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Science

Bilboa NS has been awarded a 'Science Foundation Ireland Discover Science & Maths' plaque of 'STEM EXCELLENCE' for the 2021/2022 school year. Congratulations to staff and pupils for all their hard work in Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths. Well done to all!!

Below, 3rd & 4th class designed a marble run to investigate the quickest possible time in which a marble can travel across a given distance.

Robert Mulligan of West Technologies as he discusses all things scientific with 5th and 6th classes.

Cappawhite Wind Farm Visit 

 

Sports

Sport plays a huge part in our school and the senior children compete in hurling, football, camogie, soocer, athletics and basketball competitions locally in East Limerick. Our school Sports day held each June is a competive but yet fun event which is a great day for children, parents and teachers alike. Pupils from 2nd class upwards are provided with swimming lessons for 6 weeks each year. Last year, 5th and 6th class took part in a cycling safety and skills course provided by Ballyhoura Beo.

Indoor Hurling & Camogie

We are making good use of our indoor hurleys - thanks to the parent's council for sponsoring them. On Wednesday 13th February 2019, girls from 4th & 5th class took part in the East Limerick Cumann na mBunscol Indoor Camogie competition. They played against Donoughmore and Caherconlish with a strong win in each match. The girls qualified for the next round of the competition which will be held after mid term break.  

On Monday 11th February - boys from 3rd/4th class travelled to Caherconlish for the East Limerick Cumann na mBunscol Indoor Hurling competition. They played teams from Killenure, Barna and Knockea National schools. See photos below.

5th & 6th class boys took part in the East Limerick, Cumann na mBunscol 9 a side Football competition. The boys played 4 very competitive games on the day. We had well earned wins against Nicker and Caherelly but we were unfortunate not to notch up some more scores against Murroe. A win against Murroe would have seen us through to the final, but it was not to be on the day. Congrats to all the boys involved.

 

The girls attended the East Limerick Cumann na mBunscol 7 a side football competition in Caherelly. They played well against two very strong teams from Ahane and Caherline. They had a very good win over Killinure and their efforts did the school proud. Well done girls!

 

 

Green Flag

‘Hike, Bike, whatever you like

Carpool it won't waste fuel !'

 

We received our 5th Green Flag for Biodiversity. For the previous 2 years the children and teachers had worked towards getting the flag by making our school and the school grounds more friendly towards our surrounding wildlife. We put up bird tables and bird feeders, which attracted many garden birds to our school gardens. 3rd and 4th class made bird nesting boxes, some of which we put up near the school to attract nesting birds in Spring.

We continued to cultivate our school organic garden with a variety of vegetables, fruit plants (strawberries) and some flowers. Many insects and bees came to our garden. We also have a designated 'wild' area, where we keep our compost bins and bug hotel/woodpile, and also our pond. Trees have been planted around our school - ash, horse chestnut and cherry. Much curriculum work was done on native Irish Fauna and Flora in all classes. 

3 members of the Green Schools' Committee together with Ms. Wollen and Veronica Walshe travelled to Cork to receive our Green Flag. We travelled by train (a more environmentally friendly mode of transport than the car!) After the ceremony we were treated to a delicious 3 course meal at the hotel. We thoroughly enjoyed our day. 

Stay tuned for the next phase of our project.

One of our earliest Green Schools' Committees bearing the Green Flag

Bilboa N.S is very active in advocating a green culture in both our school and the wider community. We are in the process of applying for our fifth Green Flag. The previous Green Flags have been awarded for Waste management, Energy awareness, Water conservation and a combined theme renewal flag. Our most recent flag was raised by local rugby legend John ‘The Bull’ Hayes. His presence on the day was very much appreciated by all the children and added to the excitement of the occasion. The current theme is Transport and though challenging, we hope to be able to make sufficient improvements in this area to warrant the granting of this flag to our school.

A green Schools Committee has been set-up to help spearhead our efforts. Our committee includes one pupil from each class from 1st to 6th class. Our school caretakers are not involved in committee meetings but are kept informed of all decisions and are a vital part of maintaining our school green. 

Our Green-Flag applications have been supported by both the school and wider community. The ‘Green Schools’ Notice Board is a forum for informing pupils, staff and parents of achievements and upcoming events. Our parents have been very active in our push towards change for the better. We are privileged to be part of a close-knit community and appreciate their dedication to making all our efforts successful.

As part of our present application we will be undertaking surveys, action days, road safety lessons, transport workshop presentations, walk to school mornings, cycle safely workshops and much more. As always we will need the continued effort of the school community to ensure the safe and smooth running of organized events.

Our present Green Schools motto was chosen after a school competition during our last application. A new motto will be selected as part of the current application. All entries are considered and displayed around the school before a suitable one is chosen by the Green Schools Committee.

Looking forward to the work ahead, we will keep you updated.