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World Book Day 2019

We had a week-long celebration for World Book Day 2019, with lots of exciting events happening and lots of classes involved. 5th Class started things off with a visit to the Central Library to meet author Sarah Webb.

Our assembly on Monday got us all thinking about books that we love.

On Tuesday, the 2nd Class children taking part in the ‘Time to Read’ programme with volunteers from ‘Business in the Community’ went to the Central Library in the Ilac Centre for a special workshop.

Ms. McCaughey’s 2nd Class took part in a Skype session with author Cressida Cowell to learn more about making characters come alive!

We were excited to receive lots of new books on Thursday to celebrate World Book Day. Each class library got some new titles to give us even more choice when we #ShareAStory

2nd Class visited KPMG Ireland to read with volunteers. They shared the story ‘All are Welcome’ and complete a giant doodle with author and illustrator Niamh Sharkey and the super team from Children’s Books Ireland.

We also welcomed our annual Book Fair on Thursday. Each class got the chance to take a look at the books on offer this year and the Book Fair will be open before and after school for families to buy books for the next week.

We finished on a high on Friday with a very special visit from author David Almond. David worked with 6th Class for the morning, to share his experiences of being a writer and encourage the children to see themselves as authors too.

All through the week we took a special challenge from DEAR Ireland (Drop Everything and Read) to choose a book each day, without commenting to share on Twitter and to nominate a new school each day to take on the challenge. Here are our choices:

We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! Happy World Book Day one and all!

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

5th and 6th Class at Climate Action March

Our 5th and 6th Classes have been learning about our environment and sustainability issues this year. They are very concerned about climate change and when they heard about other schools joining together to protest and call for more climate action – they had to take part! The children joined 400 students from around Dublin at Dail Eireann to share their concerns with politicians and policy makers.

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

Peace Proms 2019

3rd and 4th Class took part in the Peace Proms concert in the RDS in February 2019. The children sang with 2,500 children from around the country and the Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland

Photos from the Peace Proms 2019

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!

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:

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