Coronavirus – Covid 19: Friday 28th February 2020
The Department of Education and the Department of Health have issued advice to all schools regarding the Coronavirus/Covid 19. The advice has been issued in the interests of public health and to make school staff, pupils and parents aware of the measures everyone can take to prevent an outbreak of the virus. We are sharing this advice with you to allay any concerns you may have.
The advice for schools, parents and pupils can be accessed here: https://www.education.
A letter has also been issued for parents of pupils travelling from an affected region. It can be read here: https://www.education.
You are also advised to check the HSE website regularly if you have any concerns: https://www.hse.ie/
You can also check the Department of Education website for updates over the coming days: https://www.education.
If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact the principal Mr Luke Kilcoyne at illistrinoffice@gmail.com or 0749125775.
Friday 28th February 2020
Opening Date for September 2020
School will reopen on Tuesday 1st September 2020 after the summer holidays.
School Email address has changed
Please note our email address has changed to illistrinoffice@gmail.com
School Closure on Friday 13th March 2020
The school will be closed on Friday 13th March 2020 for all pupils. A staff training day on the new Primary Language Curriculum will take place on that day.
Senior Infants & 3rd Class ‘Paired Reading’
All Senior Infants and 3rd Classes have been completing a ‘Paired Reading Activity’ every Wednesday. Senior Infants get library books every Monday to read at home for the week and they then read them to 3rd Class students on a Wednesday. 3rd Class students have been amazing asking Senior Infants to summarise and predict events in their books. They have been orally asking them 5W’s questions: Who, Where, Why, What and When. Thank you to all 3rd Class students and their teachers for participating in the ‘Paired Reading Activity’ with Senior Infants.
Ms Molloy’s 3rd Class Projects
Ms Molloy’s class have been very busy completing Viking Projects. They made Viking boats, shields, helmets and swords. They were also very busy for Valentines Day making love bugs as pictured below.
1st Classes ‘Valentine Ball’
‘Love was in the air’ on Valentines day as 1st Classes celebrated the special day with a ‘Valentine Ball’. The day was fun filled with a magician, animals, Pat’s pizza, a DJ and lots of treats were donated. A special thanks to Mr Majestic & party animals, Mary at Pat’s Pizza, DJ Stephen, Kernans, Eurogiant, Tesco, Mac’s Mace and Dunnes who all helped with their performances or donations to make the day so special. A massive well done to all the teachers involved especially their Class teachers; Ms Donna McGee, Ms McLaughlin and all their helpers especially Ms McMenamin. A day full of special memories and fun!
Sportshall Athletics
Well done to all the pupils that participated in the ‘School Hall Athletics’ held in Educate Together school in Letterkenny on Friday 14th February. Pupils were involved in relays, speed bounce, vertical jump, chest push, long jump and javelin. They had a great day and a massive thanks to all the teachers involved.
Swimming Championships
The Irish Minor schools swimming championships took place in the National Aquatic Centre, Dublin, in early February. Attached is a photo of the boys on the podium receiving their silver medals for the 4x 50m Medley relay race. The boys also fought hard in the 4x 50m free style relay but just narrowly missed out on a podium finish and finished 4th in Ireland. One of our students brought home the bronze medal for his individual 50m backstroke – a superb achievement! We congratulate all members of our swimming team and thank their parents and coaches for organising their participation in swimming events.
Minister McHugh visits Illistrin School
The Minister for Education, Joe McHugh TD, visited Scoil Naomh Fiachra prior to the General Election 2020. He met with some of the 6th class students and answered their topical questions. He also met Luke Kilcoyne, Principal, and John Gallagher Deputy Principal as well as other members of staff from across the county. The proposed school extension was discussed with the Minister. The Board of Management of the school is in continuous discussions with Department officials in order to progress the proposed building project.
Credit Union Quiz
Well done to the members of the four teams who represented the school in the Letterkenny Credit Union Quiz on Monday, the 3rd of February. Our four teams are pictured during one of their lunchtime practice sessions in the weeks prior to the quiz. The pupils really enjoyed the evening and we are grateful to Letterkenny Credit Union for organising this annual event. All of our teams performed brilliantly at the Quiz. On the night, one of our under 11 teams finished second. They were just one question behind the winners. There are pictured with their medals presented by Ava from Letterkenny Credit Union.
They also won €35 each! Here is a sample of the questions asked :
1. What is the second longest river in Ireland?
2. Who is the Prime Minister of Canada?
3. What river does the Brooklyn Bridge Cross?
4. Until recently which GAA football team did Jim Gavin manage?
5. Unscramble these letters to make a type of tooth: AICNEN
Internet Safety Workshops
Gareth, from the Donegal Youth Service, delivered Internet Safety Workshops to our three 4th classes on the 3rd of February. These workshops had taken place during term one in our fifth and sixth classes. Gareth had also addressed parents at a school information evening last October on the topic of Internet Safety. Safer Internet Day takes place on Tuesday, the 11th of February 2020. Each teacher will teach an Internet Safety lesson to their class on that day. Parents can find lots of help and hints for discussing Internet safety with their children at this web address:
