Dear Parents / Guardians,
We hope you are all well. Our news is as follows:
- Remembering Marcella Dempsey: We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former cleaner and valued staff member, Marcella Dempsey, who sadly passed away this week. Marcella was a dedicated and much-loved member of the Bunscoil Bhríde community, having worked with us for decades. She will be fondly remembered by all who had the pleasure of knowing and working with her. Her kindness, commitment, and warm presence left a lasting impact on our school. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Marcella’s family at this difficult time. May her gentle soul rest in peace.
- Concerts: Last night we hosted our fourth and final night of class concerts, with Junior Infants, Fourth and Fifth Classes taking to the stage. Once again we were blown away by the talent on display. I want to thank all of the staff, who have worked so hard this year to organise and produce wonderful performances that the children will remember long into the future. I also want to thank you, our parents, who again supported our concerts in such large numbers last night. A total of €3696 was raised over the four nights of our concerts. This money in full will be going towards the purchase of play equipment for our Bluebells Playground.Our concerts are available to watch on our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie . Ms. De Faoite has uploaded last night’s concerts and they can be viewed at the following link:
https://www.bunscoilbhride.ie/class-plays-may-2025/
- STEM Excellence: I take great pleasure in announcing that we have just received the news that Bunscoil Bhríde is to be awarded a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Curious Minds Platinum Award for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Excellence again, for the 2024/25 academic year. I would like to congratulate all our pupils and teachers for engaging in such a wide range of activities and events every year. I would particularly like to thank Ms. Ryan, who coordinated our engagement with the SFI STEM Excellence Award. It is fantastic to see all of the science, technology, engineering and maths work being carried out in the school with such enthusiasm. Well done everyone – such a great achievement!
- Internet Safety and Cyber-Bullying Talk: Community Garda, Garda Alan Murphy delivered internet safety talks to our Fifth and Sixth Classes on Monday. He spoke of the dangers posed by the online world and the importance of being safe online. It is vital that all parents fully supervise all use of devices / internet usage by children at home. All social media apps have a minimum age restriction of 13 and as such are wholly unsuitable for children of primary school age, who should not have access to such apps / messaging platforms.
- Open Afternoon for New Junior Infants: Next year’s Junior Infants (2025/26 school year) and their parents are invited to an open afternoon in the school on Thursday next, 5th June at 1.45pm. The children will get the opportunity to visit their new classrooms, meet their teachers and mingle with their new classmates. We look forward to meeting with them and their parents.
- Active Schools Week: We’re excited to announce that Active Schools Week will take place in our school from Monday, 9th June to Friday, 13th June. It promises to be a fun-filled and energetic week, with a wide range of activities planned to keep our girls moving and engaged. A heartfelt thank you to Ms. Gleeson and the Active School Committee for their outstanding efforts and dedication in organising what is sure to be an unforgettable week for all! Please see the message below from the Active School Committee.
- Basketball: The Fifth and Sixth Class pupils of Scoil Bhríde, Lackagh will visit us on Wednesday June 4th to take part in a basketball blitz with our Fifth and Sixth Classes. I want to thank Ms. Gleeson, Ms. Banks and Ms. Costello for coaching the girls and for organising the upcoming blitz.
- Sixth Class Heritage Trip: Ms. Marrinan’s and Ms. De Faoite’s classes will visit the rath and the old graveyard on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th June, weather-permitting, as part of their local history / heritage studies. On their trek through the town, they will examine all the Georgian buildings and learn about the history of our village. They will be led on their historical walk by our former Principal, Betty Lawlor. We are very grateful to Betty for her generosity in sharing her time and vast historical expertise with us. We hope the girls have a thoroughly enjoyable day and gain a deeper appreciation of the wonderful village in which we live.
- Energy Workshops: All classes from Senior Infants to Third Class will take part in energy workshops here in the school next week, facilitated by Leah from the SEAI and organised by Nuala Madigan from the Irish Peatland Conservation Council. We look forward to learning lots about the importance of sustainable energy.
- School Tours: School tour season is just around the corner, and we’re looking forward to a busy and exciting few weeks ahead. First and Second Class will kick things off with a visit to the Explorium in Sandyford on Wednesday, 11th June. Fourth and Fifth Class are heading to the National Aquatic Centre and K-Bowl on Thursday, 12th June, while Sixth Class will enjoy a day of water-based fun at Baysports in Athlone on Tuesday, 17th June. Third Class will visit Dublin Zoo on Wednesday, 18th June. Senior Infants are off to Caragh Pet Farm on Monday, 23rd June, and Junior Infants will round things off with a trip to Lullymore Heritage Park on Tuesday, 24th June. We hope all the girls have a thoroughly enjoyable experience and look forward to hearing all about their adventures.
- Rathangan Library Visits: All of our classes will visit Rathangan Library over the coming weeks. If your child is not already a member of the library, I would ask that you take the time to drop in to join her up. Membership for children can only be obtained in the presence of a parent. I would highly recommend that the girls get the opportunity to visit the library on a regular basis, especially during the summer period. A Summer Stars Reading Programme is being run by the library over the summer holidays to encourage the children to read as much as possible. Children should be reading EVERY DAY. Visiting the library is a really important habit to develop for your child and facilitating this for her would be one of the most wonderful gifts you could give her.
- Reminder: Phones, smart-watches, digital devices or toys are not allowed at school or on any of our school tours. Please see our Mobile Phones and Electronic Devices Policy and our Code of Behaviour on our school website.
- June Bank Holiday Closure: The school will be closed tomorrow, Friday 30th May, Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd June and will reopen on Wednesday 4th June. We hope you all have a lovely log weekend.
Kind regards,
Maria Rogerson
Message from the Active Schools Committee
The Active Committee are delighted to announce our upcoming Active Week at Bunscoil Bhríde. The week will run from June 9th – 13th, with a variety of activities planned for the girls to take part in. Our junior classes (Infants – 2nd) will take part in their Sports Day on Monday 9th. Senior classes (3rd-6th) will have their Sports Day on June 11th. There will be a variety of activities throughout the week, including active homework, paired PE classes, daily teacher active challenges and much more. We are also going to have a county/club colours day on Friday 13th, a non-uniform day where pupils are invited to wear county/club colours if they wish. The following week, each class will also have the opportunity to visit Rathangan Tennis Club for a lesson with Gary Beresford. Please ensure your child wears suitable runners to school every day during Active Schools Week. We are looking forward to a jam-packed, active week!