Bunscoil Bhríde Fortnightly Bulletin – 11th January 2024

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break. Our news is as follows:

• Debating: Our amazing Bunscoil Bhríde Debating Team have made it to the semi-finals of the Kildare division of the Concern Primary Debating Competition. Their next debate will take place next Thursday, during which they will take on Scoil Naomh Iósaf, Baltinglass, Wicklow in proposing the motion, ‘Sports Always Brings Communities Together’. Our girls have been working tirelessly; surveying, writing and practising their debate for next week. We will be streaming the debate in the senior classes on the day, to inspire our future debaters. In an effort to gather data from our own school community to support their arguments, they have drafted a very short questionnaire for parents. It will take 1-2 minutes to complete and we would really appreciate your feedback. The survey can be accessed at the following link: https://forms.gle/1Pf1sxvQNHy2kH696

We wish the girls and their mentors Ms. Costello, Ms. Banks and Ms. Dillon the very best of luck.

• Basketball: I wish to congratulate our 5th and 6th class basketball team who have progressed to the semi-finals of the Cumann na mBunscol league! We have had two wins out of three matches to-date (over Prosperous N.S and Scoil Uí Ríada). We are due to play Castledermot N.S in the semi-finals (date to be confirmed). Well done to each and every one of the 58 girls on the team who attend training each week and to their wonderful coaches; Ms. Costello, Ms. Gleeson and Ms. Banks. The girls have shown tremendous dedication and teamwork so far and we wish them the very best of luck in the rest of the league and look forward to seeing what 2024 brings!

• Chess: Ms. Marrinan, Ms. Dillon and Ms. Beary are setting up a chess club for 5th and 6th class girls. It will commence on Tuesday 16^th January from 2.30pm to 3.30pm. All are welcome to learn chess from the beginning or to develop their understanding and techniques. If you wish your daughter to attend Chess Club, please complete the relevant permission on the Permissions tab on Aladdin Connect.

• 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.

• Message from Active School Committee: This year we are working towards our Fourth Active Flag. As part of our Active Schools Flag application form, we are collecting information from a parent’s perspective on attitudes and opinions surrounding physical activities in our school. We would greatly appreciate it if you could fill out the survey below as part of our application: 

• 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.

• 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 and you will also receive 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

• Enrolments for 2024/25: We are now enrolling for September. Closing date for enrolments to Junior Infants for the 2024/25 school year is Monday 5^th February. Application for Admission Forms have been distributed to all the pre-schools in the town and are available from Catríona’s office. They can also be downloaded from our school website. Completed forms, accompanied by the child’s original birth certificate (which will be copied and returned to parents) must be returned to the school no later than 5^th February.

• Catholic Schools Week: This year Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated in our school from 22^nd to 26^th January.  This year’s theme is ‘Communities of Service’.  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 Wednesday 24^th January all grandparents are invited to visit their grandchildren’s classrooms. 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. Each class will entertain grandparents with poems, songs and stories. Grandparents are also invited to look at children’s artwork and we would encourage them 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. 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. For this reason, there will be arrangements put in place in all classrooms for the sharing of available grandparents, so nobody will be left out. It will be a fun, warm and welcoming day for all grandparents.

Timetable for Grandparents’ Day

Wednesday January 24th

• January Assembly: Our whole-school assembly for January (marking Catholic Schools Week and St. Brigid’s Day) will take place on Monday 22^nd January and will be led by Ms. Rowley’s Second Class and Mr. O’Sullivan’s Third and Fourth Class.

• 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, the parents, 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.

• Christmas Jumper Day for Sr. Celine: A total of €365.20 was raised from our Christmas Jumper Day before the holidays, which will go directly to Sr. Celine Conway’s Brazilian Fund. I would like to sincerely thank all who supported this fundraiser.

• 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