Newsletter 8.4.16
Newsletter
8th April 2016
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
Welcome Back
I hope you all had a restful holiday. The children have come back to school with plenty of energy for the term ahead. Our breakfast club has been busy all week which is great to see. There is plenty of space and plenty of food – so do come along at 8.40 am to start the day with us.
Events this week
On Tuesday, 4th Class visited the library. They will be going each week for this term and Miss Todd’s Class will join them as reading buddies.
On Wednesday morning, 3rd Class visited the offices of the Ombudsman for Children where they took part in a workshop on children’s rights. The team working with them were so impressed and tweeted us “a big THANK YOU for visiting, your great energy and kindness made our day!”. What lovely feedback – well done 3rd Class.
Also on Wednesday, 6th Class had their final rock-climbing session at Larkin College. Our thanks to the team there for offering this great opportunity.
Today, Miss Brophy’s Junior Infants visited the pet shop as part of their learning about animals this term. They were very excited!
Parish Mission
St. Joseph’s Parish will be hosting a mission over the next fortnight. The school will be involved in the second week (18th April). We will have visitors from the mission team working with classes throughout the week. There will be a special prayer service on the Thursday evening in the church and the usual family Mass on Sunday 24th April. I will send more details home next week. In the meantime, please keep the dates free if you’d like to join us.
Census Day
We have been asked to remind families that it is Census Day in Ireland on Sunday, 24th April. Look out for the form which will be delivered to your home. If you need any help completing it, do come and ask us.
Attendance and Punctuality
Best attendance this week was 5th Class with 96.7% – well done!
Dates for your diary
12th April – Meeting for new parents for Junior Infants in September 2016 at 1.45
14th April – 5th/6th Class to Pearse Museum
Week of 18th April – Parish Mission
21st April – Prayer Service at 7 p.m.
Sunday, 24th April – Family Mass at 11.45am
2nd – 6th May – Mid-Term Break
12th May – Confirmation at 11.00am
29th May – First Communion at 11.45am
30th June – School finishes at 12 noon
School Meals
A reminder to return the menu forms we sent out before the holidays. If your child wants to change their meal, please complete the form and return it to us as soon as possible.
Have a lovely weekend!
Éadaoin Kelly – Principal
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Proclamations for a New Generation
Our 5th Class took on the task of writing a new version of the Proclamation for our 1916 commemorations. The children learnt all about children’s rights and the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in the autumn term and used their knowledge to inform their decisions on what to include in their new proclamations.
At four minutes past noon on Easter Monday, April 24th 1916, Padraig Pearse read the Proclamation of the Republic outside the GPO on Dublin’s Sackville Street, now O’Connell Street. This was a pivotal moment in our history which still resonates strongly today.
As part of our 2016 programme, all schools were asked to take the opportunity to step into the shoes of Patrick Pearse and write their own version, which reflects the values, ideals and hopes of the generation of 2016.
The 5th Class children shared their proclamations with the whole school at our Proclamation Day ceremony and are displayed in our school. You can read them here:
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Proclamation Day – 15th March 2016
We had a wonderful day today celebrating ‘Proclamation Day’. Along with every school in the country, we came together for a special ceremony this morning.
We began with a rousing ‘Something Inside So Strong’ sung by our school choir. Nathan from 2nd Class then began with an introduction and overview of events of 1916.
5th Class then read the original Proclamation, followed by singing from 1st Class who sang ‘Óró, sé do bheatha ‘bhaile’, 2nd Class who sang ‘The Foggy Dew’ and 3rd and 4th Class who sang ‘Grace’.
5th Class then shared their new versions of the Proclamation and 6th Class performed a wonderful four-hand reel, an Irish dance. The choir then sang ‘Power in Me’ which encourages everyone to be empowered and take action to help others and stand up for their rights.
The final section saw Josh from 6th Class, our Citizen of the Year, tell us about the origins of the Irish flag before he and Miss Kelly placed the flag on our new flagpole to thunderous applause. We all stood and sang ‘Amhran na bhFiann’ the Irish national anthem together. It was a fantastic occasion – our thanks to all of the children and teachers who worked so hard to prepare for the day.
Have a look at photos from the ceremony below and some of the art work from 5th Class and project work from 6th Class too:
Newsletter 11.3.16
Newsletter
11th March 2016
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
| We close on Wednesday, 16th March at 12 noon for Easter.
We re-open on Monday, 4th April with breakfast club at 8.40 a.m. |
Breakfast Club
What a success our first week of breakfast club has been! Thank you to all of the children who have come along and particularly to Miss Brophy, Amy, Audrey, Dolores, Megan and Mr. Connolly who have worked miracles to feed so many children in such a short space of time. Breakfast club continues next week from 8.40 – 8.50 a.m. each day – give it a try!
School Meals
You will receive a new and updated menu for your child’s school meal next week. Please talk to your child and decide what they would like and return the form to us as soon as possible.
Events this week
On Tuesday, some 2nd Class children made their First Penance in the Church. Thank you to the parents who came along to support them and the choir who sang beautifully.
Thursday was a busy day for visits. 1st, 3rd and 4th Classes went into the city centre for walking tours around the GPO and Moore Street to learn more about the 1916 Rising.
World Book Day vouchers
Lots of classes will be visiting Chapters bookshop over the next few days to use their ‘World Book Day’ vouchers. It is lovely to see so many children enjoying books.
Active Schools Programme
We were delighted to host teachers from a number of Dublin schools on Thursday for an ‘Active Schools’ session. Thanks to Ms. O’Callaghan for organising – we are on a mission to be more active! As the weather gets nicer – please take every opportunity to get outside with your children and be active.
Attendance and Punctuality
Very good attendance again this week. We’re currently meeting our target with attendance of 95% across the school. Best attendance this week was 2nd Class with 97.4%, closely followed by 5th Class with 97.3%!
Dates for your diary
Sunday, 13th March – Family Mass at 11.45am
15th March – Flag Raising & Proclamation Day
16th March – Annual Céilí
16th March – School closes at 12 for Easter
4th April – Back to school
And finally….Congratulations to Mr. Kerr who has been elected onto the Irish Teaching Council this week. Mr. Kerr takes one of the 16 places for elected teachers on the Council. It is a very important role and we are very proud – well done Mr. Kerr!
Best wishes for a lovely weekend,
Éadaoin Kelly – Principal
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Newsletter 4.3.16
Read this week’s newsletter here:
Newsletter
4th March 2016
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
Breakfast Club
I hope you have all received the flyer to let you know that we are starting a brand new breakfast club in school next week. Breakfast will be available for any child who would like it, from 8.40 – 8.50 a.m. each day. The club is funded through our School Meals funding so it is free for all children. Please do come along and enjoy!
Visits this week
It was Senior Infants and 1st Class’s turn to visit the GPO on O’Connell Street to see the flag raising on Thursday. The children really enjoyed seeing the soldiers. As always, there are some lovely photos on our Twitter account @stmarysdorsetst or on our website.
Time to Read on World Book Day
All children have received a €1.50 book voucher to celebrate World Book Day on Thursday. This can be spent in any bookshop to buy a free book or reduce the cost of a more expensive book. Happy reading!
Our 2nd Class children who have been working with volunteers from ‘Business in the Community’ had a special visit to their offices on O’Connell Street on Thursday. They had a wonderful time and were even treated to pizza! The volunteers told us that they ‘were an absolute pleasure and created a great buzz around the office’. Well done children! And thanks to Ms. Oppermann who has been coordinating the programme and who accompanied the children on their visit.
Active Schools Programme
We have introduced the Active Schools programme at St. Mary’s this year to help us get active and move more. Already, there have been big changes in the yard, with lots more games and activities to keep children moving, including skipping, hula hoops, dodgeball and dance!
The active team are looking for even more ideas though – can you help? Adults, Ms. O’Callaghan would love to hear from you, and children, let the Active team know if you have a suggestion to keep us moving.
Attendance and Punctuality
Super attendance from everyone this week. We’re currently meeting our target with attendance of 95% across the school. Well done to all of the families to work hard to make sure they are in school on time every single day.
A particular well done to 3rd Class with the best attendance for the second week in a row, a marvellous 98.1%. 2nd and 6th weren’t far behind on 97% and 1st Class had 96%!
Dates for your diary
8th March – 2nd Class First Penance
Sunday, 13th March – Family Mass at 11.45am
15th March – Flag Raising & Proclamation Day
16th March – Annual Céilí
16th March – School closes at 12 for Easter
4th April – Back to school
Wrap up warm – it’s going to be a cold weekend!
Éadaoin Kelly – Principal
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Senior Infants and 1st Class visit the GPO
Miss Haren and Miss Todd’s Classes visited the General Post Office (GPO) on O’Connell Street in Dublin city centre on Thursday to watch the daily flag raising as part of their learning about 1916.
Time to Read – Visit to BitC Offices
Our 2nd Class children who have been taking part in the ‘Time to Read’ programme were very excited to visit the offices of their reading volunteers from ‘Business in the Community’ today.
The children were very busy sending emails and answering the phone and were treated to pizza for lunch as a reward! The volunteers told us ‘they were an absolute pleasure and created a great buzz around the office!’
Well done children!
Newsletter 26.2.16
Read this week’s newsletter here:
Newsletter
26th February 2016
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
News this week
We’ve had a busy few weeks at St. Mary’s with lots happening just before and then after our short mid-term break.
Last Monday, we had a visit from storyteller Brendan Nolan who introduced the topic of 1916 to 3rd – 6th Classes. The children will be learning a lot about our country’s history and the key events of 1916 in the lead up to the 100 year commemoration at Easter. 5th and 6th Class visited the Ilac Library to see the Abbey Theatre’s production of ‘Me Mollser’ which also links to 1916 and this week, they had a walking tour of the city centre, particularly the GPO and O’Connell Street to learn more about what happened there.
5th Class are sharing their learning with their learning partners in 2nd Class today, as they bring them to O’Connell Street and tell them all of the information they have gathered.
Last Tuesday, 3rd and 4th Class visited the Hugh Lane Art Gallery as part of their learning in responding to pieces of art. They really enjoyed their visit.
Yesterday, the Green Schools team visited a special Expo in the RDS to learn about how other schools have used the Green Schools Programme to make changes in their schools through recycling, saving energy and water, biodiversity and lots more. They even met President Michael D Higgins! Photos of their adventures are on our Twitter account @stmarysdorsetst or on our website.
Review of Behaviour Policy
We are currently reviewing our behaviour policy. We are interested in knowing parents’ views on behaviour in the school. If you have any comments or feedback you would like to give, please drop in to see me or Claire, or you can email me at principal@stmarysprimaryschool.ie . We very much value your thoughts and ideas, please do let us know what you think works well and how we can improve.
Attendance and Punctuality
Well done to 3rd Class with 99% attendance this week and beat off stiff competition from 4th and 5th Class who both had 98.2%!
February has been our best month of attendance so far this year at whole school level at 94%. We will need everyone in school every day in March to get to our target of 95%!
Dates for your diary
3rd March – Miss Haren and Miss Todd’s Classes to GPO/O’Connell Street
3rd March – 2nd Class Time to Read group visiting BitC offices
8th March – 2nd Class First Penance
Sunday, 13th March – Family Mass at 11.45am
15th March – Flag Raising Day
16th March – Annual Ceili
16th March – School closes at 12 p.m. for Easter holidays
Wishing you all a happy weekend!
Éadaoin Kelly – Principal
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Green Schools Expo
Our Green Schools committee visited the Green Schools Expo at the RDS today with Miss Haren and Miss Palmer. They visited lots of stalls and learnt lots about recycling, saving energy and how to look after our planet. They even saw the President, Michael D. Higgins! We look forward to them sharing what they found out with us all in the coming weeks.
Junior Infants – Construction Theme
Junior Infants have been taking inspiration for their learning from the building site next door. They have been monitoring progress on the site every day, looking at the changes over time, making lists of what they have seen each day and playing in their very own construction site in their classroom role play area. They were even invited to visit the site itself and had a great time being shown all of the equipment up close. Our thanks to Bennett Construction for facilitating this visit.
