Dear Parents,
As we approach Christmas here is a reminder of some important dates, further information and items of interest for you.
(i) School Mass on Wednesday 8th December. Children from 4th to 6th classes will take part in a mass tomorrow at 10.30 am. Parents are welcome to attend.
(ii) Christmas Mass on Friday 17th December @ 11am in Shanbally Church. This year again we are collecting for the St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Food Appeal. We intend presenting the food collected at this Mass so please bring in one or two non-perishable food items towards the end of this week and during next week also. Your generosity in previous years has been overwhelming and it is much appreciated in times that are tough for everyone.
(iii) We close for Christmas holidays on Thursday 23rd December at 11.45 am for Junior & Senior Infants (& their siblings) and 12 o’clock for the rest of the school. School will re-open on Monday 10th January 2011!
(iv) We are taking our allocated Planning Day on March 16th 2011 which means the children won’t have school that day. Therefore the school will be closed from Wednesday 16th March to Sunday 20th March. School as normal on Monday March 21st.
(v) We will be doing Santa Stamped Envelopes again this year in aid of charity. These envelopes cost €1 and all money raised will be going to Cork Simon. Please send in €1 to the class teacher who will distribute the envelopes.
(vi) Just to remind parents that there is no need to give a present to any of the teaching Staff or SNAs. A simple card or thank you is enough. Staff really appreciate the support given by Parents during the year and feel this is thanks enough.
(vii) Please remember as we approach Christmas that we are accepting old mobile phones in the school to go towards funding Emergency Equipment in the community. There are boxes in the school and local Spar shop also.
(viii) The Parents Association are very active this time of the year. The Christmas Bazaar was very successful with thanks to the PA’s team of parents who organised and manned it and also to the parents who supported it on the day. They are organising a very special visitor to the school, Santa Claus himself! Details to be announced. The Parents Association have contributed €1,200 (from monies raised) towards our Literacy Lift off programme in Senior Infants. They are currently looking for fundraising ideas for the school, ideas welcome. Any last minute advertisers for the School Calendar, phone Róisín 087-2225340
(ix) Each year some of the children from Shanbally & Ringaskiddy schools sing at the Children’s Christmas Eve Mass in Shanbally Church. This year we hope to do the same again. I will be speaking to 3rd to 6th classes asking if any of the children would like to participate in the singing. The Mass is at 7 p.m.
(x) Christmas is a time of celebration but this year there has been little enough to celebrate in economic terms so I thought it would be interesting to ask the different classes/ children did they have anything they wanted to celebrate and share with the rest of the school and community. Following are the items we uncovered:
v A past pupil of the school, Grace McKenzie, who excelled in Athletics during her years in Shanbally, distinguished herself in September when she became All-Ireland Schools Junior Pentathlon Champion 2010. This win ensured her a place on the Irish team to compete in the International Schools Multi-Events Competition in Scotland in December 2010. Grace now attends Colaiste Mhuire in Crosshaven. She has one sister in the school, Lucy in 4th class.
v Megan O’Donovan, sister of Adam in 6th class and a past pupil, is a Black Belt in Karate. She recently joined the Irish Squad due to her excellence in her sport.
v Lisa Hitchmough, another past pupil and sister of Mark in 6th represented Munster in Show Jumping.
Congratulations and best wishes to Grace, Megan and Lisa.
v Whereas we often hear of our prowess in the GAA, we hear little of our successes in other sports. Rebecca McGrath in 4th class competed recently in the TaeKwon Do Internationals in Cork. She competed in the 10 year age group in 2 events, bringing home a Gold Medal in the sparring and Bronze in patterns. This makes Rebecca the Irish National Champion in her category. Rebecca’s club is the TaeKwon Do of Ireland (Carrigaline) club. What a tremendous achievement. Rebecca’s sister, Chloe McGrath in Junior Infants, is following in her footsteps with medals also in TaeKwon Do.
v Jack Hickey in First Class told us his Granddad, Chief Petty Officer Joe Hickey, recently retired after 40 years of service in the Irish Naval Service. He is very proud of his Granddad!
v Summer Reading Challenge – Carrigaline Library. Among the many children to take part were 5 children from Shanbally N.S. who received certificates for their reading successes. They were Ellie Sisk, Ailís O’Leary, Abbie Foley, James and Ava Brady. Well done to all these children.
v Conal Clapper, a past pupil and currently a student in Glanmire Community School, is heading out to Calcutta in April 2011, as part of his transition year, with the charity HOPE. We look forward to hearing about his experiences on his return from his Mum, Oonagh who teaches in the school.
v Fourth Class held a Conker Tournament during October and November. Ian O’Connell persevered to win in a closely fought final against a worthy runner up, Mia McCormick. Joint 3rd places went to Niamh Daly and Rebecca McGrath. The children thoroughly enjoyed the tournament and well done to Ian, Mia, Niamh and Rebecca.
v One of our 6th class children, James Hanley won a Silver Medal in the front crawl event at the Munster Swimming Gala in U.L. recently. Well done James.
v Two other 6th class boys played with their club in the Cork City League under 12 final. Well played Declan and Kieran Maye.
v Best of luck to Mia McCormick and Leah Walsh (4th class) who will be taking part in the Regional Gymnastics Final on December 19th.
(xi) Children from 5th and 6th classes in the school who are taking part in the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland are working really hard with me on their songs. This concert will take place on February 20th 2011 in the City Hall, Cork at 7 pm. Thank you for all your hard work to date and to your parents for facilitating the hours of practising.
(xii) We have a collection of coats, hoodies and hats inside the front door of the school, all in perfect condition and including school jackets. Please take the opportunity over the next week or so to go through them to check if they are belonging to your child. They will go in to the clothes recycling facility before Christmas if they are not claimed!
(xiii) School Blog. The school blog is up and running. Check out the Third Class Blog on https://www.shanballyns.ie/
(xiv) Of the 155 families in the school, 98 have paid their Parents Contributions. I would appreciate if the remaining families could pay what they can, given everyone’s straitened circumstances. You can check with Ruth if you are unsure if you have paid.
(xv) If you would still like to purchase school Christmas Cards, there may be some still available from class teachers. This may be your last chance to buy them at the reduced price of €3 per pack.
(xvi) With the recent bad weather it is imperative that our Text-A-Parent facility works and most people reported that the system worked well. If you have any feedback you would like to share to help us improve our system please contact Ruth in the office and we would be happy to take it into consideration. Also if you have changed your contact details please let us know.
(xvii) Shanbally NS Staff are looking forward to their Christmas Night Out on Friday next.
Go raibh maith agaibh.
Nollaig Shona Daoibh Go Léir,
Liam Shanahan (Principal)
Quick Reminder of some Key Information
€1 for Santa Stamped Envelopes
School Mass on 8th December 2010 for 4th -6th classes (10.30 am)
Christmas Mass on Friday 17th December 2010 at 11 am.
Please bring in non-perishable food items this week and next for SVP Christmas Appeal.
Donate old mobile phones in the school.
School closes at 11.45am for Junior & Senior Infants (+siblings) and 12 noon for rest of school on Thursday 23rd December 2010.
School reopens Monday January 10th 2010
Planning Day on March 16th 2011