Dear Parents & Guardians,
I hope this email finds you well. As we approach the Halloween Break I would like to tell you that the children are all well settled into the routine of school life. It has been a busy half term & I hope the children enjoy their time off over the Mid-term break. Please find below a list of recent & upcoming events.
School Poly-tunnel: The Parents Council secured a grant of €3k from Windfarms funding. The money was granted to put a poly-tunnel on the school grounds. The poly-tunnel was delivered recently. Local gardener Kevin Cunningham has very generously agreed to come & build it. With Kevin’s help we are also hoping to make a sensory garden in the space. Kevin would like the children to be involved & he has already been into the school to talk to the kids.
Parents Council Christmas Card fundraiser: The Parents Council are organising the Christmas Card fundraiser again this year. The children have been busy designing their Christmas cards in school. They have been sent back to the company Design a Christmas card. We should have the templates for you to look at after the mid-term. All proceeds of this fundraiser will go towards the Parents Council.
Parents Council AGM: The Parents Council AGM will take place in November. Date to be confirmed. We are very grateful for all the help the Parents Council give the school. Some of the committee members are 6th class parents & therefore will be leaving the Parents Council next year. It would be great if some new members were willing to step forward at the AGM to replace those that will be leaving.
Mini-7s Hurling/Camogie/Gaelic football: It was a busy few months on the sports fields for our camogie, hurling & football teams. The camogie mini 7s blitz was held on Tuesday 23rd of September in St. Thomas’ GAA grounds. The girls did really well winning the blitz & went onto the finals day in Kilconieron Gaa grounds. Once again the girls played their hearts out losing in the semi-final to the eventual winners Killeeneen N.S. Thanks to Ms Hayes for preparing the team. The boys Mini-7s football team lost out narrowly to a very good Loughrea team in the final of the blitz. The boys Mini-7s hurling team qualified for the finals following the blitz on Wednesday 30th of September. The hurling finals took place on Thursday 8th of October in Kilconieron Gaa grounds. The boys played brilliantly all day to make the final & were beaten by a very skilful Bullaun N.S. team.
Garda Football Tournament: The annual boys Garda 7-a-side Football Tournament took place on Friday 16th of October in Gort Gaa Grounds. They did brilliantly to win the B final. Thanks to Mr. Daveron for coaching the children on the day.
Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal: Leaflets for this very worthy cause have been sent home with each child recently. Return date for the shoeboxes is Friday 6th of November.
Trail to Portumna: Children from 3rd to 6th went on a History Trail to Portumna Castle on Monday 5th of October. Thanks to Ms Flanagan for organising the trip & to Ms Hayes for joining us on the day.
6th Class Hoodies: The 6th class boys & girls picked a design & colour for this year’s 6th class Hoodie. The hoodies were ordered from KCS sports in Mullingar. We hope they will be delivered shortly.
Parent-Teacher Meetings: Parent Teacher meetings are scheduled for Tues 17th & Weds 18th of November from 3:30-6pm on both evenings. If the dispute has not been resolved the Parent-Teacher meetings will not go ahead. Hopefully that won’t be the case. If they are to go ahead a schedule of appointments will be given out in advance of the meetings. If you could please indicate times that would best suit you to the class teachers & we will try and accommodate you as best, we can.
School Book Fair: The annual school Book Fair takes place on the week starting Monday 16th of November. Parents will be able to view & purchase books on the evenings of the Parent Teacher meetings. Proceeds from the Book Fair go towards purchase of resources to stock the school library & other literacy initiatives.
Naomh Breandan Credit Union School Savings Programme in 2026/27: The school will continue with the Naomh Breandan Credit Union School Savings Programme in 2026/27. We’ll start the school visits on Wednesday 4th of November. The two new documents have been distributed to all parents.
Letter explaining how the School Savings Programme works – this includes the following important information: The child must be a member of Naomh Breandan Credit Union to participate in the Schools Savings Programme. The child’s credit union account can be opened in person at the credit union. Proof of identity, address and PPS number are required.
Parent/guardian consent form – required for all of this year’s new participants in the School Savings Programme: Joining credit union members are asked to present the completed Consent Form at Naomh Breandan Credit Union along with the documents required for membership. For children who already have their account at Naomh Breandan Credit Union and are signing up to the School Savings Programme, we are asking parents/guardians to return the completed Consent Form to the school, where we will collect them on our school visits.
Sacraments: The date for Confirmation is Thursday 25th February 2027. First Holy Communion next year is Saturday 24th of April.
Maths Week: Maths Week was from Monday 12th October to Friday 16th October. This is always an enjoyable week for the children.
Halloween Costumes: The children will be allowed to wear their Halloween Costumes, if they have them, on Friday 23rd of October.
Music Lessons: As per the September Newsletter a reminder that music company Drumadore will be coming to the school for 6 weeks to teach all classes the drums. The lessons will commence on Friday 6th November. This will culminate with all classes performing for the parents prior to Christmas. The cost of the lessons is €2238 for the 6 weeks. We are asking for €15 per child & the school will pay the balance. We would ask that the money be sent in by everyone prior to the lessons commencing. Thanks again to Ms Kelly for organising this.
Best Wishes: Good luck to the St Thomas’ senior camogie team in their upcoming Co Final. Best wishes also to Mr Daveron in the Clare Intermediate hurling final & to Ms Kelly & Tommie Larkins in the Galway Senior hurling final.
School Closures:
Mid-Term Break Monday 26th October-Friday 30th October. School reopens Monday 2nd of November.
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