Dear Parent / Guardian, Colleague & Board Member,

Boil Water Notice: Please note that pupils are asked not to drink water from school taps while a boil water notice is in operation on the Ballymacarbry supply. Please bring your own water in plastic bottles. We will update you accordingly.

Holy Communion: Our attention turns to the Nire this Sunday morning when our Rg 2 pupils receive the sacrament during the 11am Sunday mass. We wish them well along with their teachers Mrs Coffey and Miss O’Keeffe and celebrant Fr Garrett. Congrats to our FMW boys and girls who received the sacrament on Saturday last in FMW and in turn did themselves, their families and the school proud.

This week:

Hurling: Congrats to the boys who qualified for the Roinn ‘A’ Western Final against Lismore during the week when they accounted for Scoil Gharbháin in the Semi – Final. The final is scheduled for Wednesday 1^st June in Dungarvan GAA Club Grounds – Maith sibh agus Bean Uí Bhroin.

WSP: Thanks to Waterford Sports Partnership and Pat Power for helping to brighten up our playground games on Thursday. We appreciate the funding towards this and in relation to the purchase of skipping ropes recently.

Standardised Test: Testing continued this week and will do so until the end of the month, results will be collated and inserted into Annual Reports and forwarded to parents from mid June.

Tidy Towns: We submitted our report to Ballymacarbry Tidy Towns this week in relation to our efforts at school to help in their 2022 application. What is noticeable is that there are many ventures and plans in operation at school and in the community to make our place a greener, tidier space; a few which spring to mind would be, not to bring wrappers / tin foil to school, or indeed glass bottles. We thank you for your cooperation in this regard and wish B.T.T. well during the application and adjudication process.

Next week:

School Tours: Our school tours are scheduled between 31/5 and 15/6 2022. Locations this year include Ardmore, Waterford City, Kilkenny City and Limerick. Relevant class teachers will commence contacting parents from next week with further information in relation to times and costings.

Confirmation Retreat: Rang 6 will participate in a confirmation retreat prior to the sacrament from the comforts of their own classroom on Wednesday. Fr Michael will join us as will personnel from The Rosminians, Glencomeragh.

‘Go Fund Me’ A ‘Go Fund Me’ page has been created to help with medical expenses for past pupil, Aisling Kennedy, Glasha who was injured in a road accident six weeks ago. Aisling is receiving care in Temple St, Dublin. We extend our best wishes to her and the Kennedy / Boyle families and pray her Aisling’s recovery. A link to the page can be found here. https://gofund.me/33cc94a6

RSE Day: Packs for our upcoming Rg 6 RSE day were distributed during the week. Please read, sign and return asap.

Beir bua le Rang 2 Dé Domhnaigh agus bainigí taitneamh as an deireadh seachtaine agus an spórt go léir atá ar fáil daoibh, beo nó ar an teilifís.

Is mise,  Michael J. O’Ryan – Principal.

Dear Parent / Guardian, Colleague & Board Member,

This week:

Amongst many other things, our boys qualified for the Cumann na mBunscol hurling semi final this week with a win over Cappoquin. Well done to Mrs Byrne and her charges. Our standardised tests commenced with spelling for most pupils. Rg 2 met with Fr Toomey and continued their sacramental preparation with Mrs Coffey and Miss O’Keeffe. Rg 4 commenced their Local Enterprise Achievement  Programme along with Miss Denmead. Rg 6 continued with their Transition to Secondary Programme with Sheila Comerford.

Next week:

We play the Hurling semi final against Scoil Gharbháin, Dungarvan. We prepare for the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the Nire and continue with the Rg 6 Transition Programme.

FMW Holy Communion:

Best wishes to our Fourmilewater boys and girls who will receive this sacrament tomorrow at 11am.

Best wishes to their teachers Mrs Coffey and Miss O’Keeffe and thanks in advance to Fr. Toomey who will administer the sacrament. Fr Michael has politely asked that no photographs be taken during the sacrament itself. There will be ample time afterwards. As regards seating arrangements, families may fill a single pew in the church tomorrow morning. Candidates are asked to be outside the main entrance for 10:45am at latest. Please be aware that people can watch live via the Ardfinnan live stream service http://www.churchservices.tv/ardfinnan  and click on the  FOURMILEWATER tab.

Enrolment:

We have chosen Wednesday 22^nd June as our “Open Afternoon” for new entrants. This is a move from the traditional morning slot to facilitate parents. This will involve both children and parents and proceedings will commence at 1pm. An email detailing this was forwarded to families during the week. Further information to follow closer to the time.

Baptism Certificates:

Fr Michael has advised that those requesting Baptismal Certificates should log onto the parish website www.abgnfparish.ie On the top corner there is a box labeled BAPTISM CERTS. Once the details are entered the certificates can be generated and posted to the family. There is an administrative cost of €6 for this. Pupils from the Nire parish may wish to contact Fr. Garrett.

Reminder:

School is closed on Monday next 16^th May in lieu of the extra bank holiday given this year. In future years it will be allocated to the first Monday in February. It will be included in future academic calendars. Also as mentioned before, our pupils will return to school on Thursday 1^st September 2022. This may help in planning a family summer.

Is mise,

Michael J. O’Ryan.

Principal.

Dear Parent / Guardian, Colleague & Board Member,

School Tours:

Our school tours will take place between Tuesday 31^st May and Wed 15^th June next. This year’s venues include Ardmore, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Limerick.  More information will be sent to parents in the next fortnight, including particulars such as time and costing.

This week:

Rang 2 and their teachers met up with Fr Michael at Fourmilewater Church in preparation for their upcoming sacrament. They attended the Wednesday morning mass.

“On Thursday 5^th May, 5^th Class travelled to Shane Whelan’s sheep farm in the Nire Valley as part of the Comeragh Uplands Community Programme. Everyone had a great day.

We learned about the lambing season and held some lambs. Two of the lambs were adopted and we found this really interesting. We also learned about animal health and dosing. We learned about plants growing on the mountain and what sheep can and can’t eat. We learned about biodiversity on the mountain also.

We watched Niall shear a sheep and trim his hoof. They used both an electric shears and hand held shears. Then we went outside to watch Ruby the sheepdog and her owner Shane round up the sheep. She did a great job. It was a very interesting day and lots of fun. We also got a treat at the end.

Thanks to Owen Carton, the organiser, the farmers; Shane, Paddy, Seamus, Niall and Padraig, our teacher, Ms Fitzgerald and SNA Kay and indeed Johnny the bus driver for allowing this to happen. You can see some photos of the morning on our school facebook page.”

Rg 6 pupils have commenced their Transition to Secondary Programme with Ms Sheila Comerford of the School Completion Programme. They will receive 2 further lessons in the next fortnight.

Next week:

We will compete in the 15 a side Cumann na mBunscol hurling competition in Cappoquin on Thursday and our Rg 2 pupils will prepare for their Sacrament of the Eucharist which will take place on Saturday week in FMW at 11am.

Reminder:

School is closed on Monday week 16^th May in lieu of the extra bank holiday given this year.

In future years it will be allocated to the first Monday in February.

Is mise,

Michael J. O’Ryan.

Principal.

Dear Parent / Guardian, Colleague & Board Member,

Term 3 is underway and it was great to return to good weather this week. Attendance thankfully has returned to a pre-covid average of 95%.

Upcoming Events

May is traditionally a very busy month at school and this year will be no different.

In addition to continuing teaching the curriculum, the following will also be catered for;

Sacrament of the Eucharist at both Nire and Fourmilewater churches.

A Confirmation retreat has been organised for Rang 6 in-house.

A transition programme for those transferring into secondary school will take place over 3 Thursdays in May.

Cumann na mBunscol Hurling competition will commence soon.

Rg 5 will visit Shane Whelan’s Sheep Farm in Carrigeen, Nire Valley next week as part of the Comeragh Upland Communities Project.

Rg 4 will partake in the Waterford Local Enterprise Achievement Prog. promoting enterprise and entrepreneurship.

We hope to commence engagement with Waterford Sports Partnership to encourage children into sport.

School tours are currently being planned for the end of the month and the start of June.

Standardised testing in English, Maths and Irish will take place later in the month –

(Results will be circulated home in June by way of the School Report)

We will also commence the process of teacher and class allocation for the upcoming academic year.

Many events are planned across all classes; this is merely a selection of the more important ones.

Sporting Success

Congrats to those who are participating with county teams of late especially our male and female past pupils. Indeed Katie Spelman represented our school at the Waterford / Limerick hurling game and class mate Cara Ryan enjoyed individual success in athletics.

Golden Jubilee

Plans are currently being drafted in relation to how we wish to celebrate our upcoming Golden Jubilee and Jubilee Year from September 2022. If you are interested or have items of interest, please contact Rose or any staff member.  A number of improvements in the grounds have also been planned and we thank Jim our caretaker for looking after these, not forgetting Tina and Majella who cater for the indoor cleaning and upkeep.

Enjoy the Bank Holiday Weekend.

Is mise,

Michael J. O’Ryan.

Principal.

Dear Parent / Guardian, Colleague & Board Member,

Thoughts and Prayers –

We extend our thoughts and prayers to a past pupil of ours and her family following an accident on the Clonmel / Dungarvan road last evening.

Sympathies –

We extend our sympathies to the Gillman family of St Martin’s Place, Ballymacarbry on the death of Fintan (Snr). Finny was husband to Margie who worked at our school in the past at morning and evening time. His children and grandchildren are past pupils of ours also.  Ar dheis Dé go raibh sé.

Commitment Ceremony / Ceremony of Light –

Well done to Rang 6 on making their Commitment Ceremony / Ceremony of Light on Wednesday night last in FMW.

Thanks to Mr. Brunnock & Mrs Byrne for their preparation and Fr Toomey for the service.

GAA –

Congrats to our girls 15 a side team who had a great win over Lismore in the Cuman na mBunscol A final on Saturday last in Dungarvan. Commiserations to our boys who suffered a defeat to the same opposition in the Boys A Final immediately afterwards. Our girls reached the 7 a side final on Monday last in Abbeyside and our boys reached the semi.  Thanks to management and all who cheered on both teams.

Crazy Hat / Hair Day –

We were glad to be able to stage the above day to help our Parents’ Association in fundraising.  €312 was raised on their behalf. Even though they continued to help the school during Covid and lockdown they were unable to fundraise. They do so much for the pupils and the school and are always looking for volunteers. Please contact Aoife, Therese or Theresa for further information. The children got very involved in the day and some of the photos can be seen on our facebook page. Thanks to Aoife & PA for the treats today also.

Easter Holidays –

We extend the compliments of this holy season to all our school community. School will reopen on Monday 25^thApril.

Is mise,

Michael J. O’Ryan.

Principal.