Physical Activity
September/October
We got off to a very active start to the school year at Kilrossanty NS.
The good weather in September meant we were able to really enjoy active break times at the start of the new school year. The younger classes have really been enjoying using our new and improved playground markings which were painted in conjunction with Waterford Sports Partnership last summer. Our super caretaker has also redone the lines on our Active Walkway which is proving very popular with some of children at lunchtime as they can 'walk and talk' if they are not playing other games.
Our football training started up again in early September for boys and girls from 3rd-6th class. We are very lucky to have great help from Kilrossanty GAA club in this regard. Ger Walsh, Paudie and Seamie Fitzgerald all give their time to help with the boys training each Tuesday while Mrs Flynn takes the girls. The training is open to all and the focus is on fun and enjoyment of the game while also learning and developing skills. Any children who do not want to take part participate in various other active games with Mrs Feeney during this time. It is great to see our pitches and yard being such a hive of physical activity every Tuesday afternoon.
Lunchtime football leagues kicked off for the girls in mid September. Any girls interested from 3rd-6th class play mini football games against each other during big lunch. There is always such a buzz as we reach the semi final/final stage. Once the girls leagues are finished the boys will commence.
Our boys and girls football teams participated in their Cumann na mBunscoil blitz in October with both teams doing really well. Our boys reached the semi final stage of the competition and our girls team reached the Western Final which was played on Saturday 19th October!
The whole school participated in a variety of outdoor maths challenges and trails as part of Maths Week in October, many of which incorporated our Active Walkway.
ACTIVE HALLOWEEN!
Our Active Walkway had a spooky makeover for the week leading into the mid-term break. Halloween 'bat exercises' were displayed at every station along our walkway. All classes used the walkway for active breaks, PE warm ups and during lunchbreaks as many times as possible during the week.
We had a very active and spooky yard during breaktimes on the day of our Halloween holidays. Everyone dressed up with Halloween masks or wigs and we put our new speaker to good use. Halloween party songs blared out across the yard and the children (and staff!) had a great time dancing to ghostbusters, monster mash and more!
November/December
GDA Football coaching
Gavin from the Waterford GAA GDA visited us for 3 weeks during the month of November to give each class group football coaching sessions. This linked in well with this months PE lessons as our FMS focus is 'kicking' for the month of November.
ACTIVE BREAK EVERYDAY CHALLENGE 18th NOVEMBER- 13th DECEMBER
All classes are participating in an Active Break Everyday challenge from 18th November-13th December. Class teachers have discussed and decided with their classes what time everyday to do the active break in their classroom and it is the job of the ASF committee members to remind the teachers not to forget active break time! We are using interactive resources from the Irish Heart Foundation Website, our active walkway and dance/ lollipop stick/ yoga challenges throughout the classes as part of our active breaks!
SANTA DASH!
On the 18th December a sea of red lit up the roads of Kilrossanty as the wholw school participated in our 1 mile 'Santa Dash' to raise money for the Lion's Club Christmas Appeal. Everyone dressed up in Santa hats and Christmas jumpers and ran, jogged or walked up to the old school house in Kilrossanty and back to the school grounds. It was a great event, full of fun with everyone cheering each other on. We raised 246 euro for the Lion's Club, well done everyone!!
January/February
Our lunchtime leagues resumed at the end of January, beginning with boys hurling, the boys were thrilled to be back in actions and got stuck in from the start.
We were also very lucky to receive 3 weeks of rugby coaching in February with Joey from Dungarvan Rugby Club and 3 weeks of hurling coching from James (Waterford GDC). All classes from infants to 6th took part in the sessions and they were really enjoyed by all.
Playground Leaders
Our 6th class playground leaders undertook their initial training at the beginning of February. They learned and practiced the different games that they would be playing with the younger children. They are all on a rota to play the vaarious games with infants - 1st class every Monday-Thursday at small break. The younger children are really enjoying this initiative which will be continuing for the remainder of the school year.
March/April
Our boys and girls hurling and camogie teams trained every Monday for March and April with Mrs Flynn and Paudie. Hurling and camogie lunchtime leagues were ongoing also for any children from 3rd-6th who wanted to take part. Both the boys and girls took part in the INTO Mini 7s hurling & camogie competition at the beginning of March and represented the school really well.
Everyone took part in our 'Active Homework' initiative during March and April also. Homework challenges were stuck into the back of every child's homework diary and they coulld choose which challenge to complete every Thursday night.
LEARNING ON THE MOVE: SKIP AROUND EUROPE CHALLENGE
Our whole school participated in a 'Skip Around Europe' Challenge for 10 mins everyday for the 2 weeks before our Easter holidays and the 2 weeks after them. Each class chose a country to skip to, for the younger classes 1 skip=1 km and for the older classes 10 skips=1 km. Each class added them together as a daily total to see how far they had skipped each day and how far away from their selected country they were. Once the reached their first destination they selected another, then another and so on!
Everyone was really excited for this challenge to begin and it was a great initiative to participate in. Children were begging to bring their skipping ropes out with them at lunchtime for extra practice, and it was lovely to see them using their break times for extra skipping opportunities too. We could see real progress in the children's skipping abilities from the start of the challenge to the end and the children will be encouraged to keep bringing their ropes into school even after the challenge has finished.
Our climbing wall that we were very fortunate to win for taking part in the Active Break Everyday Challenge arrived at the beginning of April and the children were very excited to start using it! It has been in high demand at break times everyday and is being used for movement breaks throughout the school day also.
Tag Rugby Blitz: April 2025
Our 5th and 6th classes took part in a fun tag rugby blitz held by Dungarvan Rugby Club in April. They played in friendly games against teams from other schools. They had a great day out and enjoyed the chance to take part in a different type of sporting blitz.
Learning on the Move: Infants Active Easter Hunt
Our infant classes had great fun and adventure on the day of the Easter holidays using our Active Walkway and the outdoor school area to participate in an Active Easter hunt. It was great to see them all out enjoying the walkway and having fun in the sun!
