Tobar An
Léinn

Issue 13/14 1

James Fintan Lalor—Our Local Hero Honoured

Throughout the last term of 2012/2013 we were busy writing stories about James Fintan Lalor, our hero from Raheen. We were writing these stories especially for The Fintan Lalor Inaugural School 2013. When we were finished our writings, a compilation of everyone’s work was put into a book.
On Friday the 20th of September we joined Ann Egan (writer) in the Dunamaise Arts Centre for the presentation of our book ‘Glimpses of James Fintan Lalor Through the Eyes of Children with Ann Egan’ at the opening ceremony of the The Fintan Lalor Inaugural School 2013.
Ann Egan presented us with our books in the Green Room . We were very excited to finally see our book. After that we took to the stage with our very own books while Ann talked all about the project. Jennifer Holland and Kolia McDonald read, excellently, a letter that they each had written for the book. It was a brilliant and fantastic night and we would love to experience it again.
By Daniel O’Sullivan and Niall Fox 5th Class

In the weeks coming up to Halloween we started a Reading Buddies programme. This involved 5th and 6th class students teaming up with either a 1st and 2nd class students to help them improve their skills of reading. We called it “Reading Buddies”. We had it twice weekly for 20 minutes. The 6th class students joined with 2nd class students and 5th class students joined with 1st class students. The younger classes chose a book they wanted to read. Under the supervision and support of the students in 5th and 6th they read the book. Along with reading
we completed word searches and crosswords. Any words which the students couldn't understand were put in a word bank, which were later revised. The purpose of this programme was to help the younger students increase their reading skills. I really enjoyed the reading buddies and I think everybody benefited.
By Fionn Holland 6th Class

Reading Buddies

“ Tús Maith” ”

Inside this Issue
Trip to Fire Station.
A Day That Could Save A Life.
Tobar an Léinn Evacuated.
Communion 2014.
Baking Time in Seomra Éirí na Gréine.
Science Week.
What they said about Raheen.
Green-Schools.
Boys Football.
Our Journey to the Semi’s.
The Heat Wave.
Poetry Corner.
Competition Time.

Christmas Events
Tues Dec 17th—Junior and Senior Infants present “The Story of Christmas”.
Wed. Dec 18th Celebration of Christmas Mass.– 1st –6th class. Starting at 12 noon
Dec 18th “A Midwife Crisis” by 1st, 2nd 3rd & 4th classes.
Thurs. Dec 19th Christmas Party.
Fri. Dec 20th Christmas Holidays at 12 noon.

Our Trip to the Fire Station
1st and 2nd class went to the Fire Station. We all learned a lot. We all ate a lot too!! The Fire Station Officer was called Sonny. He told 1st class about fires and different fire fighting tools. The driver was named Tom. The other fire-fighter was named Tim. Sonny’s hat was white. They taught us about fire safety. They all rescue people. They put out fires. They work in Abbeyleix. They put out barn fires too. They also save drowning people from the rivers and risk their own lives to save people. Tom tried on a mask. We saw the changing room with lots and lots of clothes. We all enjoyed going to the fire station. We ate some crisps and we had some fruit juice. We got to splash with the hose. Everyone said “Splash the teacher”. We went back to school on the bus. We loved the fire station. By Tiernan Donovan (2nd Class)

A Day That Could Save A Life
On Tuesday the 8th of October two firemen, Tom and Jerry, visited our classroom, Seomra Beatha an Óige, to talk to us about fire safety.
First they talked to us about the Causes of Fire e.g. overloaded sockets, firelighters, candles, playing with matches and ashtrays. We had to complete a fun worksheet which showed ten fire hazards that could be found in all our homes.
Next they talked about Prevention of Fire in our homes. Some advice they gave us was to switch off all electrical appliances, empty ashtrays and close all doors before going to bed. The most IMPORTANT thing in any home they said is a fire alarm. If there is a fire, an alarm will let you know quickly so you can get out safely.
Finally they spoke to us about What to Do in a Fire. They told us we should all have a fire plan in our homes so that everyone knows what to do and where to go in case of a fire. They also advised us that if you get caught in your bedroom you should stay close to a window so that you can be found and rescued. They also told us, that if your clothes catch on fire you should STOP, DROP and ROLL.
If you follow all these rules it could save your life.
Stay Safe By 3rd and 4th Class

Tobar an Léinn—EVACUATED!!

The week before Halloween break was dedicated to fire safety. First Ms Griffin gave us a talk about fire safety and how fire is fast, dark and can kill. Then over the week we had three fire drills', timed and untimed. For the drills we were paired up in twos and got into a line. Then we went to Assembly Point Two and waited there for a moment. After that we went to Assembly Point One and the teachers called the roll. During the fire drill we had to be very quiet and calm. If there was a real fire I think we would be safe. It’s a good idea to have a fire drill.
By Orla Joyce (6th Class)

Communion 2014
On October the 13th 2nd Class had their Enrolment Mass. We had to bring our baptismal candles. When we got there Fr. Kelly was all set up. There were a few songs. We had to hold our parents’ hands and Fr. Kelly lit our candles. The second mass was all about Zacchaeus. Our Teacher Ms Griffin hung up a poster about Zacchaeus, up in a tree. We enjoyed our Mass. The mass after that was “Christ the King”. There were two readings and a few songs. We enjoyed it a lot. Our next Mass is on the 3rd Sunday of Advent.
By Lucy Brennan (2nd Class)

Baking Time in Seomra Éirí na Gréine
We made gingerbread men. First, we mixed flour, brown sugar and bread soda in a large bowl. Next, we stirred in some golden syrup. Then, we added an egg. We stirred the mixture to make a soft dough. We rolled the dough with a rolling-pin. We cut out the gingerbread men with a special cutter. Our teacher baked them in the oven. We decorated the gingerbread men with raisins, smarties and icing. They tasted yummy! By Ava Coleman, Jim Holland and Isabella Troy. (Senior Infants)

Science Week
During Science Week we did a lot of experiments. One experiment was with coke and mentos, where you have a two litre bottle of coke and you drop the mentos sweets into the bottle of coke, it will begin to fizz and it sprays up in the air.
We also did an experiment with food colouring, milk and washing up liquid. This time you pour milk onto a plate, then you add the food colouring and you get the washing up liquid and you squirt some on the middle of the plate and watch it expand.
Finally we did a volcano experiment. You make the mixture for the outside of the volcano and let it set around a plastic bottle. When it’s set you put in some red food colouring and add bread soda, then vinegar and it will explode like a volcano. We can’t wait until next year!! By Oisín Hanley (2nd Class)

Boys Football The Football League 2013 didn't turn out as we would have liked. With Ms Griffin as our coach, our first match was against Knockmay. Fortunately, we won so we were still in the competition. Then came our next match. We had trained hard for the game against the Heath. It was very tough. We lost by just a few points but from our previous win we were stIll in with a chance. Our hopes were still high of getting further in the competition. Our next game was against Ballinakill. This match went the wrong way for us and we didn't play our best. We were defeated. We had two more chances to get to the final in O’ Moore Park. Our first chance was against St. Joseph’s at home in Raheen. They came out on top but they lost their last match so we were in the quarter final against Paddock. We came home sad that day—we had been knocked out of the competition. It wasn't to be the school’s year so we kept our heads up high and hope for better in the future years.
By Franky McEvoy (5th Class)

Our Journey to The Semi’s

This year the Girls football team made it to the semi final. We were in Division 7. Our first match was against Rath, and we won. Then we played Arles but unfortunately we lost. We then played Knock and we won. Next we played Barrowhouse and we lost. We still had one more chance to get to the semi final. We played Rosanallis and we won. We played Barrowhouse again in the semi final. It was in Stradbally. During the first half we tried our best. We came back fighting but that wasn’t enough. We were glad to get that far. A week after we had a party and everyone brought something in. We had great fun. By Emily Goode (5th Class)

What they said about Raheen
“ If you are at mass, or pucking a sliotar with your friends, heading to school and going to Mrs Dunne’s after, Raheen is the place for you”. Kolia McDonald (5th Class)
“In Raheen you can feel the wind blowing and there’s lots of fresh air too. So take my advice and come on down—trust me—I know—I live there” Natasha Dunne (5th Class)
“If you love sports just drop into Colt G.A.A. pitch where you have the space you need to puck some sliotars and score into the back of the net. Don’t worry if you lose energy, because you can just pop into Mrs Dunne’s to refresh yourself before heading down to Tenakill house for a chat with Kevin about James Fintan Lalor”
Aishling Tunney (5th Class)
“If you visit during the night you might be lucky enough to see the lights of Portlaoise, Abbeyleix, and Mountrath lighting up the night sky” Seán Stackpool (6th Class)

Green-Schools
This year the Green-Schools Committee, with all the pupils’ of Tobar an Léinn, will be working hard on the theme of Travel, to try to achieve the fourth Green Flag for our school. Good luck to everyone and remember—we must keep up our good work in the areas of litter, energy and water also!

The Heat Wave
The traffic jams were the longest ever seen in Co. Galway. Cars were queued for four miles along the beach road. Ireland was experiencing its first heat wave in ten years. It was the first week in July and the temperature had soared to 32°C. Each day had gotten hotter and hotter that week. People poured out of their offices, into their cars and headed for the beach. It was mid-day and the slow moving convoy of cars made their way through Galway city.
All of a sudden the traffic came to an abrupt stop. The people at the front of the traffic jam could see a plume of dark, swirling, thick smoke billowing upwards. The smoke was getting darker and thicker with every minute that passed. The passengers in the cars wondered what had caused the smoke. The traffic came to a complete standstill. No one could move. The road was so narrow there was no room for anyone to turn around. People climbed out of their cars to look around and enquire what was going on.
Minutes turned into hours and there was still no movement. People were getting tired, overheated, cranky and upset. Children were fed up asking “Are we there yet?” Babies and toddlers were crying. Parents were becoming anxious and distraught. An announcement came on the radio. There was a major forest fire on the beach road in Salthill. Fire-fighters were at the scene trying to control the fire. The fire-fighters had to approach the scene from the opposite side due to the traffic build up. The people were warned that it might take a few hours before the traffic would be cleared.
By early evening the people were hungry and thirsty. Some people had picnics packed in the boots of their cars and kindly shared their food with as many as possible. Out of the blue the ‘ding-a-ling-a-ling’ of a bicycle bell was heard approaching. There were smiles all around as the ice-cream man handed out choc-ices and cold drinks. It was the most refreshing thing they had ever tasted.
At last the traffic started moving again. Soon crowds of people arrived at the sea-side. Everywhere you looked there were people munching on fish and chips from the chip shop. The sun began to set over Galway bay. The sky was an amazing mix of reds and oranges reminding them of the forest fire which had prevented them spending their day on the beach. Even though their day hadn’t worked out as planned, the people were thrilled to sit and watch a beautiful sunset. They all counted their blessings as no one was injured in the fire, buíochas le Dia.
By Leah Moffitt. (6th Class)

Poetry Corner

Christmas is Here
Christmas is here, so let’s SHOUT and CHEER, For the kids writing letters, For Santa to hear.
Christmas is here, So put up your tree, For everyone to see, within your family.
Christmas is here, And Santa is near, He’s brought the deer, So have no fear.
By Natasha Dunne (5th Class)

Christmas
Competition
Charles _ _ _ _ _ _ _ wrote the book ‘ A Christmas Carol’.
What date is ‘Saint Stephen’s Day’?
Name one of the Three Kings.
Write your answers on a piece of paper with your name and class and give your entry to your class teacher by Thursday 19th December.
First three entries out of a hat will win a prize. Good Luck to All.

The Christmas school holidays begin at 12noon on Fri 20th Dec. Buses have been organised. School re-opens Monday Jan. 6th 2014. Wishing you all a happy & peaceful Christmas from all in Tobar an Léinn.
Nollaig faoí mhaise dhíbh go léir.

Advent Prayer
God our Father,
Our school community has begun our Advent preparation.
Be with us as we learn more about this holy time of year.
May we watch in prayer,
May we listen in hope,
May we our hearts be filled with wonder and may we praise you always.
We ask this and all our prayers through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen