We all went to see Cinderella  in University Concert Hall on Monday 18th December. It was a wonderful start to Christmas. Dayl Cronin of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ fame was Cinderella’s Prince Charming.  Samantha Mumba played the part of the ‘wicked step mother’. The show was highly entertaining. The costumes and set were absolutely amazing. Magic, romance, a feisty heroine, a handsome prince and dubious sisters made it a show that was  “Fantastic, funny, entertaining – brilliant fun for all!

Children wore their Christmas Jumpers last Friday 15th December and contributed to the annual SVP’s Appeal.  Christmas is not the same for everyone. Even €2 can go along way towards providing food, fuel and clothes for those in need.

A little help can last a lifetime…..

Blessed with a beautiful day on Friday 27th October all the children dressed in Halloween costume and in doing so contributed €1 (some contributed much more) to Brú Columbanus. This charity provides ‘home from home’ accommodation for relatives of seriously ill patients in  Cork hospitals and in the Hospice.

It’s good to help………..

……. A walk down memory lane

The children of 5th and 6th class were very busy in the weeks leading up to the 25th Moyvane Village Festival.  To celebrate the 25th anniversary, the children produced an art piece that took people on a walk down memory lane.  It consisted of memoires, photographs and mementos from the 25 years of the Festival.  The children of 5th and 6th Class were very grateful to all who contributed and thoroughly enjoyed the trip down memory lane.  We hope you all did too!

To celebrate Maths week, 1^st and 2^nd class took their maths outside on Friday the 22^nd of October.  Using our Data Collection skills we did a survey of how many different coloured cars passed the school in the space of ten minutes.  Using our Number skills we came up with lots of different number sentences using the windows along the front of the school.  We used our “Maths Eyes” to see all the different 2D and 3D shapes around the school.  Finally, we went to the Basketball Court to estimate and measure the length and width of the court.  Maths really is all around us!

Juniors, Seniors and 1^st class had a “Spooktacular Day” last Friday.  Everybody looked super in their costumes!    We also had great fun playing different Halloween games in class and chatting about the different Halloween traditions.

Every new school year comes with all its potential and promise for each one of us. On the 14th September the children, staff, parents and friends joined Fr. Kevin to celebrate mass to mark the start of another school year before a final trip to the ‘Hurdy Gurdies’ and  the Gee-Gees!

The mass was a time to pause and to be mindful of all the gifts and blessings we have in our lives. Symbols  representing everything that is part of school life were brought to the Sacred Space.

Mass concluded with Fr. Kevin’s blessing that the coming year would bring learning, prayer, fun and friendship for everyone!

The end of a Chapter…….

Pupils in 6th Class together with their families and staff to celebrate the end of their 8 years in Primary school.  Fr. Kevin’s mass  was a thanksgiving for the relationships that they had built between them and the bonds of friendship they had formed since they started in Junior Infants in 2009. The readings and the prayers  were an opportunity to look back and remember and also to look forward to new beginnings…..

Áine, Ava, Caoimhe, Rían and Seán placed symbols in the ‘Sacred Space’. These represented some of the many gifts and talents they had developed, both academically and artistically while in our school. A class photograph and a pair of shoes symbolised the next step the five of them will take as they go forward on their journey…..

To mark the end of their Primary school chapter our 3 girls and our 2 boys were each presented with a yew pen crafted by wood-turner Donnchadha O’Connor.  Donnchadha is a past pupil who creates uniquely beautiful hand turned pens in a variety of styles from a selection of locally sourced native timbers including Bog Oak, Yew, Hawthorn and Blackthorn.

Just a Thought – one minute reflective pieces broadcast weekdays 7:30am and 12pm on Radio Kerry.

Mary Fagan from Radio Kerry visited us on Monday 12th June to record the ‘Just a Thought’ reflections  with our 6th class. These will be broadcast on the week beginning Monday 26th June.  Each day’s ‘Thought’ is a reflection in the midst of our day to day preoccupations.  Our 6th class bring a youthful observance of life, offering us wisdom and cheerfulness each day and urging us to look on the bright side of life. The inspiring and uplifting words of encouragement represent what is important to all of us – family, love, friendship and hope. These values serve as a reminder that every day is a new beginning – a new opportunity to move forward.

Listen and enjoy!

Tons of fun was had by all in Mr. Galvin’s room when 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes went on their school tour to the Mid-West’s Best Indoor Activity Centre in Limerick.  It was the perfect venue for an U-10’s school tour, providing a safe, clean and secure soft play and adventure experience, that was tons of fun for all the children!

Au Revoir…..

Gabrielle ‘Abbey’ Beguhl from Minnesota has been with us here in Murhur N.S. since March as part of the Student Teaching Abroad programme at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls.  During her time with us she worked in all the classrooms and was a great asset to the teachers and children.  She was always eager to take on any task we gave her. She taught numerous lessons and gave us a great insight into the American way of life. Her forte was History, Geography and Art – American style!  She helped with supervision, and the preparation for First Holy Communion. She was a willing and enthusiastic participant in the three school tours.  She accompanied children to football matches and was another very welcome pair of hands at swimming classes.  Gabrielle had a great rapport with all the children and it was refreshing to see such dedication from a future educator.

Before Gabrielle left our school the children put on a little concert for her – Irish Style. The Scór Ballad Group sang and the ceoltóirí played some nice tunes. The  dancers put on a great show!  Diarmuid told us about the day he scored an ‘own goal’!  We even had a joke or two!

The children presented Gabrielle with a ‘Tommy Moloney‘ inspired  keepsake depicting the link between Minnesota and Moyvane which they had all signed.

Slán a Gabrielle – Go n-éirí an bóthar leat!

This year our 4th 5th and 6th classes went to Cappanlea Outdoor Education Centre on their school tour. The children set off bright and early. The dynamic and adventurous  outdoor activities included Kayaking/Canoeing, Rockclimbing/Abseiling, Raftbuilding and Orienteering.  The programme  aims at supporting and enhancing the learning which occurs within the school. The course, based on the SESE programme, is designed to meet the educational needs of primary school students and establishes links with the  school curriculum. The tour was child focussed and included adventure, fun, knowledge and skills development throughout.

The children used the proceeds from their JEP Project to subsidise their school tour.  No tour is complete without a visit to McDonald’s where the ‘Happy Meals’  and the ‘McFlurry’ ice creams  were in great demand after a busy day!

1st and 2nd Classes who today took part in the Football Blitz in Tarbert.

On Friday the 12th May, the Juniors and Seniors all set off on their school tour. All week they had been counting down the ‘sleeps‘ and were bursting with excitement. We went to Stonehall Visitor Farm in Curragh Chase where we were greeted by our lovely guide Sinéad who made sure we all had our ‘bunny ears‘ on.  We listened to facts about all the animals.

Some interesting facts we learned:

• The male bird is always the most colourful. Males have beautiful feathers so they can show off to the female birds.
• A group of owls is called a Parliament.
• Female emus make a drumming sound with their throats to call the male emus.
• A baby squirrel is called a kitten.

We saw a huge variety of animals including red deer, peacocks, peahens, emus, llamas and wallabys, among many others.  We even heard a parrot say ‘Hello’ to us!  We saw some smaller animals indoors like lovebirds and chipmunks. The chipmunks were very fast! Some of us let one climb along our arms. He even went for a rest on the top of some of our heads!

After we had taken a long walk around the farm to see all the animals we went indoors to have our lunch. Then we had some time in the indoor play area where there was a bouncy castle, go carts, a play house, a slide and lots more to keep us entertained.  The teachers even had a turn on the go carts but they weren’t quite as fast as the children!

It was a great day. The children were in top form and enjoyed every minute of the trip. Of course, getting to go on John’s bus was the highlight of it all!

Ava, Mary and Rebekah represented Murhur N.S. in the North Kerry Girls Skills Competition.

Saturday 27th May was a very special day for Katelyn, Abbie, Cian, Darragh, David, Donnacha, Josh and Mathew. Family, relatives and friends joined them in the Church of the Assumption, Moyvane for the celebration of their First Holy Communion. Fr. Kevin was ably assisted by the Communion children who, at the beginning of the mass, presented symbols of the many blessings they have in their lives.  They also did the readings, the prayers of the faithful and sang beautifully. After the ceremony Moyvane hospitality was again evident in the school with the Parents’ Association providing a ‘cuppa’ and some delicious ‘tasty bites’! The scrumptious chocolate biscuit cake was very popular.

Professional Photographer Anthony Kearney was in the school for those who wished to avail of his services.

Rían Quinn, Patrick O’Connor and Diarmuid Óg O’Connor represented Murhur N.S. in the North Kerry Boys Skills Competition.