6th Class Graduation
What a wonderful day it was as we celebrated the graduation of our 6th Class on Thursday 18th June. Father Denis joined us for a lovely ceremony, helping to mark this special milestone in the lives of our pupils. Our G.P. Room was beautifully decorated with photographs, treasured memories, and the hopes and dreams our graduates have for the future. During the ceremony, each pupil received their graduation certificate before enjoying the traditional cake-cutting celebration.
The day was filled with laughter and joy as pupils posed for photographs with family and friends, enjoyed a beautiful slideshow of memories, and rounded off the celebrations with a pizza party. We are incredibly proud of our 6th Class and would like to wish each and every one of them every success, happiness, and opportunity as they begin the next exciting chapter of their journey in secondary school.
Congratulations, Class of 2026!
Autism Awareness Month
Our ASD Class celebrated Autism Awareness Month in April by embracing and celebrating what makes each of us unique. The children took part in a variety of activities focused on understanding that every brain works in its own special way. They created beautiful drawings and artwork highlighting the uniqueness of their minds, talents, interests, and personalities. These thoughtful creations helped promote acceptance, inclusion, and appreciation of differences throughout our school community. To mark the occasion, the whole school came together for a walk to the pitch, showing support for autism awareness and celebrating the wonderful diversity that makes our school such a special place. It was a fantastic day filled with positivity, understanding, and school spirit.
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French Lessons
The children from our senior classes were introduced to French over a period of ten weeks in Term 2-3 this year. The Say Yes to Languages programme aims to give pupils and teachers a taste of what it means to integrate additional languages alongside English and Irish. Fabienne (who is originally from France but has lived in South Mayo for many years) visited our school weekly and the children learned lots about the French language as well as daily life and culture in France. Bravo à tous!
Hurling
It has been a very busy and rewarding year on the hurling front with both girls and boys from 4-6th Class all receiving hurling coaching sessions again in May and June. Joe from Moytura Hurling Club visited us on Fridays and we built on the great introduction to hurling we got from Cian earlier this school year. We entered Cumann na mBunscol hurling competitively for the first time in many years and had a great day out at the Division 4 blitz played in Claremorris on June 4th. We won our matches against Logboy and Derrywash and performed really well against Parke NS who were the eventual blitz winners. Well done to all who practised and developed their hurling skills both at home and with Moytura Hurling Club - we look forward to more great progress on the hurling fields of Mayo next year!
National Spring Clean
For many years we have taken part in An Taisce’s National Spring Clean to raise awareness about the problem of litter and how to care for our local environment. On April 29th the Junior and Senior Infant classes were busy with litter pickers in our own school grounds. Children from 1st – 5th Class were based at Kilmaine Community Grounds and our Senior Class did a litter pick in Kilmaine village. Míle buíochas to Kilmaine Village Enhancement Group for their support again this year with our spring clean.
3rd and 4th Class Blitz
On June 9th the girls and boys from 3rd and 4th Classes took part in a Gaelic Football blitz in Kilmaine Community Grounds. The sun shone and the skill level on display was a credit to all involved. Both of our school’s teams played their best from start to finish against The Neale, Roundfort and Shrule. For the final hour before lunch we got to mix up the teams and children made friends or renewed friendships with girls and boys from the other local schools. Maith sibh go léir!
Cumann na mBunscol Football
The annual South Mayo Cumann na mBunscol Division 2 football blitz was held in Ballindine on May 6th. Our girls’ team played well on the day but did not qualify for the next round. The boys from Kilmaine also played to their potential and were worthy winners over Ballindine, Robeen and The Neale. Their next game was the county semi-final at Mulvey Park, Castlebar on May 14th. Our opponents from Brackloon were victorious on the day despite our best efforts. Well done to all who took part.
Senior Tour to Petersburg
Our Senior Classes enjoyed an exciting and action-packed tour to Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre. The pupils had a fantastic day filled with adventure, teamwork, and lots of fun. The activities included kayaking on the water, an exhilarating speedboat ride, and an obstacle course on the island, where pupils challenged themselves and supported one another throughout the day. There was plenty of laughter, excitement, and memorable moments as everyone embraced the outdoor activities. To round off a wonderful trip, the group stopped at Supermac's on the journey home, which was the perfect way to finish a fantastic day out.
Senior Sports Day 2026
Children from 3rd to 6th Class took part in our annual Sports Day on Tuesday 16th June. We were blessed with beautiful weather, which made the day even more enjoyable for everyone involved. The children enthusiastically participated in a wide range of activities, including sprint races, fun races, soccer, basketball, rounders, tag rugby, an obstacle course, and the ever-popular Poc Fada. There was truly something for everyone, ensuring that all pupils had the opportunity to get involved, have fun, and showcase their talents. The day was filled with energy, teamwork, laughter, and friendly competition. It was wonderful to see the children encouraging one another and enjoying the opportunity to be active outdoors with their friends.
Infant visit to Turin Castle
It was with great excitement that the children boarded the bus recently to take a visit to the nearby Turin Castle. We walked the winding driveway up to the doors of the castle where we were greeted by the lovely Brendan and Marnie Farrell. They spoke to the children about the history of the castle and how they spent many years renovating it. The children were fortunate enough to get a guided tour of the castle and see the various rooms on each floor. They loved climbing the spiral staircase and exploring the rooms on each floor. The got to see the impressive Great Hall with its large dining table and gallery overhead. They got to visit Brendan and Marnies beautiful sitting room and we went to the top floor to look at the beautiful Kilmaine country side where we could see for miles and miles. When we came back to school the children prepared a power presentation for the whole school, which they presented with great confidence. Well Done Boys and Girls.
Infant Swimming June 2026
The boys and girls in the Infant Room travelled to Castlebar Swimming Pool for four weeks of lessons during the month of June. Each week the children grew in confidence and ability and they should be so proud of themselves and how capable they were in the water. They had great fun and particularly enjoyed singing on the bus where we were treated to a weekly rousing rendition of ‘Killeagh’.
St. Valentine’s Day
The children learned all about St. Valentine and his connection to Ireland. The children were surprised to hear that he is buried in Dublin. Lots of talent on show as everyone drew the most beautiful Cupids!
Pancake Tuesday
The children learned all about the traditions of Shrove Tuesday as they prepared for the beginning of Lent. The pupils read recipes, measured their ingredients and made the pancakes all by themselves. Teacher was even challenged to make a red pancake!
Preparing for Assembly
The children were so excited to show all that they had learned to the whole school in our Whole School Assembly. We had been learning about France for the whole month and we shared our talents and knowledge with all our friends. We learned that France is shaped like a hexagon and we made a model to show that! We all became little Monets with our impressionist art work.
World Book Day
To celebrate World Book Day, we had a Book Buffet where we sampled all the interesting, entertaining books in our library. We love escaping to new worlds by tucking into a good book!
Maths Trail
We had a very challenging, fun maths trail all around the school. We had so many problems to find and solve. We love working in teams with our friends.
Important Visitors
Our class welcomed very welcome visitors to our room. Ms. Higgins very generously shared her box of frogspawn and tadpoles! We are enjoying being budding scientists.
2nd and 3rd class Viking Projects
Students in 2nd and 3rd class have been learning all about the fascinating world of the Vikings, exploring how they lived, travelled, and raided long ago. They discovered interesting facts about Viking homes, clothing, weapons, and their famous longships, which they used to sail across seas. As part of their learning, the students worked hard on written projects, carefully researching and presenting information in their own words. They showed great creativity by adding drawings and neat handwriting to their work. It has been wonderful to see their curiosity grow as they learned about this exciting period in history, and they should be very proud of their fantastic projects.
Science is Fun!
Rang 4&5 learned lots in science again this term. We had lots of fun learning about and making our own parachutes. We investigated and experimented with energy, forces, magnetism and electricity and got to create simple circuits.
Cumann na mBunscol Sports Quiz & Credit Union Quiz
Children from 4-6th Class entered two keenly-contested local quizzes this term. In January we spent lots of time preparing and adding to our sports knowledge and assembled our sports quiz team of Harry Shaughnessy, Frank Fahey, Darragh Mulloy and Alex Flynn. They took part in and represented us all very well at the Cumann na mBunscol South Mayo sports quiz in Ballinrobe on January 27th. In February our Credit Union quiz teams both went to Claremorris for the local general knowledge quiz. There were two age categories and our school entered both. Well done to all who took part and represented our school so well:
Junior quiz team: Elijah Perez Penton, Cillian Macken, Rian Lavin and DJ Kyne
Senior quiz team: Dan Walshe, Darragh Mulloy, Phoenix Leckie James, Ronan Hartnett
St. Brigid’s Day Presentation
Our Fourth & Fifth Class children were very busy in January preparing for our presentation about Saint Brigid. We chose to research and learn more about Saint Brigid and the interesting folklore, stories and songs relating to her. The other classes all got to learn some of what we learned at our presentation in the GP Room. We shared some interesting facts and traditions surrounding this ancient festival which dates back to pre-Christian times in Ireland. We told a short story of ‘St. Brigid and The Fox’ and sang the lovely ‘Song of Brigid’s Cloak’.
Maths Stations
Each week, our 5th and 6th class pupils take part in Maths stations as part of their learning. These fun and engaging activities give children the chance to practise and consolidate their maths skills in a variety of ways.
Working in small groups, pupils rotate between different stations where they Play maths games, use hands-on materials, solve problems together, work closely with the teacher for extra support
Maths stations help to build confidence, encourage teamwork, and make learning more enjoyable. This approach reflects the aims of the new Primary Mathematics Curriculum, which places a strong emphasis on understanding, problem-solving, and active learning.
St. Brigid’s Day
To celebrate St. Brigid’s Day, the children in 5th and 6th class created their own St. Brigid’s crosses. This was a lovely hands-on activity where pupils learned about the tradition and its importance in Irish culture.
Everyone really enjoyed making their crosses and took great pride in their work.
Pirates AHOY!!!
The children from the Junior End of the school were dressed up as wonderful Swash Buckling Pirates during the recent St. Patricks Day Parade. They sailed through the village using there telescopes for guidance and performed a lovely song in the square much to the delight of the large crowd. They even won a prize for their efforts. Well done all.
World Book Day
World Book Day
World Book Day took place this year on the 5th March 2026. To celebrate it and to show our love of books the children in Junior and Senior Infants joined forces with the big boys and girls from 5th and 6th class for a very special reading time in the schools GP Room. The Infant children had brought their favourite book to school with them and the older children read them for them. There was great discussion and laughter amongst all children as the books were read. The enjoyable reading session ended with the children working in pairs to recreate the cover of their favourite book.HEY
Scratch Junior
The boys and girls have had great fun over the last number of weeks coding and programming using the Scratch Junior App. They were super quick to pick up the skills of creating a background, adding characters, coding them to make them move and dance around the screen. They even recorded and added their own voices to the characters to make them really come to life and tell a story ! Definitely future Coders on our hands.
Show and Tell Day in the Infant Room
The children in the Infant Room held a Show and Tell Day in class recently. They were allowed to bring in any item they wished and speak to their classmates about why this item was special and why they had chosen it. We had a huge variety of interesting items on the day from cherished teddy bears, to well read favourite story books. We even had a Pet Lamb, who loved being feed by all the children.
Spring in our ASD class
Spring has sprung in our ASD class. Over the past few weeks, the children have been exploring the magic of the season through a range of engaging and hands on activities.
We have been learning all about animal lifecycles, discovering how living things grow and change. One of the highlights has been observing frogspawn in our classroom, watching closely as it begins its journey to becoming frogs. We were also delighted to welcome a very special visitor - a baby lamb. There was lots of excitement and many smiles as everyone got to meet our fluffy guest.
Our fabulous music lessons have also been a big part of our spring activities. Every Tuesday, Elaine joins us for music generation sessions where the children enjoy learning new songs and experimenting with a variety of instruments. These sessions are full of energy, creativity, and fun. For our final lesson before Easter, we even had a special visit from Peter Rabbit, which made the experience extra magical.
Creativity has been in full bloom too, with lots of spring-themed arts and crafts. From colourful flowers to cheerful spring scenes, the classroom has been filled with bright and beautiful artwork that reflects the joy of the season.
It has been a busy and happy time in our classroom, full of discovery, creativity, and fun. We are looking forward to seeing what the rest of spring will bring.
Lots of Socks Day 2026
World Down Syndrome Day is a special occasion that celebrates inclusion, kindness, and the uniqueness of every individual. In our school, students marked the day by designing bright and creative socks, a fun way to show that differences should be celebrated. The activity brought lots of colour and laughter Elena had lots of fun picking the most colourful pair of socks in each class and treated all students with a bag of jellies.
Pyjama Day
5th and 6th Class Science Week
Science Week 2025 in 5th and 6th Class was a huge success, filled with excitement, curiosity, and hands-on learning for all the children involved. The classrooms buzzed with energy as pupils took part in a range of fun experiments that brought science to life. Highlights included a thrilling balloon race that taught children about air pressure, building and testing catapults to explore forces, and designing parachutes to see how different materials affected speed and stability. The children worked enthusiastically, asked thoughtful questions, and had great fun discovering how science works in the real world, making the week both educational and memorable.
Junior and Senior Infants Newsletter
The children in Junior and Senior Infants spent many an outdoor play time recently playing with large polydron shapes. There was great excitement trying to build the tallest rocket possible that might make it to the moon! We have yet to test it!!
The Boys and girls in the Infant Classroom were simply fantastic in their recent Christmas Concert’ Shine Star Shine’. They had put in many long hours in practising their songs and learning their lines before making their debuts on stage and what a brilliant job they did. Well done to them all.
As part of the Construction Strand in Art the children in Junior and Senior Infants recycled cardboard boxes to create a bright and colourful town to use during play times. The addition of the duck pond finished their little project perfectly.
ASD Class Newsletter
Last term was a very busy and enjoyable time in the ASD class. We took part in lots of Christmas art and craft activities and helped to decorate the classroom, getting into the festive spirit together. Elaine from Music Generation visited us and taught us some Christmas songs, which we played using shakers and xylophones. We really enjoyed these music sessions.
We were very hands-on during Bricks Club, where friends from different classrooms joined us for lots of fun and teamwork. We also made cards and treats for our friend Peter’s birthday and celebrated together with delicious buns that we baked ourselves.
We went on several adventures around Kilmaine, including visits to the playground, the church, and the crib in the village. We enjoyed bowling in the hall and spent time building, running, and playing on the school’s Astro turf.
One of the highlights of the term was Pyjama Day. We enjoyed coming to school dressed in our cosy pyjamas and taking part in the fun activities planned for the day. Pyjama Day was organised by the Student Council, and we would like to thank our class representative, Denzel, for all his hard work in helping to make it such a success.
4th & 5th Class Newsletter
A Christmas Visit
On the day we started our Christmas holidays we were delighted to be visited by two of Kilmaine and Mayo’s Gaelic football finest!
Hugh O’Loughlin (a past pupil of our school) who starred on the Mayo U20 team who won the Connacht title in 2025 came in for a visit together with Oisín Mullin the two time PWC GAA/GPA Young Footballer of the Year and current player with Geelong in the Australian Football League.
They spent time in each classroom and we got to ask questions and listen to their interesting answers and advice to us all before they showed some of their football skills on the yard. It was a day to remember! We were very grateful to the lads for taking the time to visit.
Science Week
Our 4/5th Class took part in many activities and experiments as part of Science Week in November. We learned about famous Irish scientists in the past as well as those of today. We got busy investigating and experimenting with our own classroom-made lava lamps, bouncy eggs and water chime experiments. Lots of fun learning was had by all and we are already looking forward to Science Week next year!
Coding Workshop
We took part in a wonderful coding workshop during this term. Two coding tutors from NUIG showed us how to code with our own school iPads. It was a fun-filled activity session and everyone got to collaborate with our classmates and be creative using Scratch.
Circus Corvenieo
We welcomed Circus Corvenieo, a family-run circus touring Ireland each year, to our school in December. The McCormick family, the oldest name in circus entertainment in Ireland, thrilled us all with their acrobatics, clowns and superb entertainment.
1st and 2nd Class News Letter
Count-down To Christmas
The boys and girls began the count-down to Christmas by setting up our Jesse tree and Advent wreath. The children created their very own Advent Calendars to count down the weeks to a very special day! Christmas excitement was building!
Treading the Boards!
The first and second class children began gruelling practice for their production of “Lights, Camel, Action!” The boys and girls worked immensely hard to learn their lines and dances. Look at us in action!
Meet the Cast
Plus two more super-star inn keepers missing from photos!
Sporting Heroes to Look Up To
These footballing stars were towering over our class when they paid us a surprise visit. The children were very excited and asked loads of questions. The lads were wonderful and showed the children what can be achieved with belief, patience and hard work.
Pyjama Day
How strange it was to come to school in our PJs! We were all very cosy and comfy, and some of us brought our teddy bears… even teacher! We are very thankful to Chloe and Nela and all the Student Council for organising a very successful fundraising day.
Science Week
One of the many activities we engaged in during Science Week was an investigation into magnets and magnetic forces. We discovered that opposites do indeed attract! Through many playful experiments we learned which materials are attracted to magnets and which are not. We engineered spooky moving objects by using magnets under our tables. We even made our kites fly by attaching tiny magnets!
Christmas Decorations
First and second class used their measuring skills to make salt dough. We kneaded and shaped and eventually we produced amazing decorations to give to our family.
Ms Kelly's Class:
The children in Ms. Kelly’s 2nd and 3rd class had great fun learning all about rivers this term! They explored where rivers come from, how they flow, and why they are so important for people, animals, and the environment. The pupils created wonderful projects, including colourful posters, models, and fact sheets, and proudly presented their work to the whole school at assembly. They gave a fantastic presentation, sharing interesting facts with the audience. Everyone was so impressed with their hard work and enthusiasm. Well done!
Haloween Newsletter:
The children in first and second class have been very busy this term. We have been learning all about teeth and caring for our teeth. We sorted foods into good and bad choices.
We investigated the amount of sugar in some treats. We were pretty shocked as we weighed out the amount of sugar in our favourite snacks!
As there are lots of wobbly teeth in our room, we drew plenty of beautiful tooth fairies. We read the books “Bear's Loose Tooth” and “The Toothfairy”.
We were very curious about the effects of sugar on our teeth. After our “egg experiments”, we know that brushing our teeth well, can help keep our pearly whites healthy and shiny!
Student Council 2025/2026:
On Thursday 9th of October, the students elected their new student Council.
Congratulations to Lachlan, Kealan, Chloe, Nela, Cíanan, Katie, Ronan and Grace. We know they will do a great job representing the pupils of St, Patrick’s Central N.S.
A big thank you to Ms Higgins and the exiting Student Council for all their amazing activities and fundraising last year.
Maths Week:
Well done to all the students who took part in this years Maths week.
It was lots of fun using our Maths eyes and ears looking for all things Maths related. Every year the students are thinking outside the box and becoming more Maths aware. Maith sibh!
Cross Country Running:
Children from Rang 3-6 took part in cross country training in September. They got to go outside in our school grounds and did warm ups and laps of the small soccer pitch area. The big day eventually arrived on September 24th and we travelled to Ballinrobe Racecourse. All our hard work and preparation paid off as the children were all well able to compete to the best of their ability on the day. Katie McGrath along with our 3/4th Class boys’ team (Matthew Hughes, Che Varley, Oisín Ronan, DJ Kyne and Cianán Kelly) all qualified to take part in the Mayo finals in Belleek. There was more great news in store as both Che Varley and Cianán Kelly qualified for the Connacht Finals in Loughrea. Well done to all who took part and represented our school so well this year!
Altar Servers:
Girls and boys from 5th and 6th classes have been learning/practicing their altar serving skills this term. Fr. Denis has welcomed all our young volunteers to St. Patrick’s Church and the 6th Class children have shown great leadership in mentoring new servers from Rang 5. We wish them all the very best for the coming year(s) as they add much to the celebration of our liturgy. Go n-éirí libh go léir!
Welcome to Our New Pupils:
The school community would like to extend a warm welcome to our new pupils who began their education journey with us this year. The Infant Classroom saw the arrival of Lily Kelly, Lachlan Kelly, Isabella McGuinness, Roxy Geraghty Varley, Daniel Haran and Róisín Varley.
Further up the school 4 new pupils have joined and they are Denzel and Darina Agyemang and Jayden and Alianna Harte.
We wish all our new students many happy and enjoyable school days with us.
Junior Room Wedding:
The Junior Room recently hosted a wedding!!! For their Teddies!! Following on from the reading of the wonderful picture book ‘The Scarecrows Wedding’ the children wrote a list of what was needed on a wedding day and we got to marry some teddy bears together. Following the vows, the children got to sample some wedding cake and they even had a waltz and a jive. We wish all the teddies a long and happy life together.
Bekan:
On September 22nd, students from 4th, 5th, and 6th class attended an exciting event at the Connacht Centre of Excellence.
They were joined by schools from Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, and Galway for a fun-filled day of sport and teamwork.
The students were divided into five groups and rotated through a variety of 30-minute activities. These included orienteering, fundamental movement skills, rounders, hurling, football skills, and games. It was a fantastic opportunity for pupils to make new friends, stay active, and enjoy some friendly competition. One of the highlights of the day was the lively sing-along on the bus journey home!
Hurling:
In the six weeks leading up to Halloween, our 4th, 5th, and 6th class students took part in hurling training sessions.
These sessions were facilitated by the Mayo Hurling GPO (Games Promotion Officer), who introduced the children to the core skills of hurling through engaging drills and small-sided games.
It was a fantastic opportunity for the pupils to experience the sport, develop new skills, and have fun in a supportive environment. Well done to all involved!
Mini 7’s Competition – Wednesday, 1st October:
On Wednesday, 1st October, our pupils from 4th, 5th, and 6th classes took part in the Mini 7’s competition held at Kilmaine GAA pitch. The event saw great participation, with nine local schools competing in a day full of energy, skill, and sportsmanship.
Both our boys’ and girls’ teams played their hearts out, showing fantastic teamwork, determination, and school spirit. The level of competition was high, and all teams gave their very best throughout the day. Well done to everyone who took part – you did your school proud!