NEWS AND EVENTS
School Year 2013-2014
End of Year Videos
We have created some videos from photographs taken during the school year. To view them please click on the following links.-A Look Back at our School Year 2013/2014
-A Look Back at Sixth Class Time in Our School 2009-2014
-Miss Blain's Third Class 2013/2014
-Miss Tyrrell's Second Class Kodaly Music Video
-Miss Dolan's Second Class Kodaly Music Video
Awards Day
Our End of Year Awards ceremony took place on Thursday 27th June. We would like to congratulate all of our students who received awards on the day.
Sixth Class V Teachers Match
On Thursday 27th June the traditional sixth class v teachers soccer match took place here. It was a highly competitive game involving 35boys from sixth class. The final score finished 3-2 to the teachers who are now unbeaten in 5years!
Graduation Mass
The sixth class Graduation Mass took place on Monday 23rd June in St. Mary's Church in Edenderry. After the mass the sixth class children and their parents came back to our Assembly Hall for refreshments. We would like to thank our wonderful Parents Association for organising the refreshments and for baking lots of goodies!
Fifth and Sixth Class School Tour
Our fifth and sixth class went to Carlingford Adventure Centre on their school tour on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th of June. While there the boys took part in a wide range of activities including kayaking, team building challenges and laser shooting. On the way home we also visited the National Aquatic Centre. They really enjoyed themselves. Keep an eye on our photo gallery page for photos from the day.
Intercultural Day
Our Intercultural Day took place today and we celebrated students from many different nationalities in our school. We would like to thank all the students and parents who brought in items to represent their countries. There was beautiful food in on the day also.
School Sports Day
Our annual Sports Day took place on Wednesday 11th June. We were very lucky with the weather and had loads of fun on the day. We are also running our HB Ice Cream Day for Down Syndrome Ireland and raised over €600. A big thank you to all who contributed and to our wonderful parents who helped sell the ice cream!
John Blong League
Our John Blong Football League final was played today (Tuesday). Alan and Ben's teams contested the final and Alan's team won on a scoreline of 7-2 to 2-2. Well done to all the boys in 5th and 6th class who took part in the tournament over the past month.
Hurling Panel Visit to Kilkenny
On Friday 6th June our hurling panel played De La Salle of Kilkenny in our annual hurling challenge. Our hurlers put in a fantastic display and won the match well. Well done boys and a word of thanks to De La Salle who welcomed our boys on the day.
Confirmation
Confirmation took place on Saturday May 31st. Well done to all the boys who made their confirmation on the day.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Comes to Edenderry BNS
On Monday 19th May our students were treated to a spectacular show from M&M Productions in our school hall. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe drama was staged for us. Boasting brilliant backdrops and a cast of only four people M&M Productions put on a show that will live long in the memories. All of the boys thoroughly enjoyed and are hoping that M&M might make a return next year with another favourite drama. Pictured below are some scenes from the play and our second class who were given the opportunity to meet the cast after the performance.
Green Schools Award
We are delighted to announce that Edenderry BNS has received a very prestigious and well deserved award as part of the Green Schools Travel Competition. Based on the results of our WOW days ( Walk on Wednesdays) our school was awarded number one school in Ireland in the ‘Park and Stride’ category of the competition, making Edenderry BNS one of ‘Ireland’s Top Sustainable Travel Schools’ for 2014. Only 12 schools out of a possible 1,300 received an award on the day. This is a very welcome award as it recognizes the huge efforts made by all of our pupils, parents and staff to reduce the schools carbon footprint while at the same time promoting physical activity. It is fantastic to see so many of our enthusiastic students walking, cycling, carpooling and ‘parking and striding’ to school every day. On Tuesday 13th May Michael, Conor and Thomas of our Green Schools committee along with Mr Foran and Miss Dolan travelled to the national awards ceremony in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin to receive the award.
The prize of €250, a certificate and a trophy were awarded to the school by Minister Alan Kelly TD. An exhibition of some of the work we had undertaken as part of the Green Schools Travel theme was also on display. It was viewed by the Minister, media and the other schools in attendance. This was an opportunity to showcase the fantastic work of our students and the wider school community and prove we were worthy winners of the prize. In fact, members of the media were so impressed with the achievements of our school, including the work we do to promote sustainable ways of travelling, that Thomas was interviewed by RTE News2day. If you missed his interview you can watch it on Tuesday May 13th’s News2day on the RTE Player. We would like to thank our entire school community for the continued support of our Green Schools efforts.
Edenderry Red Cross
Following on from our Red and White day on April 11th the Edenderry branch of the Red Cross came to our school on Monday May 19th to give a basic display in First Aid to our students. Our students are now much better prepared to deal with an emergency situation should they ever have to. We would like to thank the members of the Red Cross who provided the training on the day.
North Offaly Hurling Champions
Edenderry BNS retained our Cumann na mBunscol championship with a victory over Killeigh N.S. in O’Connnor Park, Tullamore. The game ended on a scoreline of 11-5 to 6-6. These boys have been a credit to themselves, their families and their school since they started training in February and this victory is a just reward for their fantastic efforts. Well done to all involved.
FAI Offaly 5a Side Football Competition
On Wednesday 7th May our school football team travelled to Portlaoise to represent Offaly in the Mid Leinster FAI Football 5a side tournament. Well done to Briain, Edmond, Alan, Ben, Demi, Lee and Adam who performed brilliantly on the day and deservedly travelled to Navan on Tuesday, May 13th to represent Mid Leinster in the Leinster Finals. On the day the boys put in some more fantastic displays and finished as runners up in the competition.
Offaly Jersey Day
Our annual Offaly jersey day was held on Friday May 16th. We had a huge turnout of students in their Offaly clothing and we raised over €100 for the OSPCA. Also the students who wore their Offaly tops got an opportunity to meet Offaly goalkeeper Alan Mulhall. We would like to thank Alan for taking the time to come and meet our Offaly supporters here in Edenderry BNS.
National Parents Council Education Conference
The NPC's education conference takes place on June 14th in the National College of Ireland, Mayor Street, Dublin 1.
Parents' Association Easter Raffle
Our Parents' Association Easter Raffle fundraiser is taking place this Saturday, April 12th in Dunnes Stores. Tickets will be on sale from 10am to 6pm. All support is greatly appreciated. There is a beautiful Easter hamper to be won.
Our Parents' Association also organised a raffle in each of our classes and pictured below are the lucky winners along with Martin Tyrrell, Chairperson of the Parents' Association and Miss McMahon, school principal.
Red and White Day
On April 11th we had a Red and White fundraiser for the local branch of the Red Cross. We hope that the funds raised can help the organisation to grow its service to the community of Edenderry.
Easter Egg Hunt
Miss Flaherty's 5th and 6th class had a very eggciting day today taking part in an Easter Egg Hunt. A variety of gold coins were hidden around the school grounds. The boys were then split into teams of three and were set a simple challenge: Bring back as much money as they could. The winning team received an Easter Egg each for their reward. Well done to Conor, Jason and Jordan. Our second class also had an egg hunt today. They had loads of fun.
National Spring Clean Up
We took part in the National Spring Clean Up on Wednesday April 9th. Our students worked really hard to pick up any litter they found in our school ground and in the surrounding areas outside the school.
Offaly County Enterprise Board
Well done to Adam who received a 'Most Enterprising Student' certificate from Offaly County Enterprise Board.
Sunflowers
Miss Hanrahan's class planted sunflowers this week.
Hot Air Balloons
The boys in Miss Blain's class have been really busy lately. They have been creating their very own hot air balloons. They look amazing!
Food Dudes
We have now entered the next phase of the Food Dudes programme. Children are now encouraged to bring in fruit and vegetables as part of their lunch. They are making a terrific effort and are being well rewarded with lots of cool prizes!
Offaly Indoor Athletics
Thirty of our students are heading for Athlone on Wednesday 26th March to take part in the All Ireland Sportshall Athletics Championships. The boys will take part in 50m time trials, 4 x 50m relay and 100m time trials. While in the field events they competed in javelin, chest push, triple jump, long jump, speed bounce and vertical jump. Both our 3rd/4th class and our 5th/6th class teams qualified for the events after winning the Offaly competitions last week.
Cumann na mBunscol Skills Competition
Every year Edenderry BNS is proud to send a representative in both hurling and football to the Offaly Cumann na mBunscol skills competitons held during the Spring. This year Adam McCraith made the long trip to Rath to take part in the hurling where he acquitted himself fantastically well. Alan Harte travelled to Clara to compete in the football competition and did fantastically well in winning the competition. Alan now has the privilege of representing Offaly in a mini 7’s game in Croke Park on All Ireland Semi-Final day.
Gaelic Football Blitz
Twenty of our students made the trip to Tullamore to take part in the North Offaly 7 a side gaelic football blitz orgainsed by Offaly GAA Coaching and Development. Team A recorded two victories which saw them qualify for the where they were narrowly beaten by a very strong Portarlington side. Team B also had three games in which they defeated Portarlington but lost narrowly to Scoil Bhride Tullamore and Scoil Eoin Phóil. Well done to all the lads on some excellent football.
Futsal
On Tuesday March 4th our school futsal team travelled to Portarlington to take part in a futsal blitz. St Paul’s of Portlaoise and St Patrick’s of Portarlington were also taking part. Our team performed well on the day and were very unlucky to lose out to both Portarlington A and St Paul’s after dominating large parts of both games. They found their shooting boots in the final group game and in the 3rd/4th place play off scoring 9goals over both games.
School Badminton
Our school badminton team performed brilliantly over the weekend winning the county title.
Credit Union Savings Scheme
Our students are taking part in the Credit Union Savings scheme which aims to get children into the habit of saving from an early age. They are really enjoying it and hopefully they will all have a nice nest egg when they leave our school!
Engineers Week
As part of Engineers Week our 5th and 6th class visited the Town Hall on February 14th for a talk from two engineers from Offaly County Council. The boys learned what the job of an engineer entails and they also had a good discussion about the future of Edenderry from a town planning perspective.
Credit Union Quiz
The Edenderry Credit Union held its annual school quiz on Saturday February 1st. We entered two teams in the U13 category and two teams in the U11 category. The boys were very successful in both categories with the U11 team of Michael, Paul, Tadhg and Eamonn finishing in 2nd place following a tense tie-breaker round. Our U13 team of Ross, Sai, Lee and Donal came in first place. This U13 team went on to represent Edenderry Credit Union at Chapter level in Naas on Friday February 28th and performed brilliantly finishing in third place.
Hurling Blitz
On Wednesday February 5th our entire school hurling panel made the trip to St. Mary’s Community Hall to take part in an indoor hurling blitz organised by Offaly Coaching and Games Development. Both teams enjoyed four competitive games with our second team coming up short against Clara and Rahan but accounting for Scoil Bhride Tullamore. Our first team competed excellently and won all their group games which qualified them for the final. Well done to all the boys who took part.
Catholic Schools Week
On Friday some of our classes made St. Brigid's crosses. Keep an eye on our Twitter account for photos of the making of the crosses.
OSPCA
The students of Edenderry BNS received a talk from the Offaly Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on Thursday 30th January. During the discussion the boys were introduced to the best practice of looking after pets in ways such as micro-chipping, grooming and feeding. They all really enjoyed it.
Leinster Rugby
Wednesday 29th January will be a very special day in Edenderry BNS as silverware won by the Leinster rugby team during 2013 will be coming for a visit. The Amlin Challenge trophy, the RaboDirect Pro 12 trophy and the British and Irish Cup will all be in school.
Handwriting Competition
Well done to Jason and Gabrielius who both won prizes in the Community Games Handwriting Competition
Third & Fourth Class
Our third and fourth class were busy learning about different feasts and festivals in history. They produced these projects based on some of the various feasts.
Second Class Art
Our second class have been busy creating hedgehogs in art class over the last number of weeks. Here are the finished products. I'm sure you'll agree that they are brilliant.
Fifth Class
Our fifth class were learning about The Aztec in History and produced these wonderful pieces of art based on what they learned.
Fourth Class Visit Offaly Campaign
Our fourth class have been doing an outstanding job in trying to draw tourists to the county by highlighting the different features and attractions that are available to visit in Offaly.
Hallelujah Concert
Following on from their successful trip to Citywest in Dublin to perform along with 4000 other students the boys of 5th and 6th class are now putting on their own show at 1.30pm on Wednesday 18th December in the school hall. All parents are welcome to come to this performance. It promises to be great entertainment. Below are the boys during rehearsals!
Christmas Performance
Our school choir and band performed on Tuesday, 17th December to a hall packed with proud parents. Our second class also staged 'The Innkeeper's Breakfast'. Everybody really enjoyed the show and we would like to thank everyone who came to see the show on the day.
Christmas Lights
Students from Edenderry BNS will be present at the turning on of the Christmas lights this Sunday. They will perform a selection of Christmas carols on the evening.
Hallelujah Concert
On Thursday 5th December 5th and 6th class travelled to the Citywest Conference Centre to take part in the annual Hallelujah Concert. During this event choirs of children from all parts of the country come together to sing in one large communal choir. Hours and hours of practice went into preparing for the concert. Over 4,000 students from all over the country gathered to take part in the concert. Our students had a tremendous day. Keep an eye on our photo gallery next week to see more pictures from the concert.
Christmas
The festive cheer spread through the school this week when our second class decorated our Christmas trees. They are also very busy with their rehearsals for 'The InnKeeper's Breakfast', their Christmas play.Our school band and choir are also rehearsing for the their perforamces at our annual carol service.
Mathletics
Well done to 3rd and 4th class who featured prominently on the 'Top 50Classes' leaderboard for all Europe this week.
ICT and Literacy Workshop
On Friday November 29th our 5th class students took part in an ICT and Literacy Workshop hosted by Ian Jackson. The boys were shown how to create picture stories using the paint programme available on our computers. It’s part of a six week tour of Irish schools that Ian is on and is hugely beneficial to our students as it shows yet another example of how ICT can be used in our school environment to further develop literacy skills. Keep an eye on our website next week for the illustrations.Famine Talk
Our fifth and sixth class students made the short trek to Oaklands College on Friday 29th November to partake in a historical workshop which focussed on the effects the Famine had in our locality. During this workshop our students attended a presentation which allowed them to research what life was like for the people of Edenderry during the Great Famine of the 1840’s. According to 5th class student Donal Harris “one of the most interesting things we learned was that many buildings were used as soup-kitchens before they were knocked down and rebuilt again”. Donal also reported that he did know until he went to this workshop that there was a special graveyard for Famine victims in Edenderry which he thought was very interesting.
Futsal
Futsal coaching will start for 5th and 6th class on Monday 2nd December in association with Offaly Sports Partnerships. Futsal it is a modified version of indoor soccer featuring a size 4 ball which has a restricted bounce so it stays on the floor. Futsal promotes skill, composure and quick-thinking and it is great fun too!!
Science Week Display
As part of our school's participation in Science Week we had a display of science experiments in the Assembly Hall on Friday 22nd November. The theme for Science Week this year was 'Exploring the Extra Ordinary'. There was a wonderful turn out of parents on the day and we would like to thank all those who made the effort to come in and see all the hard work that has been done.
Science Week
As part of our participation in Science Week 2013 our 4th and 5th class students travelled to a science workshop held in the mobile cinema which was located in the town square on Thursday last. Our students took part in various scientific experiments, watched documentaries on the big screen and participated in a question and answer session on all things science related.
Second Class Get Busy in the Kitchen
Procedural writing during English this week was a hugely enjoyable experience for both our second classes, as they got to partake in a cooking demonstration . The boys mixed cocoa, sugar. butter, corn flakes and golden syrup to make Crackle Cakes which tasted absolutely gorgeous.
Courtcase in Edenderry BNS
As part of the wide ranging Drama curriculum we incorporate here at Edenderry BNS our fourth class students constructed their very own courtcase in an attempt to decide whether or not the Big Bad Wolf was in fact guilty of the murder of the 3 little pigs. Defence lawyers, prosecution lawyers, eye witnesses and reporters were among many of the characters that were portrayed in this excellent drama sequence. A big well done to all the boys involved.
Christmas Shoebox Appeal
Over the last number of weeks we have been promoting our annual Christmas Shoebox appeal. Over the years we have been hugely fortunate to have tremendous support from parents and students in promoting this hugely worthy cause. And this year proved to be no exception as we had a huge donation of shoeboxes which were collected from our school by members of Team Hope Ireland. We know that these small gifts will make a massive difference in the lives of the children that are less fortunate than ourselves and we would like to say a big thank you to all the families that supported this undertaking.
Tag Rugby Blitz
A tag rugby blitz was held in our school on Tuesday November 6th. 6 teams of 10 boys each entered the blitz with the two group winners qualifying to meet in the afternoon’s final. Following some seriously competitive action and high quality rugby Connacht (Captained by Liam Farrell) and Ireland (Captained by Alan Harte) qualified for the final. The final itself was a rip roaring contest which ended in a draw on a scoreline of 5 tries each but Ireland managed to score the first try in sudden death to claim the spoils. Well done to all the boys involved and a big thank you to Patsy Gorman for helping us co-ordinate the event.
Homework Club Harvest
The boys in our homework club harvested the vegetables from their vegetable garden that they had sown prior to their summer holidays this week. Carrots, turnips and potatoes were just some of the things successfully grown this year.
Barnardos Dress Up Day
On Friday 25th October Edenderry BNS participated in the 'Dress Up Funny For Money' campaign to raise funds for Barnardos. There was a great response to this and children came in wearing some wonderful costumes. Have a look at our photo gallery to see a sample of the pictures from the day.
Second Class Talent Show
All of the boys in second class took part in a talent show on Friday 25th October. The acts ranged from singers to comedians to football skills demonstration and everything in between. A massive well done to all the boys who displayed their talent on the day!
Clara Bog
Last Tuesday 2nd class enjoyed a Show and Tell Workshop with Therese Kelly from Clara Bog Visitor Centre. Therese displayed samples of the flora and fauna from Clara Bog to the children while explaining the importance of preserving our natural boglands and their importance in keeping many types of living things in their natural habitats. Therese also provided an interactive session which allowed the children to become aware of various types of bird calls that would be heard in our boglands while students also saw a fantastic animation of the wildlife common to our boglands. This session was organised to introduce our new 2nd class students to the topic of Biodiversity for which we were awarded our fifth Green Flag earlier this year.
Early Years Kodaly Music Programme
As part of our wide ranging music curriculum we are delighted to announce our 2nd class are partaking in the Early Years Kodaly Music Programme. This is a developmental programme focussed on singing and using the Kodaly approach, the aim of which is to make music a natural part of the life of every child and young person. We are thrilled to be using this programme with our younger students as it is an opportunity for the child to develop, enhance and build his music education.
Visit From Edenderry Fire Service
On Thursday our 3rd and 4th class received a visit from Gabriel and David from Edenderry Fire Service. This workshop showed the children many ways of staying safe both in the home and in the local community with particular attention being paid to the dangers that may arise during the Halloween festivities.
Keep up to date on school activities through our Twitter account and also on our News and Events page.
