Christmas Carol Service
Our Lady of Mercy’s Christmas Carol Service in Holy Cross Church on Thursday, 11th December was a heartwarming success with students filling the church with festive cheer on the night. The boys and girls performed beautifully, sharing their holiday spirit through songs, music, and joy. From classic Christmas carols to fun and lively tunes, the performances were a true celebration of the season. The event brought together students, teachers, and parents for a memorable occasion that spread joy throughout the community. A big thank you to Mrs. Jones for her musical contribution and to everyone involved for making this year’s concert so special!
Woodhouse Christmas Card Competition
Artist, Justin Hindley, kindly visited Our Lady of Mercy National School to kick-off the annual Woodhouse Christmas Card competition. Justin explained how both the pencil drawings and colouring are important parts of the artistic process. Each child’s creativity was impressively displayed in their final drawings. Following a difficult judging process, the overall winner and runners-up were announced. Congratulations to Dan Walsh and Mila Halpin who came joint second and to Saoirse Coffey and Fiadh Cunningham who also received honourable mentions for their submissions. They received a gift of art supplies and Christmas treats for their superb work.
Christmas Festivities in Woodhouse Estate
Jim and Sally Thompson and the staff at Woodhouse Estate warmly welcomed the children down to enjoy a Christmas Party earlier this month. Junior Infants to 2nd Class visited on Wednesday, 3rd December and 3rd to 6th Class visited on Thursday, 4th December. The visit began with all the children meeting Santa Claus and receiving a delicious selection box! The celebrations continued inside where the children were treated to a delicious meal of chips, sausages and chicken goujons followed by lots of sweets and chocolate. An excellent entertainer played games such as musical statues, limbo, dancing and made balloon-shaped animals for the children. It was a special day for all, children and teachers really enjoyed the wonderful Christmas spirit. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Sally and Jim Thompson and all the staff in Woodhouse for hosting such an amazing event. Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
STEPS Engineering
The boys and girls in Ms. Geraghty’s and Mr. Griffey’s classes have been participating in the STEPS Young Engineers Award. This is a competition for primary school students in 3rd and 4th class to develop a creative engineering project to help or improve their local community. Children are tasked with identifying a problem and work in teams to come up with a creative engineering solution. They are encouraged to focus on sustainability when creating their solution. As part of the STEPS Young Engineers Award, local engineer Anthony O’ Gorman was invited in to speak to the children and they presented their projects to him. The children showcased their projects and learned about the important role of engineering in the community.
Science Week
Science Week was celebrated nationally from November 10th-17th. Science Week was a lively and hands-on experience for all our students. They took part in fun experiments, outdoor investigations, and creative challenges that sparked curiosity and teamwork. The week helped students see science as exciting, active, and part of everyday learning. Ms. Geraghty’s class conducted experiments such as the- vinegar and baking soda balloon experiment which saw the balloon become inflated and the leak-proof ziplock bag experiment.
Artwork
Our school has been buzzing with creativity over the past few weeks as each class embraced a range of festive art activities. The 5th and 6th classes have been working diligently on beautiful cross-stitch projects and 3D landmark constructions, showing great patience, skill, and attention to detail. Their pieces are vibrant and carefully crafted decorations for their own christmas tree at home.
Meanwhile, the younger classes have been getting into the Christmas spirit with a wonderful variety of seasonal art. From sparkling decorations to colourful winter scenes, their work has brought warmth and joy to the corridors.
6th Class Christmas Bake Sale
Congratulations to 5th and 6th Class who organised a very successful Bake Sale. This was a special fundraising event in aid of the 6th class hoodies. The effort, hard-work and commitment by these wonderful boys and girls was very evident on the day. They baked delicious goods and created an amazing atmosphere for everyone to enjoy. An incredible sum of €443 was raised. The students were delighted and all members of the school community enjoyed tasty treats on the day.
Gymnastics
Kenny Hassett and Mikey Ryan from DKAM Gymnastics taught gymnastics for six weeks this term. The children learned how to do handstands, teddy bear rolls, donkey kicks as well as a myriad of balancing and rolling activities. It was such fun and the children really enjoyed their lessons and were excited to experience a different form of physical activity. We would like to sincerely thank the gymnastics team and we look forward to seeing them again next year.
GAA News
Comghairdeachas to our boys’ team who were in action this term in Cumann na mBunscoil and were thrilled to reach the county final. Our boys’ team played against Rathgormack N.S. in Fraher Field on November 17th and came out as winners on the day. We are so happy for all involved! They can be very proud of their performance and how they represented the school. Thank you to Mr. Walsh for his coaching and continued dedication to the school teams.
Chess
Our students have been enthusiastically playing chess in school as they prepare for the upcoming Ficheall Chess Competition in February. Every Friday, the chess boards come alive with concentration and teamwork as children discuss strategies, challenge one another, and build confidence in their play. Chess is a wonderful game that strengthens critical thinking and collaboration.
Concern Primary Debates
The Concern Primary Debates is a fun educational programme run in conjunction with Education Support Centres and with Ireland’s largest NGO, Concern Worldwide. The programme is open to senior primary students. Ms. Mitchell’s 5th and 6th Class have been enjoying taking part in these debates in class. They have developed an array of skills including communication, research, teamwork and the ability to speak confidently when public speaking. It has been wonderful to watch their confidence grow.
6th class pupils Oisín, Dan and Tadhg represented Our Lady of Mercy NS in the first round of the Concern Primary Debates. Our team opposed the motion “Social Media should be banned for Under 16s.” The team was successful in defeating the motion. There has been great excitement in class as we prepare for the next round of the competition at the end of January 2026.
Cycle Right
The children in 4th-6th class have been taking part in the Cycle Right course with Donal and Ollie. The Cycle Right course is a fantastic opportunity for all. Cycle Right provides practical cycle safety and skills training to promote competent and confident cyclists. The programme is designed to give cyclists the knowledge and skills to move safely through the road system. Topics covered so far include: safe equipment, rules of the road, starting and stopping, positioning, shoulder checking, turning left and right and overtaking manoeuvres. Well done to all involved. As always, it was a pleasure to have Donal and Ollie visit our school over recent weeks.
Infant Open Day – Saturday, November 15th
The Open Day we held for new and prospectus enrolments was a great success. We were delighted to welcome so many prospective students and families, and the positive feedback reflected the strong sense of community and enthusiasm across the school. With such high interest and engagement, the future of our school looks very bright indeed.
Secret Santa in the Senior Classes
Our 5th and 6th class pupils got into the festive spirit with a fun-filled Secret Santa exchange. There was great excitement as thoughtful gifts were swapped, spreading smiles and plenty of laughter. It was a lovely way to celebrate kindness, generosity, and the joy of giving in the run-up to the holidays.
Christmas Monster Quiz
The whole school enjoyed taking part in the Christmas Monster Quiz, featuring a fun mix of general knowledge, pop culture, sport, local questions and tricky dingbats. Well done to our winning team, Corey, Fionn, Ryan and Diarmuid, with Dan, Callum, Aoibhín and Aura finishing in a close 2nd place.
Green Schools
The Green Schools Committee recently took part in monitoring the speed of passing cars using a speedometer, with Edwina on hand to guide and support the pupils throughout the activity. This practical exercise helped raise awareness of road safety within our school community. It also forms part of the actions we are taking as we work towards achieving the Travel Flag.
