Christmas is always a very special time in Ballyfin NS, with lots of lovely activities taking place. 

Carols at Christmas

On December 18th we were delighted to welcome the whole community to St Fintan's Church Ballyfin. for our 'Carols at Christmas' concert. Mrs Martina Kelly conducted a wonderful choir of 5th and 6th class pupils, supported by the beautiful playing of Miss Clare Kavanagh. It was a really beautiful evening. Our thanks to Fr Joe for his opening prayers and for allowing us to use the Church, to Rev Alec Purser for his closing blessing, and to Br Matthew for decorating the church so well. We were delighted with the crowd that attended. 

Christmas Raffle

After the Carols at Christmas, the congregation came across to the school hall for tea, chat and our Christmas Raffle. The raffle hampers had been donated by the parents of the school, and by the staff of the school. Thanks to Sarah for the lovely job she did in preparing them. The Christmas Raffle raised 1770 euro towards our Astroturf project, and we are very grateful to everyone who supported it. Dolores Linden, John Dowling, Deirdre Finn and Clare Ryan were the winners on the night. 

Nativity Plays

On Thursday, December 12th, Junior and Senior Infants performed their Nativity Plays for parents and family members. In the days prior to the big performance, all the other classes and staff were delighted to be given the opportunity to watch the plays too. Well done to all the children, and to Mrs Cora Gorman and Mrs Grace Milne for all their hard work.

Christmas Pantomine

On Tuesday, December 17th, Junior and Senior Infants travelled to the Dunamaise Theatre to see the pantomine  'Santa and The Three Little Pigs'. They had a great time. Thanks to the Parents' Association who subsidised the cost of the tickets and the bus. 

Santa at the movies

Every year, just before the Christmas Holidays, we hold a 'Santa at the Movies' day, where each class gets to watch a favourite Christmas film. In 2024 'Santa at the Movies' took place on Thursday, December 19th. Thanks to Cora Gorman who helped to organise the goodies for it.  

Christmas Assembly

We all gathered as a school for our final assembly and prayer service of 2024 on Friday, December 20th, just before closing for the Christmas holidays. The children were all dressed in their favourite Christmas outfits, so the hall was a sea of bright colours.