All posts by Elizabeth O'Connor

Special Visit from Past Pupils: All-Ireland Winners!

On Thursday 21st of March, we had a special visit from some past pupils.

St Marys Secondary School in Newport recently won the U19 Boys Masita GAA All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Niall McInerney Cup Final. Some of our past pupils were on the team. Their coaches, Mr Kelly and Mr Minogue, brought the boys and more of their teammates also from the parish, for a visit to show us the cups they had won: the Munster Cup and the All Ireland Cup.

Well done to the boys and all the team and coaches on a fantastic achievement after many hours of hard work and training.

From left: Mr Kelly, Cathal Sheridan, Jamie Long, Darragh Bourke, Tommy Cusack, Evan Duffy, Mark Lonergan, Seán O’Connor, Fintan Sheridan and Mr Minogue.

Bug Hotels , Turkey Tails and Spring Flowers.

Turkey Tail mushrooms growing on a tree stump.

Tree stumps make excellent bug hotels, as well as providing a great place for fungi to grow. Check out these fungi on one of our tree stumps: the fungus is called Turkey Tails and you can see why.

Red Dead Nettle. Find it growing beside the flagpoles.

Now at the end of February, we can see the return of the wildflowers. So when you are out in the yard, see if you can spot these early flowers: daisies, dandelions, red dead nettle (they do not sting) and celandines. And remember flowers are food for bees and other early pollinators, so Leave the flowers be and save a Bee (or 3).

The native trees in our wild corners will be budding soon. In the meantime, here are some daffodils to enjoy in our wild corners.

Wild corner nr 2, at the east end of the school grounds, with Rowan and Hazel saplings and daffodils. planted with the aid of Gordon Young , Tidy Towns committee.

2nd Class: Expert Birdwatchers!

We have been observing and identifying the birds that land on the yard outside our classroom for the past few months. We filled in our observations on the Irish Garden Bird Survey. Then today, there was huge excitement when 2 Blue Tits and 2 Goldfinches visited our new peanut feeder at the bird feeding station outside our window! The birds were too fast for Miss to capture them on camera.

Green Schools: Planting Daffodils with Gordon Young, Tidy Towns

7th November 2023. Today the older children from the Green Schools Committee planted daffodil bulbs in our Wild Flower corners with the help of Gordon and Claire Young of Murroe Tidy Towns. Gordon kindly dug a trench for us to plant the bulbs. The bulbs were donated to us by Murroe Tidy Towns. We are looking forward to seeing the bulbs grow in the spring!

We also had a look at the bird houses that Gordon had put up earlier, and we looked at the flowers on the ivy. These flowers will become black berries which are an important food source for birds in late winter and early spring.

Hyacinth bulbs for Juniors, Seniors and First Class

The children on the Green Schools Committee from Junior Infants, Senior Infants and First Class were invited over to 2nd Class today, where they each got a little present: a hyacinth bulb for their class!
The bulbs are in a special glass jar that will allow the children to see the roots grow over the next few weeks. The bulbs need to be in the dark until after Christmas. Looking forward to seeing how these lovely flowers grow and bloom!