St. Brendan's Boys Primary School

One of the highlights of this term in St. Brendan’s is always the Halloween Costume Project. Pupils from our infant classes are allowed to dress up in all sorts of Halloween outfits and have some fun as they tour the classes and show off their Halloween fashions. Thanks to all parents/guardians who put so much effort into the project and it really is one of the highlights of the school year.

Our Jnr. Infant class held a prayer service in their classroom presided over by Fr. Cahir. The pupils said their prayers and sang their hymns and really enjoyed the ceremony. Thanks to Ms. Ryan, Mrs. Roddy and Majella for all the preparatory work and the pupils were excellent on the day.

Pupils from our senior classes participated in the Rosary Rally held in St. Brendan’s Church. The boys read the prayers , said a decade of the Rosary and participated in the procession around the church. They were very well prepared by Mr. Carroll, Mr. Crofton and Fr. Cahir and thanks to parents, grandparents friends and relatives who attended the ceremony on the night.

Halloween has always been an exciting time in St. Brendan’s. We use the seasonal festival to inspire and encourage our pupils The display areas are always well decorated with the pupil’s Halloween art work. Creative writing always takes on a “Scary” theme with stories and poems being written in every classroom. With some home-school co-operation our Infants always dress up in Halloween costumes and tour the school. History lessons trace the origins of Halloween and the customs and traditions surrounding them.

During Maths Week pupils are given the opportunity to participate in a variety of extra maths activities. More emphasis is placed on doing maths games in the classrooms. Maths for Fun is starting up in second class. There will be a maths stations session for all classes in the gym. Maths problems with varying degrees of difficulty are on display in the public areas. The computer maths game Mangahigh was very popular with all pupils reaching a very high standard. The week is really enjoyed by the pupils as the maths activities are done in a fun and relaxed manner.

Our Maths for Fun programme is up and running again this year starting in second class. The pupils really enjoy developing their maths skills in a games setting. Thanks to Margaret Murphy and her team of parents who set up and implement the scheme so well.

St. Brendan’s P.S. in conjunction with Birr Library organised a storytelling project. Pupils from Jnr. and Snr. Infants visited the library and listened to stories being read to them. Staff from the library also visited the school and read many books on a variety of themes. It was thoroughly enjoyed by our pupils.

We held our Start of Year Prayer Service in the school gym. The boys read prayers, sang hymns and played instruments in celebration of the new year ahead. Fr. Cahir presided over the ceremony and wished us all well for the up-coming school year.

We were delighted to be able to offer a Parenting Course in our school this year. It provides parents with useful information and tips on how to manage the variet of situations that crop up in the course of dealing with children. Many parents reported that they found the course useful and the information provided was a real help in a practical way.

Peter Swanipol is back again doing the rugby sessions with the boys. The boys enjoy these sessions very much developing their skills and having fun. They particularly enjoy the non-contact tag rugby games. The sessions include warm up drills, skill drills, fitness runs, games and warmdown drills. The boys really look forward and enjoy all the sessions.