Newsletter
17th June 2016
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
Staffing for Next Year
We have been working over the last few weeks to prepare our staffing for next year.
There are a few changes I’d like to make you aware of. Mr. Carney and Ms. Conlon will return to us following their career breaks. Ms. McDevitt also returns to us after a year teaching in Cavan. We are delighted to have them back with us. We will also welcome Anna Bourke, a new class teacher and from September, Ms. Devereux and Ms. Shortall will be job-sharing in a support role.
Ms. Griffin, who has been on maternity leave, will be moving school in September to job-share with another teacher and be closer to her young family. I know you will be sorry to hear this news as Ms. Griffin has been at St. Mary’s for a long time. We send her and her family our very best wishes and thank her for her dedication and commitment to our school, and Plás Mhuire, over her years here. Ms. Roche will also be away on maternity leave from September and we wish her all the best and look forward to seeing her back with us in 2017.
Below are the class teachers and support teachers for next year:
- Miss McDonnell’s Junior Infants will move to Senior Infants with Miss McDevitt.
- Miss Brophy’s Junior Infants will move to Senior Infants with….Miss Brophy again!
- Miss Haren’s Senior Infants will move to 1st Class with Miss Dolan.
- Miss Todd’s Senior Infants and 1st Class will move to 1st/2nd Class with Miss Calvey.
- Miss Palmer’s 1st Class will move to 2nd Class with Miss Collins.
- Miss Oppermann’s 2nd Class will move to 3rd with our new teacher, Miss Bourke.
- Collins’s 3rd Class will move to 4th Class with Miss Kilkenny.
- Miss Kilkenny’s 4th Class will move to 5th Class with Miss King.
- Kerr’s 5th Class will move to 6th Class with Miss Graham.
Ms. O’Callaghan, Mr. Kerr, Ms. Devereux, Ms. Shortall, Mr. Carney, Ms. Oppermann, Ms. Palmer, Ms. Glynn, Ms. Conlon and Ms. Haren will make up our super support team!
I’m sure you’ll agree, the children are in very safe hands. Over the next couple of weeks, the children will have a chance to meet their new teacher and see their new classroom and the teachers will be meeting to discuss the children’s learning needs so that we are ready for September.
News this week (and last week!)
Last week, 3rd Class had a wonderful day at Dollymount Strand for their tour.
We had our final celebration for our 2nd Class children in the Time to Read programme. We were very proud of them all and they earned lovely certificates and lots of praise from their volunteers.
This week, Senior Infants and 1st Class had a great day at Dublin Zoo. They saw lots of animals and despite the rain, really enjoyed themselves. They were also complimented on their wonderful behaviour by some visitors from Armagh! Well done Senior Infants and 1st Class.
As always, the photos from these events are on our Twitter page @stmarysdorsetst or on the school website – www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie . You’ll also find copies of our newsletters and lots more information that you can translate into your home language.
International Day
What a fantastic event we had last week for International Day. The march from the Garden of Remembrance with the piper and colour party was very exciting and the ceremony to unveil our special plaque was very special. Thank you to Mr. Kerr who organised it all and the children who spoke, sang and danced.
The International Day food event was also a real treat – thank you to the many, many families who brought a dish to share. There was such a wonderful variety of food. We are very grateful for your support and hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Active Schools Week
This week was active week. Every morning we started with ‘Wake and Shake’ which was a great way to get us all moving and energised! Each day, the children completed different activities led by members of staff – gymnastics with Miss Kilkenny on Monday, orienteering with Ms. O’Callaghan on Tuesday, games with Miss King on Thursday and dance with Miss Collins today.
Our thanks to Miss O’Callaghan for coordinating such a great week. We have a special visit on Monday to see if we will be awarded the ‘Active Flag’ for all of our work – fingers crossed!
Performances – Wednesday 22nd June
Our annual school performance ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ will take place on Wednesday, 22nd June. The performance is written by our 6th class children and every class is involved. As our school is so large, we will have TWO performances. One at 1.00 p.m. and another at 6.00 p.m. ALL children in the school will perform in both shows. Adults will be able to buy tickets for one performance – either afternoon or evening. Unfortunately, we do not have enough space to accommodate more than two tickets per family.
Summer Camps
We still have places for older children on our summer camp from 4th-8th July. Please let us know if you’d like your child to attend. The places are FREE!
School Reports
Today, your child will be bringing home their school report. Please contact us next week if you would like to discuss any part of it.
Dates for your diary
22nd June – School Performance
30th June – School finishes at 12 noon
1st September – Children return to school
Have a lovely weekend!
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
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