Today was our last swimming lesson at Cavan Leisure Centre. We have really enjoyed the last 6 weeks and made great progress with our swimming skills. This morning we especially enjoyed the chance to use the slides at the end of our lesson!
Swimming
Ulster Scots Project
The Middle Room have been involved in a Twinning Project with Castleroe Primary School from Coleraine, organised by the Ulster Scots Agency, over the past few weeks.
The children from both schools were paired up and wrote emails to each other so they could learn a little bit about each other.
The children also prepared a booklet with information about our school and the local area. They also wrote about their favourite places in the local area and included pictures – we gave this booklet to Castleroe P.S., so maybe they will come and visit this part of Ireland some day!
On Friday, there was great excitement as the children headed off the the Ulster American Folk Park outside Omagh to meet up with the children from Castleroe.
We spent a few minutes getting to know each other, then headed off together to explore the Folk Park.
In the morning, we visited the Irish side of the park, learning about what life would have been like in rural Ireland 200 years ago. We explored different houses, churches and even a schoolhouse!
We made our way towards the town and visited some of the shops, meeting some of the people who worked there.
Then it was time to board the boat to America! The journey across the Atlantic often lasted up to 14 weeks – not a voyage any of us wanted to experience!
We had a quick break for lunch when we were glad to have a rest and a break from the sunshine!
After lunch, it was time to explore the New World – we visited some of the shops in America, then learned about life in Pennsylvania where some of the Irish settlers made their new homes.
There was time for a quick run around together before we headed back to get ready for home.
Castleroe Primary have prepared a folder for us all about their local area – we are looking forward to reading it to find out more about where they live.
Thank you so much to Gary from the Ulster Scots Agency who invited us to take part in the Twinning project and who funded our trip. It was lovely to spend a little time getting to know the children from Castleroe Primary School, and we had a fantastic day together at the Ulster American Folk Park.
Teddy Bear Picnic
The Junior Room were very excited when the day finally arrived for Noah’s Picnic! Noah had such a great time visiting everyone’s home so he planned a Teddy Bear Picnic in the playground to say thank you to everyone!
We all had a great time playing in the playground with our teddy bears and we enjoyed some treats. Everyone introduced their teddy to the rest of the class and after the goodies there was time for a quick game of musical statues before heading back to school!
Rath Church, Killeshandra
We were invited to visit the Rath Church in Killeshandra today. It was fascinating to learn about the building and to see the restoration work that is underway at the moment. Thank you to those who showed us around and explained some of the history of this beautiful building.
Ice-cream Van
Thank you to 5th and 6th Class who used some of the profits from their Junior Entrepreneur project to pay for an ice-cream van to visit the school today. We all enjoyed a lovely ice-cream or slushie. Thank you 5th and 6th Class for providing this lovely treat for everyone!
JEP Celebration
To celebrate all the achievements from this year’s Junior Entrepreneur Programme, 5th & 6th class  enjoyed an interactive broadcast in their classroom this morning. There was great excitement when the video that the pupils submitted was aired during the show! Well done to the pupils who compiled this video to promote the product. Not only that but a photo of the 5th & 6th class was shown also!
After lunch the senior pupils enjoyed pizzas, goujons and lots of treats as part of their celebrations! It was a great day!
Cumann na mBunscol
This year again some of the Senior pupils joined with Scoil BhrÃde to take part in Cumann na mBunscol. Well done to both the boys and girls teams who trained and played hard. A special congratulations to the girls who managed to get to their final and played in Breffni Park yesterday. Well done everyone!
Sponsored Walk
We had fabulous weather today for our Sponsored Walk. The sun was beaming and we were joined by parents as we set off at midday on the Killeshandra Loop Walk. Some of us walked part of the Loop Walk before turning back for school, while the others continued on and came back to school via the Town Lake.
When we made it back to school, we enjoyed some refreshing ice cream to cool us down!
We also handed out our awards for the Reader and Handwriter of the Month for May in Assembly this morning – well done everyone!
Fred the Entertainer
We were delighted to welcome Fred, the Party Professor, back to school today for his amazing show. Fred was joined by his son, Leo, and together they entertained us with all sorts of wonderful skills, tricks and illusions.
Fred also treated us to some musical performances, including playing the world’s smallest instrument!
We had a very brave volunteer from the Senior Room who was willing to risk his hands for our entertainment!
Thank you Fred and Leo for a great morning!
School Tour 2023
On Friday morning we headed off bright and early for our school tour to the Shannon River Adventure Centre near Rooskey. The sun was shining and and spirits were high as we arrived for an action-packed and fun-filled day!
We spent the morning doing a range of land activities. We scaled the heights of the climbing wall – a few of us even managed to reach the top of the most difficult climb!
We also had a go at archery – some of us were very close to the bull’s eye!
The obstacle course was great fun as we climbed over, under and through and raced each other back to the start line.
There was a 4-way tug of war rope – this was much more difficult that it looked!
After a very busy morning, we all enjoyed a well-earned rest over lunch.
After lunch, it was time for the Middle and Senior Rooms to get kitted out with wetsuits, buoyancy aids, helmets and paddles for some water activities. There was great excitement as we headed for the river!
First up was kayaking – everyone got the hang of it quickly, although quite a few paddlers ended up in the water before we were finished!
Next came the mud slide – trying to climb back up the hill again took much longer than sliding down!
Finally is was time for pier jumping – a great way to wash off some of the mud!
The Junior Room were also out on the water in the afternoon – they had great fun out in the canoes.
When they returned to land, the Juniors completed some challenges, learned how to light a campfire and toasted some marshmallows to finish off their day – even Noah joined in!
It was time to pack up and board the bus back to Killeshandra after a fantastic day. Thank you to everyone at Shannon River Adventure, and well done to all the boys and girls – the staff at the centre complemented your behaviour, enthusiasm and willingness to try all the different activities. It was mentioned more than once that this was the ‘best school tour ever!’