News
Chess Tournament
On Friday, 23rd February, our Chess Team attended the Feile Fichealle Tournament held at St.Patrick’s BNS Drumcondra. A total of six schools participated in the tournament, with thirteen teams in all (eight Senior Teams and five Junior Teams). Over 100 pupils played in each of the six rounds of chess games, so you can imagine it took a lot of organization and goodwill from all involved!Our boys displayed excellent chess skills and were successful in securing First Place in the Junior Section and Second Place in the Senior Section! It was an early start and a long day of chess, but our boys gave a strong performance throughout. They were polite, friendly, and a credit to the school and their families! Special recognition goes to the Team Captains, Pawel and Jacob, for leading their teams and setting a great example on the day.We extend a big thank you to all the staff and parents who supported the boys, and we look forward to next year’s tournament with great anticipation.
FAI Schools – Cup Competition
On Wednesday, 28th February our senior soccer team played in the opening round of the FAI Schools’ Cup Competition versus Good Counsel NS from Shankill. In a most entertaining match, our boys performed very well on the day but unfortunately, we were beaten 6-2. However, the result did not reflect the level of the performance and the score line should have been much closer. We will continue to train over the next few weeks ahead of the commencement of our league campaign. Well done boys!
Friendship / Anti-Bullying Week
From January 29th to February 2nd we celebrated Friendship / Anti-Bullying Week in St. Canice’s B.N.S. We promoted friendship amongst our pupils throughout the week and we raised awareness of bullying throughout all classes. The school motto for Friendship Week this year was ‘Friends should lift you up, not knock you down!’. Throughout the week, the boys were involved in some of the following activities;
- Daily whole-school positive affirmations
- Team-building activities in the P.E. Hall (Junior Infants – 1st Class)
- Junior classes made ‘Buddy Bracelets’ with pupils from senior classes.
- Internet Safety Seminar (3rd Class – 6th Class)
- Art Competition for all classes
- Workshops with Unleashing Personal Potential which focused on building positive peer relationships (2nd Class – 6th Class)
- Friendship story time
The parents and guardians were encouraged to discuss the topics of friendship and bullying with their children. Overall, the entire school community really enjoyed the week and we hope the pupils will use the skills that they developed in their daily lives.
Gaelic Football
Our Gaelic Footballers are back in action soon with the Fingal Leagues coming up for both the Senior and Junior Teams. We look forward to seeing the boys participating in training and in matches over the coming weeks and months.
Quiz Teams
We’re thrilled to announce the outstanding success of our school’s Junior and Senior Quiz Teams in the recent Finglas Credit Union Quiz! The teams showcased their exceptional knowledge and quick thinking, securing the top spot in both the senior and junior competitions.
Competing against other school in Finglas, our quiz teams demonstrated remarkable expertise across various subjects. Their dedication to preparation and teamwork truly paid off, as they navigated challenging questions with confidence.
Congratulations to all the members of our quiz teams for their impressive achievements! We commend their hard work, determination, and passion for learning, which have undoubtedly contributed to their success.
We wish them the best of luck as they progress to Stage 2 on Friday the 1st of March 2024!
Sponsored Walk
Our sponsored walk will take place on the week before the Halloween Break. Many thanks to all our pupils and parents who will help raise funds for ICT resources for the school. A particular thanks must go to our Parents’ Association for organising this fundraising event for our school.
Wellness Week
The Amber Flag Committee are excited to announce that we will be celebrating Wellness Week at St. Canice’s BNS from Monday, 23rd October to Friday, 27th October 2023. The aim of this week will be to promote positive mental health and to bring attention to how we can help our children make good choices and build healthy, happy lives.
Each school day during the week will have a theme that highlights an aspect of healthy living and well-being. We would encourage parents and guardians to have conversations with their children about the different themes and about wellness in general. The themes for the week are as follows:
Monday, 23rd October – Mindful Monday
Tuesday, 24th October – Thankful Tuesday
Wednesday, 25th October – Wellbeing Wednesday
Thursday, 26th October – Thoughtful Thursday
Friday, 27th October – Friendship Friday
As part of Wellness Week, children will have no homework for the week. Children are encouraged to engage in ‘Acts of Kindness’ each evening in lieu of homework.
Our Home School Teacher, Anthony, will be in touch with parents in relation to some wellness activities for parents that will be hosted in the school during this important week.
Dates for First Holy Communion and Confirmation
Below are the times and dates for the sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion for 2024.
Confirmation
Thursday 7th March 2024 in St Canice’s Church, Finglas
Mr. Power’s Class at 11:00a.m.
Ms. Hewison’s Class at 12:30p.m.
First Holy Communion
Saturday 25th May 2024 in St Canice’s Church, Finglas
Ms. Stevely’s Class at 10:00a.m.
Ms. Murphy’s Class at 11:30a.m.
Swimming
All classes from 3rd to 6th Class get the opportunity to take part in Swimming Lessons during the year. The following classes are swimming for the next number of weeks. Please remind children to bring in their gear for swimming and to be at the school for before 8.30am to walk over to the swimming pool with their teacher.
Mr. Murray’s Class – Wednesday
Ms. Fitzgerald’s Class – Friday
Investment in ICT
Our school has recently invested in a number of ICT projects. Below are the most recent projects that we have invested in
- Laptop Trolley timetabled for students
- iPad Trolley timetabled for students
- Sound system in the PE Hall
- Projector and Motorised Screen in the PE Hall
- Gigabit WiFi capabability throughout the school
GAA
Erin’s Isle GPO Laura has been visiting our school every Friday to teach the skills of Gaelic Football to our Infant Classes. Laura has been very impressed with the great skills displayed by our young and upcoming footballers and hurlers. Erin’s Isle welcome children who wish to join their club. We look forward to the day when these boys will be playing for the school team!
Chess
Recently our school has been promoting the game of chess. We now have a huge number of children playing chess for fun. A number of children have been given lessons in chess by our chess coach Ms. Egan. Earlier this year a number of children took part in an internal chess competition within the school. Ms. Egan and Joe have also been involved in organising outdoor chess tables for the children to play chess at break time. These tables are available for children on the Senior Yard and they can accommodate up to 12 players at a time. We look forward to our Chess Team’s next outing when they will get to play against other schools competitively.
Chess really encourages good sportsmanship and self-regulation. We always place great emphasis on shaking hands, congratulating your opponent and trying not to give your game away by showing too much reaction to a win or a loss however hard it may be!
Athletics
Recently we have had some boys from 5th and 6th Class attend Santry for Cross Country running. Well done to the boys who performed so well on the day. Many thanks to Ms. Bianconi and Ms. Coyle for bringing the boys on the day.
Gaelic Football
Our Gaelic Football teams have been in action in September and October. Well done to our Junior Team who have performed extremely well this year. Well done also to our Senior Football team who reached the quarter finals of the Cumann na mBunscol competition. We look forward to the spring when we will play in the Fingal League. Many thanks to Mr. Hickey, Mr. Murray, Mr. Power and Mr. Irvine for looking after the teams this year.
Seachtain na Gaeilge
Recently we had our annual Seachatin na Gaeilge. The boys fully participated in a range of activities during Seachtain na Gaeilge.
Some of the activities that took place were
- Amhráin Gaeilge
- Ceol Tradisiúnta
- Spóirt as Gaeilge
- Lá na gCluichí
- Ealaín
- Cluichí Digiteach
- Gaeilgeoir an Lae/Gaeilgeoir na Seachtaine
- Tráth na gCeist
- Céií
- Lá Glas
- Ceoilchoirm sa Halla
- Ag Damhsa go dtí an Dreoilín
Grandparents’ Day
On Wednesday 25th January 2023, as part of Catholic Schools Week, we invited the grandparents of the 2nd Class and 6th Class boys to come into St. Canice’s BNS for the annual prayer service. It was the first time since January 2020 that the prayer service was held in person and it was wonderful for the boys to see many of the grandparents present in the school hall. There were some readings and prayers read by the boys and Fr. Martin Hogan from St. Canice’s Church spoke to us about the importance of his grandparents in his life. One of the highlights of the morning was when one of our Ukrainian pupils and his grandmother lit our Catholic Schools’ Week candle. Mr. Walsh spoke to the congregation about the theme for the week, ‘Walking Together in Faith and Love’ and thanked everyone for attending. All who attended were invited to the Parents’ Room for some refreshments after the prayer service. It was a most enjoyable morning and we look forward to our grandparents visiting again very soon.
School Garden
The school has been working very hard on maintaining and developing our school garden. Children and teachers have been working very hard on maintaining the eight plots in the garden. Only recently the plots have been redesigned using recycled plastic planks. Additional benches were purchased and new gravel was laid to help make the area an enjoyable place to visit. The garden is often used by classes for reading, eating lunch, completing lessons or relaxing. Many thanks in particular, to Joe and Ms. Mulkeen for their hard work in maintaining the garden area.
Wellbeing
Our school has placed a huge amount of emphasis on Wellbeing over the past number of years particularly following the pandemic. We have put in place a number of programes that teachers and pupils engage in to ensure that our children are happy and content while in school. Weaving Wellbeing is a programme that has been implemented in many of our classes. There have been lessons in meditation provided for children also. We also teach the SPHE curriculum that focuses on aspects like self identity, safety and protection, taking care of our bodies as well as developing citizenship. We also place a huge emphasis on ensuring that children exercise and engage in physical activity through PE lessons and also while on yard. We encourage children to tell us, their parents or a trusted adult when they are feeling upset, nervous or anxious.
Boxing
The Start Box Initiative, a partnership between the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) and Dublin City Council (DCC), represents an ideal way to first engage with amateur boxing through the communities of Dublin. St. Canice’s B.N.S. is fortunate to be one of the schools that engages with the IABA on this programme. Oisín Fagan, the local Community Development Officer, came to our school earlier this year and undertook this programme for thirteen weeks with our 6th classes. The first eight weeks of training and preparation were held at St. Canice’s B.N.S. at the end of which the boys achieved the Bronze and Silver Certificates. The Gold Phase of the programme took place at the High-Performance Unit training facility at the National Stadium. A number of our pupils will represent our school in December 2023 in a showcase exhibition. It is a wonderful programme that is expertly tutored by Oisín Fagan and it is one of the highlights for the 6th class boys each school year.
Science Blast
Recently Ms. Coyle’s 5th Class went to the RDS to the Science Blast. We were among a number of schools taking part on the day. The class had a stand there displaying the procedure and results of their investigations and experiments in relation to Gravity. The class investigated ‘What Falls Faster, Heavier or Lighter Objects?’. As with any experiment, the results were based on a fair test followed by an in-depth investigation into their results.
