Parish Mission
Our thanks to Sr. Mary, Frances and Pasi, our school mission team this week. They have worked with all of our classes in assemblies and in class. The children performed beautifully on Thursday evening in the church, sharing the songs and stories they had worked on during the week – we heard the story of creation, the story of Noah and the ark and some lovely singing, including an Irish blessing. Thank you to the parents and carers who came to support the children at this special event. The final event is our family Mass on Sunday at 11.45 a.m. in the church. The children will be singing and involved in the readings, so please do come along.
Here are some photos from the celebration on Thursday:
Young Achievers
Congratulations to the winners of our ‘Young Achievers’ awards for this year. These children are nominated in eight categories by the other children in the school and school staff. Each child showed exceptional talent and strength in their winning category. They received special certificates at a ceremony at the Lighthouse cinema on Wednesday. Well done to you all, and thanks to Claire Shortall, our Home-School teacher for coordinating!
Award Winners for 2016:
Amelia, 6th Class: Drama
Sid, 6th Class: Academic
Darius, 6th Class: Community
Briana, 5th Class: Helping Others
Haroldas, 5th Class: Art
Denisa, 4th Class: Bonus award for personal academic achievement
Matrida, 4th Class: Music
Maureen, 3rd Class: Dance
Leighton, 3rd Class: Sport
Rebeca, 3rd Class: Creativity
Newsletter 15.4.16
Newsletter
15th April 2016
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
Congratulations!
We are delighted to let you know that a team of 5th Class children who entered a project in the ‘Scratch’ computer programming competition have been selected as National Finalists!
Andrei, Briana and Emilin spent many hours developing their project using the ‘Scratch’ online tool. With help from Sid in 6th Class, Pirooz, our volunteer programming expert and Mr. Kerr, the children submitted a very high quality piece of work. We are so proud that this has been recognised as one of the best in the country!
The children will now present their project at a special event in the RDS at the end of the month and we will have our fingers crossed for them!
Events this week
On Tuesday, we met with parents and carers for our new Junior Infants for September. They heard all about the lovely learning that happens in our school and we look forward to welcoming them to our community.
On Thursday, 5th and 6th Class visited the Patrick Pearse Museum in Rathfarnham to continue their learning about 1916. They were really impressed with the museum and learnt lots!
Also on Thursday, the Board of Management had their meeting for this half-term. They discussed staffing needs for next year, school finances and approved policies for photography (which we will share with you shortly) and whistleblowing for staff.
Parish Mission
A reminder that the mission team will be working with classes next week. There will be a short morning prayer for parents each day at 9.00 a.m. There will also be a special prayer service on Thursday 21st in the church and family Mass on Sunday 24th. We look forward to seeing you there.
Attendance and Punctuality
What a super week of attendance! Well done to all classes. Altogether, we have had school attendance of 96.1% which is fantastic. There was fierce competition between classes for the top spot this week, but there was no beating 5th Class with 98.3% and they hold onto the cup for the second week running.
Dates for your diary
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
Hopefully we’ll see some sunshine this weekend.
Best wishes,
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal
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‘Tommy’s Diary’ – a 1916 inspired story
We are very proud and excited to share a story written by two of our 5th Class children. Inspired by their learning about 1916, they worked together in their own time, to write a story about Tommy, who lived in inner city Dublin at the time of the Easter Rising. Complete with Dublin accents, and written in the form of a diary, the story captures the dramatic scenes at the GPO from Tommy’s viewpoint. Have a read!
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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.
