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Science Week 2025
Ms. Kirrane's 2nd, 3rd and 4th Class
The Middle Room were very busy for Science Week 2025. They explored the theme of Space and science. The Middle Room explored mixing acidic and basic materials to create volcano monsters. Later, they investigated chromatography using filter paper to separate colours. During the week the children developed their skills as engineers in building bridges and went head to head in groups to build the strongest bridge. This activity was enhanced with an interview with Mechanical Engineer Niamh Kirrane who answered all of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th questions about engineering during an online interview.
Halloween 2025
On the final week of school before the Mid Term Ballinagare National school spent the day doing spook-tastic activities.
A huge thank you to Jean Heavey for the Halloween platter and many treats for our annual Halloween party. The students were delighted with their food, drinks and treats. They spent the party playing games, dancing to music and this fantastic day finished with our school sponsored raffle.
Thank you to all those who donated prizes and entered the raffle and well done to all our winners.
Pupils from 1st - 6th Class have just finished a 6-week block of swimming lessons in Aura Leisure Centre, Carrick-on -Shannon. Everyone worked really hard and were tested in their levels on the last day - well done!
Seachtain na Gaeilge
We celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge 2025 with a Lá Glas on Friday. Everyone wore green and we had a Céilí Mór in the hall, followed by a Tráth na gCeist for 2nd - 6th Class. We had to hold a tie-breaker round to determine the winners of the quiz! Great fun was had by all.
Grandparents Day
Grandparents Day was celebrated with a prayer service in our school, followed by tea and cake for everyone. It was wonderful to have so many Grandparents and Parents celebrate with us!
Christmas
We were very busy this December in the run up to Christmas! We practiced lots for our Carol Service, which took place in Ballinagare Church on 17th December. We had a fantastic night, with beautiful singing and instrument playing from our talented pupils and our annual raffle. Well done to all of the children and a big thank you to our parents for their donations of prizes, purchase of tickets and assembly of the hampers. On the last day of term, we had a very special visit from Santa Claus! He greeted all the children, brought them a gift and even sang a few songs! The children were treated to hot chocolate afterwards by Santa's helpers before heading off for the Christmas break. Nollaig Shona!
Food Dudes
In November, we are beginning a new cycle of Food Dudes. Food Dudes is a programme designed to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables both in school and at home. We previously engaged in the Food Dudes programme as a school and this year we will begin with Phase 1 again.
Hallowe'en Party
We had our annual Hallowe'en party on the last day of school before Midterm break. Pupils & staff enjoyed dressing up, dancing and games. We were lucky to have lots of yummy treats provided by Jean and a great afternoon's fun was had by all!
June Updates
June was a busy month in Ballinagare! We finished our testing, had a Food Dudes refresher week, engaged in a River workshop with Heritage in Schools Specialist Martina Butler and had our Sports Day.
Sport and Leisure
We are learning all about Sport and Leisure as a whole school this May & June. Each classroom has been learning about different aspects of Sport and everyone is really enjoying the topic.
As part of our learning, all classes visited Ballinagare Health & Leisure Centre for an activity class. The trip was hugely enjoyable for all pupils and we are lucky to have such a fantastic facility in our village. A huge thank you to Shane & all the team for the visit.
Swimming
Pupils from 1st - 6th class have finished their 6-week block of Swimming Lessons in Aura Leisure Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon. The children thoroughly enjoyed the six sessions and they all made great progress, thanks to the help of all the team in Aura.
First Holy Communion
Congratulations to 2nd Class pupils who received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on 18th May in Frenchpark Church. It was a very special day and each child played an important part in the ceremony. A party was held afterwards in Frenchpark Hall for the children and their families. Many thanks to the parents from Frenchpark & Ballinagare for making it possible.
Sacrament of Confirmation
Congratulations to 6th Class pupils who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on 1st May in Church of the Sacred Heart, Ballinagare. As our school hosted the Confirmation, 1nd - 6th Class pupils sang in the choir for the ceremony. Well done and thank you to all who helped to make the day so special.
Book Fair
Scholastic Book Fair visited our school from 22nd - 29th April. The children enjoyed reading all the beautiful books and spending their pocket money. Hosting a book fair enables us to buy new books for the school so many thanks to the pupils and their parents for their support.
Easter Egg-citement!
On the day of the Easter Holidays, the children were treated to an Easter Egg hunt around the school grounds. Everyone had great fun searching for their eggs and trying to beat the rain! Thanks to the parents who donated the eggs and for Ms. Healy, Jean and Paula for organising the hunt. Afterwards we had our Easter raffle, with 10 prizes up for grabs. A huge thank you to all the families who donated prizes for the raffle and purchased tickets. The proceeds of the raffle will help to subsidise the cost of Swimming lessons next term. Happy Easter!
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2024
In March, we celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge with Seanfhocail games and dancing. We ended the fortnight with our 'Lá Glas', where we had treats, a Céilí mór and a Tráth na gCeist. Bhí an-spórt againn!
Grandparent's Day
As part of Catholic School's Week, we celebrated Grandparent's Day 2024 with mass in our school hall, followed by tea & cake. It was wonderful to have so many Grandparents join us for such a special day.
St. Brigid's Crosses
On 1st February, the whole school gathered together to make St. Brigid's Crosses. This is an important tradition in our school and the crosses were blessed by Fr. Donnelly at our Grandparent's Day Mass.
Magic Show
To finish the month of January we were treated to a Magic Sow by Fred the Party Professor and his son, Leo. The children really enjoyed the exciting show.
Christmas Time!
On Tuesday 19th December we held our Christmas Show for the first time in over 4 years! The Infant Room performed 'Snowman at Sunset', the Middle Room performed 'Elves on Strike' while the Senior Room treated the audience to a Variety show. The school hall was packed and the night was a great success!
The following day, we had a visit from Santa, his Elf and the Grinch! Santa congratulated all the children on their performances the night before and he asked for an encore of a few songs! He brought a little present for each child and got to meet everyone.
Visit from Elphin Fire Service
November 2023
As part of the Infant Room's learning on the theme of 'People who help us', four members of Elphin Fire Service visited our school. They answered lots of the children's questions about their work and fire safety, showed us their fire safety equipment and brought the Fire Truck along for everyone to see. Many thanks to the Firemen who took time out to come to our school and to Ms. Tarmey for organising the visit.
Our Winter Garden 2023/ 2024
The school are taking part in the 'Grow it Yourself' project. In October we built and prepared raised beds in which we all planted onion and garlic bulbs. This all had to be done before the Winter Equinox. Hopefully by the Spring equinox we will have a small harvest!
Hallowe'en Fun
We celebrated Hallowe'en with our annual dress-up party and disco on the last day before Mid-term break. We played some spooky games, danced to some Hallowe'en bops and enjoyed some treated which were provided by Jean, who always makes sure our bellies are full!
School Tours
The Junior Room visited Graune Pet Farm for their school tour. They met lots of different animals, had fun in the play area and even enjoyed a little treat from Miss Tarmey. A great day was had by all!
Pupils from 2nd - 6th Class travelled to Portlick Scout Campsite near Athlone for their tour. The children took part in a huge range of activities, from Kayaking and Ziplining to Gladiator fighting and Water Wars! It was a very hot day so we stopped off in Roscommon on the way home to cool down with an ice cream.
Easter Egg-citement!
The children had lots of fun on the day of the Easter holidays. After sowing some magic beans the evening before, the children were delighted to discover that they had sprouted into tasty treats and the Easter bunny had dropped in an Easter egg for everyone!
Seachtain na Gaeilge
We celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge in March with a Tráth na gCeist, Lá Glas agus Céilí Mór!
RSA StreetSmart Workshop
Sinead and Celine from RSA delivered the StreetSmart programme to all pupils on Friday 10th February. The workshop helped to road safety to life with a pretend streetscape mat and props. Children were invited to carry out everyday road safety tasks and received their licences at the end of the workshop.
St. Brigid's Crosses
We had great fun making St. Brigid's crosses as a whole school. 5th & 6th Class helped the younger classes to make crosses and each family got to bring one home. Thank you to all who gathered rushes and to Fr. Donnelly for blessing our crosses.
Christmas Fun
We had lots of fun in the lead up to Christmas! The Infant room brought in their toys and wore their lovely Christmas jumpers, the Middle room enjoyed a hot chocolate treat and the Senior room decorated their clay decorations. Then Santa called in with a treat for everyone! A huge thank you to Santa's helpers, especially Jean, Yvonne and Mr. Kelly!
Retirement Function for Ms. Madigan
On the evening of Friday 2nd December 2022, Ballinagare NS formally celebrated Ms. Caroline Madigan's retirement. Ms. Madigan's family and friends, former colleagues, current and past pupils and their families all joined together to celebrate with Ms. Madigan and made the night a memorable occasion. The evening began with a Mass of Thanksgiving in The Church of the Sacred Heart, Ballinagare, where the school pupils played a central role in the mass with their readings, prayers and choir singing. Afterwards, everyone gathered in the Community Centre for tea, refreshments and treats served by members of the Parent's Association. Ms. Sinéad Healy (Principal) acted as MC for the evening and presentations were made to Ms. Madigan by the Board of Management, the Parent's Association and the Staff of Ballinagare NS. Our recently retired Deputy Principal, Ms. Eithne O'Brien, gave a wonderful speech on behalf of the school community. The presentations and speeches finished with a speech from Ms. Madigan herself, which entertained the crowd with stories of her time in Ballinagare.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped to organize the night and make it such a success; Fr. Micheál Donnelly & Sr. Elizabeth Carroll, the Parent's Association, the Board of Management, the School Pupils & their families, the staff of Ballinagare NS, Shane, Brian & all the staff at Ballinagare Community Centre and everyone else who played a part.
More photos to follow..
Ms. Madigan's Retirement
Wednesday 9th November 2022 marked the retirement of our Principal Ms. Caroline Madigan after 31 years at Ballinagare NS. On Thursday afternoon, Pupils and staff marked the occasion with a small celebration in the school hall, filled with memories, music, cards and cake! We wish Ms. Madigan a very happy retirement and we have no doubt she will succeed in whatever she turns her hand to in the future.
We extend a very warm welcome to our new Principal Ms. Sinéad Healy and we wish her the very best of luck in her new and exciting role.
Hallowe'en Party
Last Friday saw the return of our annual Hallowe'en party for the whole school. All of the children dressed up for the occasion and we had games, performances and dancing as well as lots of lovely treats thanks to the pupils and their parents!
Trips to Castlerea Library
Castlerea Library hosted a number of events for local schools in the lead up to Hallowe'en. 1st & 2nd Class pupils attended a Live Storytelling Session with RTE Jr Star, Jay Ryan, of 'Living with a Fairy'. 3rd & 4th Class attended an Art and Crafts workshop and came home with new spells and spell sticks! A big thank you to Facilitators Jay and Tuesday and Breege in Castlerea Library for two very enjoyable afternoons.
Maths Week
Maths Week ran from the 15th - 23rd October and proved to be a very enjoyable week for all pupils. We registered our Maths Week events on the Maths Week Ireland Website and could see our school on the map of Ireland! All classes played lots of Maths Games throughout tje week. 2nd, 3rd and 4th Class took part in a Maths TV Mini Quiz and had a Maths Trail around the school grounds (in between the rain showers). 5th & 6th Class took part in the Mathematics World Cup, which combined movement and mindfulness with Maths.
Apple & Blackberry Crumbles
Each Autumn, 5th & 6th Class work together under the guidance of Ms. Madigan to bake Apple and Blackberry crumbles. Pupils from throughout the school gathered apples and blackberries and some even donated custard and ice cream to serve with the crumbles! This year we could all enjoy them together as a group in the hall.
Space Week
Space Week took place from the 4th - 10th October and our school participated in the events. In the Middle room, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Class learned about the planets in our Solar System and worked in groups to create a Space travel timeline. 5th and 6th Class pupils investigated the definition of a living thing using yeast and questioned the possibility of life on other planets.
End of Year Mass
We congratulate the children from sixth class on their graduation from Ballinagare NS and wish them well going forward!
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Retirement Congratulations
Congratulations to Eithne and Brenda on their retirement from Ballinagare NS!
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Forthcoming Wedding Congratulations!
Junior Room School Tour
The children from the Junior Room went to Sensory Me in Roscommon for their school tour on Friday June 17th.
Sports Day
School Sports Day took place on Wednesday June 15th. The children took part in teddy bear races, sack races, egg and spoon races three-legged races and the obstacle course. The highlight of the day was the ice-cream van!!
History Tour
The children from third to sixth class took part in a historical tour to Roscommon Castle and Rathcroghan Mound on Tuesday June 14th. The tour guide for the day was Auriel Robinson from Heritage in Schools. The tour was hugely informative and enjoyable detailing the historical significance of both sites.
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Sixth Class Fundraising Event
The children from sixth class organised a Bring and Buy Sale in order to raise funds for the purchase of their Sixth Class Hoodies. Items for sale included buns, cuddly toys, games and puzzles.
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School Tour
On Wednesday May 25th the children from second to sixth class went on their school tour to Shannon River Adventure Centre in Roosky. The children took part in water and land activities that included canoeing, kayaking, mud slide, archery, climbing wall, pier-jumping and obstacle course. We had a wonderful day filled with fun and games!
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First Holy Communion: Frenchpark and Ballinagare National Schools
Confirmation Day
Happy Easter!
Thank you to the parents who delivered Easter eggs to the children in the school. They were much appreciated!
Mother's Day Art and Craft
The children in all classes engaged in art and craft projects, producing beautiful Mother's Day gifts.
Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations
Seachtain na Gaeilge and Saint Patrick's Day celebrations culminated in a morning of ceol, rince agus craic! The children from the Senior classes performed a drama detailing the life of Saint Patrick. The children from second to sixth played a number of songs on the tin whistle and sang many more. The highlight of the morning was a ceili that included all of the children dancing the siege of Ennis.
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Shrove Tuesday
On Shrove Tuesday the children in the middle room made pancakes. We followed a recipe and topped the pancakes with sugar and lemon as well as Nutella. They were delicious!
Heritage in Schools
As part of the Heritage in Schools Scheme John D Ruddy visited our school on February 17th. John worked with the children from second class to sixth class covering themes in History that ranged from the Ice Age to the Second World War. The children thoroughly the presentation and the content and many have since engaged with the material John offers on his website.
Saint Brigid's Crosses
On February 1st the children brought rushes to school and made St Brigid's crosses for their families.
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Communion Mass
This week second class children celebrated Mass together with their parents, and the children from Frenchpark School, in preparation for their First Holy Communion.
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Catholic Schools Week January 23rd to 30th
The topics covered in Catholic Schools Week included:
Living life to the full with God
Living Life to the full together
Celebrating our Grandparents
Living Life in Wonder and Awe
Living Life and Facing the Future
Football Coaching has started
Our football trainer Joseph has started training sessions with each classroom on Friday mornings. The children were delighted with the opportunity to work with Joseph and enjoyed every minute!
Christmas Hampers
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Thank you to all the parents who donated so generously this year. Members of our Parent's Association prepared the hampers and the draw was held in the school yard amidst great excitement on Tuesday December 21st
Carol Service
The children placed the figures in the crib and sang Christmas carols in the school yard.
Christmas Dancing
The children had great fun dancing to Christmas music with Mr. Kelly in the schoolyard.
Science Week
8th - 12th November 2021
This year for Science Week each classroom did a series of science experiments, in addition to watching webinars and online events provided by SEAI Ireland and LetsTalkScience.
The senior room began science week by discussing the COP26 conference and climate change. They attended online events including "The Exploration Dome" and "The Reptile Kingdom". The middle room watched "The Science of Chocolate" and "Toilet Flush". Both classrooms did practical experiments with Ms O'Brien. The junior room studied properties and characteristics of materials. They competed fun experiments such as "Light and Shadows".
Science Experiments
We took part in fun experiments; using red cabbage to test if a substance was an acid or a base; we designed boats; tested if substances were soluble, made playdough and explored the reactions between materials. We learned lots and had lots of fun.
Science Week Fun
Halloween 2021
Halloween celebrations took place while adhering to Covid19 guidelines. The children came to school dressed in their costumes. Each room had socially distanced Halloween games and activities. The children carved pumpkins and sang Halloween songs.
Pumpkin Carving
Maths Week 2021
18th - 22nd October
Each classroom participated in Maths Week by using the resources provided to the school. This year Maths Week was very much linked to climate change and climate action. Activities included using "Maths Eyes" in the environment, maths trails, maths games, puzzles and treasure hunts. The week ended with Halloween themed games and activities.
Climate Action Week 2021
11th -15th October 2021
The school is working on the next Greenflag which is Global Citizenship and Energy. The Greenschool Committee was elected and climate actions were selected. These were placed on the greenschools board. These actions were discussed with all of the children in the school. In partnership with Afri the school has purchased three trees which will be planted on the school grounds. For each tree that we plant, the Afri will plant ten trees in Africa to combat climate change.
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COP 26
The class response to COP 26 in Glasgow. In class we discussed the solutions that we hoped to see come from COP in response to climate change.
Global Warming Poems
In November we Remember
The children have placed the names of deceased family members on our Remembrance Tree.
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6th Class Graduation
On Friday, we marked the 6th Class graduation with an outdoor ceremony. Fr. Donnelly led us in a short prayer service and the pupil's families joined them for the special occasion. 5th Class helped to sing the opening and closing hymns. The very best of luck to all 6th Class pupils next year.
6th Class Tour
On Thursday, 6th Class pupils, along with Ms. Madigan and Ms. McGarry spent the day at Shannon River Adventure Centre, Rooskey. They had a fantastic day out, starting with land activities in the morning and then moving onto the water activities in the evening.
Sports Day(s)!
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we held our Sports Days. As Sports Day took place remotely last year, we made up for it this year with lots of races, games and fun activities over the week. On Tuesday we made the most of the dry weather in the morning and completed all the traditional races - the running race, the spud and spoon race, the three-legged race, the sack race, the teddy bear race, the slipper race and the relay race. Each classroom had a turn at the Water relay race with Mr. Kelly at the helm. The middle and older classes played crab football and some basketball shooting games. On Wednesday everyone played some parachute games and the Infant room brought their teddy bears out for a picnic when the children were suprised with a delivery from Apache pizza! Needless to say, everyone enjoyed a great feast of pizza out on the pitches! A special word of thanks to The Goal Post who held a fundraiser draw for the school at Christmas, the proceeds of which covered the cost of the pizzas.
Prayer Service to Our Lady
To mark the end of May, the month of our Lady, we held a short outdoor prayer service. Every May we remember Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly as our school is St. Mary's NS. The pupils gathered in their bubbles and brought pictures, holy water, Rosary beads and flowers to the altar and prayed and sang to Our Lady.
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First Penance - 28th May 2021
Congratulations and well done to 2nd Class boys and girls who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time today. Thank you to Fr. Donnelly and to Sr. Elizabeth for making it possible.
Cuckoo Hill Bootcamp
As we cannot go on a school tour as we normally would, Cuckoo Hill Bootcamp came to us today! Each classroom had a session with Tommie and Anna, with lots of fun challenges and team games. All our pupils really enjoyed themselves and worked up a sweat in the wonderful sunshine, as you can see in the photos!
Enrolment September 2021
Enrolment forms for September 2021 are available from the school.
Phone: 094 9870564
E-mail: info@ballinagarens.ie
Christmas Performance and Santa Visit
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to our Christmas raffle by donating prizes and purchasing tickets and a special thank you to the members of the Parent's Association who put together the lovely prize hampers. We had 19 prize winners, who were listed in the email sent to parents. On Tuesday, we marked the Christmas holidays a little differently to other years. 5th and 6th Class performed a short Nativity play outdoors, while 2nd, 3rd and 4th Class sang carols alongside them. Junior and Senior Infants and 1st Class sang their favourite Christmas songs for everyone. Thankfully Santa was still able to make his annual visit and he dropped by to see everyone and deliver a small gift for each child! A big thank you to Santa for taking the time to call in and also to his fantastic helpers. We've attached a video and some photos of the action.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V8kRJsIHVqmAbCvMDfRD0-A9XNPykRiL?usp=sharing
Barna Recycling Colouring Competition Winners
We were delighted to hear that our school had four winners in the Barna Recycling Hallowe'en Colouring Competition! Congratulations to Bobby, Declan, Sienna and Aaron! Each pupil won a €20 Smyths voucher.
Science Week
Science Week ran from 8th-15th November. This year marked 25 years of Science Week and we engaged in lots of fun activities to celebrate. The Infant room carried out some Science Experiments - 'Storm in a Glass' and 'Dry Erase'. The Middle and Senior Classes learned about famous Irish Scientists, past and present. 2nd, 3rd and 4th Class designed their own inventions as well as learning about and investigating their heart rate. They also carried out some cool experiments - 'Storm in a Glass', 'Lava Lamps' and 'Walking on Air'. They watched an online Science Show from SFI titled 'That's Non-sense' which was really enjoyable. 5th and 6th Class pupils watched RTÉ's Science Week programme 'Future Island' as part of their homework. They worked on the Science Week Booklet challenge 'Design your School for Wellbeing' and planned and sketched what their ideal school of the future would be like. On Friday we finished off the week with a Science showcase - via Zoom! 5th and 6th Class pupils prepared various Science experiments at home and they carried them out while Ms. Gallagher's and Ms. Nolan's classes watched onscreen in their own classrooms!
Hallowe'en Fun
Although it wasn't possible to celebrate Hallowe'en with our usual big party this year, each classroom had their own fun last Friday. All pupils came to school dressed up and we saw lots of spooky, scary and clever costumes. Pupils also brought in tasty treats that were shared out among the class. Infants and 1st Class played bingo and watched a Hallowe'en movie. 2nd, 3rd & 4th Class played games and worked off the sugar with a disco. 5th & 6th Class carved their own pumpkins, which they brought home that afternoon. Luckily we could still have our usual Báirín Breac - thank you to Ellen's Mum Martina for baking and sending in a brack for each classroom!
Maths Week
Maths Week Ireland was held from the 10th - 18th October. We made great use of the brilliant resources on the Maths Week Ireland website with children taking part in activities such as 'Emoji Problem Solving' throughout the week. Each classroom had a chance to use their Maths Eyes around the school grounds. Infants and 1st Class engaged in a Maths Scavenger Hunt and played lots of Maths games in the classroom. 2nd-6th Class took part in a Maths Trail in their own classroom bubbles.
First Holy Communion
The First Holy Communion took place on Saturday 3rd October in Ballinagare Church. Congratulations to Aaron, Cara, Ciarán, Evan, James and Pauric who received the sacrament and blessing. Thank you to Fr. Donnelly and Sr. Elizabeth for all the work they put into the lovely ceremony. We celebrated with a little party in school.
Back to School
Welcome back to all our pupils and staff, particularly our new entrants who are settling in so well!
