Muff NS Newsletter February 2023

Sacramental Classes:   2^nd class will have their Ceremony of First Penance this Wednesday at 2pm in Muff Church. Parents will have received all the relevant information from Ms. Campbell.

Both Communion and Confirmation Class pupils will have their Service of Light on Saturday February 25^th at 7:30pm in Muff Church. Pupils are asked to bring their Baptismal Candles to the Service. If you are unable to find that candle, please just bring a similar-sized candle on the evening.

Confirmation takes place on Sunday March 26^th at 1:30pm. Communion takes place on Saturday May 20^th at 11am.

Quizzes:   Well done to our quiz teams who took part in the recent Credit Union Quiz in Kingscourt. We had great success with our Junior Team coming 4^th missing out on third by one point. Our Senior Team finished in joint 1^st and only lost out on the top prize in a tie breaker. Our Junior Team consisted of Jack Taylor, Lilly Rooney, James Lennon and Odhrán Byrne. Our Senior Team had Senan McCormack, Dylan Gogarty, Eimear Byrne and James Farrelly.

We will have three teams entering the Cumann na mBunscol Quiz at the end of the month. Many thanks to Gillian who helps to prepare all the teams.

Sport:

Handball – We had outstanding success in the recent Cavan Handball Championships. Méabh Shiels and Philippa Fitzsimons won the U11 Doubles title and qualified for the Ulster Championships. There they played Donegal, Tyrone, Armagh and Monaghan performing admirably with the highlight being an emphatic win over Monaghan.

Cillian Hughes & Sarah Reilly won a silver in the U11 Cavan Championship with all our other competitors making it as far as the semi-finals. The full squad was Erin Lynch; Sophie Yore; Fionnbarra Raymond; Sean Reilly; Darragh McElroy; Cillian Hughes; Jack Reilly; Katie Hughes; Philippa Fitzsimons; Méabh Shiels, Liam Fitzsimons & Sarah Reilly.

In the meantime, our School Handball League has started with 4^th, 5^th and 6^th class students all taking part. All of the above has taken place under the guidance of Mr. Kiernan who himself will be representing Ireland in Handball in the near future. We wish him all the best.

GAA – Benny will be continuing coaching with Ms. Smith’s and Mr. Kiernan’s class over the next few weeks. We hope to start coaching our girls and boys teams in March. More details will follow shortly.

Soccer – The 5-a-side school competitions take place in March for both boys and girls. We will be choosing the teams over the coming weeks.

Swimming – Swimming lessons will begin during the week starting March 6^th.   1^st, 5^th and 6^th classes will go each Tuesday and 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th classes will go each Thursday for six weeks in Navan Swimming Pool. A note explaining all that is involved will be given out after mid-term. The Parents Association will be helping to subsidise the costs involved.

Junior Entrepreneur Project:  Last week Gemma Dillon came in to give a fantastic talk to Mr. Byrne’s class about life as, and the skills needed, to be an entrepreneur. This week the class will make their pitches in our Meet the Dragons session with two local businesspeople. We will then set about taking our idea and turning it into a reality.

Watches/Gadgets:   We would like to remind parents that children should not bring expensive or delicate objects to school. A number of watches now have games, cameras and access to the internet on them. These can’t be worn in school. We would also ask that pencil cases be kept as simple as possible so that they don’t cause a distraction for pupils.

Student Council:   The Council was recently responsible for the installation of two new outdoor games on the school yard. One is Connect Four and the other is a draught/chess board, both of which have been popular with students. The Council continues to give an important voice to pupils and ways in which we can enhance the school for all.

Green Schools Committee:   We will have our visit from the Cavan County Council Green Schools Representative in the coming weeks. As part of that, we have been preparing the School’s Action Plan in the area of Biodiversity. We have been working on this for the last 18 months. More information with regard to the visit will be given out in the coming weeks.

SPHE/RSE:   Our SPHE Plan is available to look at on the school website, www.laraghmuffns.com. We cover a variety of important areas in all classes such as friendship, bullying, internet safety and Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE). The RSE element of 6^th class will be covered in the weeks just before and after Easter. If you have any queries, please contact the school directly.

Parents Association:   Last week I had the opportunity to discuss plans for the remainder of the year and other school issues with members of the Parents Association Committee. There will be a number of events taking place that we will keep you informed of.

School Calendar:    Below is a calendar for the rest of the year. Please note dates for the Standardised Tests.

February Mid-Term – Closed Thursday February 16th and Friday February 17th

St. Patrick’s Day – Closed Thursday March 16th & Friday March 17th

Easter Holidays – Finish Friday March 31st at 12:30 – Re-open Monday April 17th

May Bank Holiday – Closed Friday April 28th and Monday May 1st

Standardised Testing – (1^st-6^th class only) Week 1 – May 29^th – June 1st

Week 2 – June 6^th – 9^th

June Bank Holiday – Closed Friday June 2nd and Monday June 5th

Summer Holidays – Finish Thursday June 29th, 2023, at 12pm

Well done to our Handballers who took part in the Cavan Cumann na mBuncsol competition in Kingscourt Ball Alley on Thursday last.  A special congratulations to Sarah Reilly & Cillian Hughes who were runners up, losing out by the smallest of margins in the final.   Congratulations to Méabh Shiels & Philippa Fitzsimons, who won the U11 doubles competition.

They are representing the school in the Ulster’s today in Belfast.  Best of luck girls.

Cavan Champions!

Muff NS Newsletter January 2023

Sacramental Classes:   The next Preparation Mass for 2^nd and 6^th class will be on Saturday February 25^th at 7:30pm.  (Ceremony of Light and Lenten Journey).

Catholic Schools week takes place from Monday January 23^rd – Sunday January 29^th. There will be a Mass for schools on Sunday January 29^th at 12pm in Kingscourt Church.  All are welcome.

First Penance takes place on Wednesday February 15^th at 2:00pm in Muff Church. First Holy Communion is on Saturday May 20^th at 11:00am in Muff Church. Confirmation takes place on Sunday March 26^th at 1:30pm in Kingscourt Church.

School Closure:   The school will be closed this Wednesday January 18^th due to Electric Ireland carrying out works causing no electricity supply on that date.

Enrolment:   Enrolment continues in the school for the coming school year 2022/23. Forms can be picked up from and returned to the office. They are also available on the school website.

Green Schools:   Our Green Schools Committee have resumed working towards our next Green Flag in the area of Biodiversity. We have our new school garden with some shoots already coming up and have plans for more activities in the coming months.

School Assembly:   Our second school assembly took place on the last day before the holidays organised by Ms Campbell. All the classes performed pieces in front of the school and a number of students’ achievements were recognised.

School Sport:   Swimming will commence in March for all classes from 1^st to 6^th and we will give more details closer to the time. Benny will be returning for more GAA coaching in the coming weeks, and we have Handball Competitions for the older pupils coming up at the end of the month.

Credit Union: The Credit Union Schools Savers Scheme is starting up again Wednesday January 25^th.  There is a form attached explaining the scheme, which will have to be filled out for any new students who wish to join.  Any students who had zip wallets from saving with the school before can continue and don’t need to fill the form. (Zip wallets will be passed to the savers by the school).   All savers will have to have a Credit Union account number to save.

Aldi: The Aldi Play Rugby sticker promotion is back! Stickers can be collected at your local Aldi store. The children are invited to bring them in like before and place them on the Rugby posters. The promotion runs until April 23^rd.

One school will have the chance to win €50,000.00 to spend on improving their playing facilities.  10 schools will win €5,000.00 each to spend on their playing facilities.

Parents Association:  The next Parents Association meeting will take place this coming Wednesday the 18th of January at 8pm in the old school. All parents are welcome to attend.

School Self Evaluation:   We are looking at the area of spelling for the remainder of the school year. We will look to finalise our plan by the end of the month.

School Calendar:   Please find a list of dates for the remainder of the school year. Please note that our Standardised Tests will be taking place over two weeks at the end of May, beginning of June. We also have a Staff Meeting on January 30th, and the school will close at 2:00pm.

Closed Wednesday 18^th January.

February Bank Holiday – Closed Monday February 6th

February Mid-Term – Closed Thursday February 16th and Friday February 17th

St. Patrick’s Day – Closed Thursday March 16th & Friday March 17th

Easter Holidays – Finish Friday March 31st at 12:30 – Re-open Monday April 17th

May Bank Holiday – Closed Friday April 28th and Monday May 1st

June Bank Holiday – Closed Friday June 2nd and Monday June 5th

Summer Holidays – Finish Thursday June 29th, 2023, at 12pm

Enrolment process for Junior Infants or September 2023 runs from Monday January 9th – Friday January 27th.

Forms can be printed off below and returned to the school office within this time.

enrolment form 2023

Congratulations to Emma Tierney on winning the Muff School Spelling Bee.  She will go forward to represent the school in the county final in the New Year.  Congratulations also to the runners up, Laila McKenna & Erin Lynch.

Muff NS Newsletter December 2022

Parent/Teacher Meetings:   Many thanks once again to all parents for attending our meetings last month. It was great to once again be able to meet face to face for the first time in three years. Please note that if you have a concern with regard to your child, contact the office and arrange a meeting with the class teacher.

Giving Mass:   The Annual Giving Mass takes place this Saturday December 10^th at 7:30pm. Sacramental classes are asked to attend, but all are welcome. Pupils in 2^nd and 6^th are asked to bring any non-perishable goods to the Mass where Fr. Gerry will invite them to bring them up to the altar. Any pupil who wishes to donate non-perishable items can do so by leaving items into the office before the weekend.

Parents Association:   The Children’s Choir will be performing their Christmas Concert on Saturday December 17^th at 7:30pm Mass in Muff Church. The P.A. will be collecting money in buckets on the evening.

We are also looking forward to a special visit from Daidí na Nollag on Wednesday December 21^st , the day we get our Christmas holidays.  This, once again, has been specially organised by the P.A.

Enrolment:   Our Enrolment for the 2023/24 school year will take place this year from January 9^th – 27^th. Forms can be collected from the school office or downloaded from our website at www.laraghmuffns.com. We would ask that if you’re enrolling your child for next year, please do so during this period as it enables us to plan ahead in a more efficient manner. If you have any queries, please contact the school office.

Literacy Lift Off:   Our first class have completed their Literacy Lift Off programme in school. This initiative gives pupils a boost in their reading and writing skills. It is important that they maintain the skills they have attained with continued reading at home. Many thanks for Mrs Farrelly who volunteered to help out on a number of occasions.

Board of Management:   The next Board meeting takes place next Monday December 12^th at 7pm.

Head Lice:  We have had a small number of cases of head lice in a couple of classes in recent weeks.  When this occurs, the standard procedure is to notify the parents of the pupils in the class.  It is very important that you check your child’s hair and treat it if necessary.  If a small number don’t do this, the problem can persist which is frustrating for all concerned.

Sport:   Benny will be doing his last session before Christmas with 5^th/6^th class and SI/1^st. Our cycling group will be finishing their Sprocket Rocket Programme next Wednesday.

French:   Ms. Campbell and Mr. Byrne finished their 8-week Introduction to a Foreign Language course last week. The students enjoyed learning all about the various languages that we have knowledge of and links to in the school as well as some fun initial activities with French. Hopefully this will continue to help with the promotion of and participation in languages.

Junior Entrepreneur:   Mr. Byrne’s room will be participating in the Junior Entrepreneur Project this year. We will be giving you more details on what is involved over the coming weeks and months.

Christmas Show:   This year the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th class are involved in putting on a Christmas Play. All the pupils of the school will have an opportunity to see the play next week and parents from these classes have been invited for the two shows on Monday December 19^th (Mr Byrne’s room) and Tuesday December 20^th (Mr Kiernan’s room).  We are having to do two shows because of the limited space in the hall.

Biodiversity/Green Flag:   Work is continuing to attain our next Green Flag. We already have a few shoots growing in our school garden and our “Bug Hotel” seems packed with guests!

School Calendar: Please find below a list of school closures for the remainder of the year. Please note that some dates may be subject to change.

Christmas Holidays – Finish Wednesday December 21st at 12:30 – Re-open Thursday January 5th, 2023

February Bank Holiday – Closed Monday February 6th

February Mid-Term – Closed Thursday February 16th and Friday February 17th

St. Patrick’s Day – Closed Thursday March 16th & Friday March 17th

Easter Holidays – Finish Friday March 31st at 12:30 – Re-open Monday April 17th

May Bank Holiday – Closed Friday April 28th and Monday May 1st

June Bank Holiday – Closed Friday June 2nd and Monday June 5th

Summer Holidays – Finish Thursday June 29th, 2023, at 12pm

Congratulations to Frankie Putnam who won a medal at a recent soccer blitz, playing for her team Carrick Rovers.

Congratulations to Kevin Tierney who placed 3rd in the recent Link Credit Union Art competition.

Muff NS Newsletter November 2022

Sacramental Classes:   There is a Preparation Mass for our Holy Communion class this Saturday November 12^th at 7:30pm in Muff Church. The following week there will be a Preparation Mass for the Confirmation students. This will also take place in Muff Church at 7:30pm. There will be a Remembrance Service for the school on Friday November 25^th at 11:30am in Muff Church. Pupils from 1^st class up will attend and all are welcome. Our annual Giving Mass takes place on Saturday December 10th.

Parent/Teacher Meetings:   Our annual P/T meetings take place Thursday November 17^th and Thursday November 24th. The pupils will all go home at 2:00 on both days. We would ask you to try as much as possible to keep to the day and time slot given. Each meeting has a ten-minute slot and we would also ask you to keep to this timeframe as, with our large class sizes presently, teachers have a large number of parents to meet. We haven’t been able to meet in person since 2019 and we are looking forward to seeing you all over the next fortnight. The meetings with the Special Education Teachers will be arranged on another day.

Parents Association:   The P.A. would like to thank all those who supported the Christmas Card Initiative. There will be a Clothes Collection in the school on Tuesday and Wednesday November 22^nd & 23rd. (flyer attached) We will send out a reminder closer to the time. The Christmas Concert with the Muff Children’s Choir will take place on Saturday December 17^th at 7:30pm in Muff Church.

You will also find attached a flyer for a talk that the P.A. have organised for Thursday November 17^th at 8pm in the school hall.  We would encourage any parent who is able to go to attend.  Tea & Coffee will be served afterwards.

School Library:     Many thanks to the P.A. for the help with setting up and designing the new school library.  We are always adding to it and hopefully will continue to get great use from it.  A special thank you to Malaika Mallard for her brilliant help with the design.  Thank you also to Topline Frazers for donating the paint.

Healthy Eating Policy:   I visited classes just before the Halloween break to remind them of the Healthy Eating Policy that we have in the school. Children were very eager to show off their healthy lunchboxes full of fruit, vegetables and sandwiches! We would remind parents that children should not have bars, crisps, sweets, fizzy drinks etc. with them in school.

Art Competition Winners:   Well done to Darragh McElroy and Aoibheann McCabe who were winners in the recent Gyproc Art Competition. They won fabulous prizes for their creations including a school trip to Armagh Planetarium which we are very much looking forward to in January.

Halloween Fun:   We had a great final day before the mid-term. The children all got dressed up and we had our first School Assembly organised by Ms. Campbell. Each class performed a poem or song in front of the school, and we spoke to the students about what it means to be a good friend. We also took time to celebrate the achievements of many of our pupils both in and out of school. We will have some details of the day on the school website shortly.

Languages Connect:   We are continuing with the French Programme in our classes from 3^rd to 6^th. It takes place for an hour each week and concentrates on making learning a foreign language fun and accessible. The course will be concluded by the end of the month.

Drama:   Today we hosted the “West Midlands Theatre Drama Group” who put on a stage show in the hall. This year the production was “Sleeping Beauty”. The pupils highly enjoyed it.

Science Week:   This begins next week, and all the classes will get a chance to witness or carry out some fun experiments.

Sports in the School:   Our Cross Country Team had some outstanding success in the recent Cavan Schools Competition. Sarah Reilly, Davy McCormack and Eimear Byrne all won individual medals while our Intermediate Girls and Intermediate Boys also won team medals.

Tag rugby coaching finished up before Halloween and we are hoping to take part in a blitz later this month.

Our School Leagues also finished up before the break. Nearly 90 children took part in these leagues and others were involved in refereeing and umpiring. Benny is carrying on with GAA coaching with Ms Swinburne’s and Mr Byrne’s class for the next number of weeks.

The Sprocket Rocket Programme in cycling began this week in school for 3^rd and 4^th class. This excellent initiative deals with handling a bike and above all, how to cycle on the road in the correct fashion. It will go on for 6 weeks.

Handball is also proving very popular with our classes at the moment and the demand for the use of the wall is exceptional. We should have word on competitions for the boys and girls in the near future.

School Calendar:  Please find below a list of school closures for the remainder of the year. Please note that some dates may be subject to change.

Christmas Holidays – Finish Wednesday December 21st at 12:30 – Re-open Thursday Jan 5th, 2023

February Bank Holiday – Closed Monday February 6th

February Mid-Term – Closed Thursday February 16th and Friday February 17th

St. Patrick’s Day – Closed Thursday March 16th & Friday March 17th

Easter Holidays – Finish Friday March 31st at 12:30 – Re-open Monday April 17th

May Bank Holiday – Closed Friday April 28th and Monday May 1st

June Bank Holiday – Closed Friday June 2nd and Monday June 5th

Summer Holidays – Finish Thursday June 29th, 2023, at 12pm