Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire, Ardee, Co. Louth

Telephone: (041) 6853152 Website: www.smntardee.ie E-mail: office@smntardee.ie

Message from Mrs Sweeney, Principal

We’re almost there – the well-earned Christmas holidays are within touching distance. I think it’s fair to say that we all feel a sense of relief as we approach the end of 2020! It’s been a hard year for everyone, especially for anyone who was ill and we offer our sincere condolences to families who lost loved ones this year. Christmas will bring cheer and happiness and everyone is hoping that in 2021 there will be light at the end of this Covid-19 tunnel.

I want to thank every single member of staff in our school who have worked through the most challenging term in memory. Everybody put their shoulder to the wheel and worked hard to make school as “normal” and calm as possible for our pupils and I am very grateful to them for that. Our pupils are living through extraordinary times, showing great resilience and courage and we are very proud of how they have adapted to the new routines in school. We thank all families in our school for your efforts to keep our school safe this term. Please continue to follow all the HSE advice over the Christmas holidays so that we can all return to school safely on the 6th of January.

On behalf of all our staff I wish you a very happy and safe Christmas and the brightest of New Years.

Le gach dea-ghuí i gcomhair na Nollag agus na h-ath bhliana!

Mrs Sweeney, Principal.

Nuachtlitir 2 December 2020

Santa visits Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire

Santa was on the phone to Mrs Sweeney making a few enquiries and he was so impressed by all the good

things he heard he decided to take some time out of his hectic schedule to see for himself!

Pupils from infants to 2nd Class visited Santa’s cabin on 15th December for a chat and a gift. Santa popped in

to see the other classes as well before he headed off to check his lists and finish his packing for Christmas Eve.

Thanks to Kevin Watters for helping the elves set up Santa’s cabin, to all who helped the elves decorate the

cabin so well and our Parents’ Association who made it all possible.

Christmas Performances

Our long-standing tradition of staging Christmas plays couldn’t go ahead this year but we couldn’t let the

season pass without giving you a glimpse into the Christmas spirit in school this month. Each class performed

outdoors and we have shared our video with you on Aladdin Connect and on our website www.smntardee.ie.

Well done to our teachers, staff and pupils for sharing this Christmas joy with our school and families.

Deck the Halls with boughs of Holly …….

We thank our caretaker Hugh for making the fabulous new outdoor Christmas tree and for the reindeer that

have magically appeared on our grounds in recent weeks. Our staff and pupils have also been busy making

and decorating, starting with the Advent wreath in early December and each class has produced fabulous

displays and creations all around the school. Maith sibh!

Senior Infants were in charge of “officially” turning on the lights on our tree!

Christmas Raffle 2020

Our Parents’ Association held their annual Christmas Raffle on Friday 18th December. Once again we are extremely grateful to parents and local businesses for their generous donations of prizes. Local businesses always supported our school so well over the years but we know it’s been a tough few months for many local businesses, and so our committee did not approach the shops for prizes this year. However, many businesses volunteered prizes and we are truly grateful for that. Likewise, many parents sponsored prizes and we say a big thank you to all who helped. Please

see our full list of prizes, sponsors and winners below. Thank you to all who bought lines and to our hardworking Parents’ Committee who made it all possible. We’ve raised over €4700 towards our Senior Playground Improvement Fund. See our list of prizewinners at the end of the newsletter.

Guess the Sweets in the Jar & Guess Teddy’s name Well done to Áine Sands (4th Class) who correctly guessed the number of sweets in the jar – 299 mouthfuls of yumminess! Emma Boyle from Rang 6 went home with the adorable teddy named Elvis.

This is a charity close to our hearts and one we support every year. This year the charity went on-line and our pupils and families were able to fill a gift filled shoebox online or make a monetary donation. The boxes are then delivered straight into the hands of children affected by poverty. Often these shoeboxes are the only gift that a child will receive at Christmas and the joy that they deliver is incredible. Well done to all our families who supported this worthy charity this year.

Trick or Treat for Temple Street This is another charity close to our hearts and this year our pupils donated €379.00 to the

children’s hospital.

St Vincent de Paul, Ardee This Christmas our Parents’ Association has made a donation to St Vincent de Paul on behalf of the school.

Stay Local and Support Local this Christmas and in 2021

Now, more than ever, local shops and businesses need our support and custom. If

at all possible, shop local this Christmas. Remember these businesses are our

families, friends, community members and biggest supporters.

Credit Union Art Competition Congratulations to our pupils who won prizes in the recent Ardee Credit Union Art Competition. We had a

very large number of entries from our pupils so we were delighted to have one so many prizes.

Active Schools

Well done to our staff and pupils who have been keeping active this month with

the “12 Days of Fitness” programme devised by Ms Sheridan. We’ve had Jingle

Jumps and Bouncing Baubles to name but a few, so we’re all fit and ready for

Christmas!

Presentation of Sports equipment by St. Mary’s Ladies GFC

We were delighted to receive a donation of basketball stands, goalposts and

rounders equipment from St. Mary’s GFC Ladies Committee. We thank the

club’s Schools’ Liaison Officer David Woods for organising the equipment.

CATEGORY 7 YEARS AND UNDER

1st – Evie Corcoran

2nd – Jessica McKenna

3rd – Charlie Martin

CATEGORY 8 – 10 YEARS

2nd – Gemma Luckey

All classes enjoyed the Santa Stroll on Thursday 10th December when we set out for a whole school walk

along the railway line. The girls created a festive scene as they weaved their way over Hale Street wearing

their Santa hats.

County winner in the Louth County Council Greener Christmas Poetry Competition 2020

Pupils in 4th-6th classes wrote poems about the need to reduce waste and to recycle over the Christmas period.

Congratulations to our top 3 entrants whose poems were selected to represent our school at county level:

4th Class ~ Kyla Roe

5th Class ~ Whole class entry

6th class ~ Molly Keenan

We awarded prizes to our Greener Christmas Poetry winners in each class as follows:

4th Class: Yasmin Crawley, Kyla Roe & Emily McShane

5th Class: Whole Class Song, Bonnie Robinson-Mullen, Adriya Dinil

6th Class: Casey McCague, Nel Cody, Emma Boyle

6th Class: Molly Keenan, Takara Gillespie, Taylor Coyle

Christmas Cards for Schools

We sold over 310 packs of cards this year. Congratulations to Lauren Cunningham, 6th Class, whose card

was chosen as our official school card for 2020.

We were delighted to hear that Molly Keenan’s poem came second in the competition at

County Council level – well done to Molly!

Christmas Art Competition

We received fabulous entries from all classes for the Christmas art competition. Here is the list of winners and

some of the fabulous creations.

Junior Infants: 1st – Irina Izvorean 2nd – Otilia Mamaliga 3rd – Sophie Clements-Duffy

Senior Infants: 1st – Arianna Heslin 2nd – Lily McCarthy 3rd – Amelia Prendi

1st Class (Ms Clinton): 1st Isabella McCartney 2nd Maya Sharkey 3rd Molly Reilly

1st Class (Ms McGeeney): 1st Hana Farhan 2nd Tara Cahill 3rd Julian Kambuzi-Nwachi

2nd Class: 1st - Lily-Ann O’Callaghan 2nd - Jessica McKenna 3rd - Lexi McKenny

3rd Class (Ms Clerkin): 1st Naoise Shevlin 2nd – Kate Murphy 3rd Sarah Keenan

3rd Class (Ms McClean & Mrs King): 1st – Lola leavy 2nd Lily-Mae Curtis 3rd Sarah Commins

4th Class: 1st - Emily O’Connor 2nd - Alesha McKenna 3rd - Emma O’Reilly

5th Class: 1st - Lily Carry 2nd – Saoirse Ward 3rd Molly Eccles

6th Class (Ms Sheridan): 1st – Happiness Mhlanga 2nd – Aahana Savan 3rd Eimear Halpenny

6th Class (Ms McKenna): 1st – Mija Sapkinaite 2nd - Sabrina Sirbu 3rd - Mia Carey

Letters to Nursing Homes – Moorehall Lodge and St. Joseph’s Nursing Home

We all love a letter or a card at Christmas time and every pupil from 1st to 6th Class wrote a letter or a

Christmas card to the residents in Moorehall Lodge and in St. Joseph’s Hospital. I’m sure the lovely pictures

and messages brought much joy and cheer to residents. Here is a small selection of some of the letters:

Back to school School Re-opens Wednesday 6th January 2021

Mid-Term Break School Closed Monday 15th February to Friday 19th February 2021

School Re-opens Monday 22nd February 2021

St. Patrick’s Day School Closed Wednesday 17th March 2021

Easter Holidays School Closing at 12.20pm Friday 26th March 2021

School Re-opens Monday 12th April 2021

May Bank Holiday School Closed Monday 3rd May 2021

June Bank Holiday School Closed Monday 7th June 2021

Summer Holidays

School Closing at 12.20pm Thursday 24th June 2021

And finally…..we think this card says it all!

Happy Christmas from all at Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire.

Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire School Calendar 2020/2021

Parents’ Association Christmas Raffle 2020 Sponsor Prize Winner Sold By Class

1 Kerin Financial Services €200 Ardee Town Voucher Nomathemba Musarurwa

Maud Musarurwa 1st

2 Paul Dempsey Electrical Estimator €150 One for All Voucher Lois Leavy Vada Leavy 6th

3 Midlouth Garage Ardee €150 Ardee Town Voucher Samuel Joby Sandra Joby 6th

4 Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire €100 Aura Leisure Voucher Harry Malone Grace McCabe Borza 3rd

5 Deirdre Commins 7ft Christmas Tree complete with lights & baubles

Gary Smith Naoise Smith 1st

6 Donation Voucher for family trekking experience - Long Acre Alpacas Ardee

Ana Grimes Ava Grimes 6th

7 Donation 4 Horse Riding Lessons - The Railings Riding School Ardee

Peter Gorman Abi & Amber Bray JI

8 Nikki’s Flowers €30 Bouquet Voucher M. Keenan Elly-May & Jessie Murray 1st/6th

9 Nikki’s Flowers Christmas Planter Eamonn Cunningham Pitchaya Sangkhapet 6th

10 Nikki’s Flowers Christmas Plant Hollie-Mae Matthews Hollie-Mae Matthews 1st

11 Coole Farm €50 Ardee Town Voucher plus a 3 month supply of Coole salad leaves

Geraldine Callaghan Anna Callaghan 6th

12 Bernard Clarke €50 Aldi Voucher Eilís Olivier Eilís Olivier 1st

13 Cheeky Monkey €50 Dublin Zoo Voucher Blake Martin Charley Martin 2nd

14 O’Brien Stationery €50 O’Briens Gift Card Tudor Mamaliga Otilia Mamaliga JI

15 O’Brien Stationery €50 O’Briens Gift Card Ronan McGahon Sarah McGahon 5th

16 Joanne Farrell Positive Health Therapy Voucher for Reflexology or Massage Session Aaron McKeever Caitlin McKeever JI

17 Evie Loves Bespoke Crafts Bespoke Framed Christmas Art Clare Farrelly Leah Farrelly 1st

18 Donation Doll Garret Commins Sarah Jane Commins 6th

19 Donation Build your own Santas Grotto Brian Duff Saoirse Duff 2nd

20 Donation Minne Mouse School Bag Isabella McCartney Isabella McCartney 1st

21 Donation Snuggle Heatable Teddy Lily Butler Lily Butler 5th

22 Donation Peek-a-Boo Phone holder Leah Mulvenna Nina Mulvenna 2nd

23 Fergal & Geraldine Callaghan Musical Biscuit Box & Chocolates Sarah McArdle Elloise Wiebenga 4th

24 Fergal & Geraldine Callaghan €25 Ardee Town Voucher & Large box of Chocolate Fingers

Matthew Savan Aahana Savan 6th

25 Fergal & Geraldine Callaghan €25 Ardee Town Voucher & Large box of Chocolate Fingers

Jenny Shiels Jessica Murphy 3rd

26 Commins Butchers Christmas Hamper Mary Markey Éile Markey 5th

27 Commins Butchers €50 Voucher Paddy Smyth Nicole Mackin 5th

28 Patrick R. Callan & Co €50 Owen McCoy Ruby Kirk JI

29 Donation Snakes & Ladders Game and Chocolate Santa Holly Shields Megan Shields 4th

30 Masterfire - John & Una Cunningham

Christmas Hamper Caroline & Dolly Cunningham

Pitchaya Sangkapet 6th

31 John & Bernadette Boyle Butlers Chocolates Dina Donegan Úna lynch 3rd

32 John & Bernadette Boyle Dairymilk Chocolates Belinda McKenna Lucy McKenna 3rd

33 Donation Shout Board Game Brian Reilly Molly Reilly 1st

34 Donation Disney Edition Family Fortunes Denise McCoy Aimee McCoy 1st

35 Donation Articulate Board Game Conall McCarthy Lily McCarthy SI

Guess the number of sweets in the Jar

Finlays Sweet Shop Áine Sands 4th

Guess the name of Teddy - Elvis Parents’ Association Emma Boyle 6th

* Sellers’ Prizes * 1ST PRIZE: €50.00 SMYTHS TOYS VOUCHER - CASEY MCCARTNEY (4TH)

2ND PRIZE: €40.00 SMYTHS TOYS VOUCHER - HOLLY HALPENNY (3RD)

3RD PRIZE: €25.00 SMYTHS TOYS VOUCHER - NICOLE MACKIN (5TH)

* Lucky Dip Pupils’ Prizes *

INFANTS TO 1ST: LARGE BEANIE BOO - OLIVIA SHEARMAN (JUN INF)

2ND – 4TH: CRAYOLA INSPIRATION 140 PCE ART CASE - RAMINTA RUSAKEVICIUTE (4TH)

5TH – 6TH: STREETZ TRUE WIRELESS EAR BUDS - MIA CLARKE (5TH)