KILMACANOGUE NATIONAL SCHOOL
WEDNESDAY NEWSLETTER JUNE 24th 2020
WE LOVE THE BOYS AND GIRLS OF
KILMACANOGUE NATIONAL SCHOOL
Dear Parents/Guardians and of course Boys and Girls, 
And so we have come to the final Wednesday Newsletter before the school, or should I say ‘schooling’, closes for the summer holidays this coming Friday June 26th at noon!
This newsletter will be quite long and full of congratulations and acknowledgements for all the support shown and the hard work completed and the enormous good will demonstrated in such difficult times by everyone associated with Kilmacanogue National School.
Firstly, I would like to thank Judy O’Toole, Chairperson of the Board of Management, who has always gone above and beyond the call of duty to help make this lovely school of ours the beautiful happy place it is. Thanks too, to the members of the Board of Management for all their support shown to me as Principal, and for their excellent advice in the overall management and maintenance of the school.
Thanks to our amazing Parents’ Association including Liz Driver, Liz Cafferkey, Linda Giles, Sonia Draper and their wonderful Chairperson Lisa Dempsey for all their incredible work and level of dedication to Kilmacanogue National School. You are simply the BEST!
Thanks to our caretaker Kevin Coleman and special thanks to Colm Griffith who is incredibly obliging at all times and Ann Casserly for keeping our school so spick and span!
What would we do without Ireland’s friendliest secretaries?? Nothing is too much for Siobhan Wolohan or Fiona Power. They always greet everyone with a winning smile and are always ready to help each of us. Thank you ladies.
These past few months have been so difficult for all of us in many different ways. Teachers throughout the length and breadth of Ireland have had to learn how to ‘teach’ remotely and to acquire new IT skills in a matter of days and weeks which would ordinarily have taken months or indeed years to learn and perfect. Class Dojo and SeeSaw as well as Zoom have all become part and parcel of our everyday vocabulary!
Kilmacanogue National School is blessed with having a wonderful cohort of teachers each with exceptional talents and enormous dedication to and love for the children in their care. Thank you Mrs Whelan, Mrs King, Mrs Davenport, Mrs McCormack, Miss Denvir, Miss Lynch, Miss Quiney, Mrs Wolohan, Miss O’ Gorman, Miss Kyne and last but not least, Mr O’Connor Levingston for being so supportive and committed to the children of Kilmacanogue National School.
I must offer my own special gratitude to my wing woman, Ms Ann Marie Bourke, Deputy Principal, whose unfailing support, kindness, gentleness and dedication are at times breath-taking. Thank you so much, Ann-Marie.
What about our wonderful SNAs, Eva Hogan, Emma Sibley, Roisin Thorpe and Nadine O’Neill? They have contributed so much to the daily life of the school and have shown such care for all the children as well as sharing their talents of painting, drama, filming and research. Thank you so much ladies for all you do for the school.
A school is only as good as the children it looks after and their parents who entrust their children to the care of the school. We are so very fortunate to have the very best children in Ireland attending Kilmacanogue National School. They are all so talented, kind, hard-working, well-behaved, respectful, full of fun and personality and generosity. It is obvious that they learned these commendable traits from their wonderful parents. Thank you all, boys and girls, for being who you are and for always being so very special.
Finally, thanks to our amazing parents. In all honesty, Kilmacanogue National School wouldn’t be the incredible school it is if it wasn’t for the unconditional support and generosity you have given the school year after year and most especially for your support shown to me and the teachers over the past few challenging months. You are all very much appreciated and it is an honour being the Principal to the children of such fantastic parents. Thank you everyone.
This year has been a year of challenges not least of which has been the pandemic which has thrown our whole world into turmoil. Our 2nd class children couldn’t make their First Holy Communion in May as it had to be deferred due to the virus. Similarly, our 6th Class boys and girls were within 24 hours of making their Confirmation, when it too was deferred! School tours and trips were all cancelled as were special days such as Sports’ Days, Sporting Competitions, Dressing up days, Parties and Picnics. Most especially, the Graduation of our 6th Class boys and girls has had to take on a different presentation this year in the form of a Zoom gathering and Virtual Graduation Celebration.
This unusual and memorable Graduation took place last night, June 23rd and was a lovely event featuring all the children and their parents from 6th Class with slide shows, videos, messages from the children of 6th Class, photographs of the children from Junior Infants up to 6th Class as well as greetings from all the teachers who also read lines from the Dr Seuss poem, ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’. Thanks so much to Miss Kyne, the 6th class teacher, who put this memorable event together and spent countless hours making the slide shows and videos. It is safe to say, that Miss Kyne will really miss her 6th Class boys and girls and that the children of 6th Class will miss her and NEVER forget her dedication and kindness as well as the friendship shown by her to each of them.
And now onto another historical event taking place in our school this summer. Many of you will be aware at this stage, that our esteemed colleague and member of staff, Mrs King, is retiring from teaching in Kilmacanogue National School after many years of truly inspirational and dedicated teaching of literally hundreds of children. Her contribution to the education of the children in Kilmacanogue National School is incalculable. We will all miss Mrs King and we wish her the very best in the next phase of her life’s journey and adventure.
‘Go n-éirí an bóther leat’
And so the time has come to say ‘Au Revoir’ until we meet again when school re-opens at the end of August or whenever the date is confirmed by the Department of Education and Skills.
Be sure to read the policies on the school website as these are updated whenever it is necessary to do so.
I will of course keep you informed as soon as I have any information for you as well as letting you know which teachers will be teaching your children, once all the staff is in place following interviews.
Take care of yourselves and stay safe.
God bless you all and THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING
Niamh
Niamh Murray (Principal)
