Newsletter
20th March 2019
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
International Food Festival
A huge thank you to all of the families who joined us for our International Food Festival last Tuesday. What an afternoon it was! We had food from over twenty different countries. We all really enjoyed tasting so many dishes from all over the world. Thank you also to the children and families who dressed in their traditional clothes and came to help serve food. We are so proud of our diverse community, it was wonderful to see everyone coming together to spend time with one another and enjoy a great afternoon.
Our thanks to our Diversity team, especially Ms. Nolan, Ms. Brophy and Síle who helped put the event together. We hope to have another event in the summer term to share all the learning the children have been doing about different cultures and countries across the world this year as part of our ‘Yellow Flag’ programme.
Visit to Department of Education
Our Young Interpreters group were delighted to be invited to the Department of Education last week to speak to the staff there as part of their ‘Innovation Week’. The children spoke to staff via video link in four different locations in Ireland to explain what being a Young Interpreter is all about and how proud they are of their role. The staff in the Department of Education were very impressed with how well the children spoke and are hoping that other schools will think about starting a Young Interpreters programme at their school! Well done to Naomi, Izabela, Rebeca, Nicola, Mileny, Miranda, Jakub, Luca, Vildrenn and Sohan. Our thanks to Ms. Nolan for preparing the children so well.
Science Blast
5th and 6th Class represented our school at ‘Science Blast’, an exhibition of science learning in the RDS on 6th March. The children spent many weeks preparing their two outstanding projects. 5th Class learned all about DNA while 6th Class learned about the viscosity of different liquids. The children had to explain their projects to lots of different people and they spoke clearly and articulately about their work. We were very proud of them! Thank you to Ms. Staunton and Mr. McGuire for their hard work too and to Mr. Kerr for coordinating.
Seachtain na Gaeilge
We had great fun at our ‘Céilí Mór’ last Wednesday and I hope you’ve been hearing lots of Gaeilge at home too. Bhí lá álainn againn. Thank you to Aedín our Irish dance teacher who has taught the children so well. It is wonderful to see them dancing together and particularly, to see the older children being so kind to the younger children and showing them what to do.
News from last week
It was World Book Day on 7th March. Ms. McCaughey’s 2nd Class were invited to KPMG for a special World Book Day event. They read a lovely story ‘All Are Welcome’ with volunteers from KPMG, did a giant doodle with illustrator Niamh Sharkey and brought a copy of the book home – lucky children!
We also welcomed a very famous children’s author, David Almond, to 6th Class for a special workshop on Friday, 8th March. The children were excited to share their ideas and David had lots of hints and tips for the children about how to be a successful author.
All throughout last week, classes have been visiting Chapters book shop with our World Book Day vouchers. Each child got their own free book to bring home. We hope you’ve been enjoying the stories!
Ms. Lougheed’s 3rd Class and Ms. Glynn’s 4th Class took part in a special community project ‘Zoom’ at the Hugh Lane Art Gallery. The children had two great workshops at the gallery.
Book Fair
Thank you for your support of the Book Fair last week. For every book bought by a parent/carer, Scholastic give the school money to buy books for school. I’m delighted to let you know that we now have over €500 to spend on books for our libraries – so many thanks to all!
National Children’s Choir
We are so excited about 5th and 6th Class’s upcoming performance with the National Children’s Choir. The children will attend a rehearsal all day on Monday, 25th in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght and the concert itself, will take place on Tuesday, 26th at 8.00 p.m.
We have ordered tickets for the families coming along and we will get those at the rehearsal on Monday. We will send a note this week to find out who needs a space on the bus – so make sure you confirm with us in advance.
The children will need to wear their school uniform – grey trousers/skirt, blue shirt and the school tie. Please make sure you have these before Monday next week.
The children have worked so hard and their singing is simply beautiful. We can’t wait for you to hear them singing with the orchestra and the other schools next week. Please let Ms. Kelly know if you have any questions.
Attendance and punctuality
Well done to Ms. O’Hare’s 1st Class who had 100% attendance last week! Last year, our whole-school attendance in March was the best month of the year. Let’s see if we can do just as well this year. Please make sure your child is in school every day.
Dates for your diary
25 March – 5th and 6th Class at choir rehearsal all day in National Basketball Arena
26 March – 5th and 6th Class performing with National Children’s Choir at 8.00 p.m.
12 April – School closes for Easter Holidays
29 April – School re-opens for summer term
…and finally…
We send our congratulations to Ms. Oppermann and her family on the arrival of a lovely baby boy recently.
Best wishes,
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
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