27th June 2016 Dear Parents / Guardians, As the 2015 - 2016 school year draws to a close, I would like to draw your attention to some of the events and activities which took place in the school during our final term.

Green Schools Award All the hard work paid off when we received the good news that we were awarded our sixth Green Flag for our work on the theme of Biodiversity. Thomas Malone and James Mahon from 6th class, together with Ms. Doyle and Ms. Griffin, represented the school at the Awards Ceremony in Kilkenny last month. A special word of thanks to our Green School’s Committee, led by Ms. Griffin, who spear-headed the project. The members of the committee were Fiacc Brennan, Brian Broderick, Cian Cashman, Mark Dillon, Katie Duggan, Niamh Gray, Shane Jones, James Mahon, Hannah Mc Loughlin, Lucy Mc Loughlin, Thomas Malone, Alannah O’Brien, Padhraic O’Mahony, Maeve O’Neill and Ciara Woods. The flag-raising ceremony will take place next term.

Maths and Science Award It gives me great pleasure to inform you that Bennekerry N.S. received an Excellence Award for Maths and Science as part of the Discover Primary Science Programme this year. Many thanks to Mrs. Murphy for co-ordinating this initiative throughout the school.

First Holy Communion and Confirmation Congratulations to the pupils in 2nd Class on their First Holy Communion and to the boys and girls in 6th Class on their Confirmation. Both ceremonies were a credit to all concerned. We are very grateful to the boys and girls in the choir who sang so beautifully at the ceremonies. Thanks to the class teachers and those involved with the choir for all their hard work with the preparations for these special occasions. A special word of thanks to Fr. Tom Little and Fr. Seán Hyland for all their help and support throughout the year.

Charity Events Sixth Class pupils organised a fantastic “Fun Day” with lots of activities for all the pupils from Infants to 5th Class. The children had a most enjoyable day and the event raised €1,843 for charity. The 6th class pupils have decided to share the money they raised between Crumlin Children’s Hospital, Carlow Kilkenny Homecare Team, St. Clare’s Kitchen, and World Vision Ireland. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful support. A special thanks to all who donated prizes for the raffle. Money which was very generously donated by the pupils in the Sacramental Classes will also be shared among these four charities. Thank you very much to everyone who bought sunflower seeds in aid of Carlow / Kilkenny Hospice. A competition for the tallest sunflower will take place in September

Sport Active Schools Week Ms. Cleary organised a rota of 30 minutes of physical activities for all classes every morning during Active Schools Week which was held in mid-June. Our Girls’ Football team put in a fantastic performance to win the Glór na nGael Gaelic Football Tournament recently, beating the Gaelscoil in the final. The girls were thrilled to bring home the cup! The boys also competed valiantly but were pipped at the post in the final by a strong Graiguecullen team. and Camogie Our boys and girls entered the Carlow Urban School Blitz in Hurling and Camogie. The girls won the final of the Division 2 Competition final and claimed their first piece of silverware in this sport. Cluster Blitz We had a very successful Inter Schools Cluster Blitz with Tinryland National School which was facilitated by the Board. A great day was had by all participants in 3rd and 4th Classes. Basketball Our Girls’ and Boys’ teams competed in the Primary School Division 1 Basketball League. They played some very competitive matches against Scoil Mhuire, St Fiacc’s N.S. and Bishop Foley N.S. GAA Coaching A big thank you to our friends in Palatine GAA for the coaching sessions they organised for us in Gaelic Football. This programme was part of the School-Club Link Partnership. A special thanks to Martin Hosey, Thomas Murphy and David Kinsella for their great work with Senior Infants and 1st Class pupils. We are very thankful to Ms. Tomlinson for her all her work in co-ordinating our sports programme this year. We were delighted that Mr. Corcoran continued to work with our school football and basketball teams. Sincere thanks to both teachers for all the time and effort they have given to coaching our sports teams. Community Games Congratulations to all who won medals in the recent county finals of Community Games. Best of luck to Eoin Brennan, James Cranny, Marie Cranny, Matthew Farrell, John Hendricken, Rianna Leyden, Clodagh Mahon, James Mahon, Ria Mullins, Amy Mc Donnell, Sam Mc Hugh, Jack Murphy, Maeve O’Neill, Aidan Ryan, Chloe Ryan and Kate Walsh who will represent in the All-Ireland finals over the coming months. Draughts News Bennekerry entered two teams in this year’s All-Ireland Primary Schools Draughts Competition which was held in Limerick in March. The teams finished in second and third place. The eight who travelled were Seán Breen, Lorcan Kelly, James Cranny and Jack Deasy (2nd ) and Marie Cranny, Aidan Ryan, Conor Buggy and Mark Buggy(3rd ) Bennekerry/Tinryland draughts teams took home 21 gold medals in the recent Community Games County Finals. The team members are Seán Breen, Lorcan Kelly, Marie Cranny, Joe Birmingham, Aidan Ryan, Conor Buggy, Mark Buggy, James Cranny, Jack Deasy, Cian Campion, John Byrne, George Cassidy, Charlie Deasy, Luke Campion, Terry Cassidy, Evan McAteer, Pádraic Kelly, Seán Buggy, Cormac Mc Connan, Sarah Keenan and John Hendricken. Well done to all. Many thanks to Ms. Mairead Breen and her Dad Mr. Pat Breen for all their work with the draughts teams.

Competition Successes Congratulations to Muirne Leyden, Sara Keenan and Eoin Brennan who won family day passes to Dublin Zoo in the Dublin Zoo Poetry Competition. Well done to Sara Rice who won 3rd prize in Carlow District Credit Union Art Competition and Sara Keenan who scooped first prize in the junior section of Carlow Photography Society Competition.

Tours School tours were organised for all classes during this month. The following is a list of the venues visited.  Junior Infants – Nore Valley Park, Co. Kilkenny  Senior Infants -Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare  1st Class – Greenan Maze, Wicklow  2nd Class – Kilkenny Castle and ‘K Bowl’ , Kilkenny  3rd Class – Ferrycarrig Heritage Park and Leisure Max, Wexford  4th Class – Fort Lucan Adventure Centre  5th Class – Roll ‘n’ Bowl, Portlaoise  6th Class – Dunmore East Adventure Centre

Music Generation Recital / School Choir Our Music Generation Programme was a great success again this year. Children in 3rd 4th and 5th classes made great progress at learning the recorder and 5th Class pupils did wonderful work in the area of Choral Singing. Many thanks to Gavin Barr and Marion Gaynor for their work with us on this programme. Our School choir participated in the AIMS Choir Competition in New Ross and were highly praised by the adjudicators. A special word of thanks to Ann Brolly for her wonderful work with the choir. We are also very grateful to Ms. Reidy, Ms. Whitney, Mrs. O’Toole and Ms. Jordan for their assistance with the choir throughout the year. We held a Music Recital for parents in the School Hall on the 16th of June. The performance was a most enjoyable occasion for pupils and audience alike.

A Note from our Parents’ Association The Parents’ Association would like to thank all who supported the Easter Draw, the NCBI Clothes Collection and the School Table Quiz. Thanks to everyone who helped out with the refreshments for First Holy Communion, Confirmation, New Parents’ Induction Evening and Sixth Class Farewell ceremony. The PA is delighted to announce that Bennekerry N.S. will be hosting a "20k Drop" night on Friday, the 18th of November in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Carlow. This fun-filled evening will be based on the popular TV Gameshow- The "Million Pound Drop" and there will be a number of opportunities to win on the night! This event requires a lot of organisation but has huge potential as a fundraiser for our wonderful school. We are hopeful that all families will get involved and come along on the night as it promises to be a fantastic family night out. More details to follow in September. Please save the date!

Uniform When purchasing uniforms for the coming year, please remember that pupils must wear plain black shoes or boots as part of the school uniform. The navy track suit bottoms should also be plain with no obvious stripes. (Small, discreet logos are acceptable.) Girls should wear navy socks / white socks / navy tights. School sweat shirts are available from Nicola’s Embroidery, Johnstown, Bennekerry.Tel.086-6392184, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30 pm. The sweat shirts may be ordered by phone or by calling to the house, but not by text. 1st August is the last date to place orders required for the beginning of the new academic year. School Ties are available from Shaws, Tullow Street. It is absolutely essential to have all coats, jumpers, sweatshirts etc. clearly marked with your child’s name. I strongly recommend that you use a proper laundry marker in order to ensure that the names don’t wash off. Laundry markers are available in the Wool Shop in Hadden’s. (This once off investment could save you a small fortune!!!)

School Reports and Booklists Reports were posted last week. The results of standardised tests in Maths and English are given on the reports for pupils from 1st to 6th Classes. Please note that these results merely give a snapshot of your child’s performance on the day. Some variation in scores from year to year is to be expected. Further information on the format for school reports and the interpretation of standardised test results is available on www.ncca.ie/parents/assessment . Booklists for all classes were distributed last week, together with application forms for book rental for pupils from 3rd to 6th Classes. (Jones’ Business Systems has been supplied with copies of all our booklists.)

Summer Stars’ Summer Reading Programme, Carlow County Library This initiative is open to all Primary School pupils and runs from June 30th – August 30th. Children who participate will receive their own Summer Stars Reading Card and a reward stamp will be added to their card at the Library for every book they read. Participation is free of charge and the programme is highly recommended.

School Charges We are constantly trying to make every effort to keep costs to parents to a minimum. The following charges will be in place for the coming year: I am including them now to give parents time to budget for them. The School Contribution for Art and Craft, photocopying and personal accident insurance will remain at €30 next year for one child and €25 for additional siblings. Drama : €15 per pupil. Swimming : €50 (1st to 5th Classes). Music Generation Recorder lessons will cost €25 per pupil in 3rd and 4th Classes for 30 recorder lessons. (Music Generation lessons are subsidised by the PA)

Olympic Games The School Community would like to wish our past pupil, Finn Lynch the very best of luck in his sailing competition in Rio. Let’s hope Bennekerry will have something to cheer about during the Olympic Games!

Perfect Attendance Record Well done to Sara Doyle, 6th Class on her full attendance record in Bennekerry N.S. since she started in Junior Infants in 2008. This is an excellent achievement!

Staff News Congratulations and best wishes to Mrs. Amy Doyle and her husband Paul on the birth of their daughter Aoibhe.

Summer Holidays Bennekerry N.S. will close for the summer holidays on Thursday, 30th June at 12 noon. Infants may be collected at 11.45 in order to alleviate traffic. The school will re-open for pupils on Tuesday 30th of August at 9.20. The reception of the new Junior Infants will take place between 9.45 and 10.15am. In an effort to eliminate confusion on the first day back, children will assemble in exactly the same place as they did during the current academic year. They will be shown their new assembly points after lunch break on the first day back.

As we come to the end of another academic year, I want to thank all our pupils and their parents for their co- operation during the year. A special thanks to the Staff of Bennekerry N.S. for their continued commitment and professionalism in their work with the pupils. As always, we are very grateful to the members of the Board of Management and the Parents’ Association Committee for all their efforts to support the school and enhance the quality of our children’s education here in Bennekerry N.S. I also want to take this opportunity to say good-bye and God bless to our sixth class pupils and their families. They were a wonderful group of talented young people and we are genuinely sorry to see them go. We wish them all the very best for the future. We look forward to welcoming their parents to a Farewell Ceremony at 2pm on Wednesday.

Finally, I hope you all have a very well-deserved break over the summer months.

Beir bua agus beannacht,

Maria Doyle

------Principal