We are delighted to welcome our new Junior Infant class to our St. Fursey’s N.S community!
Well done to the children in 5th and 6th class who participated in the Credit Union Quiz in the Fairways Hotel Dundalk. The children performed very well in the quiz and had a very enjoyable day. We were delighted when the 6th class team were crowned the winners.
Well done to all the children involved for their hard work and dedication. Also, thanks to Ms. Mulholland and Ms. Sloane for helping to prepare the teams.
Well done to Jessica Mc Keown in 6th class for her marvellous achievements in Gymnastics. She brought her medal to school to share her achievement with the class.
Ryan Markey and Harry Mc Conville in 6th class also brought in their trophies for “Most Improved” football players in their soccer squad.
Another award for Daisy Kieran in 6th Class too for her achievements in the boxing ring. She has won another medal in the Louth Open Championships.
Well Done!
Well done to the Girls Gaelic Team who were the winners of the 7 aside Regional Shield Competition in Kilkerley on Monday 13th of June 2022. The team played a blitz and won all three of their games to be crowned champions. Well done to Nessa Casey and Aimee Lynch on captaining the team together!! Well done to Ms. Sloane for all of her hard work with the Girls GAA team too!
In partnership with the Irish Heart Foundation St. Fursey’s are delighted to launch our very own Slí na Sláinte. It contains four walks (loops) of different length that are suitable for different classes. The Slí na Slainte is a health promotion initiative of the Irish Heart Foundation aimed at encouraging people to walk on a regular basis. Our pupils are getting great use out of it.
https://www.scribd.com/document/480318563/8473-st-furseys-ns-sli-a1-map-v2-1?secret_password=4bHJ40FieCeudQ9PC9Os#download&from_embed
St. Fursey’s school acknowledges physical activity both inside and outside of school hours. We are very proud of all our school teams and also all those pupils who have made the Well Done Wall in our school for their achievements outside of the school.
On Fridays our pupils take part in disco Friday. Here our playground leaders organise music and perform dances which our younger pupils can follow.
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Active Break Challenge
The pupils took part in an active break every day challenge. The pupils undertook this challenge through running breaks, go noodle dances, yoga breaks and other active breaks.
The Daily Mile is a social physical activity, with children running or jogging – at their own pace – in the fresh air with friends. The aim of The Daily Mile is to improve the physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing of our children – regardless of age, ability or personal circumstances. This year the whole school undertook the challenge of the daily mile over a six week period starting in September 2019.
The Playground Stencils Programme is an initiative by the Louth Local Community Development programme, working in conjunction with Sport Ireland and the Louth Local Sports Partnership.
The rationale behind the initiative is so increase the overall physical activity levels of all primary school children, physical activity is central to a person’s physical, psychological, emotional and social health. It should be seen as part of every child’s daily lifestyle.
It is hoped that this initiative will encourage children to take part in active games that can help them develop good habits which will prove invaluable throughout their lives.
The playground games are aimed at both group and individual participation. The activities are ideal for games and for informal play which research shows will
(a) encourage play
(b) prevent accidents and bullying
(c) provide children with structured games.
The Playground stencils were sourced this year from the Local Sports Partnership and painted on our school yard. The results were fantastic!
As well as teaching Physical Education lessons in St. Fursey’s N.S we strive to encourage physical activity throughout the day. Our school yard is zoned to maximize space and to allow the pupils to engage in as many physical activities as possible.
The Physical Education curriculum allows for an hour of physical activity each week for each class. We engage with all curriculum areas each year: Athletics; Dance; Gymnastics; Games; Outdoor and Adventure Activities; and Aquatics. At St. Fursey’s all pupils are provided with 60 minutes of PE each week. Our PE programme allocated a balanced amount of teaching time to each of the different PE strands.Our PE equipment and resources are clearly labelled, well organised and easily accessible for both teachers and playground leaders. In the school calendar year 2019/2020 all teachers, parents and pupils were surveyed as a means of evaluating physical education within St. Fursey’s. Using this information our school PE plan was restructured and a focus was put on developing the fundamental movement skills while engaging with all strands of the PE curriculum. Our aim is to develop all of these skills as the pupils progress through St. Fursey’s N.S.
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This year our teachers engaged with a PDST facilitator to focus on developing our lessons in relation to gymnastics.
Our school also teaches the Land PAWS water safety programme to all classes each year.
St. Fursey’s N.S. are delighted to announce that we have received our first Active School Flag!
What is the Active School Flag?
The Active School Flag is a Department of Education and Skills initiative supported by Healthy Ireland. The Active School Flag is awarded to schools that strive to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community. The process aims to get more schools, more active, more often. Our challenge will be to find interesting and exciting ways to energize the school day because active children are happy learners!
Please keep an eye on the website for updates on how we have been getting active in school! Also, we know that parents have some brilliant ideas on how we could increase physical activity levels of our children. There will be a suggestion box located at the main office in the school soon if you would like to share your ideas with us or else contact Mr O Donoghue.
St. Fursey’s National School has recently been awarded the prestigious Digital Schools of Distinction Award. The school is currently undertaking the School Self Evaluation Process in incorporating Digital Technologies into Classroom Teaching to foster and enhance the guiding principles of the Digital Learning Framework.
In our school we are aware that the children in our classrooms are technologically “savvy” and growing up in a Digital World. Therefore we are working to ensure that these “digikids” are equipped with the necessary skills to grow and develop in this world. There is a hard working and committed DLF (Digital Learning Framework) team, co-ordinated by Ms. Mc Guinness within the school, that work collaboratively to ensure that the aims set out in the SSE School Improvement Plan are being met.
The school has access to a range of digital technologies and investments are continuously being made in this area. Each classroom has access to the most up to date Interactive Whiteboards; there are a full class set of 32 Chromebooks available to use; Digital Video Recorders, Ipads etc. In June 2019, the school was inspected to ensure that all digital resources were being used to benefit the educational needs of all pupils. As a result St. Fursey’s N.S. is now a Digital School of Distinction.To find out more detailed information about how these resources are being utilised in the school please read our Report from the DSoD (Digital Schools of Distinction) evaluation.
On Friday 29th November 2019 Sharon Fennelly and KJ Hamill were invited to St. Fursey’s N.S. to raise the Amber flag and Digital Schools of Distinction Flag. Other invited guests included Chairperson of the Board of Management Rev. Dermot Clarke; Fr. Aidan Mc Cann – School Chaplin; Susan Murphy and Mandy Dowdall – Members of the Parent’s Association. There was a great atmosphere in the school among the pupils for this celebration day.
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St. Fursey’s N.S has received many awards in the last number of years.
Amber Flag Initiative – The is a project to promote the mental health and wellbeing of the children and staff in our school. The initiative aims to encourage schools, colleges, clubs and societies to promote and actively bring about a culture change in the promotion of Positive Mental Health within the Education System and other organisations.
Green Schools Initiative – This project aims to make environmental awareness and action an intrinsic part of the life and ethos of a school. Green-Schools endeavours to extend learning beyond the classroom and develop responsible attitudes and commitment, both at home and in the wider community. St. Fursey’s National School has been involved in this initiative for many years now and continues to support its aims.
Digital School of Distinction – This is a flagship programme which aims to promote, recognise and encourage excellence in the use of technology in primary school. The award is accredited by the Department of Education and Skills.
SFI Plaque of STEM – The aim of the SFI Discover Programme is to support projects that address one or more of the following objectives: Stimulate and create debate and dialogue amongst the public, and opportunities for dialogue with STEM experts, on topics of societal importance where STEM has a key role.
Active School Flag – The ASF initiative provides schools with a framework to guide, support and incentivise them to work towards achieving a physically educated and physically active school community.