Thursday Note 27th May 2021

May 27th, 2021

Dear Parents/guardians,

We hope you are well and that the lovely weather continues into the weekend. We need it at this stage! Our news this week is as follows

  • It has been brought to my attention that a number of drivers are parking in front of the railings at the pedestrian crossing in the evening at home time when picking up from school or blocking the entrance into the car park. I would ask that you refrain from this as pupils have to step onto the road to see if a car is coming as their view is blocked. Some cars travel quite fast on the road and may not see a pupil in time. If you cannot get into the car park please park on the road at a different location making sure you are not causing an obstruction. We all want every pupil to be safe coming and going from school and request your co-operation in this matter.
  • 4th class are our tree experts here in the school having done a lot of work on learning all about amazing trees. On Monday last they got to go out on a nature walk identifying some of the trees and plants in the locality. They completed lovely pictures on some of their observations and on the importance of biodiversity. These were collected by Shannon Tidy Towns committee yesterday and will be displayed locally.
  • We have adapted our annual Quizbrain of St. Tola’s competition for Covid times. Yesterday pupils from 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th classes took part in Round 1 of the quiz via zoom Thanks to Ms Kelleher who prepared the questions for this round. Round 2 will take place on Friday with rounds 3 and 4 next week.  After the four rounds the top 20 highest scores will go through to two semi-final rounds and from that the top 5 highest scores will take part in the final. Best of luck to all involved. It’s great we get to do it this year even if it is on Zoom!
  • If you wish to order photos of your child taken recently please return the order forms with the amount by tomorrow Friday 28th May to your child’s teacher.
  • Both 5th and 6th classes did a virtual tour of Croke park recently. They got to see all parts of the stadium and learn a little about the history of Croke Park.
  • St. Tolas is closed next Friday 4th May and Monday 7th May for the bank holiday weekend. St. Tola’s will re-open on Tuesday 8th May at 9a.m. let’s hope the weather improves for the long weekend.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal


Thursday Note 20th May 2021

May 20th, 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope this finds you well. Our news this week is as follows

  • While we can all see light at the end of the tunnel re Covid 19 with the roll out of vaccines we all still need to be vigilant as there have been a number of positive cases in the Shannon locality in recent days. If your child has any symptoms (high fever, cough, loss of taste or smell etc.) please do not send them to school and ring your G.P for advice. If your child does receive a positive test for Covid 19 please contact the school as soon as possible. If it is outside school hours please send an email to office@tolasns.com. I understand that the HSE contact tracing service has experienced delays in the past few days due to the ongoing issues with its I.T systems. Let’s all work together and follow all public health advice re wearing masks and social distancing to ensure we keep everyone safe.
  • Well done to 3rd class who have just completed lovely projects on Ancient Egypt. I visited Ms Fleming’s class recently to hear all the interesting facts they learnt from their projects. I will be visiting Mr Tubridy’s class too to look at their projects.
  • The sample photos went home yesterday for those who had requested them. If you wish to place an order please fill in the order form and return to your child’s teacher by Friday 28th May.
  • We are always grateful to have a spare stock of school uniforms for emergencies here in school. At present we are low on trousers and tracksuit bottoms. If you have any spare at home and no one in your family requires them we would be most grateful for any donations.
  • Well done to Juniors who are working so hard on their reading at this stage of the year. Ms Hackett is so proud of you. Juniors are also learning all about the Garden Centre in Aistear and have planted cress and sunflower seeds. Let’s hope they get the sun now to help the sunflowers grow! Juniors went on a walk last Friday to see the garden beside Mary Immaculate Church. They loved seeing the bluebells and other flowers. Keep up the great work Juniors!

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal


Thursday Note 13th May

May 13th, 2021

Dear parents/ Guardians,

I hope you are keeping well. Our news this week is as follows

  • 1st-6th classes will be doing standardised tests in English reading and maths starting this week and being completed over the next few weeks. These tests measure your child’s achievement compared to other children in all schools at the same class or age level. The results of these tests will be communicated on the end of year report. These tests are only one measure of your child’s learning this year and teachers will also take into consideration their work throughout the year, if they can explain their opinions and ideas, how they answer questions both orally and in written form, how they create things or their ability to problem solve across all subjects. Standardised tests are not administered in Junior or Senior Infants.
  • We are currently doing a stock take and audit of books we have here in the school. If you have any PM readers at home belonging to the school we would appreciate if you could return them. We generally have 6 copies of each PM title and when a copy goes missing it makes it difficult to use that title with a group for Guided Reading. Have a look around the house, under beds, in cupboards and we would be delighted to get any titles back. Similarly, if you come across any AR books we would be delighted to get them back also.
  • Discover Primary Science and Maths Programme commissioned five artists, each paired with an SFI Research Centre, to create an artwork which interprets a scientific concept. On Wednesday, 4th class pupils took part in a virtual exhibition of three art pieces: ‘The Invisible Made Visible’, ‘Machine’s Eye View’ and ‘Shifting Patterns of Light’. Each artist collaborated with scientists who inspired their work. Through ‘The Invisible Made Visible’, the pupils learned about DNA and how the process of PCR testing is similar to the process of lino printing. Shevaun Doherty created a beautiful print of jellyfish and worked in collaboration with APC Microbiome Ireland. We all avoid jellyfish while swimming in the same way that we are avoiding the spread of Covid19 through social distancing. Peter Nash collaborated with Lero in creating ‘Machine’s Eye View’. The pupils learned about self-driving cars and that they will be better drivers than their mums and dads! David Beattie partnered with Future Neuro in creating ‘Shifting Patterns of Light’. The artwork was inspired by connectivity in the brain. We learned that our sense of smell brings memories back faster than any other sense. The artists spent approximately two months on each art piece. Thank you to all involved for such an interesting and engaging webinar! 
  • 3rd class pupils have been working on the Junior Achievement programme virtually over the past few weeks. They have been learning about people who live and work in the community and the contribution they make to society as a whole. It is done in a very hands on way. The facilitator joins both classes via video link at the same time. Well done 3rd class!
  • Thank you to Shannon Tidy Towns who donated some lovely books to the school recently on biodiversity in your garden. They also gave us some lovely posters in relation to the importance of pollinators. We have put a map of Shannon up in the hall showing the no cut areas in Shannon to encourage wildlife and support biodiversity. Lots of pupils has spotted the signs when they were out and about around Shannon.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal


Thursday Note 6th May 2021

May 6th, 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you are well as we start the first week in May. Our news this week is as follows

  • Last week was National Active Schools Week. Each class participated in a Run Around Clare Challenge, with some classes still completing laps this week. This involved the class going out to the astro turf to run some laps each day and keeping a tally on their totals.  Teachers have noticed a huge improvement in concentration and fitness levels . 4th Class used their maths skills to calculate how far they had run; their total was a massive 100km 210m! 2nd class also calculated their total, coming in at 150km clocked up. Well done to all classes for getting involved! We look forward to more active school activities this term.
  • Shannon Tidy Towns have contacted us to let us know that in conjunction with Clare County Council there are a number of “ no cut” zones around the town for the summer. These will be areas left to grow wild and grass will only be trimmed every six weeks.  It is hoped to leave these areas wild to encourage biodiversity. There will be signage at these locations to help the public identify different species of plants etc. The nearest location to the school is near Cluain Airne. We hope that some of our classes will get to visit on a nature walk over the coming weeks.
  • The school photographer will be here on Tuesday next 11th May . All pupils who have completed forms will have their photo taken. Due to Covid restrictions we will not be in a position to supply school jumpers or ties so please ensure your child has their school jumper on if they are getting their photo taken.
  • 4th class recently completed lovely self portraits following a study of some of the art of Picasso. These look great. Well done to 4th class!
  • 2nd class have been busy making hot air balloons out of card and paper. These must have taken a lot of time. They look great. Keep up the good work 2nd class!
  • 5th class have been learning about the world’s strangest predators this week. They found out interesting facts about the box jellyfish, the anaconda and the great white shark among others. Sounds interesting 5th!

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal