St. Oliver Plunkett N.S.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to the April edition of our school newsletter. I hope you and your families had a restful and enjoyable Easter break.

As we return for the final term of the school year, the energy and enthusiasm in our classrooms are as strong as ever. This month’s newsletter is full of wonderful highlights, showcasing the creativity, curiosity, and kindness of our pupils. From exciting classroom projects to special events and celebrations, it’s clear that great learning and growth continue to happen every day.

As always, I want to thank you for your continued support and involvement in school life. Your partnership makes a real difference in creating a positive and thriving learning environment for all our children.

We look forward to a busy and joyful term ahead. I hope you enjoy reading this edition and, as ever, if you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to get in touch.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Ian Corbett

• May Bank Holiday: Monday, May 5th
• School Pictures: orders by Wednesday, May 7th
• Cash for Clobber Collection: Friday, May 9th
• First Holy Communion: Friday, May 9th at 11am
• Junior Infant Induction: Wednesday, May 21st
• June Bank Holiday: Monday, June 2nd
• School Closed: Tuesday, June 3rd
• Sports Day: Wednesday, June 11th
• Junior School Tour: Thursday, June 26th
• Senior School Tour: Friday, June 20th

We encourage all families to stay connected and up to date with the latest school news and activities by following our school’s X account. It’s a great way to stay informed about upcoming events, achievements, and everything happening in our school community. Don’t miss out – follow us here!

We are delighted to announce that our Easter Raffle raised an incredible €1,300 for Killina N.S.! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed, sold raffle tickets, and most especially to our fantastic Parents’ Association for organising the event. Congratulations to all our lucky winners!

During May, pupils from 1st to 6th class will complete standardised tests (Drumcondra, Micra-T, Sigma-T) in literacy and numeracy. These tests provide valuable insights into your child’s academic progress but are just one snapshot of their abilities.

The results, used to inform teaching and support allocations, are not a complete measure of your child’s knowledge or strengths. They will be reported to parents as part of the end-of-year report, with an explanation of the scoring provided beforehand.

Please reassure your child that these tests are not something to worry about. They are simply tools to help teachers understand how to support them best. A positive, stress-free approach to the tests will help children feel confident and at ease.

We appreciate your support in ensuring full attendance during the testing period, which helps with smooth administration.

We are currently running a Cash for Clobber fundraiser to support our school. If you have any clean, reusable clothes in good, re-wearable condition, we would be very grateful for your donations.

The final day for collection is Friday, May 9th.

Bags can be dropped off at the school at any time before then. Thank you for your continued support!

We are aware of the ongoing traffic congestion during school drop-off and collection times and fully share your concerns about the safety risks involved. While the Board of Management is actively working behind the scenes to explore viable solutions, we kindly ask all families to park responsibly and remain especially vigilant when children are entering or exiting vehicles.

We will keep you informed of any updates or developments as we work towards improving safety for our school community.

As mentioned in our March newsletter, the Department of Education has introduced new anti-bullying procedures for primary and post-primary schools, titled Bí Cineálta: Procedures to Prevent and Address Bullying Behaviour.

In response, our school is beginning the process of developing a new Anti-Bullying Policy and procedures. To ensure this work is thorough, inclusive, and reflective of our whole school community, we are actively seeking input from parents and guardians.

We invite you to complete the Anti-Bullying Parent Survey by Monday, May 12th. Your voice is essential in helping us shape a school environment that is safe, respectful, and welcoming for all.

In addition to the survey, we are also forming a parent focus group to help guide the development of our new Bí Cineálta policy. If you are interested in joining and supporting us in this important process, please contact Ian at mrcorbett@killinans.com.

You can access the anonymous survey below in this newsletter, or HERE.

We extend our warmest wishes and prayers to the pupils of 2nd Class and their teacher, Mrs. O'Sullivan, as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on Friday, May 9th.

This is a sacred and joyful milestone in their faith journey, as they welcome Jesus into their hearts in a special way. We pray that this celebration brings great blessings to the children and their families, and remains a cherished memory for years to come.

Well done to our Cross-Country team who competed in Rathcoffey before the Easter break. All of the students ran a fantastic race in warm conditions and showed great determination, effort, and sportsmanship throughout the event.

We are so proud of how they represented our school and commend them for their hard work and commitment in the lead-up to the competition.

Our school team bounced back brilliantly in their most recent match against Ticknevin, putting in a strong and skilful performance to secure a well-deserved win. The players showed great teamwork, determination, and composure throughout, and we are very proud of how they represented the school.

Earlier in the campaign, we narrowly lost to Cadamstown in a closely contested match, but the team’s resilience and commitment have been clear in every game.

We now look ahead to our next fixture against Broadford on Tuesday, May 6th, and we wish the team the very best as they continue their Cumann na mBunscol journey.

We’re also excited to take part in a Football Blitz in St. Mary’s Secondary School, Edenderry, on Wednesday, May 22nd. This promises to be a great day of sport and fun, and we look forward to the opportunity for more pupils to get involved and enjoy the games.

We’re delighted to share that Killina N.S. has been selected to take part in the BLAST (Bringing Live Arts to Students & Teachers) arts-in-education programme for the 2025/26 school year. This means our students will have the wonderful opportunity to work closely with a professional artist on a creative and engaging project right here in our school.

The BLAST initiative is supported by the Department of Education and Creative Ireland and aims to foster creativity, imagination, and collaboration in learning. We look forward to sharing updates with you as the project develops!

Our Junior and Senior Infant classes have been busy little gardeners this month as they grew their very own grass heads! Each child carefully filled a pot with soil and grass seeds, added googly eyes, decorations, and then waited patiently for the magic to happen.

Along the way, they learned all about what plants need to grow; sunlight, water, air, and a little bit of love! The children made predictions, kept watering their grass heads, and watched in excitement as green “hair” started to sprout. It’s a fun, hands-on way to explore the science of plant life, and thier classrooms were full of green grassy faces!

Our Junior and Senior Infants were also busy creating beautiful spring art! Using a mix of colourful paper, they designed their own nests and added the beautiful little chicks nestled inside. Each creation is full of personality and creativity, brightening up our school with a lovely springtime feel. Well done to all our young artists!

1st and 2nd Class have been busy exploring the concept of weight in Maths this month. Using real-world items and lots of hands-on fun, the children investigated what it really means for something to be “heavier than” or “lighter than.”

2nd Class took on the challenge of finding classroom objects that were heavier than their own shoe, with some very interesting results! From books to water bottles, they made great predictions and checked their answers using balancing scales.

Meanwhile, 1st Class compared a range of objects to their pencil cases, deciding which ones were heavier. Everyone enjoyed testing their ideas, learning new vocabulary like “heavier,” “lighter,” and “equal,” and sharing their findings with each other.

It’s been a great month of active learning, discovery, and a lot of lifting and guessing!

As part of their Religion lessons, 3rd and 4th Class have been learning about the crucifixion of Jesus in the lead-up to Easter. The children spent time discussing the events of Good Friday, reflecting on its meaning and importance in the Easter story.

To deepen their understanding, they brought the scene to life through art. Using paint blending techniques, they created striking sunset backgrounds and added silhouettes of the three crosses on Calvary. The contrast of warm colours and dark shadows made for powerful and thoughtful pieces of art.

The activity helped the pupils connect emotionally and creatively with the story of the crucifixion, combining faith and artistic expression in a meaningful way.

There was great excitement recently as our 6th Class pupils received their leavers’ hoodies - a special milestone as they begin their final term in primary school. They’ve been proudly wearing them ever since!

Before the Easter break, 5th and 6th Class took part in a fun and challenging Easter-themed maths quiz. The quiz ended with a lively maths race that had everyone up on their feet and fully engaged. As you can see, there was great energy and teamwork – a great moment from a memorable day of learning and laughter!