SCOIL COLM NEWSLETTERVolume 2, Issue 4February 14th 2012

Principal: Ms C Ní ChianáinDeputy Principal: Mr H Maune

Dear friends, Our second term has been a busy one so far and the pupils and staff have been hard at work. There is a lot to look forward to this term. Confirmation preparations are well under way for sixth class and our second class will have their First Confession. Hurling and soccer training has started up again for the season too. On 24th February, the school is hosting a Greyhound Night (adults only) in The Stoneboat, Sundrive Road. There are details of the event in this newsletter. As education has been in the news quite a lot recently, I would like to keep you updated on the developments which will have an impact on our school. Unfortunately, the Budget in December made quite severe cuts in education. Not only will there be a cut in the capitation grant, which is the money given to schools for the day to day running costs (electricity, heating, cleaning, teaching resources, etc.), but more significantly there will be changes to the way in which Special Education/Learning Support is operated. Coupled with other changes, for us in Scoil Colm, this will mean the loss of teaching posts. I urge you to make your voices heard to your local representatives on this matter as it is very unfair that the children of our country, and particularly the children of our school, should have to suffer as a result of mistakes that were made by others.You may also have heard in the media about the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. The aim of this is to improve standards in literacy (reading and writing) and numeracy (maths) across the country. As we aim for excellence in Scoil Colm we have introduced many different measures to support improvement for our pupils, including an increase in teaching time in English and Maths and prioritising these subjects for our pupils. Our teachers are taking part in training in these areas as part of Croke Park hours and also in their own time. May I take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support of our school. Kind regards. Claire Ní Chianáin

School Closures: Thursday, 16th and Friday, 17th February – Mid-term break

First Confession for Second Class will take place at 1.15pm on Tuesday, 28th February in St Agnes’ Church, Crumlin Village.

Confirmation Ceremony of Light will take place at 1.30pm on Thursday, 1st March in Scoil Colm.

As you are already aware we are holding a Greyhound Race Night in the Stoneboat, Sundrive on Friday Feb 24th. In advance of the night, our pupils will be selling tickets priced at €5.oo each. Results will be based on the exact placings of greyhounds in the race shown live on TV at 9pm on the night.

There will be one cash prise of €500.00 and the ticket seller will receive €50.00 for their efforts. There will be a raffle and an auction on the night with some superb prises. Music and light refreshments will be provided. It promises to be a fun night and we hope to see all parents and friends of the school there to support us.

Scoil Colm has a dedicated Child Protection Policy in place. Ms Ní Chianáin is the Designated Liaison Person.

Page 2 of 4 Student’s Page Scoil Colm Newsletter

GAA . Jack, Room 3Last week me and my class went back to Mark, the GAA Coach. We had so much fun. We played “Beans”. Mark kept saying kidney bean and string bean over and over. The funniest was French bean, we had to do ooh la la three times. It was very funny.

Back with Mark. Nathan, Room 3Two weeks ago my class and I returned to Gaelic training with Mark. We had a match and the score was 2-0 to my team. It was a very enjoyable first week back. The next week we had another match and my team lost 1-0, but it was still great fun!

My Next Boxing Match. Cameron, Room 3 My next boxing match in on May 5th in the Hub. I am very excited for my boxing match. It is going to be good. You get free dinner and dessert. Then it is my birthday.

Karate. Ryan, Room 3On the 24th January I graded for my purple belt in karate, and when was sparing I kicked my friend in the head 2 times. All of my family came to see me grade. I got my purple belt and a certificate and on Friday I brought them in. I am getting my licence for karate.

My Favourite Book. Devin, Room 3My favourite book is “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, the first and third one. I like the first one because Rowley had to eat rotten wrinkly melted cheese. The main character is Greg. The weirdest part is if you touch the cheese you get the cheese touch. The third one, “The Last Straw” his little brother Manny has a blanket called thingy but his dad throws it out so he gets the neighbours blanket. Greg has to get it off him but Manny throws it up on a branch. Greg has to climb up and get it but his pants fall down.

Books. Carl, Room 3My favourite book is Diary of a Wimpy Kid “The Last Straw”. I like it because it is very long and funny. The colour of it is green. The main person in it is Greg Heffly. When I read it I thought it was very good. The illustrator and author is Jeff Kinney.

Microsoft Visit. Nobel, Room 3I went to Microsoft for my Christmas concert. First we went in and we saw a lady and we went into a room where the lady explained what we will do in Microsoft. She said we will do music playing, have a break and do other activities. The best thing was we got to play Kinect and then we played music, ate our lunch and went home.

Page 3 of 4 Student‘s Page Scoil Colm Newsletter

Dublin V Kerry. Jake, Room 3This Saturday I am going to see Dublin beat Kerry in Croke Park with my dad. Bernard Brogan is my favourite player but he won’t be playing as he needs a break. When I get home we will watch the royal rumble in Sky box office, it’s going to be awesome.

Funderland. Cian, Room 3When I was going to funderland I saw big huge houses. When I got there we went inside. We got into min bumper cars and a ghost train and I was scared. I went onto a caterpillar train. On the way home I got a kebab burger.

Funderland. Reece, Room 3On the holidays I went to Funderland with my two cousins and my cousin’s friend. The first thing was the 3D place, it was cool. Everything was all swirly then I went on the bumper cars and I saw my friend there. I went to get a candy floss on a stick, it was pink. When I was finished I then went on the stuff outside then I went home, it was fun.

Sports Day. Kevin, Room 4Well I can’t wait for June because we’re having sports day. And it is my birthday!. Ms Ní Chianáin is getting ready for the big day in June.On my birthday I am getting a new game and a new hurley. Ms Ní Chianáin is the best for getting a good reputation for a good school and in June Ms Ní Chianáin is setting up a sports day and a fun run and I can’t wait for my birthday on the 12th of June.

Christmas. Mark, Room 4Do you remember the newsletter entry that I put in before Christmas? I said I wanted a Nintendo 3DS. Well, I got it! I’m so lucky that I got it. I hope that every single pupil in Scoil Colm got everything for Christmas. I also wish for good things to happen in the New Year 2012. I hope that the school will have a good year too and the Principal of Scoil Colm will get more money for the school. Hopefully.

Football Trials. Robert, Room 4When I was going to try out for the school soccer team I could not try out for it because I was sick for the first trial but I was allowed for the second trial. It was great. We got into a big match in Pearse Park, it was 11 a side. I was playing mid field. The two managers of the team areMs Clarke and Alan Doyle, he is the manager for my team Crumlin United. My mam was very happy when I got into the team. I will be training for the school team Wednesday 3rd February. I got new boots for Christmas, they are Ronaldo’s Boots

Page 4 of 4 Parent’s Page Scoil Colm Newsletter

Confirmation: Rent of School Jumper School Jumpers are available for rent from the school shop for the day. The cost of renting a jumper is €20.00 in total. €10.00 will be refunded when the jumper is returned to the office on Wednesday, 14th March (no later) in the same

condition in which you received it. For those who wish to hire a jumper, it can be collected from the shop by the boys on Monday, 12 th March As we would like to ensure that we have enough stock of the correct size jumpers in time for the Confirmation,

please ensure that the order form has been returned to the office as requested.

Easter FairThe Parents’ Association are holding an Easter Fair in Scoil Colm hall, on Saturday 24th March between 11am and 3pm. They are looking for donations of unwanted toys, books, games, candles, gifts etc. in good condition. Ask everybody you know and bring items to Ms Devaney in Scoil Colm. Save the date and there will be more information soon.

Clothes and Mobile Phone CollectionWe are continuing with our Clothes and Mobile Phone Collection, to raise funds for our School. Bags of clean clothes can be dropped into school, Monday – Friday. Unused mobile phones can be sent to the Parents’ Room each morning, between 9.00 and 9.45am.

Making Pizza. Eoghan, Room 3 Two weeks ago I made a pizza with my dad. We needed pizza base, mozzarella, pizza sauce and Italian ham slices.Step 1 Lay out the baseStep 2 Pour the sauce all overStep 3 put 8 slices of mozzarella onStep 4 put in oven, wait 20 minutes, put on

ham if you want.

The way Scoil Colm works. Aaron, Room 4Scoil Colm works by kid , helping out, doing Projects and doing work for Paddy. Scoil Colm is AWESOME.

My News, Aaron D, Room 4Two weeks ago I won player of the year I was thrilled when my coach called me. He did an amazing speech about me. My friend Cian he was hoping to win. After I won I was playing football with Cian and Sean and Daniel. It was fun.

Punctuality / Attendance AwardsSean, Room 6If you’re in assembly on time everyday for a week, you get a raffle ticket. At the end of the week, Miss Ni Chianáin pulls a raffle ticket out of a hat and that boy wins a prize.

Soccer Trials, Shane, Room 6On Monday, some boys from our school went to trials. This was the second set of trials. I was picked for the second set and I made it. We are going to train every Wednesday with Alan and Ms Clarke and some of the other teachers. I can’t wait for our first match.

My Big Surprise, Michael, Room 6On the 25th of January 2012 Miss Fallon came into my class and called out my name and then we had to go to Miss O’Donovan’s class to collect my brother Joseph. At first I thought I was in trouble then Miss Fallon told me I wasn’t . Then we went to Ms Ní Chianáin office and my mam and dad and Miss Devaney and Tony Walsh were there.Ms Ní Chianáin was very happy and she told me and my brother we had a bad attendance last year, but the good news was that Joseph and I had a very good attendance this year. We were both presented with a certificate by Tony Walsh from the NEWB, Ms Ní Chianáin and Miss Devaney. My mam, dad, Miss Devaney, Tony Walsh and Ms Ní Chianáin were very happy. Miss Fallon gave me a big hug when she heard.