St. Fiacc's National School

Well done to our Girls and Boys Teams who have done really well this year in Cumann na mBunscol. The boys narrowly missed out on final and played very well in five tight matches. The girls team have a 100per cent winning record and have made it directly into the final where they will take on Gaelscoil Portlaoise in O’Moore Park in a few weeks time. Well done cailíní and wishing you the very best in the final. A big thanks to all the teachers who have coached the teams including Ms Minnock, Ms Roche, Mr Groarke, Mr Nolan and John, our Games Development Officer in the school.

There was great Halloween fun in St Fiacc’s N.S last Friday with so many children dressing up and going on our whole school walk! Attached are some photos of the 6th classes who also helped the Senior Infants with some traditional Halloween activities. It was a super day and a huge thanks to all the 6th classes for their help.

Our girls had a great tournament on Tuesday in the Eire Óg clubgrounds for the Glór Ceatharlach tournament. They won their first three games and played really well throughout. They lost narrowly in the final to a very strong Gaelscoil Team but were delighted with their runner up medals. Comhghairdeas cailíní !!

Well done to our Rounders Teams who participated in the Cumann na mBunscol Tournament in Emo this week. We had over 40 children partaking and our mixed teams competed really well but also had a great day out. Thanks so much to Ms Minnock, Ms Roche, Mr Nolan and Mr Groarke for all their coaching over the last number of weeks.

Well done to our fantastic students of the week this week!

In June we celebrate ‘God’s boundless and passionate love for mankind’ through the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We have a lovely display in our school lobby with beautiful artwork from the children.

We are very lucky to have John Noonan working in the school as a Games Development Officer with Graiguecullen GAA. He along with Mr Nolan organised a series of blitzes over the last number of weeks with 1st-6th classes and it was a huge success. Emphasis was on mini go games to improve participation of children partaking in our games in the school and also the club.

4th classes enjoyed their bodhran sessions today with Colm from Music Generation. Thanks to Ms Kavanagh for organising and to Colm for making it such a great experience for all the children. There’s definitely some great musical talent in our school!

Well done to our pupils who represented Graiguecullen in the All Ireland Table Quiz Community Games Finals in the Watershed Kilkenny on the weekend. They had a stellar performance on the day and came third in the under 14 competition which is an amazing achievement. Congratulations to our parents Sarah Jane and Laura who coached the team and considering they are all under age again next year, the future certainly looks bright!

Well done to Ms Scully and her class for participating in the Carlow Arts Festival Parade on Saturday. They spent ten weeks attending the Visual and created the peace bird which they carried through the streets of Carlow with the help of some of our parents. It was a great day out and a brilliant experience for the boys and girls in 5th class.

We have had some fantastic school tours over the last week. I was lucky enough to go on the 4th class tour to Redhills Adventure Centre and the 6th class tour to Dunmore East Adventure Centre and got some nice action shots above.

5th classes visited the History Museum beside Carlow library last week and it was a great tour. We found out lots about local Carlow history including The Sugar Factory, Carlow Castle, Browneshill Dolmen, Governy Shoe Factory, John Tyndall, Kevin Barry and much more. A massive thanks to the fantastic staff of Carlow History Museum and the library for facilitating our visits.

Well done to our 6th class boys who participated in the Community Games All Irelands last weekend in Longford. They ended up finishing in 3rd place which is an amazing achievement! Well done to all involved!

Our 4th class lunchtime soccer league was a huge hit again this year with 18 games played in total. Emphasis is always on good teamwork, fair play and sportsmanship and we were very happy with all the children who took part. A big thanks to Mr Groarke and Mr Sheil for helping to organise. The 5th class league is already underway for the next few weeks.

It’s great to be back training for GAA in St Fiacc’s with over 40 boys and girls attending after school last week. We are preparing for the Glór Ceatharlach competition which takes place in a few weeks time. We’re hoping to get even more out over the coming weeks!

Mr Keogh and Mr O’Flaherty brought the Film club to Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) today for an amazing day out. Students were trained in all areas of Sound Engineering, Music Technology and Film Production. It was organised on the back of winning the All-Ireland Fís Award earlier this year and it was an incredible experience for all!

A massive thanks to parent James Shannon for all his work in our school garden. Here Ms Davitts 3rd class are pictures planting scallions and tasting some fresh rhubarb which we planted earlier in the year. Plants are really thriving with all the sunshine and rain that has fallen recently!

We have been really enjoying participating in Cricket PE lessons with Bernard O Mara of Leinster Cricket again this year. Pupils have been busy practicing their bowling and batting skills and it is such an inclusive sport to play with pupils of all abilities able to take part. A huge thanks to Bernard for all his coaching!

We are extremely proud of our Girls Soccer Team who finished in 3rd position in all of Leinster at the Leinster finals in Navan last week. It was a remarkable achievement and they did our school so proud! They even had some time for a Burger King on the way home! Thanks to Ms Minnock, Ms Roche and parent Jimmy Bolton for their help in coaching the girls to such a brilliant success. Maith sibh!