Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope you are all well. Our news is as follows:

• Concern Primary Debating Competition: The Bunscoil Bhríde debating team will travel to the Kildare Education Centre on the 30th of January to compete in the semi-final of the Concern Primary School Debating Competition. We will take on St. Patrick’s N.S., Newbridge in our first face-to-face debate. The girls are proposing the motion that ‘We should only buy Fairtrade products’. The team are putting in immense efforts in preparation for the upcoming debate. We will also hold a preparatory debate for all classes from Third to Sixth in the halla, in which all children will hear the speeches and will get the opportunity to challenge the girls on the points made, in an open debate. We wish the debaters and their mentors, Ms. Costello and Ms. Banks the very best of luck!

• Welcome: I want to warmly welcome Ms. Cronin to our staff. Ms. Cronin is a permanent member of the staff of Kildangan N.S., and has joined our Special Education Support Teaching team. She will remain with us until April 1^st.

• Catholic Schools Week: Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated in our school next week, from 20^th to 24^th January.  This year’s theme is ‘Alive in Christ’.  Because we are a Catholic School, this is a very special week in our calendar and it will be celebrated in many different ways in each classroom.

• Grandparents’ Day: On Friday 24^th January all grandparents are invited to visit their grandchildren’s classrooms. Grandparents Day is an initiative of Catholic Schools Week and it has been celebrated in our school for almost twenty years. This invitation to grandparents affirms and values their place not only in the lives of their grandchildren, but in the community in general.  This annual visit has become a highlight of Catholic Schools Week at Bunscoil Bhríde. Grandparents are invited into all classes and are encouraged to share their memories of school in the past and stories of the past with the children. Please note that Grandparents’ Day is for grandparents ONLY. For health and safety reasons we do not have space for extra adults in classrooms. We are also conscious that many of our grandparents are vulnerable and do not wish to put them at risk of infection in overcrowded classrooms. We ask that no parents / guardians come into the school on Grandparents’ Day, except in circumstances where grandparents need assistance due to mobility issues / special needs. Please let us know in advance of any accommodations that need to be made for such grandparents. The Bunscoil Bhríde Parents’ Association have kindly volunteered to provide tea/coffee for the visiting grandparents in our school hall. This will hopefully facilitate some banter and reminiscing among our visitors. Any donation of baked goods for our grandparents would be greatly appreciated and can be dropped to the school on the morning of Grandparents’ Day. While we hope lots of grandparents will visit our school for Grandparents’ Day, we are very conscious of the fact that not all children have grandparents living and also that not all grandparents will be able to make it to our school. Every year there are a number of children in every class who do not have a grandparent attend and, as always, there will be arrangements put in place again this year in all classrooms for the sharing of available grandparents, so all children will be included and will get the chance to learn about life and school in the past. It will be a fun, warm and welcoming day for all grandparents and children.

Timetable for Grandparents’ Day

Friday January 24th

Time	Class	Classroom
9am – 9.30am	Junior Infants – Ms. Ruttledge   Senior Infants – Ms. Choudhury	Room 1   Room 2
9.30am – 10am	Senior Infants – Ms. Costello   1st Class – Ms. Feeney	Room 5   Room 3
10am – 10.30am	1st Class – Ms. Gleeson   2nd Class – Ms. Ryan   Bluebells Class – Ms. Rowley	Room 4   Room 6   Bluebells Class
10.45am – 11.15am	3rd Class – Ms. Coughlan   3rd Class – Ms. Brogan	Room 8 (upstairs)   Room 11 (upstairs)
11.15am – 11.45am	4th Class – Ms. Geraghty   4th & 5th Class – Ms. Freeborn	Room 9 (upstairs)   Room 10 (upstairs)
11.45am – 12.15pm	5th Class – Ms. Banks   6th Class – Ms. Marrinan   6th Class – Ms. De Faoite	Room 15   Room 12 (upstairs)   Room 3

• Rushes wanted: All classes will begin to make St. Brigid’s crosses in the coming weeks. We are in need of rushes to make the crosses and will need a large number. We would be really grateful if you were in a position to gather rushes for us and drop them into the school. Our Parents’ Association will also be making crosses, which they will sell to raise money for our school.

• Basketball: Unfortunately, our journey in the Cumann na mBunscol league has come to an end for now. However, we want to take this opportunity to congratulate our fantastic team of Fifth and Sixth Class girls who showed such dedication by showing up to training each week over the last few months. A special thanks to their coaches, Ms. Gleeson and Ms. Banks, for their time, effort, and guidance throughout the season. Looking ahead, we are hoping to participate in the annual Sixth Class Blitz later this term. We will keep the girls updated on this event and will provide further information on the recommencement of training in the coming weeks.

• Dates for the Diary for this term: All important events and dates for the diary for the remainder of the school year can be found by clicking on the calendar icon within the Aladdin Connect app. Please keep an eye on this calendar as events will be added throughout the year.

• School Closure: The school will close on Friday 31^st January for staff inservice on the new Primary Mathematics Curriculum.

• Relationships and Sexuality Education (R.S.E.): R.S.E. lessons will begin in all classes next week. You all received a letter from your daughter’s teacher via Aladdin this week, together with a Home/School Links sheet detailing the content to be covered with your child’s class. It would be very helpful if you could discuss what is being learnt at school with your daughter(s) at home. Please feel free to contact the school with any queries you may have.

• Stay Safe: Senior Infants, Second Class, Fourth Class and Sixth Class will begin the Stay Safe programme in the next fortnight and will continue with the programme over the coming weeks. I would like to remind you again about the importance of discussing the issues covered in class with your child at home. The lessons covered over the course of the programme are as follows: Feeling Safe and Unsafe, Bullying, Touches, Secrets and Telling and Strangers. More information about the programme can be obtained on the website; www.staysafe.ie

• January Assembly: Our whole-school assembly for January (marking Catholic Schools Week and St. Brigid’s Day) will take place on Wednesday 29th January and will be led by Ms. Feeney’s First Class and Ms. Freeborn’s Fourth and Fifth Class.

• Student Council Bake Sale: A total of €700 for UNICEF was raised by our Student Council at the Bakesale they organised and ran just before Christmas. I want to congratulate our wonderful Student Council and thank you all most sincerely for your support of this fundraising initiative.

• School Tours: All teachers have sent a permission request for attendance at their school tours in June. Please ensure you have responded to the permission request on Aladdin Connect. Payment requests will issue next week to facilitate parents paying in instalments over the next few months.

• Oral Language: The theme for the month of January is ‘Questioning’. All classes will be focusing on this theme for the month and we would ask that you support us at home, by encouraging your child to pose fully-formed questions and ensuring that they have knowledge of and make use of all the question words (What? Why? Where? When? Who? How? etc.). We would also encourage you to discuss with them what they’ve learnt in school on this topic.

• Aladdin Connect app: Please check your child’s details on the Aladdin Connect app (including the numbers you have listed as emergency contacts) and ensure they are correct. Please contact us if you need assistance making any updates to this information.

• Names on Uniforms: Please ensure that your child’s name is clearly marked on her uniform and tracksuit jumper, her coat and hat.

• Late Arrivals/Early Departures and Absences: Children arriving late to school or leaving early must have their arrival / leaving time recorded on Aladdin Connect. This can be done by parents. If your child is arriving late to school, please accompany her to the front door of the school. All absences must be explained. This can be done by selecting the reason for absence on Aladdin Connect. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Please contact the school if you are having any issues with using the Aladdin Connect app.

• Coming to school: School begins at 8.50am and children should be dropped to school as close as possible to this time. The gate will open and supervision will be provided from 8.40am. The church car-park is a public space and children should not be dropped outside the school gate before 8.40am.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope you are all well. Our news is as follows:

• Concerts: Our final night of Christmas concerts will take place in the school hall tonight, with Ms. Coughlan’s Third Class, Ms. Geraghty’ Fourth Class and Ms. Marrinan’s Sixth Class performing. As you know, our hall is quite small so space is limited. We will not have seats for children and any children who have to come will have to sit on the knees of an adult. Children from our school should not come, where possible. They will have had the opportunity to see all the class plays during the school day. Tonight’s concert will begin at 7pm, with doors opening at 6.30pm (please note that the doors will not open before 6.30pm). Entry: €5 per person (cash only please). We look forward to another night of top-class entertainment. All plays have been / will be recorded and are available to watch back on the relevant class blog on our school website at www.bunscoilbhride.ie

• Debating: We are thrilled to announce that our talented debating team has secured a place in the semi-finals of the Concern Primary Debating Competition! Following a stunning display of debating prowess, the team triumphed over Ballyshannon N.S. in the quarter-finals. This is a tremendous achievement, and we could not be prouder of them. The semi-finals will be especially exciting, as it will be the first face-to-face competition after previous debates on Zoom. The date and venue are yet to be confirmed, but the anticipation is already building. A huge thank you goes out to Ms. Banks and Ms. Costello for their incredible guidance and mentorship, as well as to the girls on the team, whose talent, passion, and work ethic have left us in awe. We wish our debating stars the very best of luck as they advance to the semi-finals.

• Oral Language: For the month of December, our whole-school Oral Language theme is Vocabulary Development. All classes will be engaged in activities based around helping the children to develop their vocabulary. This is something that you can quite easily work on at home with your child(ren). It is only through school and home working closely together that we can achieve the very best outcome for your child(ren).

• Internet Safety Workshops: Our senior classes (Fourth – Sixth Class) are engaging in Internet Safety / Cyber-bullying workshops over this fortnight. The workshops are being facilitated by Ger Brick, who also delivered an excellent talk to parents on this topic on 26^th November last. I want to thank our Parents Association, who are funding Ger’s engagement with our school community.

• Use of social media: Please be advised that social media apps such as Tiktok and Snapchat have a minimum user age of 13 and are wholly unsuitable for children in primary school. We are aware of a small number of children using these apps and can only assume parents are unaware of the dangers they present and the harm they can cause to children. This was clearly outlined at the Internet Safety Talk that was organised for all of our parents on 26^th November last. Children at primary school level are emotionally and socially ill-equipped to deal with social media and we would urge all parents to exercise parental responsibility and to ensure children who are online at home are fully supervised at all times. Please check out www.webwise.ie and inform yourselves of the dangers of the apps your children may be using and please take steps to address this usage.

• Reminder: No medicinesare allowed at school. If your child has a medical condition for which medicine/inhaler etc. must be administered, please contact the school, as Board of Management approval must be granted for this. Please see our administration of medication policy at www.bunscoilbhride.ie for more information.

• Christmas Assembly: Our whole-school assembly for December will take place on Wednesday 18^th December. We will be treated to tin whistle tunes from all of our middle and Senior Classes and Christmas Carols from all classes. We look forward to a musical extravaganza!

• Special Visitor: I have heard a rumour that our Parents’ Association have been in contact with a very special person from the North Pole, who may visit the school on Friday 20^th December. We look forward to warmly welcoming our special guest!

• Christmas Presents: Again this year, we ask you not to purchase Christmas gifts for teachers. What the teachers really value is the words of thanks and appreciation uttered by pupils and parents. This is worth far more to us than any gift that can be purchased.

• Christmas Holidays: The school will close at 11.45am on Friday 20^th December. We would like to wish you all a very peaceful, happy and holy Christmas and every blessing for the year ahead. Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh go léir!

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope you are all well. Our news is as follows:

• Concerts: Six of our classes will hold their class plays next Thursday night, 6^th December and on the night of Thursday 13^th December, with three classes performing each night. See timetable below. As you know, our hall is quite small so space is limited. We will not have seats for children and any children who have to come will have to sit on the knees of an adult. Children from our school should not come, where possible. They will have had the opportunity to see all the class plays during the school day. The timetable for the concerts is outlined below. All concerts will begin at 7pm, with doors opening at 6.30pm (please note that the doors will not open before 6.30pm). Entry: €5 per person (cash only please). We look forward to two nights of top-class entertainment. The remaining six classes will perform inMay (see the Calendar in the Aladdin app for dates).

Concert Date:	Class Performing:
Thursday 5th December	Ms. Costello’ Senior Infants Ms. Ryan’s Second Class Ms. de Faoite’s Sixth Class
Thursday 12th December	Ms. Coughlan’s Third Class Ms. Geraghty’ Fourth Class Ms. Marrinan’s Sixth Class

• Debating: I am delighted to announce the wonderful news that our Bunscoil Bhríde Debating Team, having beaten Scoil Bhríde, Naas in their most recent debate, are now through to the quarter-finals of the Concern Primary Debating Competition. This is a wonderful achievement, and I want to congratulate the girls and their mentors, Ms. Costello and Ms. Banks, who are now busy preparing for their next debate. On Monday 9^th December, we will take on Ballyshannon N.S., Kilcullen, in proposing the motion that, “School holidays are too long”. The debate again, will take place via Zoom, with all classes from Fourth to Sixth having the opportunity to tune in. We will also hold a preparatory debate for all classes from Third to Sixth in the halla on Friday next, in which all children will hear the speeches and will get the opportunity to challenge the girls on the points made, in an open debate.

• Internet Safety / Cyberbullying Workshops: I want to thank those of you who attended our Internet Safety Talk for Parents with Ger Brick on Tuesday night. Ger will engage our Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Class pupils in an internet safety / cyberbullying workshop on Friday 6^th and Friday 13^th December.

• Basketball: Well done to our basketball team who were victorious last Wednesday in their match against Scoil na Naomh Uilig, Newbridge. In a tightly contested game, the girls played superbly. The match went to extra time, with the girls scoring the winning basket for a final score of 12-10. I want to congratulate the girls on their perseverance and teamwork and thank their coaches, Ms. Gleeson, Ms. Costello and Ms. Banks for giving so generously of their time. Currently, we are awaiting results of other games to see where we stand in the league. We are hopeful we have done enough to progress further! We are also planning to take part in a friendly basketball match against Kildare ETNS in the near future, with the date to be decided. Due to the cold weather at the moment, we have had to cancel recent training sessions. We will let the girls know before next Wednesday if training will be going ahead.

• Farewell to Ms. Garrahy: I want to thank Ms. Garrahy for all of her work with us over the last two years. We all wish her the very best of luck as she leaves us tomorrow to begin her exciting adventure in Australia.

• Friendship Week: We celebrated Friendship Week last week with the main message being “the only way to have a friend is to be one”.  The week-long emphasis was on creating and extending friendship. The children sat beside somebody new every day and were encouraged to play with different children on the yard. Each girl had a ‘secret friend’ for the week who they made a big effort to be extra-kind / friendly to. Our Secret friends were then revealed on Friday! Friendship Week culminated with our ‘coffee morning’ when the girls came together with another class for a chat and a treat. The Golden Ticket draw for kindness prizes will take place at tomorrow’s assembly.

• Noel Hendrick’s Visit: On Tuesday 19th November, we welcomed Noel Hendrick, Ireland’s Olympic Canoeist, to Bunscoil Bhríde. The children led Noel through a jubilant and colourful guard of honour before proudly singing Amhrán na bhFiann in his honour in the halla. The girls were enthralled by his inspirational talk about never giving up on finding a sport that you love and his personal story of resilience. We presented Noel with hundreds of creative designs for his new canoe and impressed the Kildare Olympian with a fiercely energetic and spine-tingling ‘An Haka Gaelach’ performance. This was a really special day in the history of the school which will be remembered for years to come. Huge congratulations to Ms. Freeborn’s class on their tremendous work in making this visit a huge success for us all. Videos and photos of the visit can be viewed on our website at the following link: https://www.bunscoilbhride.ie/olympian-visit-to-bunscoil-bhride/

• Oral Language: For the month of December, our whole-school Oral Language theme is Vocabulary Development. All classes will be engaged in activities based around helping the children to develop their vocabulary. This is something that you can quite easily work on at home with your child(ren). It is only through school and home working closely together that we can achieve the very best outcome for your child(ren).

• Reminder: No medicinesare allowed at school. If your child has a medical condition for which medicine/inhaler etc. must be administered, please contact the school, as Board of Management approval must be granted for this. Please see our administration of medication policy at www.bunscoilbhride.ie for more information.

• Switching on of the Christmas Lights: The Rathangan Christmas Lights Committee have requested that our girls (from 2^nd to 6^th class) sing some Christmas carols at the switching on of the Christmas lights after Mass on Saturday (approx. 7.15pm). Children attending must be accompanied by a parent/guardian and will remain the responsibility of that parent/guardian for the duration of the event. We will be meeting outside Dillon’s across from the crib on the night.

• Assembly: Our whole-school assembly for the month of November will take place in the halla tomorrow and will be led by Ms. Costello’s Senior Infants and Ms. Banks’ Fifth Class.

• Parking: The church car-park is a busy place and we would ask you to exercise extreme caution upon entry and to adhere to our car-parking rules (outlined in the diagram attached to this email). We would appeal to parents and anyone who drops children to school or collects them, not to park in the yellow box, in the wheelchair parking spaces, between the wheelchair parking spaces or alongside the school wall. Parking is in a single row alongside the Noone Engineering wall and in three rows along the middle white lines ONLY. Driving around the church is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Incidents of really dangerous driving have been observed by parents and staff members. Such incidents place our children at risk. We would ask that you inform all individuals who drop / collect your child to / from school about these rules which are in place for the safety of all.

• Annual Child Safeguarding Review: Our current Child Safeguarding Statement (relating to Child Protection), including our Risk Assessment is available to view on our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie We are currently reviewing this Child Safeguarding Statement and would welcome your feedback on these policy documents. I want to thank the parents who have taken the time to complete our survey, providing us with feedback. If you have not already done so, we would be grateful if you would take a moment to complete it at the following link: https://forms.gle/TRFvAdou3DYa4cQR7

• Scholastic Book Club: Don’t forget that our latest Scholastic Book Club is now online at https://schools.scholastic.ie/scoil-bhride-n/digital-book-club. There are hundreds of fantastic children’s books to choose from at reduced process, and every €1 you spend on this month’s Book Club will earn 20c for our school in Scholastic Rewards. Orders must be placed by December 3^rd.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope you are all well. Our news is as follows:

• Applications for Admission to Junior Infants 2025/26: The deadline for receipt of applications for admission for the 2025/26 school year is tomorrow. Application forms have been distributed to all of the local preschools and are available to download from our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie or on request from the school office on 045-524540.

• Olympian Visit: Slalom canoe Olympian, Noel Hendrick will visit our school on Tuesday 19th November. All classes will welcome Noel and we are asking everyone to wear green for the occasion (Tuesday 19th November will be a non-uniform day) and to bring in any Irish flags they may have at home (this is optional). All the middle and senior classes are all busy learning ‘Amhrán na bhFiann’ (our national anthem) and they will also perform ‘An Haka Gaelach’ for the occasion. You can help them at home by practising both, which are available at the following links:

Amhrán na bhFiann

Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM8IsILx-ac

Lyrics: See attached

An Haka Gaelach 

Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QWJMZrhiGw

• Chess Club: Chess lessons for Fifth and Sixth Class pupils commenced last Monday, 11^th November. Chess lessons will run from 2.30p.m. to 3.30p.m., with the next lesson on Monday 18^th November. After Monday, it will change to Tuesdays, starting from Tuesday 26^th November. These lessons are for both beginners, as well as experienced chess players. Everyone is welcome to come along and join. We are hoping to take part in a chess tournament after Christmas. I want to thank Ms. Marrinan and Ms. Beary for giving so generously of their time in running our Chess Club.

• Basketball: Well done to our basketball team who travelled to Ballymany N.S., Newbridge on Monday to play the first game of our Cumann na mBunscol league. Unfortunately, we were beaten on the day, but the girls’ played superbly and really enjoyed the experience. Our next match is scheduled to take place towards the end of next week against Scoil na Naomh Uilig, Newbridge, with the venue and times yet to be decided. I want to commend the girls on their dedication to the sport and to training each week and to thank their coaches, Ms. Gleeson, Ms. Costello and Ms. Banks. There will be no training next week, 20th November. 

• Book Club: Our new Scholastic Book Club is up and running! Go tohttps://schools.scholastic.ie/scoil-bhride-n/digital-book-club to browse the latest books and order online. For every €1 you spend on this month’s Book Club, our school will earn 20c in Scholastic rewards. Please note, there is no obligation on any family to purchase books. We are running this Book Club for families who wish to purchase books for their children, as the books retail significantly cheaper than in other bookshops. If you wish to purchase any books, please place your order online by December 3^rd to ensure delivery before Christmas.

• Debating: Our debating team will take onMercy Convent N.S., Naas, in the first round of the Concern Primary Debating Competition later this morning. We will oppose the motion that “Every person in Ireland should be given a bike”. Last week the girls delivered their speeches to all of our classes from Third to Sixth in the school hall and accepted rebuttals from the floor, allowing all of the girls to experience a debate in action. We wish the team and their mentors, Ms. Banks and Ms. Costello the very best of luck.

• Internet Safety Talk for Parents: All parents are invited and strongly encouraged to attend our Internet Safety / Cyber-bullying Talk for Parents with Ger Brick, scheduled to take place via Zoom on Tuesday 26^th November at 7.30pm. A link will be sent out to all families closer to the date. I want to thank our Parents’ Association, who are funding this talk and also funding the workshops Ger will engage in with our Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Classes in December.

• Tidy Towns: We want to congratulate the wonderful Rathangan Tidy Towns Committee, who were awarded a silver medal in the recent National Tidy Towns Competition; a tremendous achievement, and their second year in a row to achieve this superb result. Vanessa Mack, from the Tidy Towns Committee will attend our next Green Schools Committee meeting, scheduled to take place today, and I am delighted to report that she will be bringing along the prestigious silver medal. We look forward to warmly welcoming her.

• Science Week: Science Week is being celebrated all around the school this week, with lots of science activities taking place in all classes. I want to thank Ms. Ryan for co-ordinating our whole-school engagement in Science Week. All classes will engage in a workshop on Biodiversity over the next fortnight as part of the Science Week activities. Fifth and Sixth Class will also host a much-anticipated Science Fair in the hall tomorrow for all classes. I want to thank the girls and their teachers, Ms. de Faoite, Ms. Marrinan, Ms. Banks and Ms. Freeborn for the tremendous amount of work they are putting into organising the Science Fair.

• Friendship Week:  Friendship Week is being celebrated in the school next week, from Monday 18^th to Friday 22^nd November. The emphasis for the week will be on creating and extending friendship, with the motto ‘to have a friend, you have to be a friend’. Children in all classes are being encouraged to make new friends within their classes, with lots of fun activities taking place.

• Christmas Annuals: If you wish to order a Christmas Annual for your daughter (optional), please pay via the e-payment link which was sent to all parents earlier this week (available under the ‘Money’ tab in the Aladdin app). The annuals are as follows: Jr & Sr Infants – Súgradh, 1^st & 2^nd – Spraoi, 3^rd & 4^th Siamsa, 5^th & 6^th – Sonas and the cost is €5 per annual. Please type in the name(s) of the annual(s) you wish to order when you are paying on the app (‘Notes’ section) – this is important so that we can order the correct annual for your child(ren). Multiple annuals can be purchased via the payment link. Payment must be made via the e-payment link by Thursday next, 21^st November. No cash accepted. 

• Parent-Teacher Meetings: Please ensure you have booked your time slot for Parent Teacher Meetings for either next Tuesday or Wednesday evening. Booking slots are only available to parents who have not already met their child’s teacher at a Pupil Support Planning Meeting. Booking can be done via the ‘Parent Teacher Meetings’ tab on the Aladdin app. Please ensure you arrive promptly at your appointment time. Meetings will be 10 minutes in duration and we ask that parents knock on the classroom door at their appointed time. Chairs will be provided outside the classrooms. Please ensure you know your child(ren)’s classroom number(s). Rooms 1 to 6 and Room 15 are downstairs and rooms 7 to 12 are upstairs. While these are our annual, formal meetings, if an issue arises for your child during the year, the teachers are happy to meet with you if you make an appointment with Catríona in the office or send a message to your child’s teacher on the Aladdin Connect app.

• Annual Child Safeguarding Review: Our current Child Safeguarding Statement (relating to Child Protection), including our Risk Assessment is available to view on our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie We are currently beginning the annual process of reviewing this Child Safeguarding Statement and would welcome your feedback on these policy documents. We would be grateful if you would take a moment to complete the survey at the following link to provide us with feedback to inform our review –  https://forms.gle/TRFvAdou3DYa4cQR7

• Illnesses: If your child is suffering from an infectious illness, please inform the office, so that we can inform parents of the other children in the class and alert them to the symptoms. Your support in this regard is greatly appreciated.

• Aladdin App: It is possible for both parents to download the Aladdin app. Please phone the office or send us a message if you wish for the link to be resent.

• Dates for the Diary: As you know, our school is a busy place, with lots going on! Please keep an eye on the Aladdin Calendar (within the Aladdin Connect app), which details the dates of all upcoming events, including our class plays, which are all taking place this year. Dates are subject to change and new dates will be added as events are confirmed.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope you are all well. Our news is as follows:

• Applications for Admission to Junior Infants 2025/26: Applications for admission for the 2025/26 school year will open tomorrow. The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday 15^th November. Application forms were distributed today to all of the local preschools. They are also available to download from our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie or on request from the school office – 045-524540.

• A Spooky Walk/Non Uniform Day: Our annual Spooky Walk will take place tomorrow. All children will leave the school at 10am to walk up the town as part of our Spooky Walk, with Infants to First Class children walking to Ma’s Kitchen and back and all other classes to the Garda Station and back. While tomorrow will be a non-uniform day, with children invited to dress up for Halloween if they wish, they will need to wear warm clothes and sensible shoes for outdoor walking.We would love to see any parents / family members out to greet us on our walk. We are asking all children to bring in a donation of €2 for our Parents’ Association, to cover the cost of speakers and workshops for the children during the year.

• Debating: Our school will again, this year, enter the Concern Primary Debating Festival. I wish to congratulate our young debaters, who will represent our school in the competition; Arianne Gillamac, Eve McDonald, Maria Pop, Hope Beary, Anna Kenna, Libby O’Loughin, Aoife Naslonska, Zara Casey, Savannah Dunne, Mischa Campbell and Orna Manning. In the first round of the competition, on 14^th November, the team will compete with The Mercy Convent School, Naas, in opposing the motion that “Every person in Ireland should be given a bike”. The girls are busy researching and preparing. We wish them the very best of luck with their future debates and thank their teachers; Ms. Costello and Ms. Banks for volunteering their time to mentor the girls.

• Creative Rathangan workshop: Ms. Coughlan’s and Ms. Brogan’s Third Classes will take part in the ‘Beyond the classroom’, Creative Rathangan Meitheal (CRM) 2024 outdoor Autumn workshop in Tannery Park and a follow-on workshop in Rathangan Library on the 5^th and 8^th November respectively. The workshops are facilitated by local artist, Monica de Bath and biodiversity specialist, Nuala Madigan, and will involve the children observing, sketching and getting to know the little creatures who live in the trees, the ground and the water near our village. Photos of the event will be available to view on our website www.bunscoilbhride.ie.

• Assembly: Ms. Choudhury’s Senior Infants and Ms. Marrinan’s Sixth Class will lead this month’s assembly, which takes place in the hall tomorrow.

• Science Week: Science Week will take place from 11^th to 15^th November and we look forward to celebrating it here in the school with lots of science activities taking place in all classes. All classes will engage in a workshop on Biodiversity with expert, Barbara Sullivan, on either Monday 11^th or Monday 18^th November. We look forward to learning all about biodiversity.

• Science Fair: To mark Science Week, all of our Fifth and Sixth Classes will host a Science Fair for the whole school in our school hall on Friday 15^th. The girls, working in teams, will be given a brief, which they will research and gathering materials for. They will be conducting experiments relating to their brief, for all classes to observe and we look forward to learning lots from this experience. I want to thank the girls and their teachers Ms. Marrinan, Ms. De Faoite, Ms. Banks and Ms. Freeborn.

• Tennis Lessons: The girls in our Bluebells Class will engage in a 10-week block of tennis lessons with Gary Beresford, from Rathangan Tennis Club here at the school starting directly after the midterm break. We look forward to seeing the girls develop their tennis skills.

• School Website: Please check out our school website, which is frequently updated. Keep an eye on the class blogs to see what our girls are up to. To access your daughter’s class blog, go to www.bunscoilbhride.ie, click on ‘Classes’ and select your daughter’s class.

• Christmas Shoe Box Appeal: A reminder to all those who wish to participate in the Christmas Shoe Box Appeal: Shoe boxes must be brought into the school by Friday 8^th November. They will be collected from the school on that day.

• Parent-Teacher Meetings: Please ensure you have booked your time slot for Parent Teacher Meetings for either 19^th or 21^st November. Booking slots are only available to parents who have not already met their child’s teacher at a Pupil Support Planning Meeting. Booking can be done via the ‘Parent Teacher Meetings’ tab on the Aladdin app. Please ensure you arrive promptly at your appointment time. Meetings will be 10 minutes in duration and we ask that parents knock on the classroom door at their appointed time. Chairs will be provided outside the classrooms. Please ensure you know your child(ren)’s classroom number(s). Rooms 1 to 6 and Room 15 are downstairs and rooms 7 to 12 are upstairs. While these are our annual, formal meetings, if an issue arises for your child during the year, the teachers are happy to meet with you if you make an appointment with Catríona in the office or send a message to your child’s teacher on the Aladdin Connect app.

• Oral Language: For the month of November, our whole-school Oral Language theme is Giving and Following Directions. All classes will be engaged in activities based around helping the children to competently give and follow directions. This is something that you can quite easily work on at home with your child(ren). It is only through school and home working closely together that we can achieve the very best outcome for your child(ren).

• Parents’ Association Annual General Meeting (AGM): We would encourage all parents to join our Parents’ Association, by coming along to the AGM, which will be held in the school hall at 7pm on Tuesday 12^th November.

• Midterm Break: Bunscoil Bhríde will close for the midterm break tomorrow, Friday 25^th October and will reopen on Monday November 4^th.  We trust everyone will enjoy a well-deserved break after such a busy half-term.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope you are all well. Our news is as follows:

• Olympic Athlete Visit: I am delighted to announce that Ms. Freeborn’s Fourth and Fifth Class have been accepted on the Dare to Believe programme, which means they will get a visit from an Olympic athlete. The Olympian, who has been selected to visit us is canoe slalom athlete, Noel Hendrick. I would like to congratulate and thank Ms. Freeborn and her class for all of the work they put into their application to the Dare to Believe Programme – they made a wonderful video outlining the case why our school should be selected for an Olympian visit. We look forward to welcoming Noel and hearing all about his journey to Olympic glory.

• Maths Week: Maths Week will take place nationally next week (14^th – 18^th October) and all classes in the school will be engaged in different mathematical activities to mark it. I want to thank Ms. Rowley, Ms. Marrinan and Ms. Freeborn, who are coordinating our engagement in Maths Week. We would ask that you support us at home by playing Maths games with your child and pointing out to her the ways in which maths can be found and is used all around us. See www.mathsweek.ie for some ideas.

• Basketball: We are delighted to announce that basketball season will recommence shortly at Bunscoil Bhríde. All 5th and 6th class girls are welcome to take part in the Cumann na mBunscol league, beginning in November this year. We have had great success with basketball and wonderful commitment shown by our girls over the last few years and we are hopeful this will continue. Afterschool training sessions will run each Wednesday, from 2.30pm to 3.15pm, with the first training session taking place on Wednesday October 16th. If your child wishes to take part in basketball training, please ensure you have given consent via the Permissions tab on Aladdin Connect. 

• Gaelic Football and Camogie: Hard luck to our Gaelic footballers who concluded their U11 season last Monday with a game away to Scoil Bhríde, Athgarvan. Despite the loss we were delighted to that every girl got a game and gave their very best on the pitch. Our final game of the U11 camogie season takes place today against Scoil Mhuire, Ballymany. We wish the girls the best of luck and have been excited to see so many new players take up the game over the last number of weeks, it really has made a huge difference to our team! 

• Tag Rugby: Seán Brien, from Leinster Rugby has been coaching our senior girls in tag rugby. He will complete a tag rugby session with all classes over the coming weeks. He has organised a tag rugby blitz to take place in Edenderry Rugby Club on Monday 21^st October. Our two Sixth Classes (Ms. de Faoite’s and Ms. Marrinan’s classes) will compete in the blitz. We hope the girls have a very enjoyable day.

• Author Visit: ‘Hazel Tree Farm’ Author and AgriKids founder, Alma Jordan will engage Ms. Freeborn’s Fourth and Fifth Class in an interactive ‘Farm Safe Fun’ workshop on Thursday next. The children will hear an extract from one of Alma’s books, and will learn about farm safety, as well as getting the opportunity to ask questions of their own. We look forward to hearing all about the workshop, photos of which will be available to view under the class blog section of our school website.

• Hedgehogs at Bunscoil Bhríde: Ms. Geraghty’s Fourth Class have been selected to take part in the Hedgehog Project with Kildare County Council (KCC). Clare from KCC will visit our school over three days throughout the year. The first visit will take place on 22nd October. This is a planning day, where the class will survey the grounds with Clare and come up with ideas and suggestions as to where to locate the hedgehog house, trail camera and footprint tunnel. This a project linked with our next flag ‘Nature Restoration’. We look forward to hearing all of what they are learning about hedgehogs.

• Credit Union Poster Competition: All pupils are currently participating in the annual Credit Union Art Competition.  This year’s theme is ‘The Joys of Life’, so all entrants will have free rein to express themselves. Our pupils always create thought-provoking works and we usually have quite a few prize-winners. The closing date for receipt of entries is Friday18th October.

• Christmas Cards: Children in all classes are busy working on their Christmas cards, a fundraising initiative organised by our Parents’ Association. If you wish to purchase Christmas cards, you must return the completed order form and make payment via the Aladdin online payment link (Money tab). If you wish to order more than one packet of cards, please ensure you have marked this clearly on your order form and that you have paid the correct amount online. The final deadline for ordering is next Wednesday, 16^th October.

• Flu Vaccines: A team from Rathangan Medical Centre will administer the flu vaccine to children, whose parents have given consent, in the school hall on Tuesday 15^th October.

• Green Schools: The Green Schools Committee would like to thank the whole school community for their efforts in collecting and recycling batteries last year. Our school collected a total of 157kgs of batteries, which is a total of 7850 AA batteries. As well as this achievement, our battery recycling has helped to protect our environment and support LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice. We are looking forward to receiving and displaying our certificate in the coming days from WEEE Ireland. Well done to Ms. Ryan, Ms. Geraghty and their Green Schools Committee for all of their work in promoting environmental awareness in our school.

• School Plays: All classes will perform on the stage in our school hall this year. Class performances will take place in December, March and May. Our schedule of class performances can be found on the Aladdin app, under the Calendar tab.

• Coats: Please ensure your child comes to school wearing a coat.

• Parent-Teacher Meetings: Parent-Teacher Meetings will take place this year over two afternoons / evenings, on Tuesday 19th and Thursday 21st November. This is an ideal opportunity to speak with your child’s teacher and discuss her progress. Parents will book their chosen time-slots for their PT meetings via the Aladdin Connect app. The booking system will open during the week of Monday 21^st October. A reminder will be sent to all families via the Aladdin app to book a slot. If you have already met your child’s teacher(s) at a Support Plan meeting or are scheduled to do so, there is no need to book another parent-teacher meeting slot. While these are our annual, formal meetings, if an issue arises for your child during the year, the teachers are happy to meet with you if you make an appointment with Catríona in the office or send a message to your child’s teacher on the Aladdin Connect app.

• A Spooky Walk/Non Uniform Day: As part of our Active School activities, the children and teachers will go on a ‘Spooky Walk’ on Friday 25^th October at 10am, weather permitting. This will be a non-uniform day and the children are invited to dress up in Halloween costumes if they wish, but they will need to wear warm clothes and sensible shoes for outdoor walking.We will walk to the Garda station and back to the school. We would love to see any parents / family members out to greet us on our walk.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope you are all well. Our news is as follows:

• Debating: Our school will again this year enter the Primary Debating Festival. I wish to congratulate our young debaters who will represent our school in the competition; Orna Manning, Maria Pop, Eve McDonald, Arianne Gillamac, Hope Beary, Anna Kenna, Zara Casey, Savannah Dunne, Aoife Naslonska, Libby O’Loughlin and Mischa Campbell. We are awaiting the schedule of debates and expect that our first debate will take place in early October. The girls are already hard at work, preparing for their upcoming debates. We wish them the very best of luck in the competition and thank their teachers; Ms. Costello and Ms. Banks for volunteering their time to mentor the girls.

• Gaelic Football: Hard luck to our U-11 footballers who narrowly lost their first game to St. Evin’s N.S., Monasterevin last Thursday. They gave a very brave performance and took defeat very graciously. Thank you to our referee, Aoibhín Mahon, a past pupil, who took charge of the game making it great fun for all. There has been such a large turnout at afterschool training which has made the task of picking the team very difficult. The girls should be highly commended for this. Our next game will be against Scoil Bhríde, Athgarvan with the time and date to be announced. We are all looking forward to another strong performance from our girls.
• Camogie: A huge congratulations to our camogie team, who recorded their first win of the school year against Gaelscoil Chill Dara last Friday in Rathangan. We had fifteen girls represent our school and are delighted to report that our skill levels of lifting and striking are improving year on year. It is wonderful to hear that many of the girls are now attending camogie training on Mondays evenings from 6.30pm at the GAA club, where all are welcome. Thank you to both the Camogie and Gaelic football clubs for their continued support in allowing us to use their facilities, organise referees and borrow equipment for use in school. Thank you also to our camogie and football coaches, Ms. Brogan, Ms. Marrinan and Ms. Frawely, who give so generously of their time in training the girls.

• National Fitness Day: We celebrated National Fitness Day on Tuesday, choosing the theme of ‘Relays Take Over’, as this tied in with our first Active School event of the school year, but also helped us to celebrate our fantastic Olympians and especially our relay teams who inspired us all over the summer months. The aim of the day was to be active and have fun by participating in relay activities. The school yards were a hive of activity from early morning with children taking part in out and back relays, pair relays, hula hoop relays, team relays and the highlight for many classes the jigsaw relay! It was super to see the team work between senior and junior classes as many paired up to work on the skills of relay running, passing the baton but most of all to support and encourage each other in taking part!

• Uniform: Please ensure that all items of your child’s uniform and coat are clearly labelled with her name.

• Assembly: We held our whole-school assembly for the month of September in the hall today. Ms. De Faoite’s Sixth Class and Ms. Ruttledge’s Junior Infants led the assembly and did an amazing job of sharing all of our school news with our school community.

• Walk to School Week: National Walk to School Week takes place this year from October 7^th – 11^th. This week is all about celebrating walking as a positive mode for school journeys. We are asking our students and their families to celebrate with us and try to make this a week to remember. We are aiming to encourage as many students as possible to walk or Park and Stride to school. Walking to school is one of the best ways to start the day with multiple benefits to children’s physical and mental health. It also has a positive impact on academic performance and behaviour with higher levels of concentration and focus. Walk to School Week is also a great opportunity to teach your child about road safety and the Safe Cross Code. 

• Junior Infant Vaccinations: The Junior Infant vaccinations will be administered by staff from the HSE tomorrow.

• Volunteers: We are always looking for volunteer parents to help out in classrooms or to accompany classes on trips / tours. All volunteers coming into the school must be Garda Vetted through the school. The process takes four / five weeks to complete and is relatively straightforward. We would be extremely grateful if you were available and willing to help us out. If you feel you would like to help out at any stage of the year, we would really appreciate it if you phone Catríona in the office and ask her to send you on the vetting forms.

• Oral Language: The theme for the month of October is ‘Listening’. Communication and learning skills grow out of effective listening. Hearing and listening are not the same – listening is an active process of focusing on sound; hearing is passive reception of sound. Listening means focusing on some sounds and “tuning out” others. All classes will be focusing on this theme for the month and we would ask that you support us at home, by encouraging and modelling good listening, asking your child to follow oral instructions, playing auditory listening games and questioning your child often.

• 24-hour Pupil Personal Accident Insurance: For parents who have opted to pay for the 24-hour pupil personal accident insurance, please be advised thatall medical costs associated with an accident involving your child, whether at school or at home is covered by this insurance. It is 24 hour, 7 days a week cover. If you have to take your child to A&E as a result of any accident, the cost will be fully covered. Please just phone the office to let us know and we will send you out the Allianz claim form to be completed.

• Christmas Shoe-Box Appeal: The children will receive a leaflet next week from ‘Team Hope’ detailing the Christmas Shoe-box Appeal. If you wish, you can put together a shoe-box which will benefit needy children around the world (this is optional). Shoe-boxes may be brought in to school on Friday 8^th November only. They will be collected from the school on this day.

• Dangers of the Internet: While the internet is a wonderful resource, I would like to remind you that it can also pose many dangers to your child. While the school has safeguards in place with regard to pupil internet/website access at school, use outside school falls under parental responsibility. Children should never be allowed access to the internet at home without supervision, nor should they be accessing apps such as Snapchat, Tiktok, Whatsapp, Instagram etc., which all have a minimum user age of 13.

• Head Bumps: It is our school policy to phone home when a child bumps her head, however minor.

• Wedding Wishes: I would like to extend warmest congratulations and best wishes to Ms. Janet Geraghty and her partner, Nigel who celebrate their wedding tomorrow. We wish them a long lifetime of love and happiness. 

• Dates for the diary: All dates for the diary this term are available to view on the Aladdin Connect app under ‘Calendar’.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson