Email:
clashmorens19@gmail.com
Tel:
+353-24-96404

Spring Newsletter 2026

Welcome to the Spring Edition of our Newsletter.

While the weather hasn`t quite been what we would have hoped for, we look forward to brighter, longer Spring days. Nonetheless as always, the school has been a hub of activity for the first term of 2026. We were delighted to pay tribute to Saint Bridget with a prayer service in Clashmore Church on the 30th January. This tribute continued throughout the day with the children in the senior classes making St. Bridget`s crosses, an activity that they thoroughly enjoyed and many art and craft activities taking place in other classes. Equally the children were encouraged to leave a cloth/towel outside for St. Bridget. After doing so, it is said that the cloth/towel has healing powers.  Please see below for a further flavour of what teaching and learning activities have been taking place during the months of January and February in our school.

1. School Attendance

As a DEIS rural school, improving our overall attendance is one of our main priorities.

It is with this sentiment in mind that our overall monthly attendance is analysed and compared to that of the previous year. Thankfully our attendance has increased for each month of this school year to date, when compared with last year`s attendance.

I am delighted to announce that this pattern has extended to our attendance in January 2026.

Our attendance has improved from 93.8% in January 2025 to 95.5% in January 2026, an improvement of 1.7%.

Our attendance for February is 94.9%, which is an increase of 0.4% over last year at 94.4%. It is wonderful to see the increased pattern of attendance continuing month on month. Maith sibh, gach duine! I would like to congratulate our Junior and Senior Infants for the best attendance for the month of January, and 1st-2nd Class for best attendance in February- maith sibh a pháistí!

2. Breakfast Club & After-School Club in Clashmore National School

We were delighted to announce this week that as of September 2026, there will be a Breakfast Club and After-School Club operating in the school. We are currently in the process of appointing an operator and we will update you accordingly when this process concludes.

 3. Retirement

For the more than 15 years Pat and Marian Flavin have been with us here in Clashmore National School. In that time, they have been cherished members of staff and much more than cleaners. They have been the guardian angels of Clashmore National School, always going above and beyond what was asked of them, always lending a helping hand and always safeguarding the school. While they will be deeply missed, we are blessed to have them as our neighbours and they will always be part of the family that we are here in Clashmore National School.

We wish them every health, happiness and every blessing as they settle into retirement.

Wellness Week

We had a wonderful week for our annual Wellness Week which we celebrated from the 9th-13th February.  This was a jam-packed week of activities designed and organised by our wonderful Student Council including:

  • `Mighty Monday` which included a mindful colouring competition.
  • `Turn it up Tuesday` where the children listened to some of their favourite songs.
  • `One-wheel Wednesday` where pupils from 3rd-6th were encouraged to design a one-wheel object/vehicle. Each class also engaged in Mindful Meditation.
  • `Thoughtful Thursday for Teachers` which included doing something nice for the teacher & another random act of kindness.
  • `Fun Friday` was the highpoint of the week, which consisted of a pyjama day and a movie day. The children also completed Wellness Homework for the week.

A special thank you to the Parents` Association for sponsoring the mindful meditation sessions and the popcorn and drinks for the movie. Also, míle buíochas to the Student Council who managed to organise a superb Wellness Week.

5. Extra-Curricular Activities

  • Spanish Lessons: 5th-6th class have been doing Spanish lessons since mid-January as part of The Modern Foreign Languages Programme. They will be getting this tuition for 10 weeks in total and are really enjoying the challenge.
  • Swimming: 3rd to 6th class have started their 6-week block of swimming lessons in Aura.

Unfortunately, the costs associated with swimming have soared this year, so we will be reviewing the most cost-effective manner to having swimming lessons in the future.

  • GAA: The children are continuing to enjoy football and hurling sessions with Mary O` Rourke this term.
  • Soccer Blitz: 5th-6th Class will be participating in a soccer blitz next week and we wish them the best of luck.
  • The Daily Mile: The children are still busy doing their daily mile and making great strides.
  • Reading Buddies: For the last 6 weeks we have been running the reading buddies programme in the school, whereby an older child is paired with a younger child for reading. The children really enjoyed this and they should be highly commended on their efforts.
  • Music Generation: Each Wednesday the children from Juniors-2nd class are exploring musical beginnings and 3rd-6th class are learning the ukelele with Danny Dunford as part of Music Generation.
  • Chess: 5th & 6th class are busy practicing for their upcoming Chess tournament in March. Go n-éirí libh a pháistí.
  • Return Bin: We are still continuing to collect plastic bottles and cans for our Return Bin.

All funds raised from the bin will go towards purchasing new Irish resources and graded readers. As always, we are extremely grateful for your support.

6. Sacramental Preparation

Congratulations to all of the boys and girls in second class who had their Enrolment Ceremony for First Holy Communion last Thursday morning in the school. Many thanks to Mr. Phelan for preparing the children for this occasion and also to Mrs Fitzgerald for all of her help.

We are also extremely grateful to Fr. Kelly for conducting this special ceremony.

7. Gaeilge- Ticéidí Gaeilge (Irish Tickets)

This year we have placed a renewed focus on the subject area of Gaeilge. To encourage the children to speak Irish, we have started to give ticéidí Gaeilge (Irish Tickets). Every fortnight, 2 of these ticéidí are randomly chosen at an assembly and the children receive a homework pass. As requested by the children, we are aiming to expand our Irish books, resources and games and all proceeds from our Return Bin will be used for this purpose.

8. Green Schools

Our Green School Committee have been working very hard on saving energy in the school by conducting energy audits. Their recent `No Heat Day` was a huge success and we managed to go the whole day without any heat, saving a lot of energy in the school. They are also busy preparing for our Green School Renewal Visit which focuses on the last 6 Green Schools Flags. In addition, we will be hoping to run a WOW Day as soon as the weather improves.

9. Furniture Grant

I am delighted to announce that we have been successful with another furniture grant of over €5,000. As a result, there will be some new whiteboards in the classrooms and new chairs in our main hall for our assemblies and other school events.

10. School Facebook Account

Please ensure that you keep with to date with what`s happening in school by visiting our School Facebook page.

11. Policies

The following policies have been reviewed/updated during the current school year:

  1. The Child Protection Policy
  2. The Critical Incident Policy
  3. The Gaeilge Plan
  4. The Maths Plan
  5. The Special Educational Needs Plan

12. Important Dates for Your Diary

  • 17th March: The school is closed for St. Patrick`s Day.
  • 19th March: First Penance will be celebrated in Clashmore Church at 7:30pm.
  • 27th March 2026: The school will close at 12:00 for the Easter Holidays.
  • 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.

 

Le gach beannacht uaimse,

Yvonne Uí Fhlaithimhín

Principal of Clashmore National School