Our School Blog
RIP Leon Briody, aged 9, a beloved member of Castletara N.S. who passed away in the loving arms of his family on 11/09/25.
The school community want to extend their deepest sympathy to Leon’s mum Diane, dad Alan, brothers Fionnan and Caolán, little sister Allie, grandmother Eileen who is also our work colleague and all his extended family.
Leon also has so many cousins and friends in our school whose hearts are broken. We just want you to know that we will always be here to help and look after you all as the days and weeks pass.
The children in school knew that Leon was very sick, sometimes that was quite visible to see when he had to wear his little tube for feeding in Junior infants or when he had his special chair to sit in, but they don’t remember this when they think of Leon.
When we asked the children to talk about Leon a few days ago. They spoke about their friend Leon, their classmate, a boy who loved his football, loved to get up to mischief and loved to put a smile on people’s faces. Whenever you mentioned Leon’s name in school to either children or staff their eyes would brighten, and then some might burst out laughing because they thought of a funny story or something witty, he had said.
Here are some of things the children said about Leon in their own words
Leon was so so funny, he made us all laugh.
I remember Leon’s smiles.
Leon loved to knee slide after scoring a goal.
Leon was a professional footballer.
Leon was brave, strong and happy.
Leon was a great friend.
All the staff loved Leon too, but we all know he had a special relationship with his SNA Sabrina and didn’t mind throwing her under the bus either. On one occasion in class, the teacher had asked the children to work away quietly, there was a bit of whispering going on at the back of the room and the teacher asked; who’s doing all that talking, quick as you Like Leon shouts up,
IT’S SABRINA!! And he winked at her and said “now Sabrina you are in trouble with teacher!”
Leon also didn’t mind rustling up some business for his dad’s garage in school. When Ms. Tierney’s car had broken down, Leon offered for his dad to fix it. However, it came at a high price. He said
“I’m going to get my dad to fix your car but it will cost you 1000 euro and I’m going to go shopping for toys with the money.”
Sadly, Leon couldn’t be with us in school everyday but when he was out and about during school time, people would ask him,
“are you not in school today Leon?” and his reply was, “my daddy say’s I’m too bright for school.”
Leon showed tremendous strength and courage throughout his illness, but to us he wasn’t just a sick boy, he was our Leon, bright, funny, caring with wicked sense of humour. He was a very special person who had that gift of making people happy, just by being himself.
Thank you, Leon for being part of our lives. Your infectious smile and laugh will live with on with us, in the classrooms, throughout the corridors, the yard, the football field. Goodbye for now Leon, and your dad was right ‘you were too bright for school’
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Tara Brady Principal
& The pupils and Staff of Castletara N.S.
On October 17th 2025 the camogie players in 4th-6th Class of Castletara N.S. headed to Laragh Community Field to compete in the annual Cumann na mBunscol Camogie blitz. The girls played two games on the day against Laragh N.S. and Bailieboro N.S. The girls showed wonderful skill and determination over the day and wore the jersey with great pride. A great day of camogie was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Castletara Abú!
We’ve had a wonderful start to the new term in 2nd Class! Everyone has been so busy learning lots of new things, playing games, and having fun together. We’ve been working hard in class and helping each other as we learn and grow.
One of the highlights of our term so far was our school outing — we had such a great time exploring, learning outside the classroom, and spending the day together. It was full of smiles and laughter! It’s shaping up to be a fantastic term!
We have had a busy September. We are all settling in and enjoying being back. We enjoyed a trip to Ballyhaise to complete the Lady's walk. We loved collecting leaves, pinecones and other wonderful bits from the area. We brought our findings back to school and examined the leaves, inspecting which tree they came from and as we did so we uncovered many millipedes and insects amongst our conkers, pinecones and leaves.
We enjoyed creating some beautiful scarecrows for Art and completing the Credit Union Art Competition as well. We have had a busy month.
We remembered Leon by creating beautiful in memory of me candles as well as drawing and designing jerseys.
We look forward to our Halloween activities.
Welcome Back to 3rd Class!
We were so excited to welcome all the boys and girls in 3rd back to school after the summer holidays. Everyone has settled in well.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been busy with lots of fun and creative activities. One of our highlights was our Lady’s Walk, where we explored nature and learned about the different trees and leaves growing on the trail. The children collected acorns, leaves, twigs, and other treasures from nature, which we later used in our classroom for art and science lessons.
In class, we’ve been working hard on taking care of each other and building a kind, respectful classroom community. The children have also been enjoying writing stories and poems using their imaginations and focusing on correct structure and punctuation.
Our art lessons have been full of colour and creativity — from leaf printing and rubbings to lovely displays about our names and hobbies. It’s been a great way to get to know each other better!
We look forward to learning lots of new things throughout the year and playing lots of games and engaging in fun activities.
4th Class Are Off to a Great Start!
What a fantastic start to the school year we’ve had in 4th Class! We’ve been super busy learning, exploring, and trying out lots of new things — and we’re having a blast doing it!
4th Class Nature Walk Adventure!
On 24th September, 4th Class grabbed their jackets, tied their laces, and set off on an exciting walk.
We were full of energy and ready to explore the great outdoors. As we walked along the leafy path, we noticed how peaceful everything was. We could hear birds singing, the wind whispering through the trees, and even the soft crunch of leaves under our feet. We also collected and looked closely at lots of different leaves. Some were big and wide, some were small and pointy, and they came in all sorts of shades of green—and even a few yellow and orange ones getting ready for autumn!
We learned to spot different types of trees like oak, ash and sycamore by looking at their leaves and bark. After our walk, we chatted about everything we saw, felt, and heard. It was a perfect mix of learning and fun—and we all agreed we’d love to do it again soon! ��
Learning About Our BodiesBack in the classroom, we’ve been busy learning about some very important parts of our body — the lungs and the ear! We discovered how our lungs help us breathe and how they fill with air like balloons. We also learned how our ears pick up sounds and send messages to our brains.
Tin Whistle Time!This year, we’ve also started learning the tin whistle!
Our classroom is now filled with the sounds of sweet melodies (and a few squeaky notes too — we’re still practising!). We’re learning how to play together, and we’re really starting to get the hang of it.
5th Class have settled back into school very well. This year 5th class will be the kindness ambassadors in our school. Every Friday our kindness ambassadors will observe on yard and reward anyone who they see showing kindness. We have also started weekly music generation and drama classes. We have completed our first projects of the year based on the counties of Ireland. As part of Well-Being Wednesday,we enjoyed a trip to “Lady’s Walk” in Ballyhaise Agricultural College. On the same day some of our girls took part in a GAA blitz organised by Loreto College.
We’re off to a great start in 5th class, and we’re really looking forward to everything this school year has in store. It’s been amazing to see the energy and effort already, and we can’t wait to keep that momentum going. Here’s to a fun, successful year ahead—let’s keep up the great work!
Welcome to theJunior and Senior Infants Class Blog at St Patricks National School Castletara. Here, we share updates on the fun activities and learning adventures of ouryoungest students. You can see their class projects, creative work, and special moments. This blog is a great way for parents and the community to stayconnected with what our Junior and Senior infants are doing. We update the blogregularly with the latest news, so check back often. We are proud of their progress and the joy they bring to learning.
On Wednesday 24th of September the whole school enjoyed a wonderful nature walk in Ballyhaise along the beautiful Lady’s Walk trail. Each class got the bus down to the Ballyhaise Agricultural College and set off on their adventure through the woods.
Ms Masterson met each class and led them along the walk discussing and explaining the different types of trees, leaves and seeds along the way. The pupils had the chance to collect acorns, sycamore seeds and colourful leaves while learning how to identify trees by their shape, leaves and fruits. We also closed our eyes and were silent as we listened to the sounds of nature and identified what we could hear. Some of the senior classes also made it to the Ice House at the end of the trail where they saw some insects and a birds nest.
The air was crisp, the sun was shining and the path was carpeted with golden leaves, making it a perfect setting to explore and appreciate nature at this beautiful time of the year. Everyone returned to school with bags full of nature’s treasures and lots of new knowledge about the wonderful world of trees!
Our wonderful friend and classmate Leon passed away peacefully on September 11th 2025. He was surrounded by his loving family. Leon was a member of our 3rd class so it is particularly hard for us all. The children have been so kind to each other and have had some lovely days together, where we shared fond memories of Leon and laughed a lot. We will continue to share memories and stories about Leon and he will not be forgotten. RIP our Lovely Leon.