Christmas Newsletter 2024

Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to the Christmas Edition of our Newsletter.
For the last couple of weeks, the Christmas atmosphere has truly been palpable within the school- from the lovely Christmas decorations to the festive Art created by the pupils, coupled with Christmas carols, costume fittings, the designing & making of props & the perfecting of lines for the Christmas Performances on the 17th December. I would like to highly commend the children on their performances on the night. It was a truly memorable night. Equally, I would like to thank all of those involved in making this night so special. We are extremely grateful.

As we approach the Christmas holidays and the end of the first term, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of the wonderful staff in Clashmore National School for their dedication and hard-work. Equally, I wish to thank the Board of Management, The Parents` Association and all of you for your support throughout this first term. It is this collective effort that makes our school the wonderful place that it is, so thank you all. I would also like to acknowledge the fantastic work done by our Student Council this term. Most recently they organised a free raffle for each class which was a lovely surprise for all of the children. Finally, I would like to thank our boys and girls for their constant effort and engagement while in school. Well done boys & girls!
Please keep reading below for a flavour of the activities that have been taking place for the past two months and also for upcoming events.

1. School Attendance
I am delighted to announce, that our attendance for the months of November and December had increased when compared to the same period last year. Our November attendance increased by 1.3% in comparison to last year & our December attendance had an increase of 2.4% when compared to December 2023. We are absolutely delighted with this, so well done everyone! Congratulations and well done to the boys and girls in Junior and Senior Infants who won Class of the Month for best attendance in October and 5th & 6th Class who won best class attendance in November.

2. School Fundraising Events

• Christmas Jumper Day: We hosted our annual Christmas Jumper Day in aid of The Dungarvan Lions Club on the 11th December.
• Christmas Centre Pieces: 5th & 6th Class created & sold beautiful Christmas Centre Pieces to fund their end of year hoodies. These two wonderful events were very well supported. Míle buíochas libh ar fad.

3. Christmas Panto & Christmas Show for the Infants
For the first time ever, Junior and Senior Infants attended a Christmas Show `Santa and the 3 Little Pigs` in Clonmel on Tuesday 3rd December. This was a joint event organised with our neighbours St. Mary`s National School in Grange. While pupils from 1st-6th class attended the Christmas Panto in The Everyman Theatre in Cork on Thursday 5th December to watch “Little Red Riding Hood`. Both events were thoroughly enjoyed by all.

4. Winners of Brain Blasters 2024
Sounds of celebration filled the school on the 11th December as our 5th & 6th Class were crowned the winners of the Youghal Radio Brain Blasters Quiz 2025. This was a momentous occasion for the children and their teacher Ms. Osborne. We are so proud of their efforts. Congratulations to all involved.

5. Sustainability
In keeping with our Green School Ethos, we have been placing a huge emphasis on sustainability this term. We have replaced the use paper towels for hand drying in the bathrooms with face-cloths brought in by the children. This has worked to excellent effect & will reduce our environmental impact. In addition to this, 5th & 6th class have been doing a sustainability course for the last 7 weeks and they organised our first ever `Christmas Jumper Swop` on the 4th December. This event was a huge success and we hope to turn it into an annual event. Well done to our 5th & 6th class pupils for organising this innovative event.

6. Clashmore National School Parents` Association
Many thanks to The Parents` Association who covered the cost of 2 New I-pads as well as the Christmas annuals for each child. In addition, they paid half the cost of the bus to the Panto & half of the cost of the bus to the Infant Christmas Show and they provided lovely treats and refreshments on the night of our Christmas performances. We are blessed to have such a dedicated, hard-working Parents` Association.

A gentle reminder, that our Parents` Association are still collecting bags of unwanted clothes and they will do so until February.

Equally, they are still getting the funding from the Return Bins in Clashmore until the end of December. We are extremely grateful for your continued support with this endeavour.

7. Enrolments for the 2025-2026 School Year
Please note that we are currently accepting enrolments for the coming school year. Please contact our secretary Laura Barron for enrolment forms by email clashmorens19@gmail.com or by phone on 024-96404.

8. Important Dates for Your Diary

• Friday 20th December, School closes for the Christmas holidays at 12:00.
• Monday 6th January 2025, the school re-opens after the Christmas Holidays.
• Thursday 23rd January 2025, the school will close at 2pm to facilitate a staff meeting.

Finally, I hope that you and your families enjoy a happy, healthy & restful Christmas &
I wish you all every blessing for the New Year.
Le gach beannacht uaimse,
Yvonne Uí Fhlaithimhín
Principal of Clashmore National School