Linking home and school.

“This school should be used as a model for other schools around the country” - The Minister for Education and Science

“I get the sense that this is a school that really ‘gets’ boys.” - Catherine Shanahan, Irish Examiner

Deire Fómhair 2016 / October 2016 www.snbclonakilty.com Volume 22, Issue 02

Email: info@snbclonakilty.com | Mobile site: m.snbclonakilty.com | Telephone/fax: 8834487 | Twitter: @snbclonakilty

Parent’s Meetings: for all

classes except 6th class are on Tuesday 11th Oct. @ 7.30 p.m. See page 6 Sixth Class Meeting:

Thursday 13th @ 7.30 p.m. The AGM of the Parent’s

Association will be held on 18th of October at 8.00 p.m. Mid-Term Break: Mon-

day 31st of October to Fri-day 4th of November inclu-sive. School Closed: Monday

14th of November - In-service - Language Curricu-lum. ***NEW*** School Closed: Thursday

8th of December. Christmas Holidays: Boys

will get their holidays on the 22nd of December at 12.00 p.m. Back to school on 9th of January. February Mid-Term

Break: 22nd and 23rd. School Closed: Friday 17th

of March Tea Party: Friday March

24th Easter Holidays: Boys

will get their holidays on Friday 7th of April at 12.00 p.m.. Back to school on 24th of April. Confirmation: Tuesday

25th of April @ 10.30 a.m. School remains open. First Holy Communion:

Saturday 27th of May @ 11 School Closed: May 1st,

June 5th and 6th. Scoilavision: Tuesday

(night) 20th & Wednesday the 21st of June. Summer Holidays:

29th June @12.00

Reminder: Please remember to sign the Links each month. From now on it’s the oldest boy in the family who will receive the Links.

Our first ever Guitar Festival Gig was a resounding suc-cess. The hall was pack to capacity. First up - Michael Deegan, Daniel O’Donovan and Fergal Murphy wowed the audience with 3 songs. Then Bill Shanley and John Fitzgerald took to the stage. Bill told the captive audience how delighted he, John and Anto were to be back in their old school. Soon they were joined by Matty Gordon and Leonard Podalack. The at-mosphere was electrifying. At the break Eileen Collins, Sarah Jane O’Donovan, Finola O’Donovan, Catherine Mulcahy, Charlene O’Toole and Anne-Marie Hegarty (Sherpa Kids) provided tea for the audience. Thank you very much. Part 2 opened again with our school band and they were joined on stage by Bill and John Fitz for their last song. What an experience. They received a standing ovation…. Well de-

(Continued on page 2)

On the 29th of September, Scoil na mBuachaillí played against Douglas in our second

match of Sciath na Scoil. We were playing away, so we had to endure the hour drive to

Douglas before playing the forty minute match. Mr O’

Riordan refereed the first half of the match and we were

down 1-5 to 0-

1 at halftime. Mr O’ Riordan also gave us a few tips at

halftime which obviously kicked our minds into gear because in the last

five minutes, Fergal Murphy scored a goal

which deflected off

(Continued on page 10)

We have just created a mon-tage of your son’s first day at school. It is A4 size. If you wish to have one, please con-tact the school at 8834487, or email to in-fo@snbclonakilty.com on or before Friday 14th of Octo-ber. There is no charge for the photo. Photographs can be collected from the office from the 21st of October.

David O’Regan & Co. Chartered Accountants Registered Auditors Our services include: Financial Accounting & Bookkeeping Audit & assurance – Taxation Consultancy, Small & Medium Business Support, Contractor Solutions HR & Payroll, Company Secretarial & Formation, Strategic & Busi-ness Planning Please contact: David O’Regan on Mob: 087-2043800 Email: david@dor.ie | Web: www.dor.ie

Hire some fun for any occasion Clonakilty 023 88 35595

Mobile: 086 8315744 Bantry:

027 50713 Mobile:

087 9081273

Please do not park on the dou-ble yellow lines outside the school as it will cause an ac-cident. Also please do not al-low your child to sit or stand on the school wall or the railing outside the school. Please respect the wardens at 3.00p.m. - they are helping to keep our children safe. Every year a number of parents remain in their car and and call their child across the main road from the driver’s seat! This is extremely dangerous and last year a child was nearly knocked down when another driver at-tempted to pass out the parked car. DO NOT TAKE CHANC-ES WITH YOUR CHILDREN’S SAFETY. There is no excuse for it. Come a few minutes earlier and drop your child off in the Clonakilty Playground car-park. It is perfectly safe. The Traffic Warden has in-formed us that he will “ticket” anybody who parks on the yel-low lines and we fully support this. Also please do not drop your child out at the top of the school driveway. This is ex-tremely dangerous and will lead to an accident. Children are not permitted to walk through the staff carpark - either accompanied or not. Also parents are not permitted

to drive into the staff carpark during school hours. It is al-ready overcrowded and there is no space for parents’ cars. After school e.g. after training it is fine as there is lots of space. Junior School Wardens: please be aware of the senior pupils who do Warden Duty each day and encourage your child to cross with them each day.

For the scheme to continue to be a success it is very important to take very good care of the books you rent. These books will be needed again next year. Parents should check up on these books regularly. Any book that is lost or damaged will have to be replaced by the child. Please look after the Literacy Lift Off books also and return on time. PLEASE NOTE: CHILDREN JOIN THE RENTAL SCHEME IN RANG 1 AND ARE JOINED UNTIL RANG 6. YOU DON’T HAVE TO APPLY EACH YEAR.

served. Then Anto and Liam Aherne joined Bill and John on stage. Justin Grounds also performed with the band. Later Matty and Leonard reappeared to a rousing reception. The night finished with Margaret Dee-gan, Adam Crawford, Michael Deegan, Donncha Walsh, Finn O’Boyle Rafferty, Conall McAuley, Tom O’Donovan, Odhran O’Connell and Eamon O’Dono-van joining the band on stage to perform “I Feel Alive”. It was excellent. Anoth-

er standing ovation. Many thanks to everyone who made the night possible especially to Ray Blackwell Kevin McAnally Thelma Barry Finbarr O’Connor The Sound Crew The Lighting Crew The Front of House Crew. Parent’s Association John Fitzgerald

(Continued from page 1)

2 Volume 22, Issue 02 October 2016

Please return all HSE forms to the school asap. Junior Infants got Yellow forms and Senior Infants got Pink Forms.

New Parents please remem-ber to sign all school notes – they will be in your child’s bag. Once you have it signed please return it to the school the following day – it is the only way we know that you have seen the note. Recently we have sent home the following and though most of them are back, some still have not arrived: Yellow form (money

collection form - you will receive a copy of

this later on in the month).

Allianz Insurance (blue form) | Last day for this was 30/09/16

RSE Note (appropriate for your child’s class)

Basketball Notes (Now Full up)

Drum Notes (Full up) Altar Server Notes

(Full up) Warden Notes Swimming Notes (to

boys in Rang 2) Eye Forms or HSE

forms to children in Junior Infants and Senior Infants

Eye forms used to be given out to all boys in Rang 1 and Rang 6 but the HSE have discon-tinued this practice. If you are concerned about your child’s eyesight please contact the school and we will give you a form and then he will be includ-ed.

Dental Notes to Rang

1, 3, 6 (will be given out soon)

Chess Note (Full up) You will know that

you have to sign the note if it asks for a parent’s signature.

The Links DOES have to be signed, this year. Please read it and re-turn the signing slip to the school the follow-ing day.

This year’s calendar is on our school website. We also sent a paper one home with the September Links.

The only change not on the calendar is Monday 14th of November when the school is closed.

3 Volume 22, Issue 02 October 2016

On Friday 16th of September six boys from Scoil na mBuachaillí represented the school in Timoleague at the Máire Ní Shíthe commemoration. Many thanks to Ms. Regina Fitzmaurice for organising the boys, to Mrs. Yvonne O’Donnabháin and Donal O’Regan for transporting the boys. Well done to Leon and Adam who read

on the night. Mascot and Prizewinner below

All cans gratefully re-ceived . Please contact Ms. Regina Fitzmaurice if you have any query re. this matter. Many thanks to Ms. Fitz-maurice.. She and her class will also look after the school garden and glass-house. The money that is collected by this scheme is used in the school garden.

Please note: if you have not paid your fees yet for Insurance, Rental Scheme, etc please do so as soon as possible. Folk Dancing started recently - if you have not paid for it yet (from Junior Infants - Rang 3), please do so on Monday. Important: If you are experiencing any difficulty in paying the fees contact Barth Har-rington (Príomhoide) at the school immediately for assistance.

Basketball 16/17: Basketball training will start on Tues-days and Thursdays once the Sciath na Scol competition is finished. This will probably be in November. Thanks to Ms. Carol Ann O’Donovan for assisting with Basketball this year. Quizzard ’16/17: will start in November. Classes from Rang 3 - Rang 6 will be par-ticipating. Fionnán Bennett and James Murnane will be in charge of the quiz this year. Chess: will start in October. Boys in Rang 4, Rang 5 and Rang 6 may participate. It will run on Tuesdays and Wednesday after school. Thanks to Mr. Gavin O’Riordan for his continued

assistance with the Chess Club. Thanks also to Ms. Máire O’Neill who is helping with the Learners this year. Soccer Competitions Senior Infants Soccer Held on Monday, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. No Soccer on Friday. Rang 1 Held on Tuesdays or Wednes-days. Extra day’s soccer on Fridays - between Rang 1 and Rang 2. Teams are on web-site. Rang 2 Held on Mondays or Thurs-days. Extra day’s soccer on Fridays - between Rang 1 and

Rang 2. Teams are on web-site. Rang 3 Held on Mondays Rang 4 Held on Tuesdays Rang 5 Held on Wednesdays Rang 6 Held on Thursdays All Teams are on website. Multi-Media Authoring / Video Editing / Computer Lessons / Coderdojo - for Rang 2, Rang 3, Rang 4, Rang 5 and Rang 6 will start in October with our new lap-tops. Swimming: for Rang 2 -

starts on 11th of Sep-tember until the 16th of October. Wardens – Boys in fifth/sixth class will train with Mr. Harte for Junior Warden Du-ty. Many thanks to Mr. Harte. Notes will be given out by Mr. Harte in the next fort-night. GAA - Timmy Anglin Rugby - Ian Rea Sciath na Scol Training - is ongoing for Rang 5 agus Rang 6. Thanks to Mr. Gavin O’Riordan for coach-ing the boys this year and to Timmy Anglin for his assis-tance.

This year an English Reggae Band - Soothsayers visited the school and did a workshop with 30 boys from Rang 3 - Rang 6. All the boys brought in their in-struments and learned different parts of a song which they later performed with the group. It was excellent and enjoyed by every-one. There was a large variety of instruments being played in the hall that day - guitars, trumpet, accordion, bass guitar, piano, vio-la, flute, recorder, tin whistle, ukulele, cajons etc. Many thanks to Ray Blackwell and Kevin McAnally for bringing the band to the school.

4 Volume 22, Issue 02 October 2016

On 13th of September 2016 we celebrated the 100th anniver-sary of Roald Dahl’s birth. Ms. Carol O’Boyle erected a dis-play in the corridor of books and quotes. Ms. Niamh McAuley organised a Dress Up day - where the boys came to school dressed as a character from Roald Dahl’s books. All the photos from this day are up on the photosite.

only €16.00 p.p.

On Friday the 28th of Octo-ber our Annual Fancy Dress Parade will take place in the school.

Boys may come to school dressed up or if they wish may get ready in the school. However the infants should come to school dressed in their costume. There is always an emphasis put on boys who make their own costume rather than buying one. Boys who go swimming must be conscious of the fact that they will not be allowed in to the pool with hair dye or face paint on them. If you would like to see what last year’s parade was like - just visit www.photos.snbclonakility.com and visit 2015/2016 - November ‘15

As part of the Croke Park Agreement schools are re-quested to publicise use of hours in the school year 2015/2016. Usage was as follows: (All figures below are approx-imate) School Planning 42%, Policy Development 33%, Staff Meetings 25%, The staff stay after school on Mondays as part of the Croke Park agreement. Of course many staff mem-bers stay back after school on every other day of the week also planning and doing extra curricular activities but these hours are not shown above.

Parents: now that children are back in school, please be vigi-lant and check your child’s hair regularly for headlice. If you find any please notify the school and we will send a note to all parents in that class.

Our school website www.snbclonakilty.com has just passed the 175,221 hit mark. Many thanks to all who regularly visit our site. If you have any ideas about what else you would like to see on our site please email info@snbclonakilty.com at

any time and if we can we will try to accommodate your suggestions. Our photos site www.photos.snbclonakilty.com has 17,566 hits.

5 Volume 22, Issue 02 October 2016

If you would like to book an ad for the com-ing school year 2016 - 2017 please let Thel-ma know as soon as possi-ble. The num-ber of ads is limited. Our Links goes to all parents in the school - 10 times a year - at the beginning of each month. The cost is €20 per issue or at a dis-count of €150 for the entire year! Please ring 8834487 if you are interested.

“Cent” boxes will continue this year. Ms. Karen O’Regan is in charge of organising the collection each week. This year the money will be given to Rapid Response. Adam Crawford and Sam Daly will try and beat last year’s record as they are now in charge for the coming year. In September €11.53was collected.

Well done to Odhran, Etaoin and Odhran who recently competed in the Cork / Munster Surf Lifesaving competition in Tramore Co. Waterford.

Dear Parents, We are currently looking for parents to come forward to help out with the Parent’s Association. We meet around four times a year in the evening to arrange fundraising events for the school. We are looking for one or two (or more) parents from each class to come forward. We would love to see new Junior Infants’ parents getting in-volved. If you are interested please contact me

Rob Hancock (Chairperson of the Parent’s Association) on 086 0677867. It is with your help and support that Scoil na mBuachaillí will continue to be the unique, progressive and fun filled school it always has been. Regards and thanks, Rob Hancock The AGM is on the Tuesday 18th of October at 8.00 p.m.

6 Volume 22, Issue 02 October 2016

Work is just getting underway on this year’s Christmas Magazine. As was the case last year, local busi-nesses can place advertisements in the magazine. Advertisements are priced as follows:

Half-page: €20

Whole page: €40 The magazine is in the same format as last year – that is A5 size. Money raised by advertisements last year was spent on our computer network - used by all in the school. This has become an invaluable source of revenue to the school - it was also used to repair and purchase computers for the school. Please place your adver-tisement by contacting Thelma at the

school at 023-8834487/or send in a note with your child, as soon as you can and a space will be booked for you.

Parent’s Meetings: for all classes except 6th class are on Tuesday 11th Oct. @ 7.30 p.m.

On this night there is

a special meeting for parents for Jun-ior Infant children / parents of new children in other classes. Parents of older children could if they wish go to their own meeting first and then at-tend this meeting.

a special meeting for parents of boys in Rang 1 to explain the job-sharing arrangement.

meetings to explain how the split classes work - for Junior/Seniors, 4th/5th.

meetings for every other class except 6th class.

It is very important that parents attend these meetings. Class routines are ex-plained and you may of course ask questions at the end. We are grateful to the teachers for coming in at night to present these meetings and we thank them for this. … so please do attend. Sixth Class Meeting: Thursday 13th

@ 7.30 p.m. This will be the final meeting for parents in our school. The meeting will outline the pro-gramme for the year and explain how parents can help their child as they prepare for Secondary School. The Assessment Test and enrolment pro-cedure for Secondary School will be explained.

REFRESHMENTS will be provided on each night by the Parents’ Association. Many thanks.

Literacy Lift Off has started for all classes Junior Infants - Rang 6. Many thanks to all the parents who have volunteered to help throughout the year. However we do need your support for it to be a success for your son. Please take an interest in the books your child brings home and also ensure they are returned. Learning Support classes in literacy and numeracy have also started. The

teachers involved help boys who may be experiencing difficulty in literacy and numeracy. These children have been identified by the recent standardised tests - Micra-T and Sigma-T. Our Reading Recovery teacher is able to take 3 children (each for approx. 20 weeks - 5 days a week). These children are usually from Rang 1 and Senior In-fants.

EAL: Our EAL teacher - supports children who have little or no English in all classes - depending on the needs of the children. Resource: Our resource teachers sup-port children with specific needs and at present we have 3 teachers in Resource - some of these are shared with other schools.

7 Volume 22, Issue 02 October 2016

Listed below are the times that children will be doing P.E. or Soccer. On these days children can wear their school track-suit only. Boys in split classes will play soccer with their own class - i.e. Rang 1 will play with Rang 1. Please note: this timetable starts on 10th of October 2016. Parents: Please check the School Site to see what teams/days your son has soccer if you / they are unsure. Weekly PE Timetable

Timetable

Class Soccer P.E.

Junior Infants Ms. Horgan

N/A Monday and Friday

Junior / Seniors Ms. Máire O’Neill

Senior Infants A Mon | B Tues | C Wed | D Thurs.

Monday and Thursday

Senior Infants Ms. Michelle O’Neill

Tuesday and Thursday

Senior Infants A Mon | B Tues | C Wed | D Thurs.

Rang 1 Ms. O’Shea / Mrs. Houstoun

Tuesday and Friday

AB Tuesday C Wednesday

Rang 2 Mr. O’Riordan

A B Rang 2 Monday C D Rang 2 Thursday

Thursday

Rang 3 Ms. O’Donovan

Rang 3 Monday Monday and Wednesday

Rang 4 Ms. Marie Hayes

Rang 4 Tuesday Tuesday

Rang 4 / 5 Ms. McAuley

Rang 4 Tuesday Rang 5 Wednesday

Tuesday

Rang 5 Ms. K O’Regan

Rang 5 Wednesday

Tuesday

Rang 6 Ms. Fitzmaurice

Rang 6 Thursday Thursday

First Holy Communion (second class) will be held on May 27th, 2017 at 11.00 a.m. in the Parish Church. Confirmation (Rang 5 agus Rang 6): is on the 25th of April 2017 at 10.30 a.m. Children who were baptised outside of the parish of Clona-kilty will have to send in a copy of their Baptismal Certifi-cate (unless you have already done so). Please send in this certificate as soon as you can. Children in other classes who have not sent in their Baptis-mal Certificate can do so at any time – it will be photocopied and the original returned immediately. For children in Junior Infants it is the ideal opportunity to locate and send in your Baptismal Certificate – we won’t have to ask for it ever again.

Gentleman of the Month: Tom Peet

Lift Off Boy of the Month: Ben O’Regan

Penman of the Month: Ciarán Coakley

8 Volume 22, Issue 02 October 2016

Over the sum-mer I was very busy. I was competing in

show jumping in Cavan, Wales, Mullin-gar and Millstreet. In all of these shows I did very well. Over the summer I had three really good ponies. Their names were The Silver Legend, Hollycreek, Oran Splendour and Something Special. My best pony is probably ‘The Silver Legend’. He was the best pony I have ever had and I had a great year. I got lots of ribbons, prizes and money. I am so glad I had him. My summer started off very well. In the show jumping season I was off to Cavan with my three ponies. The first day I

had 4 faults on each. It was not the start I was hoping for. The second day started well with ‘Something Special and came in 6th place. Then on ‘Hollycreek Oran Splendour’ having one down in the second round and ‘The Silver Legend’ having one down in the first round. The third day I was 2nd and 3rd with ’Hollycreek’ and ‘Legend’ and I was 7th with ‘Something Special’. On the fourth and final day the grand prix was on. ‘Hollycreek’ had one down and ‘Legend’ was third. ’Something Special’ was 6th . Ryan Sweetnam. 6th Class

The Credit Union School Quiz is taking place in Rochestown Park Ho-tel on Sunday 23rd of October at 3.00 p.m. We were invited because we came second place last year. Dan Twomey is the captain of the Quiz team.

9 Volume 22, Issue 02 October 2016

The tallest man in history is Robert Per-shing Wadlow (USA) was 2.72 m (8 ft 11.1 inches) tall.

The most ex-pensive man-made object in the Internation-al Space Sta-tion. Its final cost will be

over $100 Bil-lion.

The longest distance ever swum without flippers in open sea is 225 km by Veljko Rogosic (Croatia).

The School Wardens &

Road Safety:

A Timely Reminder:

With the start of the new school year it is appropriate to be ever vigilant and conscious of road safety. Please remind yourself and your child of the following, where appropriate- The wardens will be on duty every evening at 3 ‘o clock unless conditions are unsafe or extremely bad. If they are not on duty Mr. Harte will always try and be there to help an orderly exit and crossing. There is a ZEBRA CROSS-ING there so always use it! Children on their own, or with an adult, should never cross the road anywhere else. Even if the wardens aren’t on duty, still use it. If a child is on its own and is crossing at the zebra crossing and no wardens are on duty, they must still use the Safe Cross Code to be safe, a

driver may not always stop to allow safe passage and re-member that the crossing in itself does not guarantee auto-matic safety by walking or running across without due care. Do not lead a child across from between parked cars, it is exceptionally dangerous and may encourage other chil-dren to do the same, on their own, with possible disastrous con-sequences. There are still a few adults doing this so please…..! Never park on the double yellow lines and impede the view of the wardens. This could lead to an accident. Sincere thanks and well done to all who have made the crossing at O’Rahilly Street so much safer and more organised in recent years. Sincere thanks to John, the town Traffic Warden for his great work in helping keep the children of S.N.B safe and the traffic moving freely. Remember also about road safety whatever route your

child takes to or from school and by whatever means. All classes will be taught and reminded of all aspects of road safety throughout the year. High Vis jackets will be giv-en out to the Junior Infants courtesy of the Road Safety Authority. For more information, the latest news, rules and regula-tions, photos etc. on all as-pects of the Wardens’ Scheme and Road Safety go to our school website. Many thanks to Mr. Michael Harte for training and looking

after the Warden team on a daily basis throughout the year.

10 Volume 22, Issue 02 October 2016

Folk Dancing has started for all classes from Junior Infants to Rang 3. It is on every Monday in the school hall.

James Murnane, Cody Leahy scored an unbelievable top left corner goal and

Prince Iyalla rose a metre above every-one else in the box and fisted one into

the back of the net after Adam Craw-ford dropped it in from a forty-five,

which gave us a 3-1 to 1-6 victory, so we were happy on the ride back to SnB.

Thanks to everyone who gave us lifts today. By Blaise McCarthy Rang 6

On Thursday the 22nd of September we

played our first match in Sciath na Scol. We were playing Scoil Nicholás and we

were playing home. So that afternoon we went to Ahamilla which gave us the

home advantage. Dan Twomey was our captain and we played to the best of our ability. We scored quite a few points

and goals. We put up a great fight but sadly we lost. The end score was 1-8 to

3-10. Thank you to Mr O ‘Riordan for training us and Fergal Murphy who was assistant manager on the day. Thanks to

Hetty Walsh, Mr Harrington and all the teachers who gave us lifts on the day. Adam O’Regan Rang 6

(Continued from page 1)

Winning Warden Team 2105/2016

I have received and read the aforementioned Links. Child’s name: _________________________ Class:_______________ Signature: ____________________________

This very popular scheme has started again, for all classes except Junior Infants. Stamps cost €1 each. Junior Infants will start collecting later in the year. Thanks to Eileen O’Donovan for her assistance. Children in Rang 6 have to

use this scheme for saving for their Surfing lessons and boys in Rang 5 have to use this scheme for Kayaking.

A number of boys in the school are allergic to nuts and for them any contact with nuts or products containing traces of nuts can be dangerous for example NUTELLA or Pea-nut Butter!!!! Please be aware of this when organising your child’s lunch and DO NOT allow your child to bring anything containing nuts to school. Your help in this matter is very much appreciated. p.s. Please give your children water to drink coming to school - not sweet or fizzy drinks.

Yes it’s going ahead again! The date for the Tea Party in 2017 is Friday 24th of March. Following up on the phenomenal success of last

year’s party Eileen Collins and her crew have been per-suaded to do it again this year. More details in the next Links.

Tickets will go on sale after Christmas - €15.00 - same price as last year, but space is limited, so book early. If anyone wishes to donate Spot Prizes please contact Thelma or Eileen Collins. This year there will also be a Past Pupil Parent’s Table. Many thanks to Timmy An-glin and all at Ahamilla for their cooperation again this year.

Here you can see the Sound Crew, Lighting Crew and Front of House crews busy at work for the Guitar Festival. This is the very first time that the school hosted a gig for the festival and it was a great success.

Well done to the crews - most of whom were new to the positions - for doing such a marvellous, professional

job on the night.