Ballyglass N.S. launches it's first ever Podcast
Embedded Files
This is our first ever podcast, Ballyglass in the Spotlight, where we shine a light on different local heroes through student-led interviews. In each episode, our pupils chat, ask questions and learn more about the people who make a positive difference in our community. Our first guest on the show was Cianan Fahy, a Galway county hurler from Ballyglass, who kindly shared his experiences with us. We were also delighted to welcome Jojo and Midi from Sparkcatchers, who visited our school to show us how to use the microphones and edit our material. We hope you enjoy Episode 1.
🎧 Listen here: on.soundcloud.com/MvOxKHRyLRmRzjOwGL
Santa Visits Ballyglass !!!
We were delighted to welcome a very special visitor to
Ballyglass NS this morning — Santa Claus himself! Santa
enjoyed listening to beautiful poems and cheerful songs from
our pupils and was happy to confirm that everyone in the
school is firmly on the good list. He reminded all the children
to be in bed nice and early on the 24th as he prepares for his
busy night. A magical morning that will be fondly
remembered by all!
19th December 2025
Christmas Pyjama & Hot Chocolate Day
Our Christmas Pyjama and Hot Chocolate Day brought plenty of festive excitement to the school. Pupils arrived dressed in their favourite pyjamas and enjoyed a warming hot chocolate as part of the celebrations. It was a well-earned treat after all the hard work that went into their brilliant Christmas performances and a lovely way to mark the lead-up to Christmas.
18th December 2025
Christmas Show 2025
Our Christmas Show 2025 was a huge success with lots of great talent on show. We were treated to ukelele playing, songs, poems and plays. We met lots of characters along the way, such as Snow White, Santa, Michael Healy Rae, Shane Lowry and Michael D. Higgins.
The children were fantastic and we are so proud of them!
17th December 2025
A huge THANK YOU to all our families who contributed to our Christmas Shoebox Campaign this year.
Each year, families across Ireland fill s simple shoebox with item like toiletries, clothes, toys stationery and sweets. This is a small act of kindness which make a huge difference to the children receiving the gifts.
In 2024, with your help, there was an incredible 171,675 Christmas Shoebox gifts to children across 13 countries in Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Gort Credit Union Art Competition 2025
Ballyglass NS had great success in Stage 1 of the Gort Credit Union Art Competition. The theme for this years competition was 'The Future Is ...' Congratulations to our pupils Caoífa Keane, 6th Class (1st place in 11-13 yr category) James Mannion, 4th Class (1st place in 8-10 yr category) and Séimí Holland, Senior Infants, (2nd place in 7yr and under category). They now progress on to the next stage of the competition. Well done to you all, we are very proud of you! 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻
Cross-Country Finals
Well done to all our athletes who competed in the Galway Primary Schools cross-country finals 2025, held in Renmore today. Ballyglass NS had huge success with our 6th class pupil, Kate Whiriskey, winning the 5th & 6th class girls category. There was also further success with our 5th & 6th class girls team finishing 3rd overall. Aidan Whiriskey, 3rd class, also competed very well finishing in 26th position. Kate and the 5th & 6th class girls team, now progress on to the Connacht final.
Well done everyone, what a fantastic achievement !!!
Student Council 2025/2026
Student Council 2025/2026
BR: Aoife Creaven, Iarla Keane, Cadhla Hynes & Sarah Parkinson
BR: Aoife Creaven, Iarla Keane, Cadhla Hynes & Sarah Parkinson
MR: Liam Leahy, Joshua Barry, Abigail Lynskey & Isabelle Cox
FR: Daithí Keane, Séimí Holland & Ruairí Creaven
Woodwork Class
Woodwork Class
The 6th class students of 2025 created a beautiful mud kitchen as part of their class project this year. Since January, they have worked together each week on the project, which will become a key feature of a new play area in our yard
Senior Classes School Tour 2025
The children from 3rd to 6th class recently went on their school tour to Spanish Point Beach in Co. Clare where they enjoyed fun surfing lessons in magnificent sunshine. The children were fast to pick up the skills of the sport and had a fantastic day out!!!!
6th Class Graduation
On the 17th of June the 6th class children celebrated their very special graduation ceremony to mark the end of their primary school journey. All at Ballyglass National School wish these fine young boys and girls the very best as they begin life in second level education at Gort Community School.
6th Class Confirmation
Congratulations to our 6th class students who recently celebrated the sacrament of Confirmation at St Teresa`s Church Labane. The ceremony was celebrated by Bishop Michael Duignan and Father Joe Roche.
Croke Park Day
Our Ballyglass NS under 12 camogie team enjoyed a brilliant day out in Croke Park on Monday 26th of May as part of the 'Allianz Rewards' imitative. It was a day filled with lots of special moments, including running out of the tunnel onto the hallowed ground of Croke Park.
The girls played two matches, competed very well in both and scored some fantastic goals.
I was a great day, with great friends and lots of memories made.
First Holy Communion
Congratulations to our 2nd class who celebrated their 1st Holy Communion on Saturday 24th May with Fr. Roche.
Credit Union School Quiz Team
Our Quiz team received their 'Quiz Team Hoodies' and were presented with their prizes and a box of goodies from Gort Credit Union as they look forward to competing in the Credit Union Schools Quiz final in the RDS next Sunday.
We are all very excited for Iarla, Tadhg, Erica and Frank 👏👏👏👏
28th March 2025
18th March 2025
6th Class Leavers
Our 6th Class Students were thrilled to receive their new school hoodies
to mark their final year in Ballyglass NS.
Credit Union Quiz
A massive congratulations to our Junior Quiz team who won the County Final (Chapter Level), of the Credit Union Quiz, in the Menlo Park Hotel, today. They progress to the National Finals in the RDS on Sunday, 6th April.
Well done everyone, we are so proud of you all 👏🏻
9th March 2025
6th Class Parish Trip
Our 6th class pupils were treated to a fantastic day in Dublin today, along with 6th class pupils from other neighbouring schools. The children visited EPIC and Kilmainham jail as part of their trip. A huge thank you to Fr. Roche for organising this very enjoyable day 😊
6th March 2025
The Wests Awake Talk
The children in 5th and 6th class were treated to a fantastic day of history and art celebrating the 800 year anniversary of The Battle of Ardrahan in 1225. Local historian Rory O' Shaughnessy gave a fantastic talk on the history and impact of the Norman's in Ireland. The artist Shona helped the children create beautiful crests that represented their interests and character. The Battle of Ardrahan is being celebrated on the 12th and 13th of April by the Labane Ardrahan Community Development Association with a range of events organised. Thank you Rory and Shona for a fantastic day!!!!
5th March 2025
Pancake Tuesday
Our pupils were busy making pancakes today. They had great fun following Sinéad's tried and tested recipe to create the perfect batter and were delighted to sample the finished products. They even got to add their favourite toppings 🍋🍓
4th March 2025
Corrib Kids Coding
Our 3rd - 6th classes finished their block of coding workshops today, which ran over the course of 6 weeks. Today, the pupils designed and created their own video games using MakeCode Arcade.
Thanks to Kristian, from Corrib Kids Coding, who ran the workshops and presented the participating pupils with their completion certificates today.
The pupils really enjoyed these coding lessons, developed their existing coding knowledge and learned lots of new skills. Well done everyone! 👏🏻
18th February 2025
Thank You!
A huge thank you to all our sponsors of our recent Bingo Night Fundraiser. Your support of our school is much appreciated.
15th February 2025
Féile Ficheall Chess Competition
Well done to our 16 pupils who participated in the Fèile Ficheall Chess competition in Lisheenkyle NS today. Each pupil played six games each, and enjoyed meeting pupils from other schools, in a non-competitive environment. A very enjoyable day was had by all 😊
11th February 2025
Credit Union Schools Quiz 2025
A huge congratulations to our Junior Quiz team who won stage 1 of the Credit Union Schools quiz 2025, organised by Gort Credit Union, last night in Gort Community School. They will move on to the next stage and compete at the county final on March 9th.
We are so proud of you all 👏🏻
8th February 2025
Energy & Sustainability Workshop
Thanks to Declan from SEAI who visited all the classrooms today to give a workshop that explored the topic of energy and sustainability in a fun and engaging way. The pupils had great fun testing different theories and taking part in experiments!
24th January 2025
Ballyglass Christmas Performance
Wednesday 18th December @ 11.15am
Christmas Jumper Day
Great fun was had today at our Christmas Jumper day with all the students and staff dressed up in their Christmas Jumpers!
A Big Thank You to all our families who supported our chosen Charity this Year, UNICEF Gaza Crisis Emergency Fund and to our Student Council for taking charge of this initiative.
6th December 2024
Maths Week 2024
We had a very busy Maths Week 2024. The children participated in maths challenges, maths webinars, maths quizzes, used IZAK9 cubes and bee-bots.
We also had an estimation challenge where we had to guess the number of marshmallows in the container. We had great fun estimating this and it was great to see all the different strategies being used to try and figure out the answer!
It was very evident from Maths week that we have lots of budding mathematicians in Ballyglass NS!
25th October 2024
Halloween Dress Up Fun
25th October 2024
Monday, 30th September, 2024
Congratulations to our pupils Jonathan Barry, Seán Flynn, Michael Stankard, Kyle Linnane and Iarla Keane who were part of the Ardrahan U11 hurling team which won the Jack Moriarty Tournament, hosted by Clonlara GAA, at the weekend. Well done to everyone involved!
Wednesday, 25th September, 2024
Well done to our Girls Football team who participated in the INTO Mini-Sevens blitz in Craughwell today. They performed very well, winning two of their group matches and narrowly missing out in another match by one point. We are very proud of you girls!
Congratulations to our 6th class pupils who graduated on Friday the 21st of June 2024.
We wish them the very best in their future education in secondary school.
In the 6th class Graduation presentation we share some of the wonderful times our Graduation class of 2024 had over their eight years in Ballyglass National School.
School Tour: 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Classes
School Tour: 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Classes
The pupils had a great day on their school tour where they visited West Lake Aqua Park in Killaloe, Co Clare. The pupils had super fun on all the water slides. After lunch the pupils visited the historical ring fort where it is believed Brian Boru, Former High King of Ireland once lived.
Irish Dancing Performance
Irish Dancing Performance
The pupils of 4th, 5th and 6th class put on an excellent Irish Dancing show for their parents this morning.
30/05/2024
All Ireland Coding Winner!
All Ireland Coding Winner!
Congratulations to Honor Mannion in 4th class who won the Judge's Award in the the primary schools 2nd to 4th class ategory in the LERO and Irish Computer Society National Scratch Awards in the University of Limerick on 22nd May 2024.
Honor designed a Scratch project called 'Gesmo Goes Galway Style' in which Gesmo brings you on a tour of Galway city and county.
You may view her project at the following link
First Holy Communion
First Holy Communion
Best wishes to our 12 Second Class pupils who are celebrating their First Holy Communion tomorrow. We are incredibly proud of their work ethic and reverence in preparation for their special day!
Have a lovely day with your family and friends.
17/05/24
Thoor Ballylee Trip
Thoor Ballylee Trip
The sun shone for our 4th class today who were invited by the Thoor Ballylee Yeats society to take part in their programme called Poerty in Nature. They had great fun learning about WB Yetas, trying out diffenernt nature crafts and learning about the ecology arounf thihs beautiful tower. We really enjoyed meeting Áine Ní Fhlaratha, a local ecologisrt, and writing our own poetry with anna fromthe Yeats society. A great wqay to spend a Friday! 😎
26/04/24
Olympic Handball
Olympic Handball
Pupils from 4th & 5th class took part in their first ever Olympic Handball tournament in Tuam on April 17th. Well done to everyone who participated.
Hot Meals Programme
All the girls and Boys at Ballyglass NS enjoyed their first free Hot School Lunch today!
Every day from now on all our pupils will receive a hot lunch in school, with 13 different meals to choose from they will be spoilt for choice.
This is a fantastic initiative and we are delighted
to be a part of it.
22/04/24
Confirmation
Confirmation
Congratulations to our 6th class pupils who received the sacrament of Confirmation on Friday the 12th of April. The pupils were confirmed by Dean Michael McLoughlin in St Teresa's church Labane.
12/04/2024
Spelling Bee Competition
Congratulations to 4th class pupil Kate Whiriskey who represented Ballyglass NS very well in the Galway County Final of the Eason Spelling Bee competition. Well done Kate, we are very proud of you !
09/04/2024
Grandparents Day
Grandparents Day
Grandparents Day is always one of the highlights of our school year. Thank you to everyone who came today and made it so special.
There was a great turnout of grandparents, and lots of happiness shared. The occasion began with song singing and ukulele playing, followed by a poetry recital, visits by the grandparents to their grandchildren's classrooms, and ended with lovely refreshments.
20/03/2024
6th Class Dublin Tour
6th Class Dublin Tour
On the 13th March the 6th pupils from Ballyglass, Labane, Kilchreest, Kiltiernan and Peterswell National school went on a trip to Dublin. Sincere thanks to Fr Joe Roche PP who organised the trip.
The pupils visited Glasnevin cemetery during which the tour guide showed them the graves of many historical Irish people.. In the afternoon they received a guided tour of Kilmainham Gaol. The last of stop was Island Bridge, a memorial to the Irish who fought in World War I. On the way home Fr Joe Roche treated all the pupils to Supermacs!
The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the trip in which they learned about Ireland's past and made great friends with the pupils from all the schools!
13/03/2024
Féile Fichille Chess Tournament!
Well done to the seventeen pupils from 4th, 5th and 6th class pupils who participated in the Fichille tournament in Ard Rí House Hotel, Tuam.
The pupils played in 6 rounds of chess in a fun and friendly, meet-and-greet style chess tournament organised by Ficheall. Each school was presented with a certificate of participation at the end of the tournament.
20/02/2024
Athletics Success!
Athletics Success!
Well done to all our pupils who competed for their respective Athletic Clubs in the Galway Indoor Finals. The pupils all performed brilliantly and won medals in sprints, hurdles, shot put, high jump and relay.
14/02/2024
Quiz Teams
Quiz Teams
Congratulations to our quiz teams that participated in the Gort Credit Union Quiz on Friday the 26th January and the Killeeneen NS quiz on the 21st of January.
Gort Cancer Support
We were delighted to welcome representatives from Gort Cancer Support to Ballyglass NS today, and to present them with the proceeds of our Christmas Jumper Day fundraiser. Pictured with members of our Student Council are, from left, Nicola Lynskey, Principal, Cara Brady, Gort Cancer Support, Valerie Tannian, Teacher, and Mary Nolan, Gort Cancer Support. Thank you again to everyone who supported our fundraiser for this very valuable local charity, which is a community-based cancer support service available to anybody affected by a cancer diagnosis in the South Galway / North Clare areas.
19/01/2024
Music Generation is Back!
We were all delighted to welcome James from Music Generation back today. His energy and enthusiasm is a great asset to our school and the children always look forward to him coming in. James will be with us every Wednesday for the next 10 weeks.
17/01/2024
Marathon Challenge
Congratulations to the pupils in 4th, 5th and 6th class who completed a marathon on Friday 22nd December by running 1km each day. The school ran the program in conjunction with 'Marathon Kids Ireland' and 'Galway Sports Partnership' and was supervised by Mrs Kelleher.
The pupils ran 1km per day for the past ten weeks, weather permitting. On completion they were each awarded a medal and t-shirt by Principal Mrs Lynskey. Well done to all the pupils!
22/12/2023
Santa's Visit to Ballyglass
21/12/2023
Memories from Term 1
Memories from Term 1
September to December 2023.
Christmas Baking Day
Everyone had great fun in the Ballyglass Kitchen today! Our bakers Aisling and Sinéad were on hand to supervise all the marvelous creations where the pupils all got stuck in and produced some fabulous treats to bring home. 🎄
19/12/2023
Woodwork Workshop
The very talented pupils in this year's sixth class working on their amazing woodwork projects in Ballyglass NS this week. They began the project in the last week of September and have been working tirelessly ever since.
This project involves using various skills including sanding, measuring, cutting, drilling, screwing, varnishing and much more besides.
19/12/2023
Chess Workshop
Our Senior classes had another workshop with the chess tutor John Alfred on Friday. New skills and tactics were learned and it was a very enjoyable workshop. The school has purchased several new chess kits for our pupils to practice their skills on.
15/12/2023
Christmas Performance
We had an amazing Performance from all the boys and girls here at Ballyglass.
Singing, Dancing, Ukulele playing and Acting.!!!
Everyone played an amazing part in the whole production and we had a great turn out form parents and families.
Our Student Council provided great service for the teas and coffee's afterwards with some delicious treats provided by parents.
🎄 A great time was had by all! 🎄
14/12/2023
Christmas Tree Blessing
We were honoured to be part of the Ardrahan Christmas Tree Blessing last Saturday 9th December. We had a great turn-out from our boys and girls who all braved the cold weather to entrain everybody with their carols and tin whistle tunes.
Well done to all involved!
11/12/2023
Team Hope
Team Hope
Christmas Shoe Box Appeal
Christmas Shoe Box Appeal
The children of Ballyglass National School, Ardrahan were very busy during their annual Book Week organising the annual Team Hope Christmas Shoebox collection. Pupils made sure to include essential items for washing, writing, small clothing items, as well as a small toy for the child to play with. It was a job well done for a very worthy cause by the Ballyglass school families.
The children of Ballyglass National School, Ardrahan were very busy during their annual Book Week organising the annual Team Hope Christmas Shoebox collection. Pupils made sure to include essential items for washing, writing, small clothing items, as well as a small toy for the child to play with. It was a job well done for a very worthy cause by the Ballyglass school families.
10/11/2023
Book Week
Book Week
Ballyglass NS was filled with fairy-tale and story-book characters today as we came to the end of our busy Book Week. We celebrated our love of reading and books throughout the week with a visit by the author Natasha Mac a'Bhaird, the Galway Schools Mobile Library van and our Book Fair with Tara Book Club, as well as class literacy activities. Well done everyone who participated in our school Readathon!
Ballyglass NS was filled with fairy-tale and story-book characters today as we came to the end of our busy Book Week. We celebrated our love of reading and books throughout the week with a visit by the author Natasha Mac a'Bhaird, the Galway Schools Mobile Library van and our Book Fair with Tara Book Club, as well as class literacy activities. Well done everyone who participated in our school Readathon!
10/11/2023
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
We had a great day in Ballyglass today for our Halloween Dress-Up Parade.
We had a great day in Ballyglass today for our Halloween Dress-Up Parade.
All the children made such a great effort with their costumes
All the children made such a great effort with their costumes
and thankfully the sun shone on us!
and thankfully the sun shone on us!
Enjoy the Midterm Break everybody.
Enjoy the Midterm Break everybody.
27/10/2023
Maths Week 16th - 20th October
Maths Week 16th - 20th October
We have had another successful Maths Week in Ballyglass. Children in all classes participated in lots of fun maths activities including maths games, riddles, online quizzes, estimation challenges and a 'Maths Eyes' competition. All the children showed fantastic maths skills over the course of the week!
Galway Cross Country Final
Galway Cross Country Final
Super running by our 3rd and 4th class girls who competed today in the Co Galway Cross Country Final. Thanks to the parents who provided lifts.
Well done to all the girls we are very proud of you!
03/10/2023
Rugby Festival
Rugby Festival
Fantastic success at the World Cup Rugby Festival!
Well done to the Ballyglass NS Girls and Boys Rugby teams who had great success today at the Gort Rugby Blitz; the girls team won three matches and the boys team won two matches. Ballyglass togged as as the Italian team for the event!
Thanks to Mrs. Kelleher, Aisling Hefferenan and Sinead Fordham who accompanied the pupils and to the parents who provided lifts.
Well done to #gortrugby and #gortcommunityschool for organising the event. A super day was had by all!
03/10/2023
Cross Country Success for Ballyglass!
Cross Country Success for Ballyglass!
Fantastic running by Ballyglass pupils in the Galway Athletics Cross Country semi finals today in Renmore, Galway. The school had 33 pupils from 3rd to 6th class competing in the competition.
Congratulations to our medal winners Kate Whiriskey who came 3rd and Caoífa Keane who came 7th in the 3rd and 4th class girls race.
Well done to all our super athletes who represented their school so well today. We are very proud of you all!
26/09/2023
2023-2024 Student Council
Back Row: Michael Stankard, Maria O'Neill, Daniel Lynskey, Dylan Mullen
Front Row: Anna Mannion, Iarla Keane, Caoifa Keane, Sophie Callanan
Congratulations!
Led by Mr. Healy, our new Student Council was elected this week! Well done to all involved and we look forward to all the amazing work they will be doing this year!!!
22/09/2023
Local Honey Presentation
Local Honey Presentation
James (1st class) and Frank (3rd class) Whelan treated us to a fantastic presentation today on how they make their own honey.
The Whelan's produce their own Ivy Honey at home. The ivy flower and its honey are highly valued in treating coughs and sore throats. The honey is creamed to a smooth consistency and comes full of pollen and royal jelly.
We were delighted with the samples they brought in which were delicious and available to purchase locally here in Ardrahan.
20/09/2023
September 2023
September 2023
What a fabulous opening week to enjoy lots of outdoor activities in Ballyglass National School!
Lunch time activities recommenced; hurling, camogie, athletics, olympic handball and Gaelic football.
Our pupils explored our fabulous walkway, picked apples in our school orchard, enjoyed playground games and many pupils hopped on their bicycles and cycled to school on Friday!
Sixth Class Graduation
Congratulations to our 6th class pupils; Gloria, Kerrie, Caylum, James, Cathal, and Breen who graduated from Ballyglass National School today. We wish them all the very best as they embark on their new journey.
23/06/23
Active School Week
Active School Week
We celebrated Active school Week from 19th to 24th June. Pupils took part in the following activities - Orienteering, cycling, tennis, 5km walk, Sports day, soccer tournament and yoga. The week was co-ordinated by Mrs Kelleher
Ballyglass Soccer League 2023
Ballyglass Soccer League 2023
Congratulations to Barcelona who won the Annual Ballyglass NS soccer tournament.
It was one of the best finals we've ever had with multiple attempts on target from both sides and just a single goal deciding the score line.
The Barcelona squad was as follows: Kerrie O'Neill, James Horrigan, Caylum Linnane, Caoimhe Mortimer (goalkeeper), Sophie Callanan, Aoife Creavan & Amber Carey. Evanne Hynes made a super sub appearance in the final to replace the absent Sophie Callanan.
23/06/23
Senior Classes School Tour
Senior Classes School Tour
On Wednesday the 21st June the pupils from 3rd to 6th class travelled to Westport, Co Mayo to visit Westport House and Adventure Park. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Definitely a tour that will be repeated!
Junior Classes School Tour
Junior Classes School Tour
A fantastic day was had be all on our Junior school tour to Athlone today!
Junior Infants to 2nd Class started with a visit to Glendeer Pet Farm, followed by a tour of Lough Ree Lifeboat Station, it was a fun-filled day with plenty of sunshine and lots of memories made
08/06/23
County Sports 2023
County Sports 2023
Well done to our 18 pupils that participated in the County Sports on the 8th of June in Dangan. Congrats to Adele Casserly who made the U13 girls 800m final and to Kate Whiriskey who made the U11 girls 400m final. Also the U13 girls relay team ran superbly with excellent hand overs of the baton to finish 3rd out of 8 teams, narrowly missing out in a place in the final.
The athletes were coached every Wednesday by Mrs Kelleher throughout the school year.
08/06/23
Bella the Ballyglass Calf
We are delighted to share that Bella, our Ballyglass calf, has recently been sold with all proceeds going to our local club Ardrahan GAA. We were delighted to be asked to become involved in this novel fundraiser and we are thrilled that it raised almost €1000 for Ardrahan GAA club. Pictured at the cheque presentation today with our 5th and 6th class pupils are, from left to right, Patrick Whelan, Chairperson, Ardrahan GAA, Tom Forde, who reared Bella on his farm, Mrs. Nicola Lynskey, Principal, and Darragh Healy
07/06/23
First Holy Communion
First Holy Communion
Our 2nd Class students had a great day at their
First Holy Communion on Saturday 27th May.
A huge thank you to our 1st class parents involved in hosting a party in the hall yesterday for the children who made their First Holy Communion. To everyone involved in decorating the hall, donating treats and baked goods, serving teas and coffees etc., thank you all. It was much appreciated by all the children and their families.
29/05/23
Outdoor Classroom!
Outdoor Classroom!
We are getting great use out of our outdoor classroom this week in the fabulous weather!!!
Everyone is making the most of the sunshine this week
and getting plenty of play-time outside! 🌞🌞🌞
First Chicken has hatched!
First Chicken has hatched!
Great excitement in the senior classroom on Monday when our first chicken hatched. The chicken is keeping us all entertained with his chirping and is being very well looked after by 5th class pupil Aaron Keane and Sinead Fordham.
Wellbeing Wednesday!
Wellbeing Wednesday!
For this month's Wellbeing Wednesday the focus was on being active and healthy. Thank you to parent Lisa Carey who visited our school and did a fitness lesson with each classroom. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed it!
The pupils also participated in our second 'COW day', thanks to all the parents who assisted with this event.
17/05/2023
Green Flag Awards
Green Flag Awards
Well Done to Mr. Healy and the Green Schools Committee and to all our pupils who helped us achieve our 5th Green School Flag.
Mr. Healy along with Cathal Morris, Amy Stankard & Aaron Keane were presented with our flag today at an awards ceremony in Salthill.
11/05/23
Hurling & Camogie Training
Hurling & Camogie Training
Thank you to Alan Keane who did a brilliant hurling and camogie training session with 2nd to 6th class this morning. The extra training will certinally keeep us on our toes for our upcomin blitzes.
05/05/23
Girls Gaelic Football
Girls Gaelic Football
Well done to our Girls Gaelic Football team who participated in the Cuman na mBunscoil competition on Wednesday the 26th of April in Beagh GAA grounds.
The girls played very well in all four matches. The captain role was shared by Kerrie O'Neil and Gloria Kaminska who both played superbly in all games. Great scores were got by Evanne Haynes, Amy Stankard, Sophie Callanan and Kerrie O'Neill.
Team Panel was: Kerri O'Neill, Gloria Kaminska, Ella Lynskey, Ciara O'Neill, Maria O'Neill, Caoimhe Mortimer, Adele Casserly, Amy Stankard, Evanne Hynes, Robyn Carey, Sophie Whiriskey and Sophie Callanan.
26/04/2023
P.A.W.S
David Fitzpatrick from Water Safety Ireland visited our school today to introduce the children from 1st to 4th Class to PAWS. Water Safety Ireland’s PAWS (Primary Aquatics Water Safety) outlines the essential life-saving guidelines that every child needs to know. PAWS offers simple common sense on how we can be safe around our waterways.
26/04/23
Say Yes to Languages
We are delighted to be part of the Primary languages Project again this year. We welcomed Elosia Etxebarria today who will be working with 2nd to 6th class one day a week for the next 8 weeks teaching Spanish.
20/04/23
Green Flag Award
We are all thrilled to find out today that the hard work the Student Council and Green Committee put into achieving our next Green Schools Flag has paid off!
We will be presented with our fifth school flag in May.
Well done to Mr. Healy who coordinated this project over the last two years.
19/04/23
C.O.W. - Cycle On Wednesday
There was great activity around Ballyglass National School on Wednesday as over 60 pupils cycled to and from school as a 'COW Day'. The Cycle On Wednesday initiative is part of our Welbeing Wednesdays and Active School's programs, both of which are organised by Mrs Kelleher.
Well done to the pupils that cycled to school, the parents who cycled with them and all the parents for preparing their child/ren for the event.
19/04/23
Annual Ballyglass Basketball Tournament!
The pupils from 3rd to 6th class played their annual Basketball tournament over the last three weeks. There were very exciting semi-finals played today, both ending in penalty shoot outs!
Team 5 and Team 6 in the final were captained by Caylum Linnane and Breen Gilmore respectively. Team 5 won in a very close contested game. The medals were presented by Mrs Lynskey, Principal and the event was organised by Mrs Kelleher. The players of the tournament were Caylum Linnane and Kerrie O'Neill.
31/03/2023
School Visitors
Three Lambs and a Donkey tried to enrol in
Ballyglass National School today,
but their behaviour was too BAAAAAAAD! 🐑
30/03/2023
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Congratulations to the 6th Class pupils who made their Confirmation today in St Teresa's Church.
May God's blessings be with them today and always.
Huge thanks to school staff and Fr. Joe Roche who prepared the children for the sacrament.
23/03/2023
Céilí Seachtain na Gaeilge.mp4Coicís na Gaeilge
We recently had a céilií with Louise as part of Coicís na Gaeilge. Please have a look at our video to see all the great dancing from all the children!
Marathon Challenge
Marathon Challenge
Congratulations to the pupils in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th class who completed a marathon on Friday 3rd March by running 1km each day. The school ran the program in conjunction with 'Marathon Kids Ireland' and Galway Sports Partnership' and was supervised by Mrs Kelleher.
The pupils ran 1km per day for the past nine weeks. On completion they were each awarded a medal and t-shirt. Well done to all the pupils!
03/03/2023
FAI Primary Schools 5's
FAI Primary Schools 5's
On the 2nd and 3rd of March the school competed in the FAI Primary School 5's soccer blitz held in Portumna FC. We had a boys team compete on the 2nd of March and a girls team on the 3rd of March. A great day was had by all!
Chess Tournament
This week Mr. Healy brought a Chess team to The Holy Family Senior School in Ennis to take part in the Masters category for 5th and 6th Class. There was 8 on our team and they played 6 rounds each.
Well done to Kerrie O'Neill, Breen Gilmore and James Horrigna from 6th Class and Caoimhe Mortimer, Ciara O' Neill, Maria O'Neill, Jude Whiriskey and Luke Kavanagh from 5th Class.
6th Class Dublin Trip
6th Class Dublin Trip
On Tuesday the 14th February the pupils from 6th class Ballyglass National school visited Glasnevin cemetery, The National Library, St Stephen's Green, The National Musuem - archaelolgy and Leinster House, where they were greeted by TD Ann Rabbitt, TD Sean Canney and Cllr Geraldine Donohue. The trip was organised by Fr Joe Roche PP Ardrahan, Kilchreest and Peterswell parishes. Huge thanks to Fr Joe Roche for organising such a wonderful trip for the pupils.
Credit Union Quiz 2023
Congratulations to our Junior and Senior quiz teams that took part in the Gort Credit Union regional competition on Friday the 27th of January in Sullivan's Hotel. Our Senior team did very well finishing 5th out of 22 Teams!
Ballyglass Senior Quiz Team
Ballyglass Senior Quiz Team
Ballyglass Junior Quiz Team
Ballyglass Junior Quiz Team
Catholic Schools Week
This week we celebrated Catholic schools week. As part of it we celebrated our wonderful kind grandparents. Each class made cars and mementos for these special family members.
Here are Second and Third class ready to bring their Grandparents a special card telling them what they love about them.
Back to the 80's
4th, 5th & 6th Class enjoying the Gort Community School musical on Wednesday 18th January. Everyone had a great time singing along!
Letter from the President!
Letter from the President!
Dylan Mullen in 4th Class received a letter today from President Michael D Higgin's office for his work and participation in the Ballyglass National School's Green School Committee. Well done Dylan!
A huge Thank You to everybody who donated to this worthy charity.
Chess Workshop
12th January 2023
Our Senior classes had another workshop with the chess tutor John Alfred last Wednesday. New skills and tactics were learned and it was a very enjoyable workshop. The school has purchased several new chess kits for our pupils to practice their skills on.
We have been very busy duriny our first term.
Have a look at our Powerpoint presentation to see the great work our pupils have done.
Woodwork Project in Sixth Class
Woodwork Project in Sixth Class
The very talented pupils in this year's sixth class completed their amazing woodwork projects in Ballyglass NS this week. They began the project in the last week of September and have been working tirelessly ever since.
This project involved using various skills including sanding, measuring, cutting, drilling, screwing, varnishing and much more besides.
I think you'll agree that they have managed to create very beautiful window boxes indeed.
Maith sibh rang a sé
Christmas Musical Performance
We had a great morning here in Ballyglass with over 60 family members comomg to watch all our students preform Irish Dancing, waltzing, Ukulele playing and singing. All the students were amazing and a big thank you goes out to James O'Brien from Music Generation and Louise Curran irish dancing teacher and of course all the teachers for the time and effort they all put into this perrformance.
Christmas Jumper Day
A huge thank you to all our families who very generously supported our Christmas Jumper Day in aid of Galway Autism Partnership.
We raised €282 for this very worthwhile charity.
It's beginning to look
a lot like Christmas!
Litter Free Day
Litter Free Day
The first ever 'Litter Free Day' was a tremendous success today. Each pupil played their part and not a single piece of litter was brought to school. Every pupil had a reusable bottle for their drink and did not have any single use plastics in their lunch boxes. The Green School Committee have been ever present this year to encourage and guide their fellow pupils along this new green path. The Green Flag project is ongoing until March so let's all keep up the great/green work.
WELL DONE BALLYGLASS!
Our School News
Our School News
Science Week 2022
Science Week 2022
We have had another busy and successful Science Week in Ballyglass NS. Every classroom conducted experiments each day, including making butter in the Junior room, investigating how plants drink in 2nd and 3rd class and trying to balance a paper clown in the Senior room. 4th, 5th and 6th class also conducted an experiment, in which they extracted DNA from a banana. They really enjoyed a talk from Sarah, who works with Teagasc, on the effect of the diet offered to sheep on factors of animal performance. The Junior and Middle classrooms also enjoyed online talks from Teagasc. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed Science Week and we hope you enjoy looking at some of what we got up to!
Gort Credit Union
Gort Credit Union
Art Competition 2022
Art Competition 2022
Massive congratulations to Caoífa Keane who was a winner in this years Credit Union Art Competition in the 8 - 10 year age group.
Here is Caoífa with her fabulous art at a prize giving last Saturday at the Credit Union office in Gort.
Litter Free Day
Litter Free Day
Ballyglass NS will host its very first 'Litter Free Day' on Thursday November 24th.
This is part of the green school committee's Green Flag project which has been very successful in attempting to eliminate the use of single use plastics from our school.
Mobile School Library Visit
The Galway School Mobile Library visited our school today, 16th November. We got to browse the books and meet the librarians. We look forward to reading the books we picked in the weeks ahead.
Look at our pictures to see 2nd and 3rd class choosing some super reads!
Chess Workshop
3rd to 6th Class had a chess workshop on the 15th of November, which was facilitated by John Alfred, who is a school chess tutor from County Limerick. He taught us the rules of chess and lots of different strategies.. This was a fantastic opportunity for the children to learn a new and useful skill, that promotes critical thinking. We are looking forward to welcoming him back in the New Year! We will be busy practising all we have learned in the meantime, with the new chess sets that the school has ordered.
Book Week
Book Week
The pupils thoroughly enjoyed book week by visiting the 'Book Fair' each day and participating in activities such as 'DEAR Time' each day, 'Character Picture' quiz, table quiz and dressed up as their favourite characters on Friday from books they have read. Well done to Mrs Lynskey for co-ordinating the week!
5th and 6th class pupils meet Irish International Rugby Star Ailsa Hughes!
5th and 6th class pupils meet Irish International Rugby Star Ailsa Hughes!
The pupils from 5th and 6th class attended the Gort Rugby Club Primary School's Tag Rugby Blitz today the 7th November 2022. The pupils were coached by Ailsa Hughes and the Gort Rugby team of coaches. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the coaching, matches and refreshments afterwards.
Book Fair
Our annual Book Fair has started this week in school. Loads of books for all ages at discounted prices. The books may be seen by parents at pick-up times on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday of this week.
Our Book Fair also continues online until the 22nd of November.
Online gives us so many additional benefits
Order from the comfort of your home, open 24 hours from dates below.
Easy to use online system, quick checkout, no need to register.
Wider choice of titles, over 2,000 books to choose from.
Age graded website to make it easy. All orders are delivered in sealed bags
Check out categories - Bargain Box, Under €5, Sport etc
Our school will get fantastic commission of 50% in free books,
for every 2 books you buy our school gets 1 free book!
It is important that you use this link so that our school gets the commission on your purchase
To order click on https://bookfair.tarabookco.ie/ or if you use the main site click on the red box Online Book Fair
click on shop now
Password 14642T
At Select your School please click on Ballyglass NS
World Book Day books can be purchased for .50c Key WBD in search.
If you buy from the main site our school will not get any commission so please use the link above.
If you are not asked for a password you are on the wrong site, you can phone 091 777005 for assistance.
Halloween Fun Dress Up
We had a very 'Spooktacular' assembly today!
Well done to everyone for making such an effort for our fancy dress!
Happy Halloween!
29/10/2022
Maths Week
We have just finished a very enjoyable Maths Week in Ballyglass. Children in all classes participated in lots of fun Maths activities during the week. These included maths games, online Maths webinars, daily Maths puzzles, maths investigations and maths art. We also had great fun trying to guess the number of jelly beans in the container.....there were lots of very close answers but the winning guess came from Adele in 5th class! Well done to all the children who participated in the daily activities with great enthusiasm.
Pumpkin Time
Aaron Keane, 5th Class brought in some of the smashing pumpkins he grew this year and visited all the classes explaining how he come to grow such amazing pumpkins!
Sport
2nd and 3rd class enjoying the fresh air outside with our GAA coach David Huban.
Getting ready for Halloween
2nd and 3rd class are busy getting ready for Halloween by painting Haunted houses and Picasso inspired Frankenstein's
Mini 7's
Well done to all the boys and girls in the senior classes who played in the mini 7's hurling and football competitions last week. They put on a fine display and did their school proud.
WOW Day
We had a WOW (Walk on Wednesday) day on Wednesday 21st September
Thanks to all the parents who walked with us!
Music Lessons
We are really enjoying our Ukulele Lessons with James our tutor from Music Generation every Wednesday. We are learning new tunes and hope to perform them for all parents before Christmas.
National Tree Day / Lá na gCrann
Second and Third class celebrated National Tree Day by investigating and looking at the many trees growing around our school. We were lucky to receive a Holly sapling from 'An Taisce' and we discovered it's the female Holly tree that has red berries. We did a collaborative Art piece for our display board.
Green School Committee - Flower Planting
The GSC were busy planting daffodil and tulip bulbs in our freshly dug flower beds this week. Thanks to Noel, our caretaker, for preparing the beds ahead of time. The pupils had great fun getting their hands dirty. Well done!
Co-Ordinator: Mr. Healy
Galway Cross Country Competition
Galway Cross Country Competition
Well done to all our pupils who ran in the East Galway Primary Schools Cross Country competition in Renmore Galway on Tuesday the 20th September.
Ballyglass NS awarded €2,500 IT grant from SAP!
We received the great news that our grant application to invest in iPads and a storage trolley to further progress our pupils as self-directed and reflective learners has been successful.
SAP grant opportunities are allocated to projects and partnerships that are aligned with their mission and focus areas. In close liaison with their employees, partners and SAP technology, the SAP CSR programs and partnerships focus on education and workforce preparedness for both formal employment and entrepreneurial pursuits.
The ipads and trolley will be purchased in the coming weeks and will be used in all the classrooms.
Graduation class 2022
Graduation class 2022
Best wishes to our 6th class pupils of 2022 who graduated on Wednesday the 22nd June 2022.
Active School Flag Winners!
Active School Flag Winners!
Ballyglass NS was awarded it's second Active School Flag in June 2022. Our school was also selected as an exemplary school for our Creative Walkway which will be showcased nationally in September 2022. The school was presented with an outdoor speaker from Active School Ireland for our achievements. Well done to all involved; Mrs Kelleher coordinator, Mr Monaghan and pupil committee of Mai O'Sullivan, Cathal Morris, Ciara O'Neill, Kyle Linnane, Hannah O'Neill and Iarla Keane.
Gaelic Football Tournament
Gaelic Football Tournament
Well done to the pupils in 4th to 6th class who participated in the Gaelic Football tournament in Kinvara on Tuesday the 14th June. They played matches against North Hampton and Doorus National Schools. The pupils had a super time and played very well!
Ballyglass Walkway
Ballyglass Walkway
Last Friday the 27th May 2022 we opened our new 'Ballyglass Walkway' with ten teaching stations which include lessons in History, Science, Geography, Gaeilge, English and PE. The walkway was designed by Ms Lynskey and Mrs Kelleher, the wooden markers for each station were made by Mr Healy and the ground works by Noel Fahey.
The pupils thoroughly enjoyed their first lesson and can also use the walkway during break time for fun and games!
Soccer Tournament
Soccer Tournament
The pupils from 4th, 5th and 6th classes all participated in a soccer tournament in Ballinderreen today the 23rd May 2022 which was organised by Doorus and Kiltiernan National schools. Congratulations to all our pupils, they all played very well and had great fun.
23/05/2022
Cycle to School Day
Cycle to School Day
Well done to all our pupils who cycled to school today to celebrate National Bike Week!
19/05/2022
School Concert
School Concert
Super performances by all our classes in our school concert. The pupils played the ukulele, sang songs and performed Irish dances including the Walls of Limerick and the Brush dance. Thanks to all our parents who attended the concert today. Special thanks to our Music teacher James and Dance teacher Louise.
11/05/2022
Garda Cup
Garda Cup
Congratulations to our hurling team who won Divison D in the Garda Cup competition on Friday 6th May in Gort.
Back row left to right: Mr Lynskey, Amy Stankard, James Horrigan, Cathal Morris, Caylum Linnane, Ryan Mullen, Luke Kavanagh, Ms Lynskey and Mr Monaghan.
Front row left to right: Aaron Keane, Ben Carroll, Cian Hynes (Captain), Breen Gilmore and Daniel Lynskey.
New School Mural
New School Mural
Over the past week the pupils have thoroughly enjoyed in assisting in painting our new school mural which surrounds our car park and basketball court.
04/05/2022
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Congratulations to our 6th class pupils Emma, Mai, Amy, Ryan and Cian who were Confirmed on Tuesday the 3rd of May by Bishop Brendan Kelly in St Teresa's church Labane.
Congratulations Mr Monaghan!
Congratulations Mr Monaghan!
Congratulations to Mr Monaghan our 3rd and 4th class teacher, seen here celebrating with Dylan Mullen after the Galway Senior Hurling team's great win over Kilkenny on Sunday 1st May 2022.
5th and 6th Decorating the Easter Tree
5th and 6th Decorating the Easter Tree
Easter Time in Ballyglass
Easter Time in Ballyglass
Eggs represent new life and rebirth!
Eggs represent new life and rebirth!
Friendship Week
Friendship Week
During Friendship week the pupils participated in the following activities:
The pupils listened to the the story ‘The Rainbow Fish’. Each day the pupils selected a class mates name from a ‘Friendship Jar’ and an act of kindness from ‘Acts of Kindness Jar’. They wrote their good deed on a fish scale, and attached it to the school fish on the ‘Friendship Week’. In groups the pupils explored the meaning of friendship and made posters on their ten top tips on how to make a Friend. In music class all the pupils learned a Friendship week song ‘Count on Me’ by Bruno Mars. For Art the Junior and senior infants – working in pars the pupils the decorated hand prints, the pupils in 1st and 2nd class make posters and the pupils in 3rd to 6th class made 'Compliment Showers'. On Friday the pupils play word and board games in groups. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the week which was co-ordinated by Mrs Kelleher.
01/04/2022
Basket Ball Tournament underway!
Teams are made up of pupils from 3rd to 6th Class.
Two teams play each day.
Who will be this year's champions?
Final to take place on Friday 8th April!
Bella the Ballyglass Calf
Bella the Ballyglass Calf
Great excitement in Ballyglass today as 'Bella' the calf, which the pupils have purchased for Ardrahan GAA fundraiser, visited our school. She arrived in great style wearing an Ardrahan jersey! Many thanks to Tom Forde and Darragh Healy for bringing Bella to the school. The calf will be reared by Tom on his farm.
Congratulations to Sinead O'Neill in Senior Infants who had the winning name for the calf
25/03/2022
New Laptops from Integer
New Laptops from Integer
Many thanks to Mike Parkinson from Integer, Galway who presented our school with five laptops today. As part of the Integer Doing Good Initiative, Bally glass National school was selected as a worthy recipient, as the school is innovative and creative in how it uses technology. Integer value how technology can assist educational development, learning and training and are delighted to support schools and other organisations in County Galway.
#integerdoinggood
21/03/2022
St Patrick's Day
St Patrick's Day
All our pupils turned out in green today in honour of St Patrick and paraded around the school yard this morning. They all looked super!
16/03/2022
Cycle Right
Cycle Right
The Cycle Right program finished today and all the pupils that completed the course received a 'Level 1 Certificate in Cycling. Over the past four weeks the pupils in 3rd to 6th class learned how to cycle safely on busy roads. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the program and learned loads!
10/03/2022
Chicks have hatched!
Chicks have hatched!
What a wonderful surprise this morning when the 3rd and 4th class pupils arrived to school to find three chicks had hatched. Thanks to Aaron Keane in 4th class and Sinead Fordham who have set up and managed the project for the past three weeks and even checked on them over the weekend!
07/03/2022
Cycle Right Schools
Cycle Right Schools
The pupils in 3rd to 6th class commenced the 'Cycle Right' programme today. Cycle Right is the national standard for cycle training. It provides practical cycle safety and skills training to promote competent and confident cyclists. Over the next four weeks they will receive four lessons in which they will be empowered to move safely as a cyclist in complex, changing road environments in their locality.
10/02/2022
French Lessons
French Lessons
On Monday 7th of February the pupils of 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th classes commenced French Lessons. Ms Moran a French Teacher from the 'Primary Languages Project' will visit our school for eight weeks. The course will introduce the pupils to a third language and help prepare them for when they start to learn a third language in Secondary school.
Active School Leaders
During break time today our Active School Leaders from 1st class to 6th class commenced teaching the junior and seniors infants playground games. They all had great fun!
They will continue with this program every Tuesday and Thursday for the next ten weeks.
02/02/2022
Grandparents Day
Grandparents Day
As part of Catholic School Week we invited all our Grandparents to join our school on a zoom call with each classroom. The pupils recited poetry, sang songs and interviewed their grandparents.
Thanks to all our Grandparents who participated the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the event.
Marathon Challenge
Marathon Challenge
Congratulations to the pupils in 5th and 6th class who completed their 'Marathon Challenge' on Friday the 21st January 2022. The initiative was set up by 'Marathon Kids Ireland' and 'Galway Sports Partnership' and it's ambassador was former Irish international David Gillick.
The pupils ran 1km per day for the past nine weeks. On completion they were each awarded a medal, t-shirt and neck scarf. Well done to all the pupils!
See our Active School page for more photos of the event.
Christmas Show 2025
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