Earlier this year we visited Ballyhaunis Community School to meet and chat with pupils from other countries. We learned a lot about the similarities and differences between Ireland, Syria, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Malaysia.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Alex, Jessica, Josh and Michael every success in secondary school. They were a pleasure to teach and will be missed by all in Gortskehy next September. Go n-éirí an t-ádh libh!

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Last Thursday the 13^th of June we celebrated our end of year mass here in Gortskehy. Following the mass we took a trip down memory lane with 6^th class and recalled the many happy memories from their time here at Gortskehy. We would like to say a big congratulations and well done to our 6^th class, and wish them well on their next venture in secondary school. We have attached the PhotoStory if you’d like to have a look.

Wishing everyone a very happy and safe summer break!

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@BioDataCentre  @GreenSchoolsIre

Today we celebrate World Bee Day – 20th May 2019 

Did You Know?

• Irish Bumblebee populations are in decline.
• One third of our 99 bee species are threatened with extinction from Ireland. This is because we have drastically reduced the amount of food (flowers) and safe nesting sites in our landscapes.
• In response this decline and threat of extinction, the National Biodiversity Data Centre coordinated the implementation of the an All Ireland Pollinator Plan( 2015-2020) along with 68 other government and non-government organisations as partners to support the plan.

The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is about all of us, from farmers to local authorities, to schools, gardeners and businesses, coming together to try to create an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive.  Here at Gortskehy, we are committed to playing our part and making our school bee-friendly.

The middle room studied the Junior Pollinator Plan with their teacher, Ms. Thomas. They learnt all about bees and their important role as pollinators.  They also learnt about the life cycle of the bumble bee & what we can do to help our bees survive and thrive.

  

Our school Pollinator & Green School Teams drew maps of the current school grounds.  This was done to identify areas where we can take action to help pollinators. Lots of good ideas that we hope to put into action were noted by our pupils on the walkabout:

• Plant bee-friendly plants in our garden beds.
• Leave narrow strips around our pitch for wildflowers
• Mow our lawn/pitch less frequently – to allow dandelions and clover to grow – food sources for our bees.
• Reduce pesticides – only use it for clearing slippery areas/paths.  Only weed by hand.
• Plant a herb bed – they are an excellent source of food for pollinators.

These maps will be updated to include all the pollinator areas we will develop around our school.  We will monitor and report on bee activity and update our plans annually.

Here are some photos of our pupils planting bee-friendly plants, flowers and herbs in our new Sensory & Biodiversity garden.

   

    

 

 

For more information on what you can do to help the bees – please visit http://pollinators.ie/

Last Tuesday, the 7^th of May, as part of the Creative Schools Programme pupils in the senior room took part in the next stage of their sound workshop with Ed Devane. Throughout the day the pupils investigated sound theory and editing sounds on the Chrombooks using materials they had brought to school to create different sounds. Following this the pupils worked with electronic music using an online synthesizer, an activity the class really enjoyed. To finish the workshop each pupil created their own air horn instrument. The class really enjoyed the workshops and have gained a wealth of knowledge on working with sound. We would like to thank Ed for an excellent two days of fun learning.

Congratulations to the children from 5th and 6th class who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday the 15^th of March  2019. The mass was celebrated by Archbishop Michael Neary. A huge thank you to Fr Murphy and all involved for making it such an enjoyable day.