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Newsletter 20.3.19

Newsletter

20^th 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

5^th and 6^th Class represented our school at ‘Science Blast’, an exhibition of science learning in the RDS on 6^th March. The children spent many weeks preparing their two outstanding projects. 5^th Class learned all about DNA while 6^th 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 7^th March. Ms. McCaughey’s 2^nd 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 6^th Class for a special workshop on Friday, 8^th 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 3^rd Class and Ms. Glynn’s 4^th 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 5^th and 6^th Class’s upcoming performance with the National Children’s Choir. The children will attend a rehearsal all day on Monday, 25^th in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght and the concert itself, will take place on Tuesday, 26^th 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 1^st 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 – 5^th and 6^th Class at choir rehearsal all day in National Basketball Arena

26 March – 5^th and 6^th 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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Newsletter 5.3.19

5^th March 2019

Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,

News from last week

The children in 1^st Class visited Dublin Castle as part of their learning this term. They came home with so many interesting facts about the castle and its history.

Last week, Senior Infants went to meet Postmaster Sean in the Post Office on Berkeley Road to learn all about his job. They even posted special postcards and have been very excited to see them arriving in their homes!

Well done to the children in 2^nd Class who had their First Penance ceremony in the Church last Wednesday. Thank you to all their families who came to support them.

On Friday, 5^th Class were invited to the Ilac Library to meet author Sarah Webb and learn more about her new book ‘Blazing a Trail’.

Today, we welcomed children from four schools in Dublin for a final rehearsal for the National Children’s Choir with 5^th and 6^th Class. The children have worked so hard and we are really looking forward to their performance in the National Basketball Arena on 26^th March. Parents/carers – don’t forget to order your tickets for this fantastic concert!

Also today, Ms. Yeates’s Class visited the Ilac Library with our Time to Read volunteers and this afternoon, our Romanian Class are hosting their very own celebration of poetry and song.

Digital Schools Excellence Project

We are taking part in a special digital schools’ project this year. Last week, we worked with Roisin from PDST who showed us some new apps and ways of sharing our learning. We’re excited to give them a try!

Book Fair and World Book Day

It’s World Book Day on Thursday this week and we will be hosting our Book Fair from Thursday onwards. The Book Fair will be open before and after school and you can purchase books at a great price for your children. For every book you buy, the school gets free books – so please have a look and support us if you can.

Attendance and punctuality

Well done to Ms. Graham’s Class who had top attendance last week of 98.3%!

Dates for your diary

6 March – 5^th and 6^th Class to Science Blast

7 March – Ms. McCaughey’s 2^nd Class to KPMG for World Book Day event

7 March – Book Fair arriving

8 March – 3^rd Class to Hugh Lane

12 March – 4^th Class to Hugh Lane

12 March – International Food Event

13 March – Ceili Mor for families

14, 15, 18 March – School Closed

26 March – 5^th and 6^th 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 are really looking forward to our celebrations for ‘Seachtain na Gaeilge’ or ‘Irish Week’ next week. We will have our annual International Food Event and invite children to wear traditional dress from their home countries too on Tuesday, 12^th March. Then on Wednesday, we will have our Céilí Mór (hopefully outside) and you are all welcome to join us in our traditional Irish dancing.

Best wishes,

Éadaoin Kelly

Principal

Newsletter 15.2.19

Newsletter

15^th February 2019

Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,

Reminder –

We are closing for just two days for our mid-term break – Thursday and Friday next week, 21^st and 22^nd February.

We are open as normal on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the normal times.

5^th and 6^th Class want Climate Action

On Wednesday, 5^th and 6^th Class joined 400 other primary school children to protest about ‘Climate Change’ at Dáil Éireann, our government buildings. The children made really creative posters and banners and spoke clearly about their views on global warming and the impact climate change will have on their lives. The children have been learning lots about sustainability in their classes and it was wonderful to see them leading this action for change with their peers.

Peace Proms

Well done to all our children in 3^rd and 4^th Class who performed at Peace Proms concert in the RDS two weeks ago. The children practised so hard to learn all of their songs and actions. They sang with 2,500 children from around the country and the Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland – what a fantastic opportunity! We were very proud of them all. Our thanks also to Ms. Glynn, Ms. Graham and Ms. Lougheed who prepared the children so well and to Mr. Carney, Aoiffe, Audrey and Liz who came along to support the children on the day.

News this month

Thank you to the parents/carers who came to our workshop about the ‘Stay Safe’ programme with Ms. Brophy last week, and to the parents/carers who participated in our internet safety talks too.

Well done to the 2^nd Class children who led the liturgy at our Family Mass last Sunday and thanks to Ms. Yeates who prepared them so well.

3^rd and 4^th Class were super school ambassadors on their visit to the Lighthouse Cinema on Wednesday. The children watched ‘The Kid who would be King’ and even got to ask the film’s director questions afterwards, as part of the Dublin International Film Festival’s  ‘Fantastic Flix’ programme.

Attendance and punctuality

We’ve seen a wonderful improvement in attendance this week with 97.4% attendance across the whole school. A special well done to our THREE classes with 100% attendance this week – Ms. McCaughey’s 2^nd Class, Ms. Graham’s 3^rd/4^th Class and Mr. McGuire’s 5^th!

Dates for your diary

18 February – 1^st Class to Dublin Castle

21 and 22 February – Mid-Term Break – School Closed

27 February – First Penance

6 March – Science Blast at RDS

14, 15, 18 March – School Closed

12 April – School closes for Easter Holidays

29 April – School re-opens for summer term

And finally…

We are collecting tokens from Aldi for their competition to win €50,000 for our school. If you spend over €30, you will get a token. Please bring in any tokens you have – thanks.

Have a lovely weekend,

Éadaoin Kelly

Principal

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Minister for Education visits to launch #HTMLHeroes

We were delighted to welcome Minister for Education, Joe McHugh TD and Director of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), Ciara O’Donnell to our school last month to launch the new WebWise resource ‘HTML Heroes’ for Safer Internet Day 2019. Take a look at www.webwise.ie to find out more about it!

Well done to our Young Interpreters who welcomed Minister McHugh to our school and to Ms. Graham’s Class who showed us their best poses for the photographer!

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Newsletter 30.1.19

Newsletter

30^th January 2019

Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,

Stay Safe Programme     

Every year, we use the ‘Stay Safe’ programme with all of the children from Junior Infants to 6^th Class. It is a national programme, that is compulsory in all Irish schools. The lessons teach the children about keeping themselves safe, dealing with bullying, stranger danger and cyber-bullying. The key message for children when they feel unsafe is to ‘say no, get away and tell’ an adult they trust. Every class will be following the programme in the coming weeks.

Ms. Brophy is available on Friday morning at 9.00 a.m. in the Parents’ Room to speak to any parents/carers who have questions about the programme content or how to support your child with these issues at home. Do come along if you have questions or concerns.

Yellow Flag Programme

We are working towards a ‘Yellow Flag’ this year to help us focus our work on interculturalism, equality and diversity.

We are currently doing an ‘Intercultural Review’ to ask our community their view on our work. The children in 2nd – 6th Class have been completing their survey in school.

We would now like to invite parents and carers to take part. The survey is online and should only take a couple of minutes.

Open a web browser and type in the link below to take the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L8WST9GPARENTS

If you would like a paper copy, please ask for one at the office.

Parent Classes

Thank you to all those who returned the forms to Síle about parent classes this term. We are delighted to see lots of interest in our English classes which will start next week. There’s also space in our yoga class on Mondays and cookery class on Tuesday mornings – do let us know if you are interested.

Attendance and punctuality

With a lot of children ill, it has been a very poor week of attendance. Please ensure your child is wrapped up warmly at school and we look forward to seeing everyone back to full health in the coming days.

Dates for your diary

1 February – ‘Stay Safe’ meeting for parents/ carers at 9.00 a.m.

2 February – 3^rd and 4^th Class perform at Peace Proms concert in the RDS at 2.00 p.m.

5 February – Internet Safety talks for parents/carers at 9 a.m.

10 February – Family Mass at 11.45 a.m.

21 and 22 February – Mid-Term Break – School Closed

27 February – First Penance

6 March – Science Blast at RDS

14, 15, 18 March – School Closed

12 April – School closes for Easter Holidays

29 April – School re-opens for summer term

Enrolment for September 2019

Final reminder – the closing date for Junior Infant September 2019 applications is Friday, 1^st February 2019. Please call into the office to collect an application form if you need one. Children must be 4 years old by 30 April 2019. We cannot accept late applications.

Best wishes,

Éadaoin Kelly

Principal

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Newsletter 18.1.19

18^th January 2019

Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,

Visit from Minister of Education

We were delighted to welcome the new Minister for Education, Joe McHugh TD, to our school on Wednesday. The Minister met with children and staff during his visit and was very interested to hear about the work that we do.

He met some of our Young Interpreters, and was so impressed, he has invited them to meet him in Government Buildings to tell him more about it!

Ms. Graham’s Class then took part in a photocall with the Minister and the team from ‘Webwise’, the online safety website (www.webwise.ie) and PDST – the Professional Development Service for Teachers and their Director, Ciara O’Donnell. The photos have been taken in advance of ‘Safer Internet Day’ on 5^th February and we will be able to share them with you then. The children were wonderful ambassadors for the school and even sang an impromptu chorus of ‘This is Me’ for the Minister as he left. Well done Ms. Graham’s Class!

Thank you to all the staff who contributed to the preparation for the visit.

News this week

On Tuesday morning, Senior Infants visited the General Post Office, known as the ‘GPO’ on O’Connell Street, as part of their learning about the post office this term. The children were very excited to see the post office in action and had lots of questions to ask.

After-School Clubs

We have had enormous interest in our after-school clubs this term. We have tried our very best to allocate a club to everyone and we apologise to those who may be disappointed. We tried particularly to allocate places to those who didn’t get a club place last term.

The children have a note in their bags today to confirm their places and all clubs (except English Language, which won’t start until February) will run from next week. Please make sure you take a note of the name of the club your child is attending, the day it takes place and the time it finishes. I would also ask you to ensure you are on time to collect your child after clubs.  Thank you.

Attendance and punctuality

Well done to Ms. O’Hare’s 1^st Class with a perfect 100% attendance record this week!

Dates for your diary

2 February – 3^rd and 4^th Class perform at Peace Proms concert in the RDS at 2.00 p.m.

5 February – Safer Internet Day – Zeeko Internet Safety talks for parents and children

10 February – Family Mass at 11.45 a.m.

21 and 22 February – Mid-Term Break – School Closed

27 February – First Penance

6 March – Science Blast at RDS

14, 15, 18 March – School Closed

12 April – School closes for Easter Holidays

29 April – School re-opens for summer term

Enrolment for September 2019

We are accepting applications for Junior Infants for September 2019. The closing date for applications is Friday, 1^st February 2019. Please call into the office to collect an application form if you need one – and make sure to let your friends, family and neighbours know too!

Best wishes,

Éadaoin Kelly

Principal

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Newsletter 14.1.19

Newsletter

14^th January 2019

Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to all and a happy new year to everyone. We hope you had a lovely holiday and we are delighted to see everyone back and ready for an exciting term of learning.

The children have settled back quickly and last week we talked about our new years’ resolutions and our aims for our learning over the coming months.

After-School Clubs

Please look out for club letters this week. Our thanks to the staff who give their time to run these clubs after-school. Please remember that your child does not automatically have a place in a club – you must wait for the office to confirm. Please ensure we have an accurate phone number for you and check your text or app messages for confirmation.

Christmas Raffle

Thank you to the Parents’ Association who organised our Christmas raffle in aid of DEBRA Ireland. I’m delighted to let you know we raised 224 euro in total. Thank you also to those who donated items for the Crosscare Homeless Shelter next door.

Attendance and punctuality

Well done to 6^th Class who had top attendance of 98.3% last week and won our attendance trophy.

It has been an excellent start to the term, with nearly everyone back from holiday on time. This makes a huge difference to the children’s learning – well done everyone!

Dates for your diary

15 January – Senior Infants visit the GPO

2 February – 3^rd and 4^th Class perform at Peace Proms concert in the RDS at 2.00 p.m.

5 February – Safer Internet Day – Zeeko Internet Safety talks for parents and children

10 February – Family Mass at 11.45 a.m.

21 and 22 February – Mid-Term Break – School Closed

27 February – First Penance

6 March – Science Blast at RDS

14, 15, 18 March – School Closed

12 April – School closes for Easter Holidays

29 April – School re-opens for summer term

New Year Reminders

As the weather continues to be cold, and with warnings that it may become colder, I would ask you to remind your child that they must wear a coat to school each day and they are not allowed to take their coat off when outside playing. This ensures the children keep warm while getting some fresh air, but also ensures coats do not get mixed up or lost. We appreciate your help reinforcing this message with the children at home.

And finally…

Tickets for the Peace Proms concert on Saturday, 2^nd February are almost sold out. If you want to go along to the RDS to see your child – you will need to buy a ticket online. Sile can help you, if you have any trouble.

http://peaceproms.com/dublin-saturday-2pm/

Best wishes,

Éadaoin Kelly

Principal

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