Our Christmas celebrations made us all very proud again this year! The season began with a beautiful Carol Ceremony in the church, featuring some of the musical talent in the school. Our annual Seó Nollag, The Greatest Treasure was another spectacular success and a tribute to the work of so many. In between, we sang Carols for our friends in Marymount Hospice and Norwood Grange Care Home and even welcomed Daidí na Nollag to the school! Santa, bhíomar go léir thar bárr i mbliana agus tá féiríní iontacha tuillte againn!

Nollaig 2016

Principal MícheálÓ Draighneáin

and Parish PriestFr. Declan Mansfield

consulting the demolition team clearing the site

for our new extension!

(More on pages 4 and 5)

All Aboard!

Ballinora( is( synonymous ( with( the(

West( Cork( railway( .( Our( senior(

pupils(embarked(on(a(major(history(

project(to(discover(the(magic(of(the(

railway( in( these( parts.( Their( work(

introduced( them( to( a ( wealth( of(

historical (material,(principally(at(the(

home( of( Dan( and( ABracta ( Kent,(

which(is (built(on(the (site (of(the (then(

Waterfall ( StaEon.( We ( welcomed(

many(interested(local (residents(who(

called( to( view( the ( project,( which(

was( a( prize( winner( at( the( Cork(

Schools’(History(Awards.(

Scealta Scoile!Meitheamh 2014

Bye, Bye Prefabs!

Nollaig 2016

Scoil Bhailenóra, Waterfall, Cork.

Tel: 021-4871664 E-Mail: eolas@ballinorans.ie

Twitter: @SBNORA

Keep up to date with all the latest news and

information on our school website.

Ballinorans.ie or scan the QR code using a smart phone.

Thug ár ndaltaí óga aghaidh ar

Silversprings do “Frostie The

Snowman”. All enjoyed this

year’s Christmas production!

Pantomime / Geamaireacht

Cuairteoirí / Visitors

Garda Pat and Garda Anthony paid a visit to our infant classes, along with Garda dogs, Roxy and

Harley! Dr. Suzanne Kelly and Dr. Nick O’ Keeffe also dropped in and were put through their paces by

a most inquisitive audience!

2

I suspect the producers of “Reeling In The Years” won’t want for material when the year that was 2016 comes up for review. No doubt, Donald Trump will receive much attention, as will Brexit, and closer to home, the commemoration of 1916’s Éirí Amach na Cásca, perhaps.

Two of the three aforementioned events have the capacity to influence the lives of the children of Ballinora and beyond in the near future. Hopefully, the fears and anxieties of many in relation to these happenings might prove to be misplaced, le cúnamh Dé, but like it or not, we have little control over the course of these world events.

As a community of parents and teachers, our particular sphere of influence centres on the provision of quality learning experiences that will see our children grow and develop as well-rounded, competent, caring citizens. And while our year’s work in this regard might not turn the TV producer’s head as much as Mr. Trump’s , it still has every chance of exerting far greater influence on our children than his.This edition of Scéalta Scoile paints a vivid picture of the

The Parents’ Association have had a very busy few months ! We hit the ground running in mid-October following an emergency general meeting which saw a newly elected PA take over from Paula Twohig and  her executive. Having big boots to fill was daunting but we had no time to hesitate as the first item on the agenda was co-ordinating a very successful bag pack. This saw us raise  over €1,660 between  a Friday evening and Saturday in Dunnes Stores, Bishopscourt. The support we received with this was greatly appreciated and parents so willingly

gave up their time. We were delighted with the amount raised. Míle Buíochas.The next job to tackle was the Christmas cards and all the children have been very busy, with some very impressive artwork being displayed. We hope that they were well received and again, thanks to all who support-ed this annual venture.Our calendars have been a sell-out ! We were very happy with the finished product. A special thanks to 6th class pupil Amy O’ Riordan  who designed our lovely front cover. We have some interesting educa-tional talks lined up for the new year,

which is something to look forward to. We have especially welcomed all the new (and familiar!) faces at our monthly meetings. The attendance has been very good and we look forward to the continuing support in 2017.Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas,Trish Lyons, Denise Fenton, Sinead Guiney and Noreen O Sullivan-

Ballinora Parents’ Association

Parents’ Assocation / Cumann na dTuistí

critical work that our school community undertakes to develop such citizens. In this regard, I thank our talented and dedicated staff, parents who support, affirm and work with the school, their Association, our Board of Management volunteers, our parish and our neighbours and friends in Ballinora. Nár laga Dia sibh.

2016 has been another memorable year in our school, for all the right reasons. Our pupils embraced and enjoyed tremendous learning opportunities which can only benefit them and by extension, a world that will need them. Thankfully, they did so in vastly improved accommodation which has finally been completed, thanks to the support of so many. Ár míle buíochas libh.

Bíodh Nollaig shonasach agaibh uilig agus le cúnamh Dé, casfaimíd ar a chéile arís san ath-bhliain.

Mícheál Ó Draighneáin

Súil Siar

3

From small acorns do big trees grow! Twenty eight junior infants started their primary school adventure with

Ms. Hourihan in September. Go n-eirí go geal libh, a pháistí!

Ré Nua – The Next Generation!

Beginning of Year Mass / Aifreann Don

Scoil-Bhlian Nua

An old Irish proverb tells us that “Is giorra cabhair

Dé ná an doras / God’s help is nearer than the door”.

We asked His blessing on our year’s work in

September.

Cómhneartú & Commaoineach/ Confirmation & Communion

This year’s Confirmation group participated in an enrolment ceremony and planted daffoldils which will feature later in the year.

Our Communion group also held their Enrolment

Ceremony and are enthusiastically attending the

Sunday Do This In Memory Masses organised by

their parents and the

Parish. Go mbeannaí

Dia ár ndaltaí uilig.

Commaoineach / Communion

4

West Muskerry Cross Country / Tras Tíre

October saw our hardy band of runners set

course for Tom Creedon park in Macroom

and the venue continued to be a happy

hunting ground for us. Our largest ever

cohort of 54 runners won numerous medals

and enjoyed a great experience! Rinne sibh

gaisce a pháistí!

Iomáint / Hurling

Our long-running hurling skills programme, run in conjunction with Ballinora GAA, continues to

successfully introduce the ancient game to younger pupils. Buíochas le gach duine a thugann lámh cúnta

dúinn!

CricketRanganna 2-4 tried their hand at Cricket in recent weeks following a collaboration between the school and Cricket Ireland. Pupils took to the stump with great enthusiasm and learned much about the game and its rules. Ár mbuíochas le Jim Doran agus Cork Sports Partnership a thug tacaíocht don dtionscnamh.

The football events take place in the first term and our teams

did us proud again on the fields of play. Ár gcailíní

acquitted themselves extremely well against tough opposition this year while ár mbuachaillí made it all the way to CIT for the C3 final, only to fall to a strong Scoil

Barra team. Ár mbuíochas le h-imreoirí agus leis na h-oidí

a d’ullmhaigh iad.Sciath na Scol

On Yer Bike !

Ranganna a trí were the envy of the entire school during their six-week long

cycle-safety classes! During the programme, which was grant-aided by An Taisce, the

pupils learned all about keeping safe on two wheels. Away libh!

5

We took great delight in welcoming not one, but two championship

winning Ballinora hurling and camogie teams in September! We are proud of the myriad of connections

between both teams and the pupils and staff of our school.

Cómhgháirdeas ó chroí leis an dá fhoireann! Éacht ‘s gaisce!

Cork City FC’s capture of the FAI Cup this year was aided in no small way by

outstanding defender Alan Bennett. Alan is a proud past-pupil of Ballinora NS and returned with silverware for the second time this year, having previously paraded the league trophy in 2005. We congratulate Alan and Cork City FC and wish both Alan and his bride-to-be, Jacqui, every blessing on their upcoming big

day. Cómhgháirdeas agus fad saol chughaibh!

Local Laochra - Heroes & Heroines All!

Past-Pupil Focus / Ár n-Iar Scoláirí

Previous editions of Scéalta Scoile have showcased the achievements of some of our past-pupils and Conor Morey’s recent exploits on the athletics track have made him the focus of attention on this occasion. Conor’s athletic ability first became apparent during his time in rang a trí, when he was selected to represent the school at the annual Primary School Sports in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Two years later, his capture of a rare Senior Boys County Championship for Ballinora NS marked him out as one to watch. His performances and medal-haul since, bear testament to his undoubted potential. During this period, Conor swapped his Ballinora singlet for that of his club, Leevale AC, Munster and in recent years, his country. His international selection came as a result of a very successful domestic seasons on the track, which resulted in him winning no less than six national titles in two years, at 100m, 200m (indoors and outdoors) and in the 4 X 100 relay. Conor more than justified his selection on the Irish team at the Celtic Games in Swansea last summer when claiming the silver medal in the 200m sprint. His performance also helped the Irish team to claim the overall boy’s and team trophy. All in the school delight in Conor’s achievements and take great pride in the progress that he has made in such a short time. The first steps of his journey, taken during early-morning training sessions with our other athletes will no doubt inspire our current generation of runners to “lean leis an obair” and to emulate his success! The school community, including his many cousins and his proud local grand-parents, Kevin and Lena, look forward to welcoming Conor back to the school in the future and to continuing to see his star rise on the athletics track. Cómhgháirdeas ó chroí leat Conor. Go maire tú i bhfad!

Put your hands together for...

Rang a cúig pupil, Elliot Mitchell and past-pupil Shane Kingston who claimed High Achiever status at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Speech & Drama

awards.  Elliot was invited to perform a recitation of a poem entitled ‘Recipe’ by

Sheelagh McGee at the awards ceremony in Mary Immaculate College, in

November. Comhgháirdeas libh, Elliot agus Shane! 

Past-pupil, Clíona Dooley, who was recently selected on the Cork U-16 Ladies Football Squad. Clíona and her sister Kate starred on many of our school’s football and camogie teams. Ephie Fitzgerald, are you watching???

Rang a sé pupils, Juliette Blake and Laoise Murphy, who won the Acrobatics Team Trophy at the National Championships in Limerick recently.

6

Building Works...Our building programme was finally

completed ahead of our September

return. Thankfully, pupils and teachers

now work in vastly improved

accommodation. In total, just under

€800,000 has been invested in new

classrooms, support rooms, new toilets,

a new administrative office and other

areas, including the replacement of the

southern boundary wall.

September’s remaining debt of €40,000

now stands at €37,000. Any remaining

profits from Seó na Nollag ticket sales

will also be used to reduce this figure

further. Additionally, the school is most

grateful to all, including our new

families, who contribute through

monthly standing orders or with

one-off payments.

Táimíd fíor-bhuíoch daoibh.

Building Works / Cúrsaí Tógála

Green Schools / Scoileanna Glasa

Clothes Collection / Bailiúchán Éadaigh

In recent times, Friday’s see an enthusiastic response to our car-pooling

initiative. Introduced as part of our commitment to the Travel component of the Green-Schools programme, the aim is

to reduce traffic around the school for the sake of the environment, our pockets and our stress levels! The response has been fantastic with far less cars evident on the

Fridays involved. Keep up the good work!

Car-Pooling

Our recent “Cash for Clobber”

clothes collection was a

fantastic success, raising €700!

This figure will be used to

reduce the €40,000 debt on our

completed building

programme. Is mór dúinn bhúr

dtacaíocht.

7

Green Schools / Scoileanna Glasa

Our Science Club got up and running again this year and all enjoyed the term’s activities! Pupils discovered how salt lowers the freezing point of water and learned how to make ice-cream using just milk, ice and salt! Why do leaves change colour in autumn? We learned how chlorophyll breaks down as daylight decreases, allowing the other colours present in the leaves to become visible.

The children really enjoyed demonstrating their experiments for their school friends during a busy Science Week!

Tráth na gCeist / Science QuizWe dispatched two teams to the Lifetime Lab Primary Science

Quiz in UCC lately and they didn’t disappoint!

An Club Eolaíochta / Science Club

Robotics

Rang a cúig will again compete in

the Robotix Challenge at CIT in

January. Obstetrician, Dr. Matt

Hewitt, who utilises the da Vinci

robot at CUMH was of great

assistance to the group, who also

produced a short video of their

efforts, as part of our entry. The

video can be viewed on our

Youtube channel. (Ballinora

National School).

Credit Union Art Competition

Eliza, Cliona and Megan did a clean sweep of the prizes

on offer at Bishopstown Credit Union’s Art Competition.

Bravo!

8

Oíche Shamhna 2016 – “Bob nó Breab / Trick or Treat”

We welcome teachers Caroline O’ Hara and

Maude Ní Chéilleachair to the staff. Best wishes

to Bébhinn Neilsen, who has returned home to

Waterford and to Gina Cullen, whose talents have

been loaned to the Professional Development

Support Service!

Staff / Foireann na Scoile

Spirit of Christmas….Rang a sé pupils

organised a collection of shoeboxes filled with practical and

useful items for those in need, in

collaboration with Cork Penny Dinners.Christmas Shoe Box Collection

Ms. O’ Hara’s

class were hard

to recognise

behind their

magnificent

masks!

Out & About / Anseo ‘s Ansiúd

Ranganna a ceathar enjoyed a visit to

FOTA, where much was seen and learned

about the “reuse and recycle” approach

employed there. Ná caith amach é!!