The feast day of Saint Brigid of Kildare, also called St Brigid of Ireland, Patron Saint of Ireland, is celebrated on February 1st, which is traditionally the beginning of Spring in Ireland. Saint Brigid is associated with the making, blessing and giving of Brigid’s crosses. The pupils and teachers celebrated St Brigid’s day today by attending a prayer service hosted by the Senior Room. The children sang beautifully as we listened to the story of St. Brigid. The children then all made St Brigid's crosses with help from the students in the Senior Room. 

We had some very important visitors to the school on Wednesday when we celebrated Grandparent's / Special Person's Day.  This is a very special day during Catholic School's week when we show our appreciation for the people who play a special role in the lives of the children. The children led a prayer service, recited poems and sang songs for their grandparents. Afterwards there was a chance to have a chat over a cup of tea provided by the Parents' Association. Thank you all for coming in to our school, we really enjoyed having you visit us. 

Catholic Schools Week 2023 will be celebrated in Schools and Parishes across Ireland from Sunday 22nd January to Sunday 29th January 2023. The theme this year is 'walking together in faith and love' This week the children will be taking part in a range of activities including a Prayer Service on Grandparents Day and a walk of hope on Friday 27th January. 

The pupils held a Christmas prayer service and performance of the musical Hosanna Rock in Staghall church on Tuesday evening. Family members gathered, in eager anticipation of the first public performance given by the pupils since the pandemic. The traditional story of the First Christmas was recounted through prayer, and song. It was a heart warming and entertaining performance which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.  The evening continued back at the school where the Parents' Association provided refreshments and held a Christmas raffle. There was lots of excitement as the lucky prize winners were announced.  An amazing evening concluded with a visit from a very special guest who had come all the way from the North Pole with presents for the girls and boys to reward them for their hard work and kindness towards each other during the year.  

The children had great fun for their Christmas Active Schools where they carried out a range of fun physical activities called the 12 Days of Fitness. 

On Monday 28th  November we came together to pray as a school community in the spirit of Advent. Advent is a time of waiting. We wait for the birth of Jesus, who came to show us God the Father’s love and to free us from sin, so that we could be with him together forever. We wait for him to be born again in our hearts, our classrooms, our homes, our parish community, and in the whole world. We lit the first purple candle on our Advent wreath. Thank you to the children who read and for the parents that attended our Week 1 Advent Prayer Service. 

The Fourth Advent Candle represents Love.  God showed his love amongst us as he sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him.  

Thank you to all the children over the past few weeks who participated in the Advent Prayer Services and for the Parents/ Grandparents who attended. 

 Christmas Jumper Day took place on Friday 9th December in aid of the Children’s Health  Foundation which is the fundraising body for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin, Temple Street Hospital and Connolly Urgent Care Centre.  Thanks to all our families for your generous donations for this worthy cause. 

The festive season got off to a great start in Greaghrahan N.S. with a Christmas Story and Movie night. The children from the Senior classes did a fantastic job reading favourite Christmas stories to the younger children.  Later everyone watched a Christmas movie and were treated to hot chocolate, a cookie and treat. A massive thank you to the Parents Association for decorating the classroom to set the scene and for providing refreshments for the adults and children. Everyone agreed that it was a truly magical evening!!

The Parents Association of Greaghrahan National School have organised a Christmas Raffle on Tuesday 20th December after the Christmas show in Aid of Accelerated Reading Programme. Tickets are on sale in Kennedy's Spar on Friday 2nd December and in Supervalu Ballyconnell on Friday 9th December from 10am to 2pm. All pupils tickets should be returned to the school by Thursday 15th December. Thankyou to everyone for your support. 

The pupils recently elected representatives to the Student Council. The Student Council will give pupils a voice and provide a forum where they can share interests, ideas and concerns. Congratulations to Conor, Charlie, Teagan, Lily, Emma, Alex , Kate, James, Emily, Fiachra, Rinn and
Chloe.

There was great excitement in school today when the children received their Late Late Toy Show Goodie bag from the Parents Association. The bags were filled with lots of treats which included crisps, harribo, hot chocolate and marshmallows and a beautiful handmade cookie from Cafe Nua. It was a wonderful surprise. We hope you all enjoy your goodies as you watch the Late Late Toy show tonight.  A very big thank you to the Parents Association for organising this treat for the students. 

This month Junior and Senior Infants are learning about the Café in Aistear. During Science Week they discovered that some solids melt when they are heated. They enjoyed putting this theory to the test as they melted  jelly and made yummy Rice Krispie buns. The pupils really enjoyed serving the treats they had made in the Café to the other classes. Check out the pictures below!

​                                                                                   ***Anti Bullying Week***
Thank you to Paula O'Connor from 'DON'T BE MEAN BEHIND YOUR SCREEN' for her fantastic talk to the Senior Room on the importance of Internet Safety. Paula spoke to the children about gaming, cyber safety and creating a digital footprint. The children really enjoyed the talk and found it very valuable.

World Kindness Day is a holiday that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself, and to the world. The purpose of this day is to help everyone understand that kindness is what binds us all together. As part of our Amber Flag the students in Greaghrahan National School celebrated this day by taking part in a range of activities that promote kindness. The students in the Junior and Middle room complemented their Art work with the motto 'Be the I in KIND' The Senior Room students looked at what kindness means and the way that you can show kindness to others. ​

​Massive congratulations to the children from 3rd to 6th class who prepared a range of experiments and set them up in the hall for our Science Fair on Friday. The students had great fun dressing up as Wacky Scientists and all classes were invited to the hall throughout the day to view the displays and to conduct some experiments of their own. The exhibitors did a wonderful job of explaining and demonstrating their experiments which included:

• How much salt does it take to make an egg float?
• How to create a hovercraft?
• Lungs and how we breathe
• How to create a vortex?
• Dancing raisins
• Soak it up baby (Which nappy can hold the most water?)
• STEAM – Micro: bits

We welcomed all parents in the afternoon and it was a wonderful turnout. Thank you for coming to support the children. There was a great buzz around the school.
Well done to all the children involved!

                            Wow what a fun day the 3rd to 6th children had on their class trip to W5!

On Wednesday 16th November the 3rd to 6th class pupils travelled to W5 Odyssey Arena, Belfast as part of Science Week and the Peace IV STEAM initiative with Newtowngore NS.

The students took part in the Fizz, Bang, Pop Science workshop where they visited the Science Lab to carry out a host of experiments. They investigated changes that are permanent or temporary, desirable or undesirable and discovered the effects of liquid Nitrogen. The students explored the exhibitions on each floor which involved a range of engaging Science activities. They enjoyed 'Climbit' a multi sensory climbing experience and the 'Lost Planet' a Multisensory Activity Zone. 

It was a great day that was enjoyed by all. 

Congratulations to our Art Competition Winners Ameila in 1st place in 7 & Under and 2nd Place Sophie in 8-10yrs. We are very proud of you both. 

Nadia Williams, Education Development Officer with Water Safety Ireland delivered an in-class presentation to all pupils in the school recently. The pupils also received hands-on practise in non-contact rescue and ring buoy throws following the presentation. Thank you Nadia for an excellent presentation.