Dear Parents / Guardians,
We hope all is well with you this fortnight. Our news is as follows:
- Debating: Our debating team from 5th and 6th class are taking part in their first debate next Wednesday 18th October against Scoil Bhríde, Lackagh. They are proposing the motion, ‘All children in Ireland should have the right to a local playground’. The Debating Team will practise their debate in the halla on Friday for all classes from 2nd to 6th. We look forward to all the children getting a chance to put arguments to the team and allowing them to practice their rebuttals. We wish the girls and their mentors Ms. Banks, Ms. Costello and Ms. Dillon the very best of luck in the first round of the competition!
- Gaelic Football: Our wonderful U11 girls were victorious in their game against Monasterevin last Friday, finishing on a scoreline of 2-10 to 3-4. I am delighted to report that the girls are now through to the semi-finals of the Cumann na mBunscol Large Schools U11 League, with the date and opposition to be confirmed. Well done to the girls and their dedicated coaches Mr. O’Sullivan and Ms. Marrinan!
- Maths Week: Maths Week will take place nationally next week (16th – 20th October) and all classes in the school will be engaged in different mathematical activities to mark it. I want to thank Ms. Rowley, who is 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.
- Creative Rathangan workshop: Ms. Coughlan’s and Mr. O’Sullivan’s Third Classes are taking part tomorrow in the ‘Beyond the classroom’, Creative Rathangan Meitheal (CRM) 2023 outdoor Autumn workshop in Tannery Park and a follow-on workshop in Rathangan Library. The workshops are facilitated by local artist Monica de Bath, 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.
- Friendship Week: Friendship Week is being celebrated in the school from Monday 23rd to Friday 27th October. 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.
- Bluebells Day: We will celebrate Bluebells Day, to raise awareness of autism, during Friendship Week, on Thursday 26th October. I want to thank Ms. Rowley who has organised this event for our school. Bluebells Day will be a non-uniform day, with all children invited to ‘go blue for Bluebells’, by dressing in blue. All classes will learn about autism on Bluebells Day and will get the opportunity to visit the Bluebells Classroom and see our state-of-the-art sensory room first-hand.
- Donation Request: We are asking all families, where possible, to make a donation for Bluebells Day, which we are planning on putting towards the purchase of play equipment for our Bluebells playground. While we have a fabulous enclosed soft-play area for our Bluebells Class, we are very eager to kit it out with playground equipment. Play equipment that meets the required safety specifications is incredibly expensive and we would really appreciate your support. I will share an optional payment link with all families in advance of Bluebells Day, or children are welcome to bring in their donation in cash on the day.
- Basketball: Basketball training for Fifth and Sixth Class pupils, with Ms. Gleeson and Ms. Costello will resume on Wednesday 15th November and will run on Wednesdays from 2.30pm to 3.15pm in the school. We would urge all children from Fifth and Sixth Class to attend. If you wish your daughter to attend, please complete the relevant consent on Aladdin Connect under the Permissions tab.
- Garda Talks: Yesterday we welcomed Garda William Barry and Garda Alan Murphy to our school. The Gardaí spoke to our senior classes about staying safe at Halloween and the dangers of fireworks.
- New Board of Management: As you will be aware, the new Board of Management for the school is currently being formed and will begin its four-year term on December 1st. Your daughter brought home a letter on Tuesday last with details of this. If you wish to stand for nomination and election as a parent nominee on the Board of Management, please complete the consent form and return it to the school by Tuesday 17th October.
- Coats: Please ensure your child comes to school wearing a coat.
- Uniform: Please ensure your daughter is wearing the correct school uniform. Please note that full uniform (for 2nd – 6th classes) consists of the navy crested school jumper, blue shirt and navy trousers / skirt / pinafore. Leggings should not be worn in place of trousers. Children in 2nd to 6th class should only wear their school tracksuit on PE days; Tuesdays and Thursdays. Full uniform should be worn on all other days. We have some spare uniforms in the school. Please contact us if you wish to take some of these items of clothing. Hair that is long enough to be tied up should be tied up at school, and for health and safety reasons, only stud ear-rings should be worn at school. All other jewellery, including bracelets and necklaces should not be worn to school.
- 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.
- 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 on Friday 10th November only. They will be collected from the school on that day.
- Yoga Mats: As part of our School Improvement Plan in the area of Wellbeing, we have been engaging in yoga and mindfulness. We are seeking donations of yoga mats. If you have a yoga mat, in good condition, no longer in use, we would be very grateful if you would donate it to the school.
- Parent-Teacher Meetings: Parent-Teacher Meetings will take place this year over two afternoons / evenings, on Tuesday 21st and Thursday 23rd November, with the Parent-teacher meetings for children in Ms. Ryan’s Junior Infants (Room 1) taking place in February (with Ms. Ruttledge). 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 on the week of Monday 23rd 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, 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 27th October at 11am, 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.
- Midterm Break: Bunscoil Bhríde will close for the midterm break on Friday 27th October and will reopen on Monday November 6th. We trust everyone will enjoy a well-deserved break after such a busy half-term term.
Kind regards,
Maria Rogerson