Dear Parents & Guardians, 

What a busy week it has been with our pupils on copious trips being wonderful ambassadors for St. Clare's Abbey!   

Primary 6 had a WHALE of a time at Exploris Aquarium in Portaferry! The adventure began with a scenic ferry journey across Strangford Lough. The pupils were treated to a front-row seat at a lively penguin feeding session and even braved the touch tanks to gently handle live starfish, sea urchins, and snakes.   

Primary 7 had a fantastic day organised by Castleblayney Adventure Centre. They took part in team games, archery, tree climbing, lighting fires, making popcorn and had fun in the lake! A great way to celebrate the end of their primary school experience.   

P3 and our ECPD had an amazing day at Belfast Zoo. The weather held up well and the children had a wonderful time learning about different animals from around the world. There was even a trip to the Zoo shop!!  

Our P6 girls enjoyed a 'taster' day at Our Lady's Grammar School where they took part in lessons in Music, Biology, French, Spanish, Cooking, Art, Technology, PE and Drama! Thank you to the staff and pupils of OLS for a super day!  

Our P6 boys showcased their ICT expertise in St. Colman's College at an Adobe Express Workshop. They collaborated, created and shared ideas as part of an AI Hackathon- exploring how creativity, technology and teamwork can be combined to solve problems and communicate ideas in innovative ways.  A huge thank you to Mr Michael Fegan and all pupils and staff at St Colman's College who helped make the event such a success.  

Primary 1 travelled with intense excitement to Fort Evergreen where they saw and cuddled lots of different animals and had great fun in the indoor climbing area. Their first school trip was a big success!  

Primary 7s also took part in a school-based retreat and spent a calm and peaceful morning singing, playing games and reflecting on how the Holy Spirit can help them through their transition to secondary school. Thank you to Frances Mc Nally and her team for facilitating.   

We were honoured to host a very special event today as Education Consultant, Clare Devlin, launched her book 'Observation and Assessment Made Simple'. This book features many of our pupils and is testament to the wonderful partnership between us and Clare in the area of Play Based Learning. We are very proud of our pupils and staff for having embraced an innovative approach to learning and thank Clare for her guidance. The event attendees were entertained by our Senior Choir and newly formed Trad group- the children 'stole the show'! Thank you, Mr Clarke & Mrs Noonan.   

We look forward to seeing you at the final Family Mass of this year in Newry Cathedral on Sunday at 12noon.  We thank Canon Brown and Fr. Alphonsus for facilitating wonderful opportunities to come together as a parish community to pray.  

And finally........your child should have received our annual Sponsored Walk form this week. The walk is due to take place on Wednesday 10^th June. We have already been inundated with sponsorship and have a long list of eligible children for footballs because they have raised £30 or more. Thank you again parents for your constant support.   

Fingers crossed for better weather next week as we look forward to P2 & P5 trips, our Sponsored Walk and Sports Days for Nursery-P3.  Remember to check our website calendar/school app/seesaw for dates, times and any changes.  

Thank you for everything,   

Mrs Donnelly