St. Brendan's Boys Primary School

The pupils from 5th class participated in a Science for Fun project in the school. Parents came in to the classroom and helped the teacher and pupils perform science experiments. The project ran for a number of weeks exploring rocket launching, standing on eggs and implementing fair testing and recording of all the findings. The project was enjoyed by all. Well done to Ms. Ward, her pupils and to Margaret and her team of parents.

Mr. Kennedy brought three teams from the school to the indoor hurling blitz held in Shinrone. All teams performed very well reaching finals, semi-finals and one team brought back the cup winning the final. Well done to all participating teams who represented the school with distinction and honour. The teams were very well prepared as Mr. Kennedy had run a school indoor hurling league at lunch time in the weeks leading up to the blitz.

Skippy John visited the school and instructed all classes on the art of skiping. The pupils were very interested in the demonstration and thoroughly enjoyed the presentation. They were told how to hold the rope, how to turn the rope, how to skip in various rhythms, speed skipping, one footed skipping, pairs skipping, backwards skipping and skipping with a long rope with many friends. He also showed them how to look after and mind their rope and explained the health benefits gained from doing the skipping exercises. Skipping ropes were on sale afterwards and there was huge interest in the skipping project. Afterwards, various areas of the school yard were set aside as designated skipping areas and the pupils were able to practice their skipping skills in safety with their friends.

Ms. Ward  is preparing pupils at the moment to participate in a Musical Recital entitled The Peace Proms. Pupils from all over the country will get together in Kilkenny and perform a choral recital. This event promises to be a spectacular performance with so many pupils participating. Well done to Ms. Ward, Majella and the boys and we look forward to their recital later in the year.

Our 6th class pupils attended Open Night in Birr Community School. They were shown around the school and given an insight into the various subjects that they will be studying next year. The feedback was very positive and the boys enjoyed the experience with family and friends.

Our senior pupils were involved in Chess Tuition this term under the guidance of John Alfred. The boys are shown the rules of the game and the strategies involved. Chess has been proven to improve problem solving and concentration. We hope that they enjoy all their sessions.

A group of pupils from sixth class travelled to Dublin to visit the Young Scientist Exhibition. They were amazed at the amount of exhibits and the variety of topics covered. They were able to view the stands and question the students on their research topics and experiments. It was a great experience for our pupils and we hope it will inspire them to develop their scientific skills and in the future they may have a stand of their own at the exhibition.

Athletics Coaching continues this term for our boys involvinh running, jumping, bounding, hurdling and co-ordination drills and exercises. This term also the coaches have introduced Spike Ball which teaches our pupils the basic skills involved in volleyball.

Our school celebrated St. Brendan’s Day by participating in a lovely ceremony in St. Brendan’s Church. The boys sang , played and read prayers. Ms.Ward’s class performed a wonderful St. Brendan’s play dressed in full costume. It was bright, colourful and inspiring. It was great to see former teachers from our school attend the ceremony. The boys were accompanied by Majella and Fr. Cahir presided over the ceremony. All the pupil involvement really added to the ceremony.

We held our Rememberance Service in the gym to remember and pray for family, relatives and friends who have passed away.Fifth class and senior infants made Rememberance Trees and hung crosses on them with names of family ,relations and friends on them. Other classes made rememberance charts which were displayed in the gym. Sixth class played Inisheer on the tin whistles and the boys read prayers of the faithful. Mr. Kennedy’s class played the theme song from the Titanic and all classes sang the Rememberance Song. Mrs. Ryder read a beautiful poem about angels and Rosary beads were presented to staff members (blessed in Rome and given by Fr. Cahir). The ceremony ended with the boys playing Amazing Grace as each class returned to their classrooms.