Dear Parents / Guardians,
We hope all is well with you this fortnight. Our news is as follows:
- Green Flag: I am thrilled and immensely proud to be able to inform you that we have just been awarded our 10th green flag. The focus of the work leading to the awarding of this flag was ‘Travel’. The Green Schools Committee would like to thank all the pupils, parents and teachers for their support of Green Schools. I would like to congratulate Ms. Ryan and the Green Schools Committee on this fantastic achievement. There are very few schools in the country that can boast having TEN green flags. We are so very fortunate to have such an amazing committee and such wonderful support from the entire school community. We are currently planning a whole-school celebration of this remarkable achievement and will share these plans in the next Fortnightly Bulletin.
- First Holy Communion: Ms. Frawley’s and Ms. Geraghty’s second classes will be receiving the sacrament of First Holy Communion in Rathangan Church on Saturday 14th May at 12pm. They have been busy preparing and their teachers have put in so much work to ensure that they have the most memorable day possible. Ms. De Faoite and Ms. Rowley have also been doing fantastic work on preparing the choir for the big day. I want to particularly thank the girls from third to sixth class, who will be singing in the choir for the First Holy Communion ceremony. We are very grateful to them.
- Communion Photograph: The First Holy Communion group photograph and individual photographs will be taken in the school on Tuesday 17th May at 9.00am. We ask that the First Communion class come into school wearing their Communion outfits for the photographs on that morning and that they bring their school tracksuit in a bag to change into afterwards. Following the photographs, the class will embark upon the annual parade around the classrooms, which is always much-anticipated! I will send a text to parents of the children in the class when the parade concludes and they will have the option of coming in to help change their daughter and take home the dress. Only parents who are Garda Vetted by the school will be allowed into the classroom with the children (National Vetting Act), but a room will be provided for unvetted parents who wish to change their own child. There is no requirement for parents to come in. The teachers will ensure that the children are changed and the dresses are hung on hangers or placed into bags as specified.
- Football Blitz: On Monday the 9th of May our Fifth and Sixth Class students took part in a Gaelic Football blitz in Rathcoffey. Despite the blustery conditions, the girls showcased their talent and skills in the four games they played, which were against Kilcock, Cooleragh, Milltown and Rathcoffey. We are very proud of the girls for their hard work, commitment and the excellent teamwork skills they displayed. Well done girls and a big thank you to their coaches Ms. Frawley, Mr. O’Sullivan and Ms. Millane!
- Bike Week: Bike Week is a celebration of active travel, sustainable transport and simply the joys of cycling a bike! This year Green-Schools will celebrate Bike Week in May on Saturday 14th and will run through to Sunday 22nd. National COW Day (Cycle on Wednesdays/Weekdays) will be held on Wednesday May 18th. We are hoping to see our bike shelter full with bikes and scooters during this week. This is also a great opportunity to talk to your child about bike and road safety.
- Camogie Blitz: Our senior girls are looking forward to their first ever camogie blitz on Wednesday 25th May. They will be training with their coaches Ms. Frawley, Mr. O’Sullivan and Ms. Millane after school on Wednesdays in preparation for this. Well done to all the girls involved. It is a wonderful achievement to be part of the first camogie team to represent our school.
- School Tours: School tour season is almost upon us, with a busy schedule of school tours over the next few weeks. Third and Fourth Class are kicking off the tours with their trip to Dublin Zoon on Tuesday 24th May. For details of the full itinerary, please see our Calendar on the Aladdin Connect app. Our Junior Infant girls will enjoy a teddy bears’ picnic and a day of fun here in the school on Tuesday 14th June. More details of this to follow! We hope they all have a thoroughly enjoyable day and look forward to hearing of their experience. I want to sincerely thank all of the parent volunteers who will travel with the girls on their tours.
- Parent Volunteers: We are still looking for volunteers who will accompany third and fourth classes to Dublin Zoo on Tuesday 24th May. Volunteers must have been Garda vetted through the school. Please phone the office on 045-524540 if you are available and willing.
- Transition to secondary school: Our 6th class pupils have been busy preparing questions for the First Year students at Ard Scoil Rath Iomgháin this week. Mr. Quirke, the Deputy Principal has arranged a Zoom call with our Sixth Class pupils today, which is being attended by some first year students. The goal of the Zoom call is to allow the girls to hear all about life at secondary school and to have as many of their questions answered as possible. We hope this will help to ease the transition to secondary school.
- Anti-Bullying Policy: We are in the process of reviewing our anti-bullying policy. It can be viewed on our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie. It addresses cyber-bullying, which as we know has become an issue of national concern. Thankfully we have had no incidents of cyber-bullying in our school. However, I would ask you all to take responsibility for ensuring this remains the case. I’m sure you are all already aware that there are risks and dangers associated with your child using social media. If you allow your child to use social media, parental supervision is required at all times. I would like to make you aware of the fact that the legal age for using Facebook is thirteen. Our school has safeguards in place with regard to pupil internet/website access at school. It is important that all parents are aware that use outside school falls under parental responsibility.
- Half day for inservice: We have been directed by the Department of Education and Skills to close for a half-day this term to facilitate staff inservice in the new Primary Language Curriculum. The school will close for this purpose on Thursday 2nd June at 11.50am.
- Dates for the Diary: All dates for the diary for this term are marked on the calendar in the Aladdin Connect app.
Kind regards,
Maria Rogerson