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lisa ward
Well-Being Week

active schools

Katie-George Dunleavy visits Nun's Cross NS

We were delighted to be visited by the super talented paralympic cycling and current World Champion Katie-George Dunleavy who kindly paid us a visit to show off her unbelievable medals. We all gathered in the church and welcomed Katie with an original song ‘Katie-George you’re the best!’ which was written by 3rd class and their teacher, Ms Honner.

Katie-George spoke to us about all the hard work she puts in with her training to enable her to compete at the highest level and we were very impressed to hear that she is already eyeing up the next Paralympics! We were also blown away to hear about her serious injury which she had in the lead up to the paralympics. Thankfully, it didn’t result in her having to pull out from competing. What a brave athlete. Following this the children were given the opportunity to ask Katie-George some questions. We learned that she enjoys porridge for breakfast, she sometimes gets noticed when she’s out in public, and she trains every single day! We also learned that Katie-George did not win every race or competition she ever entered. She spoke to us about the times she lost, and she told us this is where she learned the most about herself and her sport. This is a hugely valuable lesson for us all to learn, we can’t always win everything, but it's important to always keep trying and working, even when it’s difficult, hard work pays off!

After all of our questions were answered, each class got the opportunity to take their picture with Katie-George and we even got to hold and pose with her medals. What an inspiring day! We would also like to say a huge thank you to Maija for facilitating this visit, it meant the world to us.

Wicklow Invitational Cross Country Relays

Last week a group of 40 students from 3rd - 6th class went to Avondale to participate in the Wicklow invitational cross country relays. Teams were made up of 4 boys or 4 girls and pupils from 3rd and 4th class ran the 4 x 200m and pupils from 5th and 6th class ran the 4 x 400m race. The children made us superbly proud on the day, running incredibly well to help their team mates and pass the baton as quickly as possible without giving up. Take a look at some of the action below!

Cumann na mBunscoil GAA Champions in Nun's Cross

Yesterday, two teams departed the school for Bray Emmets GAA to participate in the Cuman na mBunscoil finals. One team of 6th class boys and one team made up of 4th & 5th class boys, each playing in separate groups, both did us extremely proud. The boys played some fantastic football, but even more impressive was their kindness and the team spirit they showed which gained them great praise from other teachers, referees and indeed spectating parents.

Our 6th class boys played 3 matches, meeting St Peters from Bray, Gaelscoil Cill Mhantain and Greystones Educate Together, winning them all and topping our group’s table and making it to the final. In the final we played Greystones Educate Together, and we emerged victorius with a scoreline of 13 points to 3. This team of boys have won our first ever team silverware which we are immensely proud of, such an amazing achievement.

Bike Riding

Hugh Arthur from Boardsports and Outdoor Ireland was in doing some cycling with our junior classes today. We were absolutely blessed with lovely weather to make it even better!

The children from Junior Infants up to 2nd class were riding bikes, with some beginners starting on the balance bikes before many making the move up to cycling pedal bikes almost independently. Many children brought their own bikes to school today for the session. The children were absolutely delighted, practicing their pedalling, balance, steering and changing direction. We look forward to Hugh coming to visit again next week for another junior session. After that he will be working with our 3rd to 6th class students for a few weeks also.

6th Class Trip to the Aviva

Yesterday our 6th class enjoyed a wonderful trip to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin as part of the Aldi Play Rugby tag event. We were thrilled to be invited to play a tag rugby tournament on the pitch many of our heroes play on. It was a fantastic opportunity.

Our children represented Wicklow along with 19 other schools from across the country.

We began our day with a warm up on Landsdowne Rugby Club’s pitch. We then took our place in the tunnel entering the Aviva where we waited for our name to be announced before running into the stadium. We were then taken for our team photo along with the amazing James Ryan. We were absolutely awe struck. He even refereed one of our matches, and pulled a tag from one of our players when playing against them! We then made our way to pitch 3 where we played 4 7-a-side tag rugby matches. We played against Grange NS, Straidbilly NS, Castledawson Primary School and Four Roads NS. The children played so well and made us extremely proud throughout the day both on and off the pitch. We also got a tour of the dressing rooms where we saw the Six Nations Championship trophy AND we got to chat with Paul O’Connell. The children returned home with autographs to beat the band - boots, jerseys, bags, flags, socks, and even our sheep mascots!

One of the highlights of the day however was the fun we had playing with Kevin the carrot. We want to say a huge thank you to Aldi who provided a delicious lunch to each of us. Great memories were made which will never be forgotten.

National Minor Schools Swimming Competition

On Sunday 24th of March one of our 6th class pupils competed in the National Minor Schools Swimming Competition. This is the first time one of our students has qualified for this competition so we are extremely proud to have such an excellent swimmer among us. On the day 800 swimmers from over 400 schools competed. Charlotte competed in the 100m individual medley and also in the 50m butterfly. Recording personal best times for BOTH races on the day was a tremendous feat which we are incredibly proud of. Well done Charlotte!

Boys FAI Primary 5's in Greystones

On Wednesday 13th of March our 5th & 6th class boys participated in the FAI Primary 5’s in Greystones. After months of self-preparation and a small number of coaching sessions from Hugh Brady, we were going with high hopes of getting through to the AVIVA for the all-Ireland finals. The boys played really well, scoring some really amazing scores throughout the competition and working really well together as a team. We even had a scout enquire about one of our players! The competition was very high on the day and unfortunately we missed out on progressing past the group stages.

Girls FAI Primary 5's in Blessington

On Monday 11th March 16 of our 5th & 6th class girls participated in the FAI Primary 5-a-side competition. We enjoyed an amazing day in Blessington. Both teams played a total of 3 group matches, with each team winning all of their matches and progressing to the semi finals. Alas, luck was not on our side and both teams narrowly lost, meaning we would lost out on the final on the day. The girls demonstrated wonderful skill, sportsmanship and determination throughout. We are so proud of you girls!

3rd & 4th class Girls GAA blitz in Bray

Today our 3rd & 4th class Girls participated in a GAA blitz in Bray. We had two teams competing, one from 3rd class and one from 4th class. On a lovely day in Bray, we played matches against St.Coen’s, Greystones Education Together, Roudwood, St. Peter’s and St. Laurences. The girls did amazingly, despite having done very little training, there was an abundance of skill on show. The girls represented the school brilliantly.

We would like to say a huge thank you to the other stars on the day who were our 6th class Young Whistlers. These students refereed matches between the teams in our group all day long, doing an amazing job.

5th & 6th class Boys GAA tournament in Bray


Yesterday our 5th & 6th class boys had a GAA tournament in Bray. In total, we played 4 matches, with two wins, one draw and one loss on the day. The boys played fantastically, scoring some superb goals and points and showing their impressive skills.

We now look forward to training ahead of our competitive Cuman na mBunscoil fixtures which will be taking place in the Spring and Summer.

Cross Country Mile Challenge in Avondale

Today 58 pupils from 3rd - 6th class represented Nuns Cross in the Mile Challenge at Avondale. The children all ran excellently and enjoyed a fantastic day out.

Leinster Schools Swimming Competition

At the weened Nun’s Cross was represented by two pupils in the Leinster Schools Swimming Competition at the National aquatic centre. Charlotte (5th class) and Isaac (2nd class) did an excellent job, both recording personal best times, Isaac in the backstroke and Charlotte in the Freestyle, Breaststroke and 100 Individual Medley. We are delighted to have found out that Charlotte has qualified for the National Swimming Competition in March in the Butterfly. Well done Charlotte, we are so proud of you!

Santa Dash in aid of Crumlin Children's Hospital

On Wednesday, our Active Committee organised a Santa Dash for the whole school to participate in. On this day we met down at the square in Ashford and registered to either run to school or walk to school. The children chose which dash they wanted to complete. The Active Committee contacted the Guards in Ashford and they kindly escorted us on our trip up to school. It was great to see such a great turn out, with lots of festive gear on show. We would like to say a huge thank you to all who came along on Wednesday morning, the parents who walked and ran along with us, the Gardaí who escorted us with their lights flashing and sirens blaring, to the parents who brought pupil’s school bags to the school and to everyone who donated to such a wonderful cause. We were delighted that we raised a whopping 470 euro. Take a look at some of our photos from the event below.

The Christmas Games

This week, all classes participated in the Nuns Cross Christmas Games which were organised by our wonderful Active Committee. The junior classes participated in a range of activities including ‘find the elf’ scavenger hunt, ‘North Pole, South Pole Santa’s Sleigh’, ‘How many days until Christmas Santa Claus?’, ‘Tinsel Tug of War’, ‘Snowman Bowling’ and ‘Santa’s Sack relay race’. These cleverly thought out names were Christmas versions of some of our favourite well-known games. The senior classes completed a different selection of games, including ‘Pull Santa’s Sleigh Race’, ‘Tinsel Tug of War’, ‘Holiday Caroling’ and ‘Snowman Dodgeball’. Check out some pictures of these fantastic events below.

Girls GAA blitz in Aughrim

Last Thursday our 3rd and 4th class girls travelled to Aughrim where the took part in a 3rd and 4th class GAA participation blitz. They had a fantastic day out, playing 5 matches in all. It was great to see the girls soloing and handpassing with confidence. We are really looking forward to playing more matches in the future.

Tag Rugby in Wicklow

Yesterday our 5th & 6th class pupils attended a tag rugby tournament hosted by our rugby coach Aidan in Wicklow Rugby Club. We had a fantastic day and learned lots of new skills. We were very fortunate to have a lovely sunny day for the tournament. We played against a number of different local teams including Holy Rosary, St. Patricks and Gaelscoil Gaelscoil Chill Mhantáin. There was great commitment and team effort demonstrated on the day, we are extremely proud of the boys and girls who represented the school so well. Take a look at some of the fun which was had.

Boys GAA Blitz in Ballinakill

Last week our 5th & 6th class boys GAA team took part in the South Wicklow Cumann na mBunscoil participation blitz. we had two teams representing us on the day and we were so proud of the boys for their wonderful performance on the day. We were especially proud of the boys who had never played GAA before this year. These boys were encouraged and supported in their preparation by their classmates. The blitz took place in Ballinakill Sports Complex, with each team facing five other teams on the day.

We look forward to our next day out which will be in March 2023.