Woodford National School

School’s out for the summer! ☀️

We had a last day filled with both celebration and sadness as we said farewell to our wonderful 6th Class and wished them every success as they begin the next chapter of their journey.

We were also delighted to welcome a very special guest to ring our school bell at our final assembly of the year. During the farewell assembly, we took the opportunity to wish Fr. Kieran all the very best as he prepares for his move to a new parish. We sincerely thank him for his years of dedication, support and service to our school and parish community.

A special word of thanks to our Parents’ Association for their thoughtful gift, and to all of the children for their beautiful cards and kind words.

Wishing all of our pupils, families and staff a safe, happy and relaxing summer break.

🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️ What a fantastic day we had on our Wellbeing Cycle! 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️
Yesterday, 25 cyclists set off from the school on an adventure through our beautiful local area. Mr. Kelly led the group, with Miss Gaffey minding the back, while our safety cars, driven by Mr. Dervan and Claire, ensured everyone travelled safely.

Our destination was the historic Mass Rock at Lough Atorick for a planned picnic, but we had plenty of interesting stops along the way. At Toorleitra Children’s Graveyard, we were joined by our guide for the day, Geert Janssen. We took a moment to observe a minute’s silence in remembrance of those buried there and observed a few headstones before continuing on our journey.

A special thank you to Michael Thomas, who kindly gave us access to a traditional sweathouse and welcomed us to explore his beautiful garden and pond. We then passed the old Lough Atorick School before arriving at the Mass Rock. The children were reminded once again of how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

We were delighted to be greeted by Laura Leonard and Great-Granny McGuire, who cheered us on and provided some much-appreciated refreshments on both legs of our cycle. Thank you also to Geert for the delicious homemade banana bread.

Throughout the day, we learned about local history, including sweathouses, lime kilns and the Penal Laws, while enjoying the stunning scenery around Lough Atorick. Although we covered more kilometres than originally planned we enjoyed the challenge. A few punctures along the way, but spirits remained high. The journey home was a little more leisurely with kings hill behind us, and everyone returned safely to school for a well-earned rest!

A wonderful day of cycling, learning, wellbeing and community spirit. Well done to all involved!

Best of luck to our boys team tomorrow in the cumann na mbunscol county final. We had our final training session today with Mr Dervan & Mr Kelly. Thanks to Jason who brought the kilbeacanty 7’s cup into us & along with Galway legend Cyrill Farrell gave great advice to our young hurlers about preparing for and enjoying big games. The game takes place in Carnmore GAA grounds tomorrow at 12 noon against Lawrencetown. All support welcome.