School Newsletter February
27th February 2026
Dear Parents & Guardians,
I hope you are all keeping well. Please find below a list of recent & upcoming events.
First Penance:
Congratulations to all the children who celebrated their First Penance on Tuesday 17th of February in Castledaly church. Thanks to Ms Cusack for preparing the children so well, the children that came to sing in the choir & to Fr Madden. First Holy Communion is Saturday 25th of April at 12pm in Castledaly church.
Confirmation:
Confirmation for 6th class children is Friday March 13th at 3pm in Castledaly church. The confirmation class & the choir are busy preparing for the special day. We are very grateful to the children that have agreed to sing in the choir. The school will provide a bus to bring the children over to the church on Friday the 13th. We would ask that parents collect the children in the choir from Castledaly church after the ceremony.
Reading World Cup:
Our annual Reading World Cup for children from 1st-6th class took place in January. This is one of our initiatives to promote reading in the school. Well done to all the children who took part.
Hot Schools Meals:
I hope that you are happy with the Hot School Meals. Our provider Bradbury & Connolly have asked if we would send out a survey in order to get some feedback. They would really appreciate if you could complete survey by clicking the link, click here
Swimming Lessons:
Children from 3rd to 6th commenced Swimming lessons on Wednesday’s in recent weeks. The lessons will go on for 6 weeks. Next week’s lesson will be Tuesday 10th of March. We are very grateful to all the parents who have agreed to give up their time to help with supervision. We still need two fathers to supervise for the last two weeks. We would be very grateful if anyone could spare the time.
Engineers Week:
Engineers week runs from Monday 2nd – Friday 6th of March. 5th & 6th class children are going on a trip to the University of Galway to the explore the Computer & Communications Museum of Ireland. Thanks to Ms Flanagan for organising this. Towards the end of the week we hope to have a special guest speaker in to talk to the children from 3rd-6th class about Engineering.
Creative February:
The children in all classes have been busy exploring their creative sides as part of Creative February. They have been actively engaged in making their classroom doors nice & colourful. They have been on a walk around the school grounds appreciating their environment. Ms Cunningham has organised a Trad group for the senior classes & we are very grateful to her. Finally, Crazy Hair Day took place on Friday 27th of March. The parents & children made a great effort with the different hairstyles & everyone had great fun with it. Thanks to Ms Flanagan, Ms Hayes & Ms Keely for co-ordinating the various events.
6th Class Trip to Dublin:
The girls & boys in 6th class are going to Dublin on Wednesday 11th of March. The trip is very kindly organised by Fr Roche for all the 6th class pupils in the schools in his parishes. I will be in touch with 6th class parents & guardians closer to the time with further details.
Credit Union Table Quiz Teams:
Best of luck to our U-11 quiz team of Sean Kelly, Ella Fahy, Ollie Murray & Aaron Keane in the next stage of the Credit Union quiz. It will take place on Sunday 8th of March in the Connacht Hotel, Galway.
World Book Day:
World Book Day takes place Thursday 5th of March. If children wish they may dress up as a character from a book of choice & bring the book to school on the day.
Credit Union Savings Scheme:
Annalisa from Naomh Breandan Credit Union is coming this Wednesday 4th March to talk to all the children about the savings scheme & to give out Savings books to the children who already have accounts. Annalisa will be calling on Wednesday mornings after that.
Seachtain na Gaeilge:
We will be celebrating Seachtain na Gaeilge from Monday 9th to Friday 20th of March. There will be a number of activities throughout the two weeks to recognise how important our language is to our culture & heritage. Lá Glas will take place on Monday 16th of March. The children can wear Green clothing if they have it on the day.
Enrolment for September 2026:
The school is now taking enrolments for September 2026. If you know anyone that might be interested in enrolling their child for September, please ask them to make contact with the school office by phone or email. The admissions notice has also been posted on the school’s website
Dates for your attention: School Closures.
- St Patrick’s Day Tuesday 17th March Bank Holiday
- School In-Service Primary Curriculum Framework Monday 20th April.
- Easter Holidays: School closing on Friday 27th of March & will reopen on Monday 13th April.
If you have any further queries in relation to any of the above, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Francis O’Connor
Principal.