School Library
Our school library is up & running - the children make regular visits to the new library with their teacher and are involved in choosing books for their class library.
Music
After such a successful drumming workshop and fortnight of drumming last year we have decided to borrow the drums from Kildare Education Centre again this year. They are coming to our school after Halloween. Thanks to Ms. Coyle for taking it on again. Better invest in a set of ear plugs.
For the last number of years Mr Terry Clancy has been coming to the school to teach music after school hours. He teaches recorder and a number of other instruments and puts on a show at the end of the year for parents. Classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays and while they are up and running you may enrole with Terry by contacting the school. In 2011 we start a pilot project with Mr. Clancy to teach recorder to all children in 1st classes on Mondays during school time. Lets see how it goes.
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Swimming
Second class will commence their swimming this term and will have eight sessions before Christmas (see school calendar for dates). First class will go after Easter for their eight sessions. The new swimming pool at the leisure centre in Jobstown is a fabulous facility and we are delighted to be availing of it. Letters with details of times, costs and requirements will be issued along with consent forms. If you as a parent are available to come along to help out with the children please let Mr. Carron know. |
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Gaelic Games (See our news section for updates)
Through co operation with our local GAA club, Blessington GAA, our pupils have the opportunity to experience top class coaching sessions in Gaelic Games and Hurling. We are delighted to promote Gaelic Games in our school as part of our heritage and enjoy participating in Cuman na mBunscoil tournaments. We also facilitate Cuman na mBunscoil tournaments for 1st and 2nd classes in neighbouring schools.. |
Gymnastics
This March 2011 we launched a pilot project with Senior Infants. Each class attended Panthers Gym in Naas to learn gymnastics with highly experienced and qualified teachers on specialised equipment. Parents provided the transport and thanks to them the cost was kept to a minimum. It was such a success that it is now available to all classes and buses are organised to transport the children over and back. The children are loving it!
Sincere thanks to the parents in Senior Infants who helped out with the initial trial runs!
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Computers
IT is an area in which we are making huge progress and we are thrillled that all classes now have access to the internet and Interactive Whiteboards. It is wonderful to find the resources and images one needs to give even more life to a lesson at the touch of a fingertip. In the Summer of 2011 we updated our computer room replacing the dinosaurs with new machines. We upgraded the class laptops for First and Seconds and we also installed an internal network system. A huge challange to our finances but a great opportunity to move our school forward with the digital age! |
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Art Classes
Art classes are hosted by "Artzone" after school on Monday afternoons.
1:40 - 2:40 - Jnr & Snr Infants
2:40 - 3:40 - 1st & 2nd Classes
Visual Arts is a much valued subject in St. Mary's Junior School and we are delighted to show off our children's work. Our corridors offer a colourful display of current and historic pieces of work in a variety of styles and media. Thanks to Ms. Kehoe and a dedicated team of parents we have wonderfully sourced Visual Arts store rooms. |
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Blessington Library
We have a well established relationship with our local town library and our pupils have membership there. Each week classes go to renew or exchange books. We believe that the gift of reading for pleasure is a gift for life and the trips are enjoyable as well as educational. We also get to see the many displays of cultural interest which the library has throughout the year. Most of our pupils keep up the habit of going to the library during the holidays and we are thrilled with the support we get from the parents. Thanks to the staff of Blessington Library and to all the parents who volunteer to accompany classes on the walk to and from the library. This years timetable has been distributed and spare copies are available upon request from the office. |
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Athletics
Each year we send a team to participate in the Cumann na mBunscoil cross country event, which is held at St. Joseph’s National School Valleymount. Trials take place in September / October and we have a marvellous time. Emphasis is always on participation but we still come home with honors! Well done to all who participate and a special thanks to Mrs. Broderick for her hard work.
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Fundraising
Our Parent's & Teacher's Association (PTA) is actively involved in supporting the school with fundraising activities. Our favourite is the Halloween Fancy Dress Parade. Each child gets to dress up in their favourite costume and go on a sponsored walk with their class mates around the town. Watch out for the witches, wizards and all sorts of scary characters! (The teachers are the scariest!!!)
We also have regular Hot Dog Fridays when each child gets a hot dog served in school. They go down a treat! St. Mary's also fundraises for charities throughout the school year such as Downs Syndrome Ireland, The Trocaire Lenten Appeal and for a school for children with special needs which was badly effected by the earthquake in Haiti. Our final fundraising event each June is the relay marathon run in both schools. Its a great day and we all put in a huge effort. Cakesale and a monster raffle iss the specific fundraising for the Blessington Educational Trust Fund which is used to access the support of professionals when helping children with special educational needs. We also have a table quiz each year for the grown ups ..... the competition is fierce!!! |
Running a marathon for our school is exhausting but at least we get rewarded!
Well done to all who participated in our Marathon.Keep up the training ! Thanks to Super Valu for the refreshments and to Garda Mick O'Rourke for participating in the Run For Books with Mrs. Dillon from Naas to Blessington on the day. Thanks also to all the business who sponsored them. 2,225 EURO was raised towards the cost of our new reading schemes. Thanks to all the parents who came along and supported on the day and a big thank you to the PTA for all the organising!
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Seachtain na Gaeilge
One of the highlights of the year, Seachtain na Gaeilge is held each March in the week around St. Patrick's Day. Children get to show off their Drámaí, Rince, Ceol, Dáin agus Amhrain to their classmates, other classes and parents. We invite guest performers to share their talents with our pupils and we celebrate our culture in a special and enjoyable way. Gaeilge is not just for Seachtain na Gaeilge, in our school Gaeilge is for every day! Is fear Gaeilge briste na Bearla cliste! Don't be afraid to use the cúpla focail! Below is our timetable from Seachtain na Gaeilge 2011 to give a flavour of what happens. |
Dé hAoine
11ú lá - |
Assembly, Traditional Musician, Sean Nós dancer and singer and set dancing lessons. |
Dé Luain
14ú lá |
Seó 1. Performances from Ms. Broderick's and Mr. Tedder's Junior Infants, Ms. Coyle's Senior Infants, Ms. Donegan's and Ms. Keogh's First Classes and Mr. Carron's Second Class for all the school.
Trá na gCeist |
Dé Máirt
15ú lá |
Seó 2. Performances from Ms. Lenehen's Junior Infants, Ms. Higgin's and Ms. Kehoe's Senior Infants, Ms. O'Regan's First Class and Ms. Cronin's Second Class for all the school.
Bingó |
| De Cheadaoin
16ú lá |
Seó 3. All classes performing for parents and visitors. Seó starts at 9.15 and parents should refer to individual time tables for exact times. |
Déardaoin
17ú lá |
Lá Fheile Pádraig |
Dé hAoine
18ú lá |
Scealaí Seosamh O Maolaí in the library for the day.
Set Dancing for all classes. |
Dé Máirt
29ú lá |
Set Dancing
Visit from Kevin Cuniffe of the Chieftains |
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| Fun events |
At the end of 2008/2009 we celebrated our second green flag with a party. It was such a success that we have decided that every flag should be celebrated and it is!We have an end of year/graduation mass and an out door party.
At Christmas we bring the whole school to a live theatre show. It is a wonderful experience for the children.
We are also very lucky to get a visit just before the Christmas holidays from Father Christmas. Santa, as he is known to his friends, really loves our children and he brings them all a treat. We never know how he might arrive but the last time it was in a fire engine!
We also go on excursions to venues of historical and cultural interest such as Glendalough National Park, Black Hill and Blessington Mart Towards the end of the school year each class group goes on "School Tour" and we ensure that our venues offer a wide variety of activities and buckets of fun!
Each year we have the opportunity to invite story tellers and authors to our school. In 2011 we invited M&M Productions who performed Charlotte's Web for us. They were amazing and the children were totally enthralled by the performance.We have booked them for February 2012 for Dick Whittington and His Cat. Thanks to the PTA for their sponsorship of the event!
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Mrs. Dillon, are we there yet?
 Good job we brought the sandwiches. Black Hill is huge!
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