Dear Lough Gur community newsletter readers,
We returned to school refreshed and ready to learn after the October midterm break. The month of November has flown by and the excitement is starting to build for Christmas. Here are some of events and activities that have taken place in our school recently:

Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal

Thank you to the pupils and their parents for the time, generosity and effort they gave preparing for the Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal. It is another example of the wonderful community spirit at work in Scoil Náisiúnta Loch Guir. The Christmas Shoeboxes will be sent to children affected by poverty in countries in Africa and Eastern Europe.

Larkin Shield

Huge congratulations to Clodagh Hourigan and Grace McLoughlin who were part of the South Limerick football team that defeated a spirited City team in the Allianz Ireland Larkin Shield final on Thursday 24th November. We are so proud of the girls. The final score was South 3-3 : City 2-3

Peace Proms 2023

The boys and girls from 3rd to 6th class have been successful in their application to participate in Peace Proms this year. We have been learning and practicing 8  songs/medleys in school. On Monday 14th November we travelled to the University of Limerick for a regional workshop with renowned conductor Greg Beardsell. We will perform with the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland, a host of top soloists and up to 3000 other children in our Peace Proms concert on Saturday 28th January at 8pm in UL. Tickets are selling out fast and can be purchased at www.peaceproms.com

Christmas Concert

We are delighted to announce the return of our Christmas show this year in the HoneyFitz Theatre. The boys and girls will perform the play ‘Mr.Scrooge – My Teacher’ which includes some song singing. Preparations are well underway and we are hoping for a full
house for the performances on Monday 19th December.

School Meals Update

Funding has been granted by the Department of Social Protection to our school for the provision of hot meals to all boys and girls under the DEIS School Meals Programme. This service will be completely free. The Lunch Bag delivered and installed an oven on
Thursday 24th November. We are now awaiting a date for The Lunch Bag to launch the service in our school. It will be a great addition to Scoil Náisiúnta Loch Guir and will be well underway before the Christmas holidays.

Bruff Credit Union Prize Winners

Congratulations to Lucia Crawford, James McLoughlin, Orlaith Hayes, Aoife Micks, Evan Keane, Clodagh Hourigan and Kate Dunworth who won prizes for their artwork in the Bruff Credit Union Art Competition.

Classroom activities

The junior room were very busy in November as we celebrated the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of all Souls by creating a ‘November We Remember’ display. Science week also took place and the pupils carried out various science experiments. They voted the skittles experiment the best one. Each pupil was given two packets of skittles to take home to carry out the experiment again or simply eat the skittles as a treat!

This month also saw the pupils being introduced to the PE strand of gymnastics. We integrated yoga and mindfulness into our lessons and we created some very impressive yoga moves and stretches!

There was great excitement at the end of November as the Late Late Toy Show was on our TV once more. The class decided they would love to take part in the show and so we came up with our very own version. Each pupil brought in a toy and were then interviewed by Múinteoir Carole as to how the toy worked and were also asked to demonstrate it. This tied in with the strands of oral language and drama. It was a huge success and this looks like it could be an annual event! The pupils were then rewarded with a Toy Show Goodie Bag to take home.

We have introduced a ‘Power Hour’ for our literacy stations with Múinteoir Mary. During the hour the class are covering comprehension, reading, phonics, writing and independent work.

A huge thanks to our caretaker Niall who has been busy painting our storage units in the classroom which has added a nice pop of colour.

The senior room have been learning all about 2D shapes in maths. We participated in a shape hunt in around the school, have been solving tangram puzzles and creating 2D shapes using lollipop sticks. Múinteoir Mary visits us twice a week for an hour of maths station activities where we play maths games, complete tasks and independent work in smaller groups.

We have been learning about two ancient civilisations in History – the Stone Age people (3rd & 4th) and the Maya (5th & 6th). Both sets of classes researched and completed impressive mini projects on these civilisations.

In literacy, the boys and girls have been learning about the recount genre and the writing process. Each pupil planned, drafted and edited a recount piece before finally publishing their work. We also have Múinteoir Mary for literacy stations two times a week.

Múinteoir Kate has been doing some lovely artwork, geography and science activities with the boys and girls. In art, we learned about the artist Frida Kahlo and used her artwork to inspire us. We have also created Christmas tree silhouettes and no knit woolly hats. In geography we are doing projects on the countries participating in the World Cup and in science we have been learning about weather and forces.

We have also been getting ready for spring by doing some gardening. Thanks to our SNA Margaret Noonan for planting daffodils and crocus bulbs with the boys and girls.

Wishing you all a happy and safe Christmas,
Le gach dea-ghuí,

Denis Kennedy – An Príomhoide
Carole Cleary – An Príomhoide Tánaiste