Horseleap N.S.

As part of our Active School Flag process, we have Playground Leaders twice a week. The pupils from the Senior Room lead games and activities for the Junior Room. Thank you so much to all the wonderful playground leaders who show such initiative, care, creativity and responsibility towards the younger children. Playground Leaders overseeing parachute activiities 'Duck, Duck, Goose!'

Thank you to Úna Haplin who visited our school on Wednesday, 4th December to provide a workshop for the children on the theme of energy as part of our green school programme. The children learned about where energy comes from and had the opportunity to make simple circuits.

Senior Room pupils did some wonderful weaving last week to produce beautiful coasters in time for Mother's Day!

The pupils of Horseleap N.S. pictured at the entrance to Athlone Regional Sports Centre The pupils of Horseleap N.S. are currently attending swimming lessons in Athlone Regional Sports Centre each Thursday for six weeks. We are delighted at all the progress being made! All the pupils have made huge improvements, moving from the shallow water to deeper water. Some pupils have had the opportunity to jump into the deep end!

Well done to all the singers who competed in Scór na bPáistí in the local community centre recently. The ballad group sang 'She Moves Through the Fair' and 'Peigín Leitir Móir'. Molly represented the school in solo singing and she performed 'The Shores of Lough Bran'. Thank you to all who helped the girls prepare for this event.

Míle buíochas do Ms. Robinson for all her preparations over the past few weeks for our St. Patrick's Day celebration. The children played 'Dawning of the Day', 'Roddy McCorley', 'Kerry Polka' and 'Bog Down in the Valley O' on their tin whistles. We listened to some beautiful singing and guitar. The children next performed Haka Gaelach, Cha Cha Slide as Gaeilge, An Dreoilín and an Irish Reel. Then the whole school sang 'Ireland's Call' and 'Amhrán na bhFiann'. Finally, we had our own mini parade as we all marched around the school. Beannachtaí na Féile Pádaig oraibh go léir! A beautiful Irish song A future rock star Cha Cha Slide as Gaeilge An Dreoilín Playing our tin whistle tunes on the picnic tables

We had a 'Pop Up Gaeltacht' in Horseleap N.S. this week. The pupils were encouraged to speak 'as Gaeilge' and be proud of their native language!

The pupils in 5th and 6th class visited the Radisson Blu Hotel in Athlone last week to take part in a Green Schools workshop on the theme of energy. This workshop was facilitated by An Taisce and hosted by Rob and Aiden. They gave us a lot of information about energy - the different types of energy, renewable and non-revewable forms of energy and how we can reduce the amount of energy we consume. The pupils took part in a range of activities and experiments including playing instruments, 'Design Your Perfect Energy School', science experiments, scavanger hunt and making a light bulb energy pledge. We look forward to putting all this knowledge to good use over the coming months as we work to achieve our Global Citizenship: Energy Green Flag.

Pupils were delighted when our new outdoor speaker arrived last Friday. Now we are able to have music during playtime and do dance lessons outdoors!

Thanks to Ms. Robinson who showed the children how to make mini pizzas in the air fryer. The children now know how to make this delicious snack at home!