Dromore NS- Summer Newsletter 2020

Dr om or e Nat i on al Sch ool Su m m er New sl et t er 2020 Welcome to the Summer Newsletter. This year's edition is particularly special as it contains photos of the work and activities the students have been doing at home, since the school closed so suddenly on March 12th. The news goes all the way back to January as we didn't get to publish an Easter Newsletter this year. No one could have imagined that this is how our school year would end. It has been a strange time and we have all had to adapt to living and learning in a new way. We hope you will enjoy looking back over the different pieces of news and photos and that it will act as a record for years to come, when Covid-19 will no doubt be taught in the history books. Undoubtedly, it will be clear to everyone that the girls and boys from Dromore NS worked very hard. Wishing you all a safe and relaxing summer!

Sacr am en t s Post pon ed On Thursday March 4th, Second Class had their First Confession in the Holy Family Church, Caheragh. They joined together with the pupils from Caheragh and Dreeny National School. It was of course a very important occasion for second class receiving another sacrament. They were due to receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on Sunday, May 10th. 5th and 6th class were also meant to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Tuesday, March 24th. Unfortunately, both occasions had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic but we look forward to celebrating them at a future date. Over the past few years, the front cover of the Summer newsletter has been a photo of the First Holy Communion class. This photo was taken when they were preparing for their First Confession.

See if you can recognise the people in the other photo!

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Gr an dpar en t s Day Grandparents Day takes place every year in the school during Catholic Schools Week. It is always such a special afternoon and it celebrates the important role grandparents play in the life of their grandchildren and in the school community. There was another wonderful turn-out this year. It has been an especially difficult time in recent months for grandparents not being able to see their families and grandchildren. We hope you enjoy looking back on these photos, at a time when being able to give endless hugs was just a normal way of life.

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Hu r lin g Blit z On Monday, 13th January we had an inter-school hurling blitz with Dreeny N.S. It was organised by our visiting GAA coach, Tony Walsh. On that same morning, the country braced itself, as Storm Brendan swept in. All the pupils and staff were safe and sound inside in Aughaville Hall though and with all the fun playing hurling, hardly noticed the winds howling outside. The storm had passed by the time the blitz finished and it was back to school for the rest of the day. We had great fun meeting with the boys and girls from Dreeny N.S. and it was a lovely opportunity to practice our hurling skills.

Ch ess Tou r n am en t On Wednesday 29th January, the Senior room attended a chess tournament in the Maritime Hotel.

Everyone in the classroom put in a lot of work learning chess and played during their lunchtime too. As a result, the whole room was able to take part on the day. The students each played six rounds of chess against pupils from other local schools. Each round lasted twenty minutes. Lots of concentration was required. It was a great day out and all the pupils showed great sportsmanship along with getting to make new friends.

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Food Du des Dromore National School is proud to be a Health Promoting School. This year, we took part in Food Dudes, an award winning evidence-based healthy eating programme, developed to encourage children to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. It is based on repeated tastings of fruit and vegetables, rewards and positive role models. The children got to try a variety of foods such as apple, banana, pepper, cucumber, carrots and sweetcorn. They received stickers and prizes for eating their portion of fruit and veg. Everyone made a great effort!

Sn ow in Dr om or e

Wor k in g w it h sh apes

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Cr edit Un ion Qu iz On Friday 31st January, we participated in the Credit Union Quiz. It took place in the West Lodge Hotel.

We had two teams. The U-11 team consisted of Ciara, Oisín, Úna and Seán. The U-13 team was made up of Ria, John, Daniel and Darragh. There were over 100 pupils participating. The children got refreshments and treats during the quiz. The scores were very close throughout. We were delighted when the under 13 team were announced as third place winners. They were presented with a certificate and cinema vouchers by the well known Bantry athlete, Darragh McElhinnney.

Valen t in es Day Ar t

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St . Br igid's Day February 1st marked the first day of Spring. All the pupils made St. Brigid Crosses out of rushes to celebrate St. Brigid's Day. St.Brigid protects the houses in which one of the crosses are kept. The

older pupils helped the younger classes to make them and everyone went home with one.

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Scien ce in Dr om or e The Junior Room's Aistear theme for March was 'Space'. The pupils enjoyed working with playdough to make space themed objects such as aliens, rockets and stars. The role play area proved to be very popular and they loved dressing up as astronauts. They worked on space related jigsaw puzzles and library books. The children learned about the planets in the solar system through songs and circle time discussions. Some pupils were thrilled to find out that the 7 rings around Saturn are made of ice, rocks and dust! They also learned about spatial awareness. Pupils were paired together and one child was blindfolded while their partner had to direct them along the red line, using simple instructions.

The children loved being blindfolded and every child successfully completed the fun activity.

The Middle Room entered a Green Schools competition with the theme ?Lets take Climate Action for Water ?and learned about what they could do to reduce water pollution. The Senior Room carried out investigation in theme of energy and forces by making marble roller coasters. They used foam piping and masking tape to make the track and had to add a hill and a loop. They started them in the classroom but their designs were so ambitious, they took they outside where they had more space.

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Even in g Ech o- Kidz Zon e In February the school featured in the Kidz Zone supplement in the Evening Echo.

A photographer came to the school and took lots of photos of the all the children.

The pupils also wrote short articles about the school. It was a lovely article!

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Wor ld Book Day We celebrated World Book Day on Thursday, 5th March by having a pajama day. Some people also brought in their teddies and blankets. We had extra time for Reading Buddies in the morning. Later on in the day we had DEAR time. We have been doing this every day since September but had extra time on World Book Day. There was a lucky dip and each pupil picked out a random book and read that for DEAR time. We were warm and comfortable in our pajamas! We also got book tokens to use to buy our own books. There was no need to get changed out of our uniforms that evening. It was a great day!

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The infants had a reading tent in their classroom as a comfortable space to read their books. It had a sand timer so they were aware of how long they could spend in the tent. Once the sand reached the bottom, the pupil knew that their turn was over and the next person could enter the tent. The three rules for using the tent were: Only one child allowed at a time, take off your shoes and relax and enjoy a book!

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Seach t ain n a Gaeilge In March, we had started Seachtain na Gaeilge. Anybody who spoke Gaeilge on the yard earned a ticéad órga.

At the end of the week, the names were picked out of the jar for extra break. This is always very popular and everyone made a great effort to practice their Irish. All of the classes took part in our Seanfhocal art competition. We learned a seanfhocal and drew a picture to go with it. We always have a show for Lá Fhéile Pádraig and each room had been preparing for it but this was unfortunately canceled with the school closures.

M iddle Room

The Middle Room worked in pairs to make cubes using straws and playdough. They also made wonderful art inspired by the Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian! They did projects on the counties of Ireland and made shamrock sun-catchers for St. Patrick's Day.

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Ju n ior Room Sw im m in g The Junior and Senior Infants were very excited to start their swimming lessons in The Water School in Kealkil in February. The pupils were divided into 3 groups and they enjoyed participating in fun water games and learning different swimming strokes. At school we learned about water safety, appropriate ways to enter and exit the swimming pool and dressing rooms, good hygiene practices and appropriate behaviour in the water. Overall the children had great fun and they can?t wait to go back to The Water School next year.

Good New s Fr iday Every Friday, the whole school comes together for an assembly. It is an opportunity to hear about what each classroom has been doing during the week and if there have been any birthdays, we sing "Happy Birthday". The teachers pick out girls and boys from each classroom who have been following our school motto by working hard and being kind. The highlight is getting to choose one of Miss Cotter 's smelly stickers. By the way, they are a good smelly! These are just some of the photos of the pupils who have been rewarded.

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Act ive Hom e Week Dromore NS was awarded with its Active School Flag in the 2017/18 school year. We have always had an Active Week but this year it took place at home. There were lots of fun challenges and activities for the children to try and it was great to see everyone get involved and getting lots exercise while having fun too.

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Wor k in g f r om Hom e It was wonderful to see how hard everyone worked at home during the school closures. Well done to you all. Here is a selection of some of the work and activities the children did.

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Cr azy Hair Day Ch allen ge With the hairdressers closed, everyone's hair was starting to get long. For fun, Miss O' Sullivan suggested we should have a crazy hairstyle day. The main objective was for everyone to get creative and find some fun styles. Even the teachers participated. There were certainly some super styles and hair of all sorts of colours! It was too hard to choose a winner so a raffle was held. The winners were Ben, Niamh and Denis from 6th class.

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M ay Day Ch allen ge

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Nat u r e All Ar ou n d Us So many of us are lucky to live in the countryside and were able to go for lots of walks during the quarantine. Miss Cotter set a bio-diversity challenge to go on a mini-beast hunt. There were lots of great finds. Well done to Colin, Cian and Michael who were prizewinners in the Heritage in Schools Competition. They each won ?50 one4all vouchers and a free visit from a heritage expert for the school. We are really looking forward to learning lots more about our heritage next year. Congratulations boys.!

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East er Raf f le We had another very successful Easter raffle this year and raised a total of ?290 for Trรณcaire. This was an amazing amount considering we had only just begun selling tickets. Who knows what we would have raised if we had been able to keep going! We received a letter of thanks and a certificate from Trรณcaire . Well done to all the pupils in Dromore N.S. who are always so generous and raised money for such a worthy cause. Thank you to Miss Cotter for organisng it.

Kapla Block s

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For got t en Object s Hist or y Pr oject

The Senior Room looked for old objects at home and found out the history of the item.

There were lots of very interesting finds and it was a fun way to learn about the past.

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Far m & Ju n gle Ar t

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Dior am as 4th, 5th and 6th class were tasked to make a diorama of their ideal bedroom or of a scene inspired by nature. There were lots of really creative models sent in. Well done!

Deliciou s Bak in g

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Wat er Th em ed Ar t & St or ies

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Lego Ch allen ge

M in e-cr af t Ar t Colin and Cian with their Mine-Craft Art. Also art from Natalia and Darragh made a pyramid using Mine-Craft.

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New s Fr om Th e St af f With all of the lovely news and stories that the children were sending in, the staff decided that they should share their news too. Here are some of the photos of the activities and jobs they did at home during the lock-down.

Miss Cronin celebrated her birthday during the lock-down. She got a new puppy called Pip and was busy painting & decorating, baking and going for walks.

Ms. O'Shea painted her kitchen & living room. She also did drawing and art tutorials from YouTube. She lives by the sea so went for walks every day.

Miss Cotter did lots of gardening and enjoyed noticing nature on her walks. She found lots of new routes close to her house. She had a bit of an incident on her bike but was back in action in no time! She did lots of knitting, crocheting and reading too.

Marie was busy with lots of gardening and baking. She went for walks in the countryside with her dog, Luna. She also recorded music for her family and friends.

Miss O' Sullivan went for lots of walks with her little boy. Her dog, Molly and her cat, Gizmo, came along too. They saw sheep on the farm and splashed in puddles on wet days. She made lots of nice dinners and played some football.

She made sure to follow the rules when using the reading tent!

Sharon went for lots of nice walks and enjoyed baking and playing Lego with her little girl. She got chickens and they laid lots of eggs. She of course did wonderful work on the school website. She also enjoyed reading, having Miss Walsh enjoyed going for walks with her dogs, Mario & Lillian & taking photos fun on the trampoline and of nature. She enjoyed making pancakes and pizza. She helped out on the farm 27 taking photos. and did some gardening too. She is trying to eat more salad with all that lettuce!

M em or ies of t h is year an d Covid-19 My best memory from second class was when I was in the Evening Echo Newspaper, with my friend GearĂłid. Since I left school, I've really enjoyed baking with my Mom , playing with my dogs and playing in the mowed fields.

By Andrew Mc. (2nd class)

I have enjoyed spending lots of time at home, helping out on the farm and planting potatoes and other vegetables. I miss my school friends but i liked seeing the on our Zoom call.

By Brian H. (1st class)

I have lots of memories of 5th class but this one is my favourite. My teacher, Miss Walsh, surprised us with the news that all of the senior room pupils would be able to go to the chess tournament. On Wednesday, 29th January, we got a bus to the Maritime Hotel in Bantry. The tournament took place in a big hall upstairs. We put our bags in a corner and listened to the rules. We found out who we were playing off the list on the door. In total we played six rounds of chess. Before and after each game, we shook hands. Thank you to Miss Walsh for all of her hard work with teaching us chess. I'll treasure that memory forever.

By Sophie O'S (5th Class) This school year has been a bit strange. Our school closed on March 12th because of the worldwide bug that was making people very sick. This meant we were not able to train for Sciath na Scol. We had just started to train at break times. We were having some great football games and I think we were in with a great chance in the competition. Hopefully, next year we will have a better shot at it.

By Connor C. (5th Class)

I liked the books in school. I don't like the Corona-virus. I hope it ends soon!

By Dan H. (Junior Infants)

My Time During Quarantine I have been spending a lot of my time farming lately. We have been at silage, doing bales. At the start of quarantine, we set grass seeds in a bog. We put up panels in the garden and put down some chips. I really enjoyed quarantine.

By John M. (5th class)

I had great fun in Senior Infants but I love being off school too. We spend all day outside playing, cycling, splashing and farming.

By DaithĂ­ C. (Senior Infants) 28

I feel sad about the Corona-virus. I can't see my friends, only on the phone. I miss my school and my teachers. When this is all over we will have a twist party! I liked Senior Infants. I liked the Busy at Maths table and the books. I miss playing with my friends.

By Ellen H. (Senior Infants)

M or e M em or ies My favourite memories from fifth class are practicing for Sciath na Scol and playing football with my friends. Before the school closed, the teachers had been helping us to prepare for our Confirmation.

The lock-down came very fast. I thought I would be going back to school a lot sooner.

By Adam G.B. (5th class)

Since lockdown, I enjoyed spending time with my family. As a Confirmation present, I got a Mini Cooper. My favourite school memory this year was going swimming.

By Daniel W (5th class)

We finished school on March 12th, never thinking that we would not be going back to school until after the summer holidays. I love being at home helping Mom and Dad and playing outside with the dogs and Tom, our cat. We get our school-work done in the morning with Mom. Then we are free to do other stuff for the day. The best day since lock-down was the morning we got up to see that our Auntie had given us an early birthday present of a green machine. We love driving it on the road.

By Fintan Cad (5th class)

I miss my teachers, especially my friends and the fun we have at school. Being at home all the time is nice. I get to spend time with my family. We do fun things like baking, walking, building camps, farming and eating dinner outside. I'm excited to see my friends and play with them when we get back to school.

By Olivia B (3rd class)

Since the lock-down, the things I have enjoyed the most are doing the school challenges like creating a library, doing some workouts, creating a diorama and designing my own bedroom.

But the thing I enjoyed the most was making my Lego piece.

Outside of school, what I enjoyed the most was playing football with all of my family, with my new goalpost I got from Smyths.

By Ciara Mc. (4th class)

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I miss my friends and the fun we have at school, especially playing soccer. At home, I'm busy farming.

The other day we were baling. It was a very hot day and it became very warm in the tractor. We had a great time doing the work. I'm doing lots of stuff outside like making hide-outs, cycling and playing with my brothers and sisters. By Jack B. (2nd class) My best memory of the past year was being in lock-down due to the Covid 19 pandemic. I got to spend a lot of time with my Dad and learned so much about farming and how to fix engines of tractors from him. And of course being off school! By Seán H (4th class)

My favourite memory from First Class is getting two Good News Friday stickers. I have really enjoyed being off school during lock-down. To be free to do what I want...to be outside farming and going working with Daddy.

I'm looking forward to going back to school and seeing my friends. We have lots of fun there. Being at home is good. I do my homework in the morning and then spend the rest of the day playing. My favourite things to do are farming, cycling and playing soccer.

By Shea C. (1st Class) My favourite day at school this year was when teacher got a big box of magnets. I love playing with them. The best bit about being at home is that we are staying safe and the worst bit is that we cannot play with our cousins and friends.

My best memory of the past year was being in lock-down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I got to spend time drawing and playing with Lego, as well as spending a lot of time with my Dad and Max, our dog.

By Rory B. (Senior Infants)

By Gearóid H. (2nd class)

By Danny B (Junior Infants) Since the start of the lock-down, I have been doing school work. I have also been helping Mom and Dad with jobs around the house and outside on the farm. I have been doing a lot more cycling and we ordered some new PS4 games to stay entertained. I have enjoyed going for lovely long walks with my family. I miss seeing my Nana and my cousins.

By Denis Cad. (5th class)

My favourite thing about this school year was meeting all of my friends that I love. The best bit about being at home is getting to play all day with my brother and sister. The worst bit is that I miss my cousins and friends.

This year was very hard for everyone. I thought it was going to be easy to do the work at home but I was wrong. It was really hard to get into a routine. I love to Face-time my friends. I miss seeing my family, friends and cousins. This year is probably the worst year of all years.

by Rachel C. (5th class)

By Moira B. (Junior Infants)

During my time off school, I have had a way more family time. I have been farming a lot.

I have learned how to put on and take off the units during milking. I have missed school and I can't wait to meet up with my friends. We got a trampoline and I have been bouncing on it a lot.

When lock-down was slightly lifted, I was lucky that Michael only lived over the road and we went for a cycle and walks and even got to play in each other 's garden for a short while.

by Blaithín C. (3rd class)

By Fintan B. (3rd class) 30

Sixt h Class M em or ies My favourite memory of this year was when Miss Cotter sent a note home to my Mom saying we would be having Cycle Sense for 8 weeks. I was delighted as I love cycling and being outdoors. My Dad dropped my bike over to school the day it was on, before he went to work. We learned how to check that all the parts of the bike were working and that the bike was safe to cycle. For the last week, we cycled around Dromore. I really enjoyed Cycle Sense.

By Gavin O' S

When the lock-down started, I was excited. I thought we would probably have just two weeks off school, like every other child in the parish. I thought we would have been back to school after Easter. My brother Fintan and I would wake up, eat our breakfast and then do our school-work.

Our Mom still had to go to work. She works three days a week so it was a bit difficult. By the time the middle of May came, I wanted to go back to school before the end of the year.

By Maria B

My favourite memory was when we went

During lockdown, the thing I missed the most was seeing

Zip Lining for our school tour. We all had

my friends. I also missed my favourite term of every

a great day and lots of fun. I am looking

year. It was especially hard this year missing the end of

forward to starting secondary school

6th class. I never thought March 12th would be my last

even though there will be lots of new

day in Dromore National School. I had been looking

things to get used to. I have had six good

forward to the school tour, Sciath na Scol, trips and all

years in Dromore National School.

the fun times me and my friends were going to have.

By Conor Cad.

By Ria B.

One of my favourite memories of Dromore National School is when we went on a school tour to West Cork Secret in 3rd class. We had such enormous fun playing different games and messing around. My favourite part was doing the obstacle course and slipping madly down the slides. The pizza we had there was great too!

My favourite moments of this year were when we came third in the Credit Union quiz. It was nice to do well. I also enjoyed the debating as it was an interesting and different experience. During quarantine, we had a few barbecues. It was my Mom?s and sister ?s birthdays. I also put highlights in my hair. My favourite moment of my time in Dromore was when we went to Star Outdoors? in Kinsale. It was an epic experience to go kayaking and do other water activities.

By Saoirse H.

Bt Darragh O'R (6th class)

My favourite memory of my time in Dromore National School is my First Holy Communion Day. It took place in Dromore Church on 8th May, 2016. I remember I was actually a little nervous on the day. Miss Cotter was my teacher at the time. I was 8 years old (2nd youngest in my class). I had a great day and was very happy.

By Maria B. (6th class)

My favourite memories from Dromore National School are all the different activities I did such as swimming, singing at Masses, Christmas plays, being on the debating team, cycle sense, visits to the nursing home, Grandparents Day and of course Sciath na Scol. My favourite tours were the West Cork Secret and Star Outdoors in Kenmare, My best memory from 6th class was being in the Evening Echo.

By Denis C. (6th class) 31

Far ew ell To Sixt h Class We bid farewell to the eight pupils in 6th class, who have completed their primary school education at Dromore N.S. They are Conor, Darragh, Denis, Gavin, Kita, Maria, Ria and Saoirse . Although a sudden end to their time in school, we know they are ready to move on to the next chapter of their lives. We wish them every success in the future. Be sure to come back and visit us. Comghairdeas libh!

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