School News & Updates

Donation of new bibs!

Many thanks to the Morrow family and ‘Embracing Luxury Travel’ for the kind donation of a full set of new bibs.

The most recent meeting of the Board of Management took place on Monday 12th February.

ANNUAL ADMISSION NOTICE in respect of admissions to the 2024/25 school year Admission Policy and Application Form

Our picnic in the park was a huge success. Bigger children played with little children.

The Most Recent meeting of the Board of Management took place Tuesday 9th May. It was agreed that the following report be published on the website. 

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The Model School was well represented in the Monaghan Coaching & Games Blitz in Cloghan last week.

Congratulations to our 5th and 6th class girls who participated in the Interschool Show Jumping Competition at Mullaghmore Equestrian Centre.

 

On 21st March we marked World Down Syndrome Day by participating in the Lots of Socks fundraising campaign for the Down Syndrome Centre North East. We were delighted to donate €700 to this wonderful organisation who provide invaluable support for children and their families in the local area. Thank you to everyone who donated. Your support and generosity is very much appreciated. 

Have a look at some of our 'Lots of Socks' photos below! 

Monaghan Model School celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge between the 1st and 17th March 2023.

This year we celebrated World Book with "The Great Read" along with our "BookFlix" displays.   6th Class helped transform the Resources area into a Cosy Book Den with comfy gymnastics mats to stretch out on, lights, book displays and lots of cuddly blankets.  Book Chat Corners allowed pupils to meet for short Book Club chats with a few friends at some stage during our times in the den.   Children brought in their own pillows, cushions, teddies and even some pyjamas were spotted  smile . Each class had their turn to enjoy a long, comfy read.  We had lots of fun and the children really enjoyed their time chilling out with a good book. 

The best part probably for 5th and 6th were the Buddy Reading sessions with Junior and Senior Infants.  It was amazing to see how excited the infants were in the one-to-to book sessions and our fantastic 5th class and 6th class pupils shone in making the stories come to life for their young charges! Lovely memories made!

Back in our classrooms book games, competitions, activities and reviews were also enjoyed.  The children will continue to add their book cover copies to our Bookflix displays under their chosen title.  Will your book make "Trending", "One for the Boys" , "Girls in Charge" or will it be "One to Miss"?

 

                 

Peace will be 12 at the end of February. This is what we’ll be sending her. Thanks to all who brought in money to enable us to buy the present. Mrs Berry will be in the classrooms in the next fortnight to collect any money from the yellow boxes. This will be used towards postage, which could be as much as €25. 

Ms Hazlett celebrated her wedding in December. The fourth class children started the celebrations in style with balloons, cake and fancy dress to mark their teacher's last day as Ms Hazlett! We look forward to welcoming Mrs Duffy back to school in January. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Duffy, we wish you both a long and happy life together. 

The 6th class children shared some Christmas cheer with the residents at Mullinahinch House Nursing Home. This was a lovely experience for both the children and the older folk who enjoyed the enthusiastic singing and beautiful fiddle and tin whistle music played by the children. Many thanks to Leona in Mullinahinch for the invitation to visit and for the lovely treats offered to the children after their performance! 

 

The PA Committee organised a fantastic party night for the pupils from 3rd - 6th class. It was a night filled with games, music, fun and friendship and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Sincere thanks to all those involved in organising the party. It was a great success!

Happy Christmas from World Vision & Peace! Here is a photo of the notice board. Look at all the smiley stickers on it, thank you to everyone who has brought money in….because of your generosity the board is so full. I also pinned up a Happy Christmas card from World Vision thanking us for our support! Keep it up everybody!

Thank you to all the pupils who helped make a wonderful card for Peace. Christmas in Uganda is very different, it is celebrated but the emphasis is on going to church & celebrating Jesus’ birth rather than trees, presents and turkey! The weather of course is much hotter too, Peace will have never seen ice or snow. December is also the end of term and her Christmas holidays will be much longer, more like our summer ones. The Government run schools also closed early due to the Ebola outbreak which is being contained but it was felt it was safer to close schools early.

Mrs Berry will also be sending her a small gift from the school, a dress, sweets, book, bag & t-shirt. It would be great if EVERYONE could bring in some money to help pay for the present & the postage. 

World Vision also sent us a Christmas card, thanking us for our continued support.

A huge thank you to the parents on the PA committee for organising a very enjoyable party night for the children from Infants - 2nd class. The children arrived dressed in their fabulous Christmas attire and were ready for a great night of entertainment and fun. They finished the night with some sweet treats and crisps. A great end to a great evening! 

 

We welcomed Jane Barr from the Ulster Scots Agency to school yesterday to present the 6th class children with their exam certificates. We are delighted to have a strong fiddle tuition programme in the school funded completely by the Ulster Scots Agency. The children enjoy free tuition and are making wonderful progress under the instruction of Keith Lyttle, our fiddle tutor. Congratulations to you all! We are very proud of what you have achieved. 

 

A huge thank you to all of you who supported our Team Hope Shoe Box Appeal. We were delighted to donate 95 filled shoe boxes and a monetary donation of over €300. We are sure your shoe boxes will bring great happiness to many children this Christmas. A marvellous number of boxes from our very generous school community. Thank you all! 

2nd Class travelled to the Entekra Monaghan GAA Centre in Cloghan last Thursday to participate in the Monaghan Coaching & Games Primary School Blitz. Our school was represented by two teams of talented and enthusiastic boys and girls. It was a windy and chilly day, but the children didn't seem to mind as they were all having too much fun on the pitch! Both teams performed strongly, showing lovely sportsmanship to their own teammates and their opponents. The event was very well organised, and it was great to get back to playing team events with other schools.We look forward to taking part in many more over the school year.

    

 

One full month of school completed! The Wellbeing Committee surprised us all by scheduling an extra break which was very gratefully received. The children enjoyed sharing yards with siblings, chasing bubbles and having a dance to the boom box! 

Here is a photo of Peace’s notice board which is in the Resources’ Area. As you can see we have €40 already. Thanks to everyone who helped us raise this total. Hopefully the next time I post a photo of the board it will be filled with smiley faces!

 

Congratulations to 10 of our students who sat their Grade 1 fiddle exam in June. We are delighted to say all students achieved at merit and distinction level as a result of hard work, dedication and plenty of practice.

Mrs Berry here. Thank you to everyone who has put money into Peace’s box already. We need to send €25 each month to World Vision for child sponsorship. We also post regular gifts to her. Yesterday I went to the Post Office & sent her a Back to School present. Here is a photo of what we sent.

June was a month of special events as we celebrated Mrs Mills and her wonderful contribution to our school over the past 40 years.

Earlier this month we were sent Peace’s Annual report which included a recent photo of her. It’s wonderful to see how she’s grown over the years. Thank you to everyone who has donated over the past 6 years. In the photo she is standing in front of a large tree with very strange fruit growing in it. The fruit is called Jackfruit & tastes like a mixture of melon & banana. Her family probably grew the tree near her house. 
      We are sending Peace a lovely Christmas present of dress, snap game, craft set & some sweets. Thanks to Lily  & Emily in Mrs Marshall’s room who made her card. Also thank you to Junior Infants who parcelled it all up for us. 
        Since September nearly €200 has been sent in to support Peace & her community. Well done everyone!
Mrs Berry

Hello everyone, Mrs Berry here, the last time I wrote Uganda was in a very strict lockdown & I said I hoped I would have better news in my next update. ……I do! I’m delighted to report that Uganda came out of their strict lockdown at the start of August. Their COVID infection numbers have  also decreased. 
    World Vision, who organises the sponsorship for us sent the school a letter from Peace with some recent news. She is still not back at school yet but World Vision have sent out school packs.

We are sending Peace a small parcel, hopefully you can see what we sent in the photo below! I will be going around the classes to show them the contents & to collect any sponsorship money the children have brought in. Thanks to all in advance…your money really helps Peace & her community in Uganda.

Mrs Berry here with the last update for this school year. I have both good news and bad news….

First the good news, over the year, even with 2 months of Home Learning we raised over €380 to support Peace and her community in Uganda. This is a fantastic achievement…Thanks & Well done to all those who brought money in over the year. We also sent an End of Year parcel to Peace,  including a dress and an Ireland Colouring Set.

The bad news is that Uganda has just started another lockdown, which means no school for Peace. The rules are much stricter than for us as they include an evening curfew & virtually no car journeys are allowed! Fortunately the numbers of people who are seriously ill are very low. I’m hoping by my next update in September I’ll have all positive news!

Thanks again for everyone’s contributions, they make a great difference to Peace & her community.

Peace will be 10 in February. We are sending her a birthday present & card. Normally I’d go from class to class & show each of you. I may even ask one of you to make the card. This time I had to design the card myself. In the parcel there is black, summery trousers, pink top, flamingo soap & Uno cards. Hopefully you can see them in the photo. Happy birthday Peace!

When I was in school on Thursday there was this Christmas Card from Peace. As there is no post to Ireland from Uganda, it actually came via Belgium! 

Hi Mrs Berry here. Thanks for the money that has been brought in for Peace & her community.

Have a look inside our new classroom!

  

This is the corridor that links to the main building 

 

 

Dear Parents

Now that we have reached the end of our first month back at school I would like to thank you all for your cooperation in adhering to all the new rules and procedures pertaining to our Covid-19 regulations. The health and safety of all members of our school community remains our primary focus.

We are very thankful that we are all adjusting to the ‘new normal’ and ask that you continue to remain vigilant in checking temperatures and ensuring that your child remains at home if presenting with any of the symptoms of Covid-19. If concerned best practice continues to be to check with your GP before returning to school.

To date you will have noticed that homework set during the month of September has mostly been in the form of reading, spellings and tables. From the 5th October pupils, from Senior Infants up, will also have some aspect of written homework. The format of correcting written work will change somewhat but the usual rules apply:

· All work must be completed carefully and neatly

· Homework Journal should be signed by parent when all aspects of homework have been completed and checked

Teachers will be in touch in the near future to organize registration of all pupils to use the seesaw App which may be used for homework and also used in the event of having to engage in any form of remote learning.

Just a few wee reminders!

· Pupils should not arrive at school before doors open at 9:00am

· External classroom doors are locked at 9:30 so pupils arriving after that should ring bell at main door for admittance

· In the interest of pupil safety please refrain from driving into school grounds from 9:00 - 9:30 each morning while pupils are arriving and walking to their classroom.

· Please remember to send a note explaining each absence with the pupil when he/she returns to school. (back pages in Homework Journal can also be used for this) Please note that a written note is needed even if you have already phoned the office to inform us of the absence.

We look forward to your continued cooperation and support during the school year as we work together to maintain a safe environment and provide the best possible educational opportunities for our pupils within the restrictions placed upon us by the current Covid-19 situation.

Yours sincerely

Linda Mills

Mrs Berry visited all the classrooms today collecting any money &showing the pupils what things she will be sending to Peace. Thanks to the pupils & families who did bring in money, it amounted to just over €20. Mrs Berry will be sending a gift on Saturday, using Middletown PO as post is not going to Uganda yet. Included in the parcel is soap, t-shirt, bag, colours & a notebook.

Mrs Berry here, today I went around the classrooms collecting any donations for Peace. I was overwhelmed with the generosity of the Model pupils & families, especially in the Junior & Infant rooms. In just  over a week I have collected €90! This means we can easily pay the monthly sponsorship & send an extra gift in the post. The Ugandan government are hoping to reopen schools soon.

Thanks again, keep bringing in the money, it all helps.

Dear Parents & Pupils

I hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the last few weeks of the summer break.

As you will know from a recent email we are working hard to put a huge number of new procedures and practices in place in order to comply with Department of Education directives as laid out in the DES Covid 19 Response Plan for the safe and sustainable reopening of Primary & Special schools.

At present we are aiming to open as planned on Thursday 27th August with an Induction Day for Junior Infants on Wednesday 26th August.

We officially welcome parents of all new pupils to the Model School community and look forward to getting to know you in person as the year progresses.

There will be lots of correspondence in coming weeks as more details for our return to school are finalised so I would encourage you to keep a regular check on your emails.

We are really looking forward to getting back to school and seeing you all again very soon.

Linda Mills

Before returning to school we would ask all parents to ensure that your child’s name is clearly marked on all belongings (drink bottle, lunch box, school bag, cardigan/jumper, coat, pencils etc.)

School Uniform

We have no plans to change the wearing of school uniform as reasonably priced clothing can be purchased at any of the main retail outlets. We also have some good quality second hand uniforms available from school. If anyone is interested in these please get in touch by email or using the school mobile number.

Hi Mrs Berry here, when I was shopping today in Tescos & I spotted this Barbie. I immediately thought of Peace & will send it to her when the post is working in Uganda properly.  Some restrictions have been lifted, people now are allowed drive. People have also been told to wear face masks. Many are making their own & are in lots of lovely, brightly coloured African prints."

Virtual Sport for All Day

If we were in School at present we would be planning for our Annual Sport for All Day

Covid May Updates from Monaghan Model School

Hello Everyone

I hope that you are all keeping well and staying safe at home.

Click here to see the FULL Message

Happy Friday, We're missing you and can't wait to see you again!

A Book Review by Sophie at Monaghan Model School

Congratulations to Sophie!

Sophie wrote a book review for the Sunday Business Post Newspaper.

Mrs Berry here.... I thought I’d send you all a short update on Peace in Uganda..

Dear Parents & Pupils

As you can see our teachers have been busy planning and preparing more school work to keep you busy.

Senior Infants have thoroughly enjoyed their Shared Education experience this year. They have made new friends, visited new places and experienced new things. 

Andrew and Beulah McMullan are well known to us in school. They occasionally take our school assemblies and we really enjoy hearing from them. Click into the following link to have your very own assembly at home.

We are all struggling to come to terms with the broader effects of Covid 19 and the restrictions it has placed upon our daily lives.

Get in Touch

Telephone: +353 (047) 83070
Mobile: +353 (086) 057 7885
Email: modelsch.ias@gmail.com
Website: www.modelnsmonaghan.com

The Model School, North Road,
Monaghan, Ireland