father Tom was nice. I said a prayer after my confession. After that, we went home and I had no homework! I’m looking forward to my First Holy Communion now! My First Penance By Daryl, Second Class Yesterday it was our first Penance. It was in the church in Crumlin Village. We walked there from Scoil Colm. Our families met us there. Father Paul, Father John and Father Tom were there too. I had a special prayer to say. It was a prayer of the faithful. I felt a bit scared saying it but I did very well. I said my confession to Father John. It was a very nice day. We got no homework because we were very good! The Dragons’ Den On Friday we went to the Dragons’ Den. It was in a very high building. Most of it was made of glass. I could see Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium. It was very fun. We all went to someone different. Then we all came back to one room. We were put into groups of 4. Our group came up with the Super Rocket Arcade. We put in 13 or 14 different activities. It looked very cool. Then we went back to school. We got a lot of sweets and a prize of a book and a highlighter and a pen. We also got a certificate and a new computer for our school. Cian T, 4th Class Dragons’ Den Two weeks ago on Friday our class went to Dragon’s Den. We were on the bus for about half an hour. When we got there we sat down in a big room. Next we went to a bigger room and got mentors. We all made changes to our ideas. Our group idea was a kids fun house. And when we were finished we presented them to the four dragons. Then they gave us a book, pens, a certificate and a COMPUTER for the school.Cian V, 4th Class Junior Achievement – Global Pioneer Investments We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Global Pioneer Investments and their staff for hosting Ms Clarke’s fourth class pupils as part of Junior Achievement. At the end of the “Dragons’ Den” where our boys presented their ideas to the “Dragons”, Global Pioneer Investments generously donated a brand new computer to our school. We are extremely grateful for this gift. On behalf of everyone at Scoil Colm, we would like to say a huge “thank you” to all at Global Pioneer Investments.

3. Page 3 of 4 Students’ Page Scoil Colm Newsletter The Plastic Bottle Greenhouse Reece, 4th Class The whole school had to bring in empty bottles. Hubert cut the end of the bottles and put them on long sticks then stuck them together. The greenhouse is nearly done and he put a table made of bottles in it. I got a picture in it. It is COOL! Crumlin College Physical Activity Project 'Room 7 are thoroughly enjoying their physical activity with Crumlin College. They are experiencing new sports and games. So far, they have completed kick-boxing, obstacle courses, penalty taking, hand ball and a variety of new games.' New P.E. James, Room 7 In Ms. Murray’s class 5th class, we are doing P.E. with the Crumlin College. It is really fun because we do obstacle courses. We start in the hall at 9.15. The first day we did a mix of sports. On the second day, we did boxing and kick-boxing and on the third day we did an obstacle course. At the start, we played ‘stuck in the mud’ and I really wait to do it for the rest of the week! Fun P.E. Kevin, Room 7 We have started doing P.E. with Crumlin College. It is great fun. We do boxing, kick-boxing, exercises such as press ups, jumping jacks and planks. We do obstacle courses, play ‘stuck in the mud’, and play hand ball. Handball is where you put a ball on a cone. It is 4 v’s 4 players. You cannot run around with the ball, you have to stand in the one place and shoot or pass it. It’s great fun. P.E. Johnaton, Room 7 Last week, we started P.E. with the Crumlin College. We started off doing obstacle courses. The second day, we did boxing, kick boxing and obstacle courses. We didn’t have it on Friday because we had G.A.A. We had Catherine and Judy in on Monday and so we did it on Tuesday. We played hand ball. It was great fun. Crumlin College Karl, Room 7 My class and I are doing P.E. with peoplefrom Crumlin College. It is really fun. They are really nice and I love doing the activities. The activity that I like the most is the obstacle course. I’d like to thank Ms. Murray for letting us do P.E. with Crumlin College.

4. Page 4 of 4 Parents’ Page Scoil Colm Newsletter Road Safety Reminder Kindly remind your son to cross the road safely with the Lollipop Lady, especially if dropping your child off by car. Particular care is needed on wet mornings. Trócaire We would like to remind students that all Trócaire boxes should be returned to the school by Thursday before the Easter break so that we can pass them on to Trócaire on your behalf. Parents’ Questionnaire – School Self-Evaluation: Thank you to all parents who took part in our questionnaire on reading. The results will help us to plan for literacy in the future. WSE: On 15th April 2013, the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills will undertake a Whole School Evaluation in Scoil Colm. This is a routine process which is undertaken in every school in the country. During the inspection, inspectors evaluate the quality of school management and leadership, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and the school’s own planning and self-review. At the end of the inspection, the inspectors provide oral feedback to the school community and a printed copy which is available on their website. THE CONFIRMATION By Liam, Room 9 On Thursday the 7th March my class made our Confirmation in St. Agnes’s Church. We started with reading and songs. My favourite part was the songs and the orchestra. The service took two hours and Monsignor Clarke and Fr. Paul celebrated the service. Afterwards, I went greyhound racing with my family. I had a brilliant day. CONFIRMATION CELEBRATION By Daniel, Room 9 On Friday the 8th March a group of us from Ms. Coady’s and Ms. Watkins’ class went to Dundrum Shopping Centre. We met lots of other boys from Ms. Coady’s class who were also there. We were supposed to go to the cinema but we were late because we had got split up. We were all disappointed that we missed the movie, so instead we all went to KFC for lunch and it was very tasty! After lunch we went to Hamley’s toy store for a laugh! When we went in we saw a giraffe as big as the school and the price was €4,000!!! Cian and Taylor bought a giant helicopter, so after we were finished in Hamley’swe went to the Gadget Store and bought lots of things and then we all went home. It was a great day and I would love to do it all over again! CONFIRMATION PREPARATION By Conor, Room 9 Over the past year my class and I prepared for our Confirmation. The songs and prayer we learned were a bit hard to remember but we all managed to learn them all in time. A week before the Confirmation we had a practice with the girls from St. Agnes School. We also made our confession on the 27th of February. Now we were ready for our Confirmation. We had a really nice day. Important Rules Mark, Room 7 Ms. Ní Chianáin came in to our class yesterday to talk about three important rules. 1. Be on time 2. Have your journal signed 3. Wear your uniform Please note that some boys always obey these rules. ENROLMENT FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2013/14 If you would like a place in ScoilColm for your son for the school year 2013/14, please contact the school office on 01-4562622 or Therese on 086 3013632. School Website www.scoilcolm.scoilnet.ie Please use our website for information in relation to important school dates. Reminder: To ensure the safety of our pupils, please ensure that they are not in the yard area before 8.40am. Thank you.