News Archive 2021/22
Congratulations to Nicole Turner
We are all very proud here at Cloneyhurke NS of our past pupil and neighbour Nicole Turner.
Nicole won a bronze medal in the 200m medley in the World Paralympic Championships in Madeira, Portugal.
Pyjama Day
Thank you to our wonderful Parents' Council who sent the Ice Cream Van to our school on our recent pyjama day.
The students had a fun filled day and enjoyed playing board games, outdoor games and a movie in the afternoon.
School Tour to Castlecomer Discovery Park
We recently enjoyed a great day out on our school tour to Castlecomer Discovery Park.
There was great excitement as this was our first school tour since 2019!
The students enjoyed a wide range of activities including bug detectives, nature trail, tree-top walk, forest bounce net, elf & fairy village and playground fun.
Confirmation 2022
We would like to congratulate our students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Wednesday 30th March at St. Michaels Church, Portarlington. We hope they had a lovely day celebrating with their families.
Irish Colours Fundraiser
Our students wore their Irish colours on Tuesday 15th March and raised €78 for The Irish Red Cross
Well Done!
doc01132820220325084330.pdfShrove Tuesday- 01/03/21
To celebrate Shrove Tuesday, the students were treated to pancakes and had great fun choosing their toppings!
Senior Room -
History Projects
The senior class designed and made Norman Ships as part of their History Work.
Check out some of the amazing ships created by the children
January Aistear - Polar Regions
This month the children in the Junior Room explored the Polar Regions. We learned about the animals that live in the Arctic and in Antartica.
We learned all about Tom Crean and his expeditions. We used cotton wool to camoflauge Arctic animals.
We learned about the daily lives of Inuit people and made our own igloos using marshmallows - we may have eaten some too!
We created ships, icebergs and polar landscapes using our craft materials. We ran out of playdough so we decided to make our own.
We were especially interested in the Northern Lights and we used chalk to add them to our polar bear art.
We made stencils and sponge painted polar animals.
Thank you to everyone who sent in items to support our learning this month.
Pottery Fun
We are very impressed with the work the students created with artist Marta Golbonska.
Marta is a visual artist that worked with our school as part of our Creative Arts Programme. She did a wonderful pottery workshop with both classes. The students learned various techniques through working with clay and, as you can see from some of the pictures, made fabulous clay creations.
This week she is going to fire the pieces in a kiln and bring them in for painting next week.
Thank You from the Parent Council
Christmas at Cloneyhurke NS
Cloneyhurke NS Parents Council
'Make yourself Christmassy Day'
Tuesday 14th December
Our wonderful Parents Council are hosting a fun Christmas dress up day on Tuesday 14th December.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone dressed up and spreading some Christmas Cheer! Your support will be greatly appreciated by our hardworking Parents Council who contribute so much to our school.
P.A.T.H Christmas Collection
It's that time of year again when we reflect on all that we are thankful for and think of those less fortunate.
We have chosen P.A.T.H. - Portlaoise Action To Homelessness as our charity for Christmas.
P.A.T.H travel to Dublin to provide homeless people with some small basic essentials. Food, drinks, toiletries, hats, scarves, gloves and sleeping bags.
P.A.T.H also try to help in the local community and work with many organisations involved in the welfare of vulnerable people in our society.
We are seeking donations of FOOD and TOILETRIES. If you are in a position to contribute we will have collection boxes at each classroom from December 6th so pupils can bring in their donations.
Electricity in the Junior Room
We are learning about Electricity this month.
We used batteries and circuits to make our bulbs light up and also to power a flying wheel and a radio.
The children are also learning about the importance of electrical safety.
November Aistear - The Hospital & The Vet
This month we explored the themes of The Hospital and The Vet.
We were very grateful to have a Zoom call with Portarlington Veterinary Clinic. We got to see some puppies who were having their vaccinations and getting microchipped. We saw where the dog and cat food is stored and also saw an x-ray of a cat with a broken tail.
We made our own x-ray machine and learned all about our heartbeat and temperature.
Science Week 2021
We enjoyed Science Week from the 7th - 14th November. The children took part in a number of activities and experiments in school and also did experiments at home, which they shared with their classmates through Seesaw.
We took part in a number of Zoom Science events throughout the course of the week.
Student Council Presentation
On November 10th our student council were presented with their school council badges. They are doing great work in our wonderful school. Their efforts to provide a strong voice for our student body is greatly appreciated and we value their efforts to improve Cloneyhurke National School. Well done to Rían, Michael, Jason, Fabian, Sara and Eva. We're very proud of you!
Lego Club
Children throughout the school are really enjoying the new Lego Club, established by Ms. Delaney. This takes place during lunch times on Wednesdays and is outdoors. Each student works from their own lego kit. They are presented with a challenge each week and we have been very impressed by their creative solutions and designs.
Creative Schools
Ms. Coss applied for The Creative Schools Project in January 2020, and we were delighted to be accepted for the programme in September 2020. Initially the grant was for €4000. However, due to the difficulties of Covid-19, we were delighted to be granted €5100.
Creative Schools is an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child. The Creative Schools initiative supports schools to put the arts and creativity at the heart of children's and young people's lives.
School-based arts participation can increase learners' confidence and motivation, thereby improving academic outcomes and the well-being and life skills of children and young people. Research links creativity with the intrinsic motivation to learn. When students are focused on a creative goal, they become more absorbed in their learning and more driven to acquire the skills they need to accomplish it.
We are now in the 2nd year of the 2-year programme. Covid-19 unfortunately impinged on the programme temporarily, but we are now back on track and looking forward to continuing working with our facilitator, Aidan Byrne, who also attended Cloneyhurke N.S. as a student. Aidan has facilitated our classes both in and outdoor and children have thoroughly enjoyed them.
To date, we have taken part in an Animation Workshop, we participated in Music Generation for the first time (children loved it so much we are currently in our 2nd year of the programme – learning the ukulele), we completed a 7-week drama and music workshop and we invested in Lego from the Jack and Jill Foundation, allowing the children to take part on a weekly basis, enhancing creativity. W e hope to take part in an outdoor creation in our school, of which we hope everyone will take in so watch this space…!
VEX Robotics in Cloneyhurke NS
We are thoroughly enjoying our involvement with Vex Robotics, in conjunction with Offaly County Council, the Department of Rural and Community Development and Cork I.T. As part of the Digital Innovation programme to expose students to STEM fundamentals, we have built 2 robots from scratch. We took part in Offaly County Council’s VEX IQ primary schools’ competition, along with 27 other schools in Offaly.
STEM
We are a Proactive, STEM-Promoting school.
In the school year 2020/2021 our Board of Management and Parents’ Council funded the purchase of individual IPads for each child in the school. This has greatly enhanced our participation in STEM activities and Distance learning.
Each year we take part in DPSM, Maths, Science, Engineering and Space Weeks.
Ms. Coss applied for the Creative Schools Project in January 2020, and we were delighted to be accepted for the programme in September 2020. Initially the grant was for €4000. However, due to the difficulties of Covid-19, we were delighted to be granted €5100.
Creative Schools is an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child. The Creative Schools initiative supports schools to put the arts and creativity at the heart of children's and young people's lives.
School-based arts participation can increase learners' confidence and motivation, thereby improving academic outcomes and the well-being and life skills of children and young people. Research links creativity with the intrinsic motivation to learn. When students are focused on a creative goal, they become more absorbed in their learning and more driven to acquire the skills they need to accomplish it.
We are now in the 2nd year of the 2-year programme. Covid-19 unfortunately impinged on the programme temporarily, but we are now back on track and looking forward to continuing working with our facilitator, Aidan Byrne, who also attended Cloneyhurke N.S. as a student. Aidan has facilitated our classes both in and outdoor and children have thoroughly enjoyed them.
To date, we have taken part in an Animation Workshop, we participated in Music Generation for the first time (children loved it so much we are currently in our 2nd year of the programme – learning the ukulele), we completed a 7-week drama and music workshop and we invested in Lego from the Jack and Jill Foundation, allowing the children to take part on a weekly basis, enhancing creativity. We hope to take part in an outdoor creation in our school, of which we hope everyone will take in so watch this space…!