Each year Cairdeas ask everyone to participate in the Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal.  This appeal promises to get your box into the hands of a needy child, maybe an orphan in rural Romania, a girl living on the streets of Mozambique, a boy with cancer in a Ukraine hospital.  As a result of your generosity, last year Team Hope funded all year round feeding, water, education and agriculture projects for children and their families in Romania, Kenya, Swaziland, Burundi, Congo and Moldova.

We ask you to fill a shoebox with a range of simple Christmas gifts explained in the leaflet sent home with the kids during the week.  Include €4 in an envelope, either on top of the gifts or taped to the inside of the lid.  Don’t forget to indicate whether your box is for a BOY or a GIRL.

Please drop the shoebox to the School by Tuesday, November the 6^th.

“YOUR SHOEBOX CAN TURN JUST ANOTHER DAY IN A CHILD’S LIFE INTO SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL, A DAY THAT THEY WILL REMEMBER FOR YEARS TO COME”

The Shoebox will be checked by the Team Hope Organisers that it meets all the customs and safety requirements,  send it on its way by truck or container and deliver it right into a child’s hands – in hospitals, schools, shelters, churches, orphanages, community centres or family homes.

Remember the four Ws when filling your shoe box …

• WRITE – Items for school – like a pen, pencil, copy book, paper, colouring book, felt pens, sharpener, eraser, solar calculator.
• WASH – Some hygiene items – toothbrush and toothpaste, soap (wrapped please), facecloth, hairbrush, comb.
• WEAR – Small clothing items – a hat, scarf, gloves, socks or underwear
• WOW ! – A treat – sunglasses, game, small Irish gift, a photo of yourself, sweets (must be in date until at least March 2018), make up, a small musical instrument, toys like a doll, a car, cuddly toy, skipping rope, yo-yo, a finger puppet… even a ball is fantastic.

Click HERE for more information on the Team Hope Foundation and the Shoebox Appeal.

Thanking you in advance for supporting this worthy cause!

The annual Halloween Fancy Dress Walk is being held at the School on Thursday, the 25th of October at 12:30.  Children are encouraged to arrive in their Halloween outfits for the walk.  Sponsor Cards are available for this walk (one per family).  The short route for the walk will remain the same as previous years, weather permitting.

Join us for a biscuit and a cuppa afterwards.  

All parents, siblings, grannies, aunts, uncles, cousins, carers, etc. welcome!!

We are in the process of putting together our calendar for 2019.  Our calendar has been a great success over the years.  We are again selling advertising space on our calendar.  The calendar generates much needed income for the school and it is a great way to promote your business. 

Newcomers and Loyal Supporters:  Please contact the school as soon as possible to reserve your advertising space.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

You might have spotted defibrillators at your place of work or around town whilst shopping or at the hall across from the school … but do you know how to use one?

Knockavilla parents and friends are now given a great opportunity to acquire a life-saving skill!

Defibrillator training is offered on Monday, 15th of October in Upton Hall from 6:30 to 10pm.  

Certificates from the Irish Heart Foundation.

Cost €20.

To book, contact Sheila on 087-2704911

Closing date for booking is the 10th of October.

Sign up to save a life!

Date: Friday 15^th June 2018 @ 6.30pm SHARP at Brinny Pitch. Registration will begin @ 6pm 

Dear Parents

See the following details of stewards required to help for the sports day.  Thank you very much to the parents who have volunteered their help at the school sports.  Please note that entry is €6 per car – it will help a lot if you can have the exact amount.

Any baking for the evening would be much appreciated.

NOTE:  NO BALL PLAY WILL BE PERMITTED

ALL STEWARDS ARE REQUIRED AT THEIR RESPECTIVE POSTS AT 6PM AT THE LATEST

Presentation of Prizes by the teachers after every race

THE ENTRY CHARGE THIS YEAR IS €6.00 PER CAR. THE GATE MUST BE MANNED NO LATER THAN 6.00PM

 If for any reason you are not free or unable to attend please contact:

 Orla Grainger as soon as possible 

We have a number of teams running in the Cork City Marathon in aid of Knockavilla National School on Sunday 3^rd June 2018.  In support of them, we are asking if every family or child could bring €2 sponsorship to school on THURSDAY 31^ST MAY.   Children will be allowed to ‘dress down’ and wear sport clothing on Thursday 31^st May.  This is a great opportunity to encourage and highlight exercise and keeping fit with our children.  Thank you for your support.

Please join us at our next Cairdeas meeting on Monday, 21st of May at 8:30pm.  We have lots to discuss!  We would also like to hear your feedback on past events.

All Welcome!!!

There have been a number of moments recently which have highlighted the talents of the pupils

• The Christmas Concert was a great success and proceeds from the raffle and the calendar were used to purchase PE equipment. Our pupils had as much fun on the night as they had preparing for the concert.  We thank our teachers, pupils and Cairdeas for putting a great show together.
• All the pupils joined in the World Book Day fun. It is great to see the broad interests in reading and imagination when it comes to dressing up. 
• At our gymnastics displays our pupils showed off their new skills and how their skills have improved thanks to the work and efforts of Colm O’ Toole , our gymnastics instructor.
• The Senior pupils performed well in Cor Fhéile. Our school was very proud of the talent of our well-behaved kids at this public event.  Feedback was positive and an enjoyable evening was had by participants, parents and siblings. 
• We were delighted to compete in the final of the Vex Robotics Competition. This was a great achievement for us in our first year participating in the Vex Robotics Program.  The robotics program offered lots of different aspects for our pupils to explore; they were exposed to design, engineering, requirement gathering, programming, testing, art work, promoting their school, presentation, structured documentation, etc.  We learned a lot from the competitions and came away with great ideas by observing other teams.  Our video and your Facebook voting secured us a €500 grant from the Version 1 Community trust fund for our robotics program.  Many thanks to all who cast their votes and got their friends and family to do the same. 
• We had a busy schedule with indoor camogie and hurling competitions. Even with the small numbers in our school we were a competitive force.  Our 4^th class girls pushed through injuries and managed to come 3^rd in the Sciath na Scol Indoor Competition!  They showed great sportsmanship and teamwork and brought home the winning plaque from the Carrigdhoun Indoor Camogie competition.   
• The school was also showcased in an article on the Echo where our commitment to science and engineering was highlighted. Our school’s focus on arts and crafts, health and wellness of its pupils, sports and music were also noted. 

Items on the agenda were:

Child Protection and Children First

• We are looking into the requirement whereby parents who support children getting to/from matches and those who help out at sport and extra-curricular activities need Garda clearance for child protection purposes.
• We are also looking into the possibility of making buses/taxi services available to transport children to/from matches.

First Communion

• Parents from 1st class and 3rd class will assist with the communion celebrations in the school.
• Baking and volunteers for the Friday night and Saturday morning are needed.
• A text will be sent to request that cards and money are not exchanged by the Communion class pupils.
• There is a communion WhatsApp group. Please let Cairdeas know if you are not part of this group (1^st and 3^rd class parents).

Confirmation:  A text will be sent to request that cards and money are not exchanged by the Confirmation class pupils.

Cairdeas Insurance:  We are currently receiving quotations for insurance where events hosted outside of school are not covered by the school’s insurance. 

Cork City Marathon:  There is one team currently running in the marathon that are raising funds for the school.  We call on additional runners/walkers to get in touch as entries will close soon.  This is a fun event and a great way to show community spirit and support for the school.

Knockavilla Family Fun Day:  A table quiz and Kids’ Disco will be held in Upton on Sunday, April 29th.  All proceeds will go to the school.  This is great family event and we hope to see all the pupils, parents, extended family and friends at this event.  Spread the word!

Booklists/ copies/hardback copies:  Staff will be asked to be mindful of how many books and copies they require as it was brought to our attention that some items on recent book lists were never used.

Uniform/crests:  Enquiries will be made on the possibility of purchasing the school crest separately for sewing onto jumpers.

Questionnaires:  We had very positive feedback from the questionnaires.  The school’s focus has always been on the well-being of our kids and we will keep this as a high priority going forward.

Keep your eye on our Facebook page for news from the school.  You don’t need to have a Facebook account to view our school’s page.  Just click on this LINK

You can also see highlights from Facebook on our website by clicking HERE

Our school’s WEBSITE is regularly updated with upcoming events. 

As always you can contact us per phone or through our website by completing this FORM

Cairdeas are also eager to hear your views and feedback.  You can contact them directly through our website at this LINK

Many thanks to all the parents who were present at our meeting.  We value all your involvement in our school.