Newsletter May 2024

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope you and your families are keeping well. Below are some updates and reminders.

First Holy Communion
Congratulations to our pupils in 2nd Class who made their First Holy Communion last weekend. We had a
lovely ceremony and we are very proud of all of the children. Thanks to our 2nd class teacher Ms. Mulroy
and Fr. McManus in preparing the children for this special sacrament, also to Ms. Shine for preparing the
Music for the ceremony.

GAA-Cumann na mBunscol
Well done to our girls’ and boys’ teams who represented the school very well at the Cumann na mBunscol
blitz last Thursday. Congratulations to our boys’ team on making it through to the semi-final later this
month. Wishing the boys the very best of luck. Many thanks to our GAA coaches, Kieran Kilkenny, Ultan
O’Ruairc and Ollie Lennon for their hard work in coaching all of our pupils this year.

Music Generation
As part of the Music Generation programme taking place in our school, the children involved will perform
with Roscommon Youth Orchestra String Section in Kilbride Community Centre on Sunday 26th May. This is
a wonderful opportunity for the children to show case their repertoire on violin, viola and cello. Many
thanks to our Music teacher, Natalia Gorovenco, for her hard work and dedication to our pupils over the
past two years.

Basketball Tournament
A team of pupils from 6th Class represented the school at a Junior NBA tournament in Tallaght yesterday.
Thanks to our basketball coach Ciarán Kiveney and Athlone Basketball Club for providing this wonderful
opportunity for our pupils and for providing coaching sessions throughout the year.

Rugby Blitz
A rugby blitz will take place for 4th, 5th and 6th class pupils in Dubarry Park on Monday 17th June. Thanks to
Charlie Cooper for coaching our pupils and for organising this sporting event.

11th Green Flag for Ballybay N.S.
As you are aware, we recently received our 11th Green Flag. Congratulations to Ms. Kelly, Ms. Connolly, Ms.
Mulvey and the Green Schools Committee for their continued hard work and dedication. Special thanks to
all pupils, staff, parents and members of the community for their valuable contributions also. The green
flag was presented to the school at an Award Ceremony in the Radisson earlier this week.

Eason Spelling Bee
Well done to Cian Kilcommons, 6th Class, who represented our school at the County Final of The Eason
Spelling Bee Competition in Roscommon recently.

Community Games Winners
Congratulations to the following pupils who won medals for Community Games competitions recently:
Ryan Bruce (4th Class) 2nd Place-Art
Rían Murphy (3rd Class) 3rd Place-Handwriting
Maja Bujanauskaite (3rd Class) 3rd Place-Art
Esme Ward (3rd Class) 1st Place-Handwriting
Réiltín Mannion (2nd Class) 1st Place- Model Making
Aisling Henry (2nd Class) 2nd Place-Handwriting
Best of luck to 1st place winners in the next stage of the competition.

New School Jerseys
Sincere thanks to Emmet Collins & County Photos for sponsoring our lovely new set of school jerseys!
The children are delighted with the jerseys and wore them with great pride for the Cumann na mBunscol
blitz last week.

Parents’ Association
Many thanks to all members of our Parents’ Association for their continued hard work and support. We
had a very successful book fair in April and this event was very much enjoyed by all. We are very grateful
to the parents for organising this event and for giving so generously of their time to attend the open
evenings for parents and manage sale of books. Sincere thanks to all families who supported the event.
Book fair commission of €1,450 was earned, so we are delighted to be able to replenish our class libraries.

June Bank Holiday Closure
Just a reminder that the school will be closed on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th June 2024.

School Tours in June
12th June: 4th Class Tour to Ardnacrusha
13th June: 6th Class Tour to Kilmainham Gaol & The Dáil, Dublin
18th June: 5th Class Tour to Baysports
19th June: 1st/2nd Class Tour to Lullymore
3rd/4th Class Tour to Lilliput
20th June: Junior Infants/Senior Infants Tour to Turoe Pet Farm
6th Class Tour to Birr Outdoor Education Centre

Car Park
We kindly request that the rows of parking spaces directly in front of the school gates be kept clear for
school staff in the mornings and that parents would not drive into this area to drop off children. We would
be grateful if parents could use the new car park next to the sensory garden and accompany children to the
school gate. Alternatively, the section of the original car park directly in front of the parish hall/next to the
church may be used.