Newsletter 10.3.17
Newsletter
10th March 2017
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
News this week
5th Class visited the Central Library in the Ilac on Wednesday for a workshop as part of ‘Engineers’ Week’.
Across the whole school, preparations have been in full swing for our annual ‘Céilí’. A ‘Céilí’ is a kind of Irish dancing, with special dances performed in groups. All of the children will participate in a big ‘céilí’ on Wednesday at school and we hope to teach lots of parents how to join in at our International Day on Thursday from 12.30 p.m. This week, we practised a big circle dance in the yard – you can see a video on our Twitter account @stmarysdorsetst!
Active Schools News
Mr. Carney and Ms. O’Callaghan are busy preparing a team of 5th and 6th Class children to go to a basketball tournament next week. The tournament will take place in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght and we wish our teams the very best of luck!
Dates for your diary
Sunday, 12th March – Family Mass at 11.45am
13th March– Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Week)
15 March – Céilí Mór for all children
16 March – International Day
17 March – St. Patrick’s Day – School Closed
Attendance and punctuality
6th Class have made a long awaited return to top position this week with 100%! Well done to you all. They will hold our attendance trophy for this week.
A reminder that waking up late or going to appointments with the doctor or dentist are not a reason to miss a full day at school. Children should always come to school for a part of the day – either before or after their appointment. If you wake up late, come to school as soon as you can, you should not miss a full day’s learning.
Our thanks to the families who work hard to ensure their child is in school on time every single day – well done!
Reminder – St. Patrick’s Day
A reminder that next Friday, 17th March is St. Patrick’s Day. This is a national holiday in Ireland and the school will be closed all day.
International Day – Thursday, 16th March
Here’s a run-down of events on Thursday. You are very welcome to join us for these, and any donations of food would be gratefully received.
We will also unveil our beautiful parent tapestry of our home countries. The children have worked together on projects for each home country in the school and very excitingly, the film crew from RTE’s ‘News2Day’ programme will be here to film all the action. Don’t miss it!
9.00 am 1st & 2nd Class – Samba Performance
9.30 am Dance Club ‘Sean-Nós’ Performance
12.30 pm Céilí Dance with Parents/Carers
1.00 pm International Food Event in the Hall
Enjoy your weekend,
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Newsletter-10.3.17.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]
Newsletter 3.3.17
Newsletter
3rd March 2017
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
News this week
As part of our preparations for International Day, 1st and 2nd Class children have started a series of samba workshops with Masamba Samba School tutors. The children are learning to play samba instruments and we are so excited for their performance on 16th March – it sounds great already!
This week, we welcomed our ‘Reader in Residence’, Julianne from Dublin City Libraries who is working with Junior Infants for the next few weeks, sharing stories and reading fun!
It was Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent this week and the Catholic children attended Mass. They also recevied a special Lenten Activity Calendar with small acts of kindness and prayer they can do for each day of Lent.
Thursday was World Book Day! Each child received a voucher for €1.50 to spend in a local bookshop. Some classes have already visited ‘Chapters’ to make their selection. 2nd Class visited the Central Library with their ‘Time to Read’ volunteers from Business in the Community.
3rd and 5th Class had a visit yesterday from the dental nurse who reminded them about how important it is to look after your teeth and brush them at least twice every day. A top tip is to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in your head while you’re brushing – it lasts for just the right amount of time!
Active Schools News
We have recently started a ‘Slí na Sláinte’ walking initiative in our school. Twice a week, the children and staff go out on a 10 minute walk in our local community and around Blessington Street Basin park. This boosts children’s activity levels, health and wellbeing. Research shows that children’s brains are also much more active and ready for learning after 10 minutes of exercise!
Dates for your diary
8th March – 5th Class to Engineers Week workshop at Ilac Library
Sunday, 12th March – Family Mass at 11.45am
13th March– Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Week)
15 March – Céilí Mór for all children
16 March – International Day
17 March – St. Patrick’s Day – School Closed
Attendance and punctuality
Well done to 4th and 5th Class with 99% attendance this week and the winners of our trophy this week.
Seachtain na Gaeilge and International Day
We have our annual celebration of ‘Seachtain na Gaeilge’ coming up. We will be celebrating Irish culture, heritage and our language through the week. We will also be celebrating the many other cultures represented in our school, with a variety of activities and our annual International Food event on Thursday, 16th March – please put the day in your diary!
Enrolment for Junior Infants – Sept. 2017
Applications for September 2017 have closed. We will be confirming places in the next week or so. Please look out for a letter.
Have a lovely weekend!
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Newsletter-3.3.17.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]
Newsletter 17.2.17
Newsletter
17th February 2017
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
A big thank you to the many, many families who joined us for our Science Fair yesterday. It was fantastic to see so many parents and carers coming to see the children’s learning.
We were all impressed with the variety of experiments and learning taking place all through the school. It was wonderful to hear the children speaking so confidently about their learning and explaining so clearly what they were working on. Well done everyone!
Thank you to all of our staff who worked so hard to prepare for the event. We can’t wait for next year!
News this week
On Monday, our older classes visited the Lighthouse Cinema as part of the Dublin International Film Festival. 5th and 6th met the famous children’s author Jacqueline Wilson before seeing the 1952 film ‘Mandy’. 3rd Class saw a Spanish film called ‘Zip and Zap and the Captain’s Island’ while 4th Class saw ‘Kai’. Our reviewers report that all three films were fantastic!
Dates for your diary
Sunday, 19th Feb. – Family Mass at 11.45 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church, Berkeley Road
23/24 February – Mid-Term Break
13-16 – Seachtain na Gaeilge
15 March – Céilí Mór
16 March – International Day
17 March – St. Patrick’s Day – School Closed
Attendance and punctuality
Well done to both Miss Calvey’s 1st and 2nd Class with 99.3% attendance this week! 5th Class were just pipped at the post with 99.1%!
Family Mass
Don’t forget – our Family Mass is on THIS Sunday, 19th February at St. Joseph’s Church, Berkeley Road. All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you there.
Mid-Term Break
We are open as normal on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. We close for just two days (Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th February) for our mid-term break. School will re-open on Monday, 27th February.
FINAL REMINDER!
Enrolment for Junior Infants – Sept. 2017
We are currently accepting enrolment forms for Junior Infants in September 2017. We will have one class of 22 and have already received a large number of applications.
Children must be 4 years old by 30th April 2017 to be eligible for a place. Application forms must be completed and returned to the office by Tuesday, 28th February 2017.
Have a lovely weekend!
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Newsletter-17.2.17.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Move-More-leaflet.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]
Newsletter 10.2.17
Newsletter
10th February 2017
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
Peace Proms
Well done to our school choir who sang beautifully at the ‘Peace Proms’ at the RDS last Saturday night. The children sang with 2,300 children from around the country and the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland. It was a really exciting evening and the children performed at their very best. We are very proud of them! Thank you to the parents who came to support their children at the concert and to those who waited up very late for us to arrive home! Thanks also to Ms. O’Callaghan, Ms. Devereux and Mr. Carney who helped look after the children on the day.
News this week
On Thursday, the children in 3rd-6th Class had a lovely prayer service with Fr. Pat to celebrate spring and the beauty of creation.
Today, we all stopped what we were doing at 10 o’clock to take part in Operation Transformation’s ‘10@10’ – 10 minutes of physical activity and dance in our classrooms and the hall. Everyone loved it!
Safer Internet Day
Tuesday was ‘Safer Internet Day’. We talked about all of the information we can find on the internet, the games we play and the things we learn. We also talked about what might be unsafe about the internet like talking to strangers or clicking on a link we’re unsure of. We said if children are using the internet and see something unsafe or feel unsafe in anyway, they should ‘STOP’ what they are doing, ‘BLOCK’ a user or content they do not like and ‘TELL’ an adult. Please talk about this with your child at home and help them to be safe. You can find more information at www.webwise.ie
Dates for your diary
13th February – 3rd – 6th Classes to Lighthouse Cinema for International Film Festival
Thursday, 16th February – Science Fair
Sunday, 19th Feb. – Family Mass at 11.45 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church, Berkeley Road
23/24 February – Mid-Term Break
Attendance and punctuality
Well done to both 3rd and 5th Class with 100% attendance this week!
And finally….
We send our very best wishes to Ms. McDevitt and her family as she begins her maternity leave today. We hope to share news of their new arrival very soon!
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Newsletter-10.2.17.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/HSE-Fact-Sheet-For-Parents.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]
Peace Proms 2017
Our school choir sang at Peace Proms 2017 for the first time this weekend. The Peace Proms is organised by the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland and brings together children from all over the country. Performances take place in Dublin, Belfast, Limerick and Liverpool!
We have spent several months learning a whole range of songs, from the Michael Jackson classic ‘Heal the World’ to anthem ‘Ireland’s Call’ and not forgetting our favourite medleys from Annie, Disney and the pop world.
We were so proud to sing with 2,300 children, the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland, some fantastic soloists and our conductor, Greg Beardsell.
Well done to all – you were wonderful!
In January, we had our rehearsals in the National Show Centre – have a look at us in action!
Newsletter 3.2.17
Newsletter
3rd February 2017
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
Visitors from Finland!
We were pleased to host some visitors from Finland on Tuesday morning. The group of researchers were visiting Dublin to find out more about how schools and communities support children and families who speak English as an additional language. The group visited classrooms around the school and were very impressed with the lovely learning taking place. They had lots of questions for us about how we support children who are new to English and we were able to tell them about our small group teaching, our Young Interpreters, our use of interpreters for parent meetings and our inclusive ethos.
It was lovely to share our practice with them and we send our thanks to Sevak from the New Communities Partnership who organised the visit.
News this week
Thanks to all the families who supported our Family Mass last Sunday.
Our after-school clubs got started this week – Football with Mr. Carney, Mindful Art with Ms. Conlon, Language with New Communities, Computing with Pirooz, Music with Ms. Bourke, Art with Ms. Kilkenny and Irish Dance with Ms. Sheridan.
On Tuesday, Imelda from the ‘Walk in My Shoes’ programme came to talk to 5th and 6th Class about mental health.
On Thursday, 4th Class visited the Chester Beatty Library to view Chinese manuscripts and textiles as part of their learning about China this term.
Peace Proms
Best of luck to our school choir who will perform at the RDS tomorrow night at the ‘Peace Proms’. The children will sing with 2,300 other school children from around the country and the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland. They have practised very hard over the last few weeks and are very excited! We wish them all the best for a great day and fantastic performance.
Dates for your diary
13th February – 3rd – 6th Classes to Lighthouse Cinema for International Film Festival
Friday, 17th February – Science Fair
Sunday, 19th Feb. – Family Mass at 11.45 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church, Berkeley Road
23/24 February – Mid-Term Break
Attendance and punctuality
We’ve had a great week across the school, with nearly everyone in every day. We had joint winners of our trophy – Miss Brophy’s Senior Infants and Miss Calvey’s 1st and 2nd Class with 99% – well done!
Enrolment for Junior Infants – Sept. 2017
We are currently accepting enrolment forms for Junior Infants in September 2017. We will have one class of 22 and have already received a large number of applications.
Children must be 4 years old by 30th April 2017 to be eligible for a place. Application forms must be completed and returned to the office by Tuesday, 28th February 2017.
Let’s hope the rain stays away for the weekend!
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Newsletter-3.2.17.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]
Newsletter 27.1.17
Newsletter
27th January 2017
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
News this week
Our thanks to the staff and students of Mount Carmel Secondary School who hosted 5th and 6th Class at their production of ‘Mammy Mia’ on Tuesday this week. We heard it was brilliant! Well done to all of the cast.
On Tuesday, Miss Collins’s 2nd Class had a visit from Dr. Aoife Lynam who is working with them for the next few weeks on a special programme all about learning to be resilient
On Thursday, 5th and 6th Class visited St. Joseph’s Church on Berkeley Road to prepare for this Sunday’s Family Mass. All families are welcome to join us on Sunday at 11.45 a.m.
Incredible Years Programmes
We received funding through the ABC Programme in Grangegorman to deliver a number of ‘Incredible Years’ programmes which support children to develop good social, emotional and behavioural skills. In Senior Infants, the children are taking part in the Classroom DINA programme, or ‘Dinosaur School’ with Ms. Brophy and Ms. Conlon. Today, Ms. Kilkenny and Ms. Bourke are beginning the first of six training sessions for 3rd and 4th Class.
Síle, our Home School teacher, and Claire Shortall have been running a parent programme and we are now looking to start a second group of parents in the coming week. The programme runs for 14 weeks and will take place on Thursday mornings. If you are interested in finding out more, please talk to Síle or give her a call on 085 1035456.
After-School Clubs
Our after-school clubs start next week, from Monday. Please check your child’s bag for a letter.
Dates for your diary
Sunday, 29th January – Family Mass at 11.45
30th January – ‘Walk in my shoes’ workshop on mental health for 5th and 6th Class
Saturday, 4th February – Choir singing at Peace Proms concert in the RDS Concert Hall
Friday, 17th February – Science Fair
23/24 February – Mid-Term Break
Attendance and punctuality
Well done to 3rd and 5th Class who both had 100% attendance this week – super!
Enrolment for Junior Infants – Sept. 2017
We are currently accepting enrolment forms for Junior Infants in September 2017. We will have one class of 22 and have already received a large number of applications.
Children must be 4 years old by 30th April 2017 to be eligible for a place. Application forms must be completed and returned to the office by Tuesday, 28th February 2017.
Traffic and Parking
Please be careful if you are driving and parking around the school building. , Lately, we have seen cars driving particularly fast down Paradise Place when children are coming in and out of school. We have also seen parents/carers driving the wrong way around the one-way system on St. Mary’s Place. Both are very dangerous. Please drive and park carefully around the school so that we keep all of our children safe. Thank you.
Have a lovely weekend,
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Newsletter-27.1.17.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]
Newsletter 20.1.17
Newsletter
20th January 2017
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
News this week
Our school choir attended a special rehearsal in the National Show Centre in Swords on Tuesday. They sang with nearly 1800 children from around the country. The children will be performing at a concert called the ‘Peace Proms’ on Saturday, 4th February at 8.00 p.m. in the RDS. This rehearsal was a chance for them to show all that they know, including their dance moves! The children were fantastic ambassadors for the school. They sang beautifully, knew all of the actions and listened attentively throughout. The adults were very proud and impressed by their positive attitudes and talent – well done! We can’t wait for the performance in February.
Tickets for the show can be bought online at www.peaceproms.com. Any parent with a child in the choir who needs help with this should talk to Ms. McDonnell, who will be happy to support.
After-School Clubs
We are running a range of after-school clubs this term for 1st – 6th Classes, everything from computing, music, football and art to ‘sean-nós’ style Irish dancing! We have had lots of interest from children across the school.
We will look at the forms carefully and assign places next week. If your child is given a place at a club, you will receive a letter with the details and start date. Most of our new clubs will start the week of 30th Jan. If your child does not get a place this time, we will make sure they are prioritised for a place next term. Look out for letters in bags early next week!
Dates for your diary
24 January – 5th/6th Class to Mount Carmel Secondary School to see ‘Mammy Mia’ Sunday, 29th January – Family Mass at 11.45
30th January – ‘Walk in my shoes’ workshop on mental health for 5th and 6th Class
Saturday, 4th February – Choir singing at Peace Proms concert in the RDS Concert Hall
Friday, 17th February – Science Fair
23/24 February – Mid-Term Break
Attendance and punctuality
A big improvement in attendance across the school this week. Our attendance cup was awarded to 4th Class with a super 100% – well done! Close behind were 2nd Class and Miss Brophy’s Senior Infants on 98%.
We talked in assembly on Monday about getting to school on time. We reminded everyone that the gate opens at 8.40 and school officially starts at 8.50 a.m. If you arrive at school and your class is already inside – you are late! If you arrive and the gate is shut – you are late! If you arrive and have to come in the office door – you are late!
We know there are always mornings when it is a little harder, traffic is particularly bad or the alarm didn’t go off. But for most mornings, we ask that you ensure your child arrives on time to start their learning. If they are late, they miss out on vital information and the plan for the day. You also miss the opportunity to say hello to their teacher or pass on a message. Our thanks as always to the children and families who are here on time every single day.
Enjoy the weekend, let’s hope it stays dry!
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Newsletter-20.1.17.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]
Newsletter 13.1.17
Newsletter
13th January 2017
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a restful holiday. The children have come back full of enthusiasm and energy and we are looking forward to a busy term of learning.
Classes have been settling back into their routine this week and there was lots of good news to share at our Praise Assembly this morning.
Children’s Teams
Our children’s teams, who have representatives from each class, have been meeting over the last few months and setting action plans in place for the year. We have four children’s teams – the Be Active team who look after sports and activity, the Diversity team who discuss ways to celebrate the many cultures and languages we have in our school, the Green Schools team who promote caring for the environment and eco issues, and our Safety and Anti-Bullying team who have been discussing wellbeing and keeping ourselves safe. Our teachers are also working on these themes and meet to look at our policies and practices and initiatives to help us move forward on each issue.
Dates for your diary
17th January – Choir to Peace Proms rehearsal
Sunday, 29th January – Family Mass
30th January – ‘Walk in my shoes’ workshop on mental health for 5th and 6th Class
Saturday, 4th February – Choir singing at Peace Proms concert in the RDS Concert Hall
Friday, 17th February – Science Fair
23/24 February – Mid-Term Break
Upcoming Holidays
A reminder that we have just two days for mid-term break in February – Thursday, 23rd and Friday, 24th February 2017.
We will be closed on Friday, 17th March for the St. Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday.
We will close at 12.00 p.m. on Friday, 7th April for the Easter holidays. We have two weeks holiday and return on Monday, 24th April.
We will be closed on Monday, 1st May for the May Day Bank Holiday.
Our final mid-term break is four days at the beginning of June. We will be closed on Thursday, 1st, Friday, 2nd, Monday, 5th and Tuesday 6th June.
We finish for the year on Friday, 30th June.
Please make sure these dates are in your diary and that holidays and visits to family etc. are taken during this time only. Children should be in school on all other days.
Attendance and punctuality
Best attendance this week was in Senior Infants. Both classes did really well, but Ms. McDevitt’s class won our trophy for the very first time with a super 97.6% – well done!
And finally…
It has been very cold this week and the cold is set to continue. Please make sure your child comes to school with a warm coat and clothing. Please talk to your child and remind them that they must wear their coat when going outside in this cold weather.
Have a lovely weekend,
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Newsletter-13.1.17.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]
Newsletter 21.12.16
Newsletter
21st December 2016
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
| REMINDER:
We close for the Christmas Holidays tomorrow, Thursday, 22nd December at 12 noon.
We re-open on Monday, 9th January at 8.50 a.m.
|
Christmas Fair – THANK YOU!
What a wonderful day we had yesterday! It was lovely to see so many families enjoying the games and activities together.
Well done to all of the children who performed so confidently. The singing was excellent and really added to the atmosphere.
Enormous thanks to the many families who brought cakes and sweet treats for our cake sale. It was amazing to see so many different foods from around the world. We had so much that the children were able to come and eat even more today!
Thank you to Santa for giving his time in our beautiful grotto. Each and every member of staff contributed in many ways – decorating the beautiful grotto (or ‘chalet’ as Ms. Oppermann prefers to call it!) and classrooms, designing and making activities, preparing the children for performances and to lead activities, buying decorations and prizes, organising food, selling tickets and making beautiful crafts to sell. You are all simply wonderful – thank you so much. How lucky the children are to have you all!
A final thank you to the businesses, market traders, families, staff and friends who donated prizes for our tombola and raffle yesterday. Thank you for your support and generosity. I am pleased to say that we raised over €400, with half donated to Focus Ireland.
Raffle Winners
Well done to Chantelle (5th Class) and Youssef (Senior Infants) who were the big winners of our raffle yesterday. They won a huge hamper of Christmas food and treats each.
News this week
On Sunday afternoon, our school choir sang beautifully at the parish Carol Service. Our thanks to the parents and carers who came to support the children at their first performance of the year.
Today, 6th Class visited the National Museum of Ireland and the Live Crib at the Mansion House as a reward for their hard work, focus and maturity this term.
And a final thank you…
I would like to thank all of our staff for their creativity, dedication and energy this term. The children love coming to school each day because of the exciting and engaging learning you provide for them. Míle buíochas!
Thanks to the children for their ever-present enthusiasm, to our parents and carers for working with us each and every day and to our Board of Management for their support.
We wish everyone a very peaceful and joyous Christmas and New Year. Have a lovely holiday and we look forward to seeing you in January.
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
[embeddoc url=”http://www.stmarysprimaryschool.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Newsletter-21.12.16.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]