Happy Friday everyone, our last ‘Fun Friday of the school year 2019-2020!

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Today is all abut our wellbeing and taking some time out of what has been a hectic, rollercoaster journey over the last few months. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

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Wellbeing and Mindful Friday June 19th 2020
As we make our way towards the finish line of the school year 2019-2020, it may be time to pause, take a moment and reflect on the turn of events that took place.
It may be simply time to breathe.
This has NOT been easy for anybody. Each and everyone of us has travelled a unique journey in unprecedented times. None of us received a handout or preparation or survival guide along the way…..but you DID survive!!!!! Applaud yourselves, acknowledge how hard it was and still is in many ways, but you DID it and so DID your children. Take a bow!!!!
So today is all about the well-being of your family.
We have a selection of activities today- a menu for you to pick and choose from. Let’s imagine that we are dining at our favourite restaurant and choosing a three-course meal. We hope there is something for everyone. We can choose a starter, main course AND dessert.

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The first document I direct you to is called ‘Mindfulness for Children’ and has been designed by Mrs. Trína Cooney. Let’s imagine this as a ‘Starter Menu’ It tells us what ‘mindfulness’ is and guides us through some relaxing activities such as Mindful Breathing, Mindful Eating, Mindful Playing and Mindful Music.
Why not select one activity from this document as your starter.

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Our next document has several options – from this you can choose your main course or your ‘main activity’. This is called the ‘Well-being Friday’ document.
Choose one (or more) of the activities here to create a feel-good factor to your day.

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Finally, as if we were having a delightful 3 course meal, why not choose a ‘dessert’ activity from either the ‘Mindful Colouring in the Graduation Quotes’ or the ‘The Mindful Jar activity’.

Choose as much or as little for this day but remember:

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As always, if you wish to share some of your ‘mindful moments’ with us don’t hesitate to send them into principal@piercestownns.com

Have a lovely weekend, everyone and we will see you next week for THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!!!!

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Huge congratulations to all of our children who entered the ‘Create your own Obstacle Course’ competition co-ordinated by Miss Farrell as part of our Fun Friday last week. It got a great response with lots of videos submitted. The children of Piercestown are not only extremely active but also extremely brave! There was a variety of activites from climbing hay bales, to rolling down hills, obstacle courses on the farm (fully supervised), bombing into water pools as well as running, hopping, skipping, bouncing, balancing and so much more!

It showed the creativity of all of the families in utilising their gardens, balancing on kerbs, zig zagging through heather plants, climbing gates and ditches, pulling wheelie bins, and scaling the outside of trampolines!

But as it was a competition there has to be winners. Due to the large effort by all ages groups we decided to offer four categories; one from Junior and Senior infants; one from 1st and 2nd class; one from 3rd and 4th class and one from 5th and 6th class………

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So, click on the drum roll please………as our winners are announced:

Junior and Senior Infants Category:

Congratulations to Saoirse Field in Junior Infants – who completed a very busy and creative Obstacle Course at great speed!!!!!!! We loved how she utilised all of the items in her garden and brought in her hurling skill towards the end. Well done Saoirse. A €10 Smyths voucher will be on the way to you by Friday.

1st and 2nd Class Category:

There was again tough competition in the 1st and 2nd class category but for her innovation in bringing some puzzles into the activity and donning her red cape, the winner is Lily Hayes in 2nd class. Take a bow Lily. A €10 Smyths voucher will be on the way to you by Friday.

3rd and 4th Class Category:

Again, there was very little to distinguish between our participants in this category, but for the creativity in using as many items as possible around the garden and household, from sweeping brushes, to garden hoses, wheelie bins to heather plants, our winner is Estelle Gooden in 3rd class. Well done Estelle.

5th and 6th Class Category:

For innovation, creativity and bravery (and I am assured safety guidelines were in place) the winner of this category for their ‘Obstacle Course on the Farm’ goes to siblings Sarah and Kevin O’Mahony in 5th and 6th class and so there is peace and harmony in the household, a little bit like the ‘late Late Show’ we will give a €10 Smyth’s voucher to each other them. Well done Sarah and Kevin, it was a nerve racking watch but worthy of a prize!!

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Finally, no competition is ever complete without a ‘Creative’ award. This final award goes to Fionn Doyle in Senior Infants for his creative costume during the ‘Obstacle Course’ and the family participation along with his dance moves! Well done Fionn, a €10 Smyth’s voucher will make its way to you soon.

A huge thanks to all of the parents who facilitated this event. We understand the children cannot take part without your support, excellent camera work and sideline commentary!!! Well done and thank you!

Final word of thanks goes to Miss Farrell for her Steven Spielberg involvement in putting the video together. So for today, sit back and relax and enjoy the show! Pull out the popcorn for this video as it is over 20 minutes long. Enjoy the show and we will be back tomorrow with our final Fun Friday (Well Being Day) of the year for 2020!

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While we were not in school on Friday for our annual Sports day, there were sport and activites taking place all around the Piercestown area! From obstacle courses to tennis matches, to skipping challenges to gymnastics and plenty of icecream. Well done to all who participated! It is a true testament to our Active School Status. Check out some of the photos we received so far. Don’t forget if you wish to share pictures on the blog send them to principal@piercestownns.com.

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Extra special shout out to those who have entered the ‘Obstacle Course’ challenge. There is still time to get your entries in to Miss Farrell on lfarrell@piercestownns.com Keep an eye out on the blog later in the week of the winner announcement.

With just 2 weeks of the offical school year left to go, time is passing quickly.

Keep up the great work and don’t forget to stay connected with us by sharing pictures. If you missed any of our news or updates last week, go to the Newsletter Tab on our website and click into our May newsletter to catch up.

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In great news, we announced that our Confirmation is rescheduled to take place on July 25th in St. Martin’s Church. We look forward to sharing this special day with 6th class, whilst being fully compliant with all health and safety restrictions required.

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For those eager beavers this week, why not try out some of the following activities?! And who could forget the spectacular thunder and lightning storm at the weekend?!!!!!!!

Senior classes: Why not read the powerpoint on thunder and lightning to understand and recap what was really happening on Saturday night?

When you finish download this sheet and see if you can fill in the blanks:

Junior classes: Listen to the story ‘Being Kind’

Junior and Senior classes:

Have a go at some of these fun online wordsearches, simpy click on the first letter and drag it to the last letter in the word that you can find. How did you score? https://www.digipuzzle.net/digipuzzle/wordsearch/puzzles/kids_school.htm?language=english&linkback=../../../education/kidswordsearch/index.htm

Junior Maths

Practise your counting with Teddy https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/teddy-numbers

or Play hide and seek with George https://pbskids.org/curiousgeorge/busyday/hideseek/

Senior Maths

Let’s play who wants to be hundredaire – with a difference http://www.math-play.com/Place-Value-Millionaire/place-value-millionaire-game_html5.html

Middle and Senior classes

Reminder for all the JK Rowling fans don’t forget her latest book ‘The Ickabog’ https://www.theickabog.com/

Keep up the great work everyone, we will be back later in the week with an update from Miss Farrell about the Obstacle Course competition and don’t forget to tune in on Friday for Fun Friday Wellbeing Day.

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Happy Friday everyone. Before we get ‘Ready, Steady, Go’ for our Physical Activity themed day, let’s have a quick throw back to last week’s ‘Fun Friday’. This was all about ‘being an artist’ and the end result was simply amazing. From junk art, to painting stones, to free style art, there simply was no limit to the talent. Huge thanks to all who took the time to hand deliver their painted stones to our school, which cheered up all our staff members every time they entered the building this week. Huge thanks to all of those who submitted their entries so that we can host a ‘Virtual Art Exhibition’. Final thanks to Ms. Rea for her IT expertise in putting the video together. Keep an eye out for your own art! But for now let’s remain connected by sharing all of our art work with each other.

Now for kick off. 12^th June was scheduled as our Sports Day in school ☹ We did, however, manage to enjoy and participate in a very successful Stay at Home Active Week 2020 – so we once again commend you for this.

Welcome to your fun Friday Activity Plan.

Please find below a menu of activities for your children to enjoy over the course of the day should you wish them to participate in them.

We are also attaching a PDF file with lots of activities to take part in or scroll down to do some of the fun activities in this document………

Have fun and as always if you wish to send any pictures to principal@piercestownns.com and we will pop them up on the blog.

Ready, Steady, Go!!!!!!

Why not start the day with a Joe Wicks workout?! Throw back to Active Week 2020 https://www.thebodycoach.com/blog/pe-with-joe-1254.html

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Choose from one of the following:

For this you need a deck of cards

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Next, you need a balloon and a timer

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You had practice at this during Active Week! How many skips can you do in 60 seconds?

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You need a beanbag/ball/pair of socks……and a target e.g. a hoop/bin/pot.How many times can you throw the object in in 60 seconds?

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Grab a partner. Get into plank. How many high fives can you do in 60 seconds?

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How many laps of your garden can you do in 60 seconds without dropping your egg/potato/apple?

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Go to this link for:

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10 fun daily exercises for kids to do at home (suitable for Junior end of school) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3Xrtm0IVnY

Cosmic Yoga https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga

Get your Dance On with the Magic in the Air https://safeyoutube.net/w/Dtl2

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Finally, are you in the mood for a competition?

Do you want to be in with the chance of WINNING A PRIZE?!

If so, read on……

And for fun we have ONE COMPETITION *****

CREATE YOUR OWN OBSTACLE COURSE

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Videos can be sent to lfarrell@piercestownns.com and Miss Farrell will choose a winner for the most creative and innovative  obstacle course!

Send videos by Monday 15^th June and the winner will be updated on the blog!

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If you are still up for more action click into this pdf which has lot more activites for the day that is in it.

Have fun everyone and happy Friday. Have a lovely weekend, stay safe and we will be in touch on Monday.

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Happy Monday everyone and I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

I wish to say a huge congratulations to ALL families who participated in our first ‘Fun Friday’ last week which was all about Art. The photos are rolling in and the talent is simply endless. We look forward to uploading a video later in the week of our, ‘Virtual Art Exhibition June 5th 2020’. To whet your appetite in preparation of seeing the video, I will post a photo of one family who took their ‘painted stones’ to our school premises to remind us how connected we have remained in spite of all our time apart. It makes all of the staff so proud of you each and every day!

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We look forward to this ‘Fun Friday’ also, which promises to remind us of our ‘Sports Day’ with a menu of physical activites to choose from! Let’s hope the sunshines and as we usually host the ‘HB Icecream day on our Sports Day, maybe the Mammy’s and Daddy’s will take out the icecream and wafers for the day that is in it! Yum!

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Well done to Ms. Rea and her class of Senior infants who earned Piercestown National school the status of ‘School of the Week‘ on the Incredible Edibles website this week. https://www.incredibleedibles.ie/

Check out the Incredible Edible website to see a video of their wonderful work. They had only just started the Incredible Edibles project when COVID-19 forced us to close our school doors. But Ms. Rea’s class were NOT going to be deterred and they continued their efforts at home reaping the reward in this much deserved title. On behalf of the whole school, Senior Infants you are SUPER and we are so proud of you! Take a bow!!!!!!!!!

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There is a lot of uncertainty in the media at the moment about return to school and indeed July Provision. We wish to reassure you that NO GUIDELINES have been issued yet to any schools. As soon as accurate and confirmed information comes available we will be in touch but in the meantime, I have compiled a detailed newsletter that we will email to all families today. We hope to have answers soon with regard to Confirmation date, Communion dates, July Provision, School calendar to name but a few items. We are working hard behind the scenes to progress all of these areas as best we can. We will of course have to await guidance and direction on certain aspects before we make further decisions. To keep up to speed with it all check out our May Newsletter 2020!

And finally, for those early finishers or in search of some extra activities see if some of these ideas take your fancy over the course of the week:

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For all of the budding scientists in our schools, check out the STEM competition here https://sspc.ie/backyard-science-with-sspc-a-stem-activity/

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To give a throw back to the first Monday of every month when we were in school, I have included a Mindful Monday activity to bring you to some happy places in your head:

We can help ourselves to feel good by remembering many of the happy times in our lives (even during a world pandemic). This activity asks you to think of 4 of your happiest times and draw a picture of them. Write a sentence about each one too if you can! Let’s see if you can bring a smile to another Monday!

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For any mathematicians out there, Maths Ireland have been creating weekly ‘Maths at home’ newsletters. Check out there activities for this week: https://www.mathsweek.ie/2019/maths-at-home-activities/

There are endless Maths activities on this page for ALL age groups in primary school.

And finally, for those who love to crack a code or solve a crossword why not download some activity sheets from this page: https://www.puzzles-to-print.com/crossword-puzzles-for-kids/

Hopefully, there is something there to keep everyone as busy as they wish to be on a Monday. I will be back in touch later in the week. Keep up the great work everyone!

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Today our whole school takes a break from their literacy and numeracy work to focus on the subject area of Art.

This is another opportunity for us to come together by staying apart by sharing our work. You will have all received a document with the following ideas, but just in case you have forgotten here is our suite of Art Activities for today: )

June 5^th 2020

**Fun Friday – Take a Break from the Numeracy and Literacy. Our whole school theme today is the subject area of Art.

Choose from one of the following art activities (if you wish) that you feel is best suited to your child / household. Don’t forget to email us  at principal@piercestownns.com if you wish to share it on the blog.

This is supposed to be an enjoyable less pressurised day of the week. Enjoy your Friday feeling. 😊

Option 1– Complete a piece of Junk art.

·         Poetry: Read the Junk Art poem by Lill Pluta. Can you create a piece of Junk Art, just like the poet did? Have a go and send me a photo!

Junk Art by Lill Pluta

I feel so smart when I make art

from things I’d throw away.

Look there! I’ve made three floating fish

out of an old foam tray.

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 A coffee can becomes a drum

dressed up with string and yarn.

I find the box that held my juice.

Now it’s a bright red barn!

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My paper scraps are in a bin

I know I’ll find a use.                 

I fold and cut and paint and glue

I’ve made a silly moose!

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I feel so smart when I make art

from things I’d throw away.

I like to save odd bits of stuff

to use another day.

****Check out the 2^nd class blog for some inspiration in the Junk art as 2^nd Class in collaboration with Mrs. Corrigan and Mrs. Cooney have already given this activity a go!

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Stick Art (See video)

Option 2 – Complete a piece of stick art.

• It is probably more suited to the senior classes.
• Please find attached the video.
• If any of the Senior Classes wish to use it, also the children could use straws, lollipop sticks, paper or card and glue sticks whatever they have at home but in this video a glue gun for €5.99 and spray paint €4 in Mr. Price was used…..
• This piece of art could create nice memories from this time

Option 3 – Painting Stones

(Markers could be used as an alternative to paint)

Please see attached some links for this activity.

https://www.persil.com/uk/dirt-is-good/arts-crafts/painting-pebbles-with-children.html

https://rhythmsofplay.com/get-outside-connect-collect-and-paint-rocks/

This one is a website with printable instructions for painting ladybirds

If the children are living local to the school. they could place their painted stones along the front steps of our school or along our windowsills. This is another way of our school coming together while staying apart 😊

Option 4 – Freestyle – Any piece of art your child wishes to produce today

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We look forward to seeing some of your work. Happy Friday. Have a lovely weekend.

Kind regards, the staff of Piercestown N.S.

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Welcome back everyone and wasn’t the weather at the weekend just simply amazing! I hope you all had your sun cream on and enjoyed being outdoors as much as possible! The one thing, during all of this, that we can’t complain about has to be the weather.

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By now, you should all have received an email from school on Friday, outlining a change to our work plans for the remainder of the school year. We hope this works for both you and your children and as always are receptive and invite any feedback that you may have to principal@piercestownns.com

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For all of you budding writers/readers out there, J.K. Rowling surprised fans with the announcement of a brand new children’s book which she is publishing in daily instalments on her website for free. If you haven’t heard about this and are looking for some additional reading material, it is definitely worth checking out.

The Illustration Competition:

As well as treating us to her literary prowess, J.K. Rowling has also opened up a competition for an budding illustrators. Here is what J.K. Rowling has to say:

Having decided to publish, I thought how wonderful it would be if children in lockdown, or otherwise needing distraction during the strange and difficult time we’re passing through, illustrated the story for me. There will be suggestions about the illustrations we might need for each chapter on The Ickabog website, but nobody should feel constrained by these ideas. I want to see imaginations run wild! Creativity, inventiveness and effort are the most important things: we aren’t necessarily looking for the most technical skill!

In November 2020, The Ickabog will be published in English in print, eBook and audiobook formats, shortly followed by other languages. The best drawings in each territory will be included in the finished books. As publishers in each territory will need to decide which pictures work best for their own editions, I won’t be personally judging the entries. However, if parents and guardians post their children’s drawing on Twitter using the hashtag #TheIckabog, I’ll be able to share and comment!  To find out more about the Illustration Competition, go to The Ickabog website.

So whether, just for reading or for the competiton, why not go to

for reading: https://www.theickabog.com/read-the-story/

for the competition: https://www.theickabog.com/competition/

And following on with the theme of good weather, here are some ‘Garden Activities’ for all age groups.

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Please see below a selection of gardening activities. Your child may enjoy doing a few of these.

Garden Hunt

• Go on a mini-beast/ animal hunt!  Bring some paper, a pencil, rubber and crayons.  Remember to be very careful and gentle as we don’t want you or the insects to be injured.  Here are some things you can try;
• Place a bright towel or sheet under a bush/tree/plant and shake gently.  Examine what insects fall onto the sheet.
• Carefully move rocks / flowerpots etc and see what is living underneath.
• Sit still near a tree or bushes and watch for birds
• For an extra challenge you can try to find an insect/ animal;

in the earth / under a flower pot or rock / in or around water/ in or near a tree / in or near a flower / flying in the air / with 4 legs / more than 4 legs / that is black / that is colourful / that is slow / that is fast / that is slimy / that is furry / that is tiny / that is bigger than your nail

• As you find mini-beasts/animals write their name and draw a quick sketch or take a picture.  Write some describing words beside the picture for later.  Remember to use descriptions such as colour / number / size and  texture.  Take note of their habitat (where they live).
• Once you have finished your minibeast hunt choose your favourite insect and write or video a report using the descriptive words you thought of.  Younger classes can draw a picture of their favourite minibeast and video or write the descriptive words or a few simple descriptive sentences.  If you prefer you could write a story about your favourite insect.

Here are a few links to some resources;

• Photograph Powerpoint: https://www.twinkl.ie/resource/t2-s-1165-insects-photo-powerpoint
• Video Powerpoint: https://www.twinkl.ie/resource/t-t-5144-minibeasts-videos-powerpoint
• Minibeast description game cards: https://www.twinkl.ie/resource/t-t-19367-minibeast-description-cards
• What Am I game? https://www.twinkl.ie/resource/t-t-5145-minibeasts-what-am-i-interactive-powerpoint-game
• Simple Habitat worksheet: https://www.twinkl.ie/resource/t-t-5109-minibeasts-and-their-habitats-worksheet
• Minibeast hunt checklist: https://www.twinkl.ie/resource/T-T-019-Minibeast-hunt-sheet
• Older Classes: https://www.twinkl.ie/resource/t2-s-1169-insect-information-cards

Identifying trees

• Pupils can identify trees in their garden or local environment by observing the different features, branches and or leaves.
• Look at the leaf and twig identification keys that are linked below.
• https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/03/tree-id-kids/

• Children can take rubbings of leaves they find using a crayon and label them.

Make a bird feeder

• Children can make a simple bird feeder. See instructions below.

Decorate your own tree

• http://628202242a032dff9975-8a88a36bd5b80e36c3634e14eb705770.r12.cf1.rackcdn.com/TREE-DECORATION.jpg

As always boy and girls, if you have any images you wish to share, please do not hesitate to send them in to principal@piercestownns.com

And remember, this Friday is ‘Art Friday’!

Keep up the great work. Kind regards, Ms. Walsh 🙂

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Hello everyone, we hope you all have the Friday feeling after the beautiful weather yesterday. We hope the ‘Class of 2020’ managed to mark their ‘COVID-19 Confirmation Date’ in some special way.

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Well done to our 6th class children who will complete their ‘Transition Programme from Primary to Secondary School’ this morning – we hope they all have at least ‘two top tips’ gathered from the three sessions.

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All families will receive an update from us today via email on a slight change to school work for the remaining few weeks. We hope that it lightens your load and helps the children as they reach their final month of the school year. This will go down as a year to remember for many, many reasons. You and your children should be proud of getting through the last few months, we as a school are VERY proud of you. We can’t wait until we are all back together and we regroup after such a life changing event!

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For today, as we enjoy the beautiful weather, why not take a few minutes to encourage your child to be ‘Mindful’.

Loving Kindness Meditation – be in the moment

Or your child might simply enjoy this activity :

Draw what you love!

Ask your child to draw some of the people/places/things that they love. 

Talk to them about what makes them love them so much? Encourage your child to tell those people how much they love them today. 

Use this simple template or any blank piece of paper will do.

Have a lovely weekend everyone, and as always, if you wish to share any photos with us from your weekend do not hesitate to send them into principal@piercestownns.com and I will share them on our school blog.

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We hope you manage to ‘mark’ the day in some special way.

Twas’ the night before Confirmation, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse……….. Unfortunately, we can’t continue to write the rest of this poem as it may have been adapted, as COVID-19 has called a halt to 6th class special day.

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However, Confirmation will take place when the time is right and when it is safe for us to enjoy it. I would like however to take this opportunity to thank 6th class for their commitment and preparation this year. The Grandparents Day sticks in my mind as a milestone, where we caught a glimpse of how talented, musical, confident and creative this class are. On this day, we almost pressed the fast forward button in our minds to imagine how Confirmation Day for the ‘Class of 2020’ would be. We were looking forward to the musicians and singers who were going to shine and to the wonderful art that would be displayed all around the Church.

We wish you all good thoughts and wishes for tomorrow Thurs 28th May. Ms. Hearne has given you the day off work and we hope you take the day to enjoy some time with family and friends and mark the day in your own special way. ‘Don’t count the days, make the days count’ – make tomorrow count !!!!!!

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As we are coming into ‘School Tour’ season, I thought early finishers today might like to go on a ‘virtual school tour’ . You will travel abroad on this tour boys and girls but you won’t need your passport and your won’t break any COVID-19 restrictions as you travel from the safety of your own homes.

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There are webcams galore and activities aplenty to keep any child on the edge of their seat and entertained for a little while.

Don’t forget if you do some of the activities, feel free to email them to principal@piercestownns.com and we can share them on the blog.

San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with amazing videos, activities, and games. Enjoy the tour! https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/.

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If the zoo is not your thing, why not take a ‘virtual tour’ closer to home by exploring the Titanic Experience in Cobh, Co. Cork https://www.virtualvisittours.com/titanic-experience-cobh/

I know there are quite a few Titanic fanatics in Piercestown N.S. – let us know what you thought of this tour by emailing principal@piercestownns.com

Enjoy the school tours boys and girls. Let me know what you think?!!!!