February 2016 Newsletter

Dear Parent/Guardian,
I want to bring the following to your attention in this February Newsletter:

School News

Handball- Kilkishen N.S. had great success in the Clare Primary Schools competitions held the
past week. Cathal McNamara and Adrian Kelly won the boys U/11 Boys Doubles and Chloe
Philpott won the Girls U/13 Singles title. Well done to everyone that participated in the events
and thank you to Christy Philpott for coordinating the trials. Our winners will now represent
Clare in the Munster Schools Finals so best of luck!
Swimming- Pupils from 3rd/4th & 5th/6th have been attending swimming lessons at Ennis
Leisureplex for the past 3 weeks commencing Tuesday January 12 2016. Pupils are working
towards achieving PAWS (Primary Aquatic Water Safety Certificates) levels 2-4. Martina
OHagan has been observing pupils progress and will be choosing pupils to participate in the
Community Games swimming competitions. There are 3 weeks swimming lessons left,
concluding on Tuesday February 23.
Super Troopers-Pupils have been encouraged to participate in a physical exercise initiative
called Super Troopers. Pupils are logging their daily exercise routine and trying out the fun Super
Trooper exercises to increase pupils activity levels each day. Mr. Walsh is coordinating this
initiative and this will form part of our schools Active Flag application in 2016.
Indoor Hurling and Camogie- Kilkishen N.S. pupils have been taking part in the Cumann na
mBunscol indoor hurling and camogie competitions for 4th class boys 5th class girls. The boys
team competed in a group with Cratloe, Sixmilebridge and Kilmurry. Sixmilebridge were the
group winners however Kilkishen N.S. had some exceptional performances on the day from
Cathal McNamara, Daniel Burke, Sen Boyce and TJ Stewart. On Wednesday February 3 the
girls of 4th and 5th will have their turn and the throw in is set for 11.30 in Cratloe Hall.
Basketball Coaching and League- Martina OHagan and Richard Greaves are visiting the
school every Thursday and coaching classes from Juniors to 6th class basketball. The pupils are
really enjoying the sessions and are making huge progress. Thank you to Martina and Richard for
sharing their expertise with the pupils. A basketball league will commence next Monday at lunch
time and will continue until Easter in preparation for the Marion Keane Basketball Primary
School Competition. Community Games Basketball training continues with Martina every Friday
after school from 3-4pm.
Junior Entrepreneur Programme- Pupils from 5th and 6th have been busy pitching possible
ideas for a business venture as part of the Junior Entrepreneur Programme 2016. On Friday
January 22, six groups made their presentations to The Dragons (Ms. Maxted, Ms. OShea &
Mike Hogan) and after much consideration The Dragons decided that the best project to
undertake for the entire class was the Smoothie Kings idea. Pupils have since had successful
Business Visitors to the class sharing their experiences of setting up a business. Thank you to
Brian Bliss from The Wall Dublin and Nicky Zimmerman from Nickys Flowers for their
excellent talks with the pupils. Pupils will now carry out some market research to refine their idea

and plan how best to organize the business. There will be a school showcase day where
Smoothies will be for sale so your support would be greatly appreciated.
Community Games- Pupils from 3rd to 6th recently took part in the Community Games
handwriting and art competitions. There were 15 winners from Kilkishen N.S. in both categories
and winners are now participating in the county Community Games finals. Well done to all that
took part.
Debating Team- The Kilkishen N.S. debating team had a great win over Parteen N.S. in the first
round of the Clare Primary Schools Debating competition at the end of November. Now they
compete in the quarter finals against Kilkee later this month. The motion for this round is i-Pads
should replace books. The team is busy preparing arguments disagreeing with the motion. Best
of luck to Rebecca Burke, Ella Bliss, Katie Frost, Caoimhe Kelly, Ava OConnell and Chelsea
Canny.
Green Schools- The Green Schools committee have been very busy recently ensuring Kilkishen
N.S. conserves as much energy as possible. A Switch Off squad have kept vigilant eyes out to
conserve energy wherever possible. On February 5 the pupils and school will be assessed on how
much energy conservation has occurred and hopefully we will be awarded our second Green
Flag. Thank you to Ms. Fawl, Mike Hogan and the Green School Committee for their efforts so
far.

Building

Furniture- Pupils and Teachers furniture was recently purchased in all classrooms and the
outstanding delivery will be arriving in March. The pupils furniture is now fully updated and
appropriate for a modern day classroom.
Computers-The School is updating IT infrastructure in the classes. This week computers and
laptops which will run our recently installed Interactive Whiteboards will be arriving. In the
future the school will be looking to update the pupils IT infrastructure working towards a ratio of
1 computer for every 5 pupils. The school is also in the process of changing Broadband supplier
and aiming to improve Broadband speeds around the school.
Summer Works Scheme- The school has made an application to replace the existing heating
system under the Departments Summer Works Scheme 2016. Successful applications will be
published on www.education.ie in the near future. I will communicate once I have received notice
on our application.
Building Sub Committee- A committee with responsibility for overseeing the planned building
project in Kilkisen N.S. has been established. Fr. Donal Dwyer, Conor Harrison, Aidan Moroney,
and Mike Hogan have begun the process of seeking tenders for a Consultant Engineer, with
responsibility for supervising the building project. The deadline for applications is Friday
February 12 2016.
Building Appeal- Kilkishen N.S. building appeal to replace existing inadequate classrooms was
rejected but has been appealed again. In my latest correspondence with the Building Appraisal
Section of the Department of Education, it was stated the priority at present is building
classrooms in areas of high demographic growth. This is unacceptable as Kilkishen N.S. will
never qualify under this criterion. I met with our local Labour T.D. Michael McNamara and the
Minister for Education Jan OSullivan again, requesting the sanctioning of extra classrooms. The

Minister has contacted the Building Appraisal Section and I am awaiting their response. I am
committed to doing whatever it takes to improve the school building and bring it up to modern
day standards which every pupil in the school deserves.

Parents Association
The Parents Association of Kilkishen N.S. will hold their AGM at a yet to be confirmed date in February
at Kilkishen Cultural Centre. I will ensure each family gets a note home and a text reminder with details
of when the AGM will take place. I would encourage as many parents as possible to attend on the night. I
will address the meeting on the night and identify some potential areas the Parents Association can help
support the running of the school. I would like to thank the existing Parents Association for their
contribution to the running of the school. There has been fantastic parental involvement and cooperation
in the school since I have arrived and I would like to develop and promote this further.

Board of Management 2016-2019

The Boards second community nominee has been selected. Catherine O Gorman has agreed to work on
the board filling the required eight nominee to the Board of Management. Thank you to Catherine and I
wish her well for the coming four year term.

Commemoration at Glenwood
On Sunday January 17 2016 there was a commemoration to remember the 95 th anniversary of the
Ambush at Glenwood. Coordinator of the event Patsy Neville invited a number of 5th & 6th class pupils
from Kilkishen N.S. to participate in the commemoration. Pupils recited the 1916 Proclamation and
helped sing our national anthem at the event. The pupils were fantastic and represented the school
exceptionally well on the day.

New Website
Finally, if you are interested in getting a closer look into what is happening in Kilkishen N.S., please visit
our school website regularly at: www.kilkishen.weebly.com. We have a Latest News Blog with up to date
news of what is happening in the school. Each class group has their individual page with what is
happening at the moment. A School Programmes page, which gives an overview of some of the
educational initiatives that are running in the school. I plan to add a Useful Website page to the site which
will be a resource to help young and older pupils with Literacy and Numeracy outside the school. We also
have a school Twitter account @Kilkishenns which will keep you updated on whats happening in the
school.
A reminder the school closes for one week from Monday February 15 to Friday February 19 2016
inclusive.
Yours sincerely,
Conor Harrison
Principal Kilkishen N.S.