Halloween Newsletter 2025

Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to the latest edition of our Newsletter! I hope that all of the children and in particular our new Junior Infants are well settled in to school at this stage. In the lead up to Halloween, Clashmore National School has been invaded by lots of ghostly figures all around the school! We continued this Halloween sentiment today, as both the staff and the children arrived to school in Halloween style! We were delighted to continue our annual Witches` Walk down through Clashmore Village, as well as lots of other Halloween inspired activities. As we near the midterm break, I would like to wish Ms O`Connor every blessing and best wish as she finishes with us today. Equally, we look forward to welcoming our New Deputy Principal Mr. O`Connell
to the school, when he starts with us directly after the Halloween break. I would like to sincerely thank the Board of Management, staff and children for all of their hard-work this term. We were also very heartened by all of the very positive feedback regarding the upgrades made in the school over the Summer that we have received from the parents and the wider school community. Thank you all for this. Please see below for a flavour of all of the wonderful activities that have occurred in Clashmore National School during the last month.

1. School Attendance
As a DEIS rural school, we are placing a huge emphasis on attendance and we hope to steadily improve our overall attendance with each month that passes. For September our overall attendance rate was 94.1%. I am delighted to announce that this figure has increased from 92.2% for September 2024. Equally, our attendance for October which stands at 96.2%, has an increase of 1.5% from the same period last year. We are delighted with these positive developments and we will be aiming to maintain an improved attendance for each month going forward. I would like to congratulate our Junior and Senior Infants for the best attendance for the month of September & 1st and 2nd class for the best attendance for October. Maith sibh! Well done boys and girls!

2. Extra-Curricular Activities

• Cumann na mBunscoil: Well done to all of the boys and girls that participated in the Cumann na mBunscoil matches. We are very proud of their efforts.
• GAA Blitz: 2nd and 3rd Class did very well at their GAA Blitz on Tuesday the 21st October. Maith sibh a pháistí.
• GAA with Mary O`Rourke: The children are delighted to have Mary O`Rourke back training them for GAA every Tuesday.
• Balance Bikes: The Junior and Senior Infants have been enjoying using the Balance Bikes for the last few weeks.
• The Daily Mile: The children have been very busy accumulating their daily miles this term. We have a new destination in sight. We are aiming to travel to all of the East coast stadiums, as part of the FIFA World Cup 2026 a total of 6,859kms! This is quite a challenge, but one which I`m sure the children will master.
• WOW DAY: We had our first Walk on Wednesday Day on the 15th October. It was a wonderful event with fantastic participation by all of the pupils.
• Music Generation: Each Wednesday the school is alive with Music, as Danny Dunford comes in to do Music Generation with each class.
• Visit from the Heritage Council: All classes enjoyed a visit from Heritage Council expert Antony Galvin. Antony gave each class an insight into the Polar Exploration.
• Ficheall Competition: 5th & 6th Class have registered for the Chess Competition Ficheall, so we look forward to competing in that competition after the midterm.

3. The Summer Stars Programme

We were delighted to have Sarah Fraher call to the school on Thursday 9th October to present certificates and medals to 8 of our pupils who participated in The Summer Stars Programme. The Summer Stars Programme is a tremendous programme run by the local libraries to encourage a love of reading in children. Most notably, this programme acknowledges the reading efforts of children over the Summer break and the children are awarded for their efforts. I would like to congratulate and commend all of the children who participated in this programme. Every year, there is a noticeable increase in participation. Encouraging reading for enjoyment is one of the priorities of our DEIS plan and using local amenities such as the local library, is one inexpensive fun way for families to do this.

4. Scholastic Book Fair

The annual Scholastics Book Fair took place in the school from the 7th -15th October. This event had phenomenal support and as a result of the generosity of the children, parents and
the school community the school raised a total of €1426.90. As a result, the school will be able to get a total of €784.17 worth of new books for the children. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who supported the Book Fair.

5. Gift From Children`s Books Ireland

We were delighted to be one of 19 schools to be gifted 100 free books, as part of the Books for Birdies Library funded by KPMG. It was a lovely surprise and the children are enjoying reading these lovely books already!

6. The Weaving Wellbeing Programme

Since mid-September, we have been implementing the Weaving Wellbeing as a Whole-school approach. Weaving Wellbeing is an Irish-designed positive mental health programme which aims to enhance the wellbeing of the children. The children are really enjoying the programme to date.

7. Clashmore Parents` Association

The Clashmore Parents` Association held their A.G.M on Wednesday 15th October at 8pm in the school. It was truly heartening; to see a huge increase in attendance at this meeting and it is a testament to the dedication of our parents in supporting the school. The P.A Officers elected on the night were: Chairperson Eleanor Trihy, Secretary: Anne Ledingham, Treasurer: Jackie Fenton. Details of the next fundraiser will be disseminated after the midterm break. Many thanks to the P.A as always for all that they do on behalf of the children and the school. We are extremely grateful.

8. Maths Week 11th-19th October

We had a fantastic week for Maths Week this year. There were many exciting Mathematical activities including Maths trails, estimation activities, Maths zooms & quizzes organised to promote a positive attitude towards Maths. It was a memorable week.

9. Information Meeting for Junior Infant Parents

We hosted an Information meeting for the New Junior Infant parents on Wednesday 22nd October. Many thanks to all of the parents for attending and also for the positive engagement.

10. Shoebox Appeal

In Clashmore National School we are familiar with the gift of giving and we will be putting this into effect again this year, by participating in the annual shoebox appeal. This special campaign delivers gifts to children affected by poverty. Since 2010 this campaign has delivered 2.5 million shoeboxes across the world. I would be most grateful if you could please send in your shoeboxes by Friday 7th November.

11. Parent-Teacher Meetings 25th-26th November

Please note that the Parent-Teacher Meetings will take place on the 25th and the 26th of November this year. Timeslots will be available for parents to book via Aladdin nearer the time.

12. Christmas Concerts/Performances on 11th December

This year the school will host Christmas Concerts by Junior & Senior Infants and 3rd & 4th Class. All other classes will perform some Christmas carols in the school hall. We look forward to a great night.

13. Important Dates for Your Diary

• 23rd October, midterm break begins. The school re-opens on Monday 3rd November.
• 24th October: School will be closed due to the voting.
• 6th November: School will close at 2pm to facilitate a Staff Meeting.
• 27th November: School will be closed to facilitate staff training in The New Child Protection Procedures.
• 28th January & 29th April 2026: The school will be closed to facilitate staff training in The New Curriculum.
• Saturday 16th May First Holy Communion will be celebrated at 11am in Clashmore Church.

Finally, I would like to wish you all a very happy & safe Halloween,
Le gach beannacht uaimse,
Yvonne Uí Fhlaithimhín
Principal of Clashmore National School