Category: General

Well Done to everyone for taking part in Maths Week. There was a great atmosphere around the school during the week as the children took part in various Maths challenges , quizzes, and the Maths Fair.

Congratulations to the winners of the Maths Quiz and the children who correctly guessed the contents of each jar.

Fourth Class displayed huge creativity in recent weeks as they designed Maths hats, board games and drew the most amazing deck of cards for our Maths Fair. Watch out Picasso.

The children had great fun playing the games they designed and look forward to showing them to the Junior Classes.

Maths Quizzes galore on Friday! We held two Mega Quizzes: Junior and Senior. All hands on deck and a hum of concentration prevailed, as each table settled into each round of questions. Each team has a child from each class. It’s a nice way for kids to meet and co-operative with other classes. Maths Week takes a lot of preparation but it’s worth it….

Yellow is often described as a ‘mentally stimulating’ colour. We don’t need any stimulation in Caherleaheen😄. We opted for a new calm colour, on walls that haven’t seen paint for over a decade. 21 parents painted in 2hour slots. One third of parents from Fifth and Fourth classes arrived on the day armed with sheets, brushes, rollers, sweets and big smiles. That is a great response, when so many more tried but were bound to other family commitments. Thank you all for trying. Some parents stayed painting (feverishly!) most of the day. It was a great day and the staff and children of Caherleaheen can’t thank you enough for giving your precious time. I can’t wait to see their reaction. The ‘canary yellow’ is a tough bright colour to overpaint. But thankfully, with all you volunteers, we did it. There are quite a few painting sheets and brushes remaining which you might want to reclaim. Please call in to collect.

The children in the senior classes spent their day solving puzzles and working in small groups. We had a lovely surprise visit from our American friends Rory and Ian Browne with their parents Kerry and John. The two boys joined in the fun. Thanks too to our TY students who were intrigued by Isaq9. Tomorrow there will be two Mega Math Quizzes: Quiz A 1st -3rd. Quiz B 4th-6th. The questions are locked away in Ms Claire’s safe! PS: All the children ran their second 1km/.5km today.

Despite the inconvenience( and joy for the children!)of losing days to Ophelia, the Junior Maths Fair charged ahead. Many thanks to Fourth and Fifth Classes for hosting the games. All the teachers set up challenges which were age-appropriate and wonderfully engaging. The Infants had a chance to explore number-value, shape, measurement, count, add, subtract, score, estimate and achieve success in all their activities. Games were held in the yard and in the hall. They covered all the areas in our Maths Curriculum and more, with many games differentiated for 1st, 2nd and 3rd! The staff were just delighted to see how the little ones managed to share, compliment, encourage and congratulate each other. There were so many games to enjoy. Tomorrow will be a completely different set-up.Tomorrow the Seniors exercise their math-muscle. We have really interesting games, that not just explore traditional computational skills, but also pose challenges in geometry, spatial awareness, processing, problem-solving, sequencing, algebra and patience/concentration! Watch this space for photos of the Seniors, hard at it tomorrow. Find Mr Damien’s Fifth Class Blog in the Fifth Class menu above. He took some great photos of the action today 🙂

This is it! The time hath cometh. We are going to rise up from our desks, brush ourselves down and start moving our limbs. It is really important that all children wear runners EVERY DAY. Water or diluted water is equally important. All the kids are commited to running on Saturdays and Sundays too. Parents, older siblings, friends can join us on weekends.( The 9.25am 2k run in Tralee Town Park, every Sunday morning, is perfect for 4-13yr olds and 14-99yr olds! It’s a wonderful family friendly activity….great buzz). Light rain-jackets will also be handy, so please make sure your child has his/hers every day. This challenge will be one small step for your child, one giant leap for your child’s health and happiness, not to mention concentration,alertness, calmness, self-worth, well-being, breathing, posture, motivation and FUN. So please, give all your support to your kids by packing them off to school every day with really healthy lunches, runners, water, a rain jacket and a supportive pat on the back. It really is that simple!

Thank you for doing the Homework Survey! If you want to investigate and analyse the results, follow these steps: Click ‘KIDS’ in menu above. Click your class: Third, Fourth, Fifth or Sixth. Click ‘READ MORE‘ tab and then click the link to Survey Monkey. You will see graphs showing how you all answered each of the 10 questions. The majority of you are managing your homework very well!(That surely deserves a night ‘off’ homework!….joking!!!).

Isaq9 proved to be challenging, but our bright young people solved it pretty quickly.👍

Can you read the name on this ‘bug art’? (Hint:the hidden name is repeated symmetrically)!

This was great fun! All the children and teachers marked National Fitness Day with a whole-school aerobic workout. The Junior Infants were delighted to take part in our mass dance. Ms Mary, Caroline and Adrienne led the way. Not ones to shy from a challenge: Mr Damien and Mr Paul will lead the next one. They are preparing by practising their moves. I think we should play some Bee Gees for their aerobic dance-off!

The Fifth Class gardening gnomes, Mr Liam and Kelly Field, our student teacher tidied our garden and dug up some lovely potatoes and carrots.

Sea Synergy Schools Programme promotes awareness of marine biodiversity. Third class will follow the programme this month by doing further project work on the creatures and lifecycle of the creatures in the Atlantic. Christie was really impressed by the children’s response to her powerpoint presentation, fish tank and shell display.

Junior Infants posed today in their NRS bibs. Evenings are getting longer and it’s never too early to start teaching children about road safety. They also enjoyed going in and out of their ‘new House'(Thank you, Valerie Kerins). Knock knock…’tar isteach’🏠

Fifth Class enjoyed a drone demonstration by past pupil Tadhg Connolly. The drone took photos and footage of the grounds and countryside. It flies by GPS and can fly a distance of 7km and heights just above 1km. It can travel at 45km/hour. Of course, it hovers too! Cool!

Day 1: Our new Infants settled in so well by 9.30am and explored their new room effortlessly. They chatted, asked questions, played , shared and generally just got on with things. Ms Adrienne, Brid, Mary, Geraldine, Gemma and Nuala spent time with each child. ‘Read more’ Day 2:

These parents willingly and vigorously swept the yard which had accumulated a fair amount of grit and silt after our ‘imperfect summer’. Míle buíochas daoibh go léir. Agus fáilte ar ais roimh gach páiste, agus go háirithe roimh na naíonáin nua.👫(Click to read/see more)

It is with deep sadness that we post this notice. Our wonderful, beautiful and brave young girl, Emily passed away peacefully on 19th July. She spent recent months battling against a liver and lung tumour, having successfully pulled through leukemia when she was a toddler. We remember her warm smile, her great sense of humour, her work-ethic and her style! Emily graduated from Caherleaheen in 2014 having spent many happy years here with her friends, teachers and SNA’s. We cannot express our sympathies adequately to her wonderful family: parents Norah and John, and her younger sister Ava. Her classmates from Caherleaheen turned out in great numbers to form a Guard of Honour at her Requiem Mass. We will never forget Emily and we extend our prayers and sympathy to her loved ones.

Well done to Ciara,Mark,Tony and Mossie for their excellent,informative interview this morning on Kerry Radio. They are wonderful ambassadors for Sixth Class’17 and the J.E.Programme. It was a live interview, so no editing! Ms Caroline accompanied them to the studio👍 Click link and listen from 1:01:15

http://www.radiokerry.ie/saturday-supplement-july-1st-2017/

Summer holidays are around the corner. The teachers and assistants want to thank our parents for the incredible support and encouragement which you have given us all. I personally am indebted to Tara C, Marie M, Michelle C, Maura C, Catriona S, Kerrie L.. the list could go on!

The teachers, Jennifer and assistants are pretty exhausted. They are some team! And why not? The children are so worth it….they deserve our best.
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER, EVERYONE.

RESPECT and ADMIRATION! To all our athletes who represented Caherleaheen and Tralee at An Ríocht, Castleisland. Paul Griffin and his wonderful volunteers hosted a great event for hundreds of athletes. Our boys and girls were fantastic!

Dear Parents, please click on ‘Parents’ on the Main Menu, to view and download your child’s booklist for the coming academic year. A hard-copy will also be included with your child’s school/progress report next Mon (26th). We ask you to respect your child’s right to privacy and to ensure that reports are not opened at the gate or in a public place. They really should be read first by you the parent, in the privacy of your own home. Reports should not be compared with or disclosed to others. Your child is unique and deserving of your sincere praise for his/her effort throughout the year. Thank you for your co-operation in this regard. Mary C

We are immensely proud of these children. They have proven day in day out, that they are responsible, participative, motivated, co-operative, hard-working, talented and very clever. Parents and family-members arrived at 11.00am and joined us in a really touching Graduation ceremony which was led by Fr. Dan. and the children. Each pupil received his/her Graduation Certificate, a J.E.P. hoodie, a J.E.P. time-table pen. They showed their Year Books and Photo-story to their families. They walked the Tunnel of Fame, to huge applause. Ms Gillian, their teacher did a great job organising their send-off. Tears of pride and joy…..

All the colours of the rainbow (and our school logo!) arrived to John Mitchel’s G.A.A. grounds on Thursday for a day packed with games, fun, competition and anticipation. Each child had a role to play for their coloured team. Parents attended, as always and helped set up games, scoring boards, refreshments etc. Alan Duggan from Active Kingdom and a past-pupil, prepared Game Stations with teachers and parents beforehand. With all hands on deck, our children and parents/staff had an absolutely fantastic day again this year. It was great meeting our teenage past-pupils who came along to help at each station.Thank you to all!

Brendan Griffin, our newly appointed Minister of Sport and Tourism (comhgháirdeas leat, a Bhrendåin!) has been a huge support to Caherleaheen School these last few months. Though he is a busy man we were delighted that he took the time to visit our school, talk to the children and raise our new flag. He spoke about the breath-taking beauty around Caherleaheen, Castlemaine and the whole county. He urged the children to get out there and enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer. It really is an environment that is worth caring for and protecting. Ms Brid and her committee worked very hard at this all year and they managed to inspire many of us to cut down on our carbon footprint in transport. Parents attended in a show of support and appreciation. Thank you all!

Dandelion called into our school to remind us of all the wonderful activities for families in the Town Park this weekend. Many children from Caherleaheen go to the park EVERY Sunday for a 2k Park Run. It’s great fun. This Sunday young runners will dress up in ‘flower power’ style.Take a look…. .

Ms Noelle’s class went on a nature walk around Caherleaheen. They were very interested in all the local plants: herb robert, wild strawberries,tufted vetch, lesser periwinkle, common violet, and the FOUR-leaved clover. They also went to Ballybunion last Friday on their school tour. Take a look….

Our Plaque of S.T E.M. Excellence arrived today! This is awarded when schools show evidence of the following:Experiments in Energy and Forces, Living Things,Materials and Environmental care.Use of IT, computers laptops etc with coding.Designing and solving designs in Engineering. Attendance at Engineering events. Use of Maths in recording evidence in science to reach conclusions eg measuring capacity, distance,time. Promotion of Maths and Creative Maths in Maths Week. Displaying Science activities to others. Attending Science Activities outside of school. Related activities and samples of children’s work were recorded and forwarded to SFI on PowerPoint. So we are delighted. Well done to all the teachers and pupils. We all love science. Here are just a few photos of the many taken this year….. All we need now is a drill to mount our plaque beside our 2014/2015 Award.