Author Archives: Emer Russell

Last Friday, 8th December, we were pleased to host the Tríona Byrne Kelly memorial blitz at the arena. Tríona was the beloved sister of our wonderful teacher Nicky and mum to our boys Daniel and Lee. Our 3rd and 4th class boys played with such spirit and enthusiasm that we were immensely proud of them! In the end, they lost out to a super Tara Hill side, when they were pipped at the last minute. Congratulations to all who took part. We are very grateful to Ballygarret NS, Kilanerin NS, Coolgreany NS and Tara Hill NS for participating and sending such great ambassadors for their schools. Thanks to Niall Breen … Continue reading →

Wow! What an educational treat! We were overawed by the visit from Big Bear Planetarium. Each class clambered inside the inflatable planetarium where we watched a 3-d interactive show on the Solar System. Afterwards, Carl blew our minds with a Q&A session on space! Our teachers were praying that we wouldn’t be further interrogated in class!! What inquiring minds you all have!!

Well done to Conor Fanning and Sophia White who represented Scoil Ghormáin Naofa in the Rackard League 3rd/4th class skills competition today in the Buffers Alley complex. You both did us proud!!  

Science fortnight! We are busy celebrating science fortnight in lots of ways including wacky science experiments in school and a visit to the mad scientist for senior classes. We’d love to show these off for everyone to see! A school science fair will take place Thursday of this week. Infant parents can join us between 1:15-1:30. All other parents, 2:25-2:40 Thanks to Ms Whittle for coordinating. We hope you enjoy this video of William levitating at Gorey library! Check out our Twitter page for lots more pictures of our Science fair! https://twitter.com/Castletown_NS    

We were thrilled to host a civic reception for our triumphant Mini 7s team who emerged tops out of a league of 70 teams. Whilst they met worthy opponents along the way, they were the undisputed champions of the league and we are so proud of them! In their honour, we held a civic reception for the boys, where we awarded them with certs, photos and medals. We also acknowledged the wonderful contribution made by coaches Niall Breen and Michael Kavanagh, without whom we could not have dreamed of such success. After the assembly and presentation, the team, board of management and boys’ parents were invited back to school for … Continue reading →

We are just so immensely proud of our boys’ Mini 7s team who stormed to victory in the Mini 7s tournament, coming out tops over 70 other teams. They worked so hard and really gelled as a team both on and off the pitch. We cannot thank Mr. Breen and Michael Kavanagh enough for their coaching and encouragement. Here is a link to a great article reporting our success. Enjoy! http://rackardleague.com/classy-castletown-crack-the-minisevens-code/ P.S. The whole school was grateful to the boys for the celebratory night off homework!!  

On Friday 27th October, our students took part in The Crocus Project. This event remembers the 1.5 million children who perished during the Holocaust. Ms. Gilmartin Ryan gave a very moving account of life in the Holocaust, which captured the attention and sympathy of our students. Afterwards, in the spirit of positivity, Carmel and some students planted crocus bulbs in memory of these children. We look forward to them coming into bloom in spring.  

Oh what a night! It was fantastic to see so many turn out for the annual Hallowe’en disco in The Golden Anchor. There was an amazing array of colour and costume! Music was provided by DJ Donal and the dancefloor was full for the whole evening – this will be recorded for our Active School Flag! Lots of prizes were won and the Parent’s Association were run off their feet serving food! Many thanks to all involved including Parents’ Association members, DJ Donal and all at The Golden Anchor! The children had a blast and the school is most grateful for the fundraising. 

Happy Hallowe’en from all at Scoil Ghormáin Naofa, Castletown! We talked at assembly today about Hallowe’en safety. Candles and long capes are a dangerous combination so please stay alert! If you use sparklers, make sure that there is an adult supervising! Have fun everyone!!  

1st and 2nd class enjoyed their second library adventure of the week with a viewing of the Bumbleance – how interesting! They have learned lots about the services available at Gorey library and were delighted to borrow some books!