Horseleap N.S.

Sixth class pupils made energy balls as a treat for the rest of the school today. They tasted delicious and are a lovely healthy snack idea for over the Christmas holiday. Thank you to Ms. Robinson for organising this special treat! As part of the SPHE curriculum and SET, Ms Robinson is encouraging Healthy food and Independent and creative cooking skills in the school. Cooking local foods and in season, the pupils started with stewed apple. The pupils had a choice of toppings and flavourings. Next was apple crumble which they learned to brown in the air fryer. Homemade chips were very popular using Maris Piper potatoes with Celtic sea salt. Omelettes were made and served with small wraps. Pupils learned they are a high source of protein and a filling lunch or breakfast option. Energy balls with oats and honey as the main ingredients were produced as healthy on-the-go snacks. This whole school activity is getting great feedback from pupils who are using the skills at home and sharing knowledge together.

The children in our school were lucky to be part of two videos this year on the theme of caring for our environment. Thank you to Picker Pals and Dr. Paddy Madden for inviting our school to participate. Here are the links to these videos: Picker Pals: https://youtu.be/JolO0Jdj4iU Education for Sustainable Development: https://youtu.be/q2fS9Df9eh0

Pupils in the Senior Room had an opportunity to make airfryer chips with Ms. Robinson. The whole school was treated to a bowl of delicious handmade chips! We hope that the pupils will practise their new skills at home!

Our school is working towards our third Active School Flag this year. Every morning we begin the day with exercises and activities. This helps us to concentrate well for the rest of the day and helps to keep our minds and bodies healthy. This week was the first week of 'Active Break Every Day' four week challenge. Every day we do an active break either sitting at our desk or standing behind our desk. Active breaks have been proven to adjust energy levels, improve focus and help children self-regulate their emotions.

We had an amazing day at Explorium in Dublin today with Boher N.S. Despite a very early start, we all managed to stay awake and participate in a wide range of fun activities all based on science. And to top it all off, we met 'Mark, the Science Guy' from RTE! Can you spot our daredevil pupil on the 360 degree loop bike?

Well done to all the pupils on their beautifully presented shoeboxes in response to the Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal. This is Horseleap N.S.'s first time to participate in the Christmas Shoebox and it won't be our last! It is a truly wonderful project to be involved in. Our pupils carefully selected gifts to fill a shoebox and these presents will be distributed to vulnerable children across the world. More information is available here: https://www.teamhope.ie/christmas-shoebox-appeal/ If you haven't finished your Christmas shoebox yet, it is not too late to take part. Dealz and Toymaster are among the shops locally accepting shoeboxes until 10th November.

We entered our Active School Slogan into a special competition and were delighted to win a set of corridor stickers! Here you can see some of them which will help us to stay active during the school day!

Congratulations to Ms. Reid who completed the Dublin City Marathon with an extraordinary time of 3 hours and 19 minutes! Well done on this wonderful achievement which involved an enormous amount of dedication and commitment. Perhaps we have some future marathon runners in our midst!

Well done to all our pupils and parents on the amazing Hallowe'en costumes! We have a wide variety of interesting characters hanging around Horseleap N.S. today!

This year we are aiming to achieve our third Active School Flag. The chairperson of our ASF committee this year is Alannah Daly, ably assisted by Eva Gaynor, secretary. All pupils were invited to compose a slogan to promote active schools. The winner was chosen by pupils last Friday. Well done to Leo for his slogan: 'Don't sit in the car and talk. Get out for a walk!' Here is our display of all our active school slogan entries: Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. All the posters look so creative! Ms. Robinson does exercises to begin the school day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This term we also participated in the Relay Takeover on 27th September. We learned about the Irish mixed relay team who participated in the Paris Olympics and we practiced how to pass the baton to our team mates.

Chefs Molly and Lauren have been cooking with Ms. Robinson on Fridays. So far they have made stewed apple and rice krispie buns, which we all enjoyed!

Thank you so much to all the staff, pupils, parents and Board of Managements who worked tirelessly to prepare for our open day on 19th October. For the past few weeks, parents and BOM members have been busy distributing posters and leaflets inviting prospective families to visit our school. It was a resounding success with lots of new families visiting and lots of past parents and pupils calling in to visit also. Thanks to everyone who helped with refreshments and organising tables, chairs etc. Lots of work goes on behind the scenes! Application forms for September 2025 can be accessed here: