September Enrolment Applications are now being invited for September 2016 enrolment. Please call to the school office to fill in a Notification of Intention to Apply form (Stage One) on behalf of your child if you have not already done so. Application forms will be sent to those who have completed Stage One forms from the end of January.
Knitting Mrs Deane has started knitting with 3rd and 4th classes. We would like to thank the ladies who have volunteered to come in and help the children with this. It is very much appreciated.
Computer Room We recently purchased new laptops, headphones and desks for our Assembly Room. In addition to assemblies, we will be using this as a computer room where the pupils can work in pairs on the laptops. Thank you to the Board of Management for supporting us in this.
Tin Whistle 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th classes will be starting tin whistle lessons with Melanie Butler on Weds 2nd February. These will take place every Wednesday for seven weeks.
Tag Rugby All classes from 1st to 6th have started Tag Rugby with Joey Carbury which will continue every Monday until after Easter. The children really enjoy Joey’s instruction and get lots of exercise and fresh air during this time. We are so lucky to have the use of the campus Astro turf pitch which is a lovely surface for the children to play on.
Japanese students Our thanks to Richard Daly from Athy College who visited our school last week with fifteen host students from Japan. These young people had spent a number of weeks in Athy, attending Athy College and visiting places of interest including Newgrange, Trinity College and Glendalough. They spent a morning with our pupils throughout the school, teaching them Origami, the skill of paper folding, in small groups. The students were very pleasant and patient and our children really enjoyed the experience.
Credit Union Quiz The Annual Credit Union Schools Quiz is being held in Ardscoil na Trìonoìde on Friday 29th January. We hope to send along at least six teams and are busy brushing up on our general knowledge at present!
The Annual Athy Model School Table Quiz takes place on Friday 4th March at 8 pm in Athy Golf Club. This is always a very enjoyable evening and we would welcome everyone’s support on the night.
Mid Term Break School will close on Friday 12th February at the usual time for Mid Term Break and will reopen on Monday 22nd February. Yvonne Griffin
Green Schools A big thank you to everyone who entered the energy motto competition. The overall winner was Caitlin Kenny, 2nd Class with her motto, ‘Do the earth a favour, be a power saver’. The winners for best pictures were Neal Lazenby, Darragh Lazenby, Isabel Perry, Caroline Daly and Ellen Burns. Well done to all. The Green Schools Committee carried out an energy audit in November. The main findings were that lights were left on, interactive whiteboards were left on and the doors were left open. To fix these issues, there are now 2 energy detectives in each classroom who help us all to remember to close the doors, turn off the lights and turn off the interactive whiteboard. The children will take it in turns to be energy detectives. To continue the good work at home, we have signed energy pledges to save energy at home. Also thank you to everyone who completed our energy questionnaire at home. We had a huge response and the results of the questionnaire are displayed on our green board. Keep up the energy saving and remember, ‘Do the earth a favour, be a power saver.’ Liz Deane
Athy Model School is a primary school under the patronage of the Department of Education, with a Church of Ireland ethos. We endeavour to enable each child to acquire a set of moral values based on the ethos of the school.