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, 11th November. Chess lessons will run from 2.30p.m. to 3.30p.m., with the next lesson on Monday 18th November. After Monday, it will change to Tuesdays, starting from Tuesday 26th 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 3rd 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 26th 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 18th to Friday 22nd 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, 1st & 2nd – Spraoi, 3rd & 4th Siamsa, 5th & 6th – 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, 21st 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