Dear Parents / Guardians,
We hope all is well with you this fortnight. Our news is as follows:
- Colouring Competition Win: I want to congratulate Lily Sherlock; a fourth class pupil in Ms. Fitzpatrick’s class, whose beautiful entry has been awarded first place in the Flahavin’s National Colouring Competition. She has won a €500 One4All voucher for her family, €500 for our school and a Flahavin’s Hamper for her class. Well done Lily!
- The Lunch Bag app: The Lunch Bag have asked us to reassure parents that their request for all parents to update their lunch bag app as soon as possible is a genuine one.
- Scooter Workshop: Karen Moore, the Travel Safety Officer with An Taisce will run a Scooter Workshop with the children in Junior Infants, Senior Infants and First Class on Wednesday next. The children can bring in their own scooters and helmets if they wish (this is not necessary). If children are bringing in scooters / helmets, please ensure they are clearly labelled.
- Maths Easter Egg Hunt: Our annual Bunscoil Bhríde Maths Easter Egg Hunt will run over the next fortnight, with all classes getting the opportunity to take part. Children, in teams, will have to use their orienteering skills to find and solve maths clues and puzzles around the school grounds. There are lots of Easter Eggs up for grabs, so a fun-filled hunt is guaranteed!
- Labels: Please ensure your child’s school jumper is clearly labelled with her name.
- Enrolment Meeting: A meeting with the parents of children enrolled in the 2022/23 Junior Infant class will be held in the school hall on Wednesday 27th April at 8pm. The new parents will get the opportunity to meet with our current Junior Infant teacher, Ms. Ryan and to mingle with one another over a cup of tea, kindly provided by the Bunscoil Bhríde Parents’ Association.
- Swimming: Our third, fourth and fifth classes will begin their six-week block of swimming lessons in the week following the Easter holidays, with Ms. Millane’s and Ms. Ruttledge’s fifth class girls swimming on Thursdays and Ms. Coughlan’s, Ms. Gorman’s and Ms. Fitzpatrick’s third and fourth classes swimming on Fridays. The cost of the swimming lessons and the bus to and from Portarlington over the six weeks has been heavily subsidised by our wonderful Parents’ Association and is coming in at the very reasonable price of just €30 per child. If you have not already done so, please make the payment through the Aladdin app. Payments can be made in instalments.
- Earrings: Dangly earrings and hoop earrings are not allowed at school (as part of our Code of Behaviour for health and safety reasons). If children are wearing earrings, they should be small single stud earrings.
- Cross-country: The annual Cumann na mBunscol cross-country competition will take place on Thursday 7th April in Hawkfield G.A.A., Newbridge. A team of 16 girls from Fifth and Sixth Class will be selected next week to represent the school in the competition.
- Clothes Bank: Please note our Parents Association have organised for the placement of a clothes Bank at the side of the church, which is acting as an ongoing fundraiser for our school. The funding generated from the Clothes Bank allows for our Parents’ Association to provide opportunities for our children, such as our upcoming Skipping Workshop, which is free of charge to all pupils. If you or your family are engaging in any spring cleaning, we would greatly appreciate your support of it.
- Oral Language: The theme for the month of April will be ‘Idioms, Riddles, Jokes and Proverbs’. All classes will be focusing on this theme for the month and we would ask that parents support us at home, by sharing some proverbs, jokes, riddles and idioms with children and discussing with them what they’ve learnt in school on this topic.
- Bus Éireann School Transport: Applications for school transport for the 2022/23 school year can be made online at www.buseireann.ie and must be submitted before the last Friday in April (29th April 2022). It is important that applications for school transport are made on time as late applicants are not guaranteed seats.
- Parent Volunteers: We are seeking parent volunteers to accompany classes on school tours this year. Under the National Vetting Act, all volunteers coming into our school must be Garda vetted through our diocesan office (Kildare and Leighlin). The process is very straightforward, but can take up to two / three weeks to complete. The forms required for Garda vetting for the school are available here in the office. Please let us know if you wish to be vetted. We would urge as many of you as possible to do so.
- Return to Normal School Times: We will discontinue our staggered start and finish times after Easter, with our normal school times of 9am to 2.40pm (1.40pm for Infants) resuming on Monday 25th April. Children should be dropped to school as close as possible to 9am. We are not responsible for children dropped before this time. The school gate will be opened at 8.50am and supervision will be provided from 8.50am to 9am. Children should not be dropped off in the church carpark before 8.50am. If your child walks or cycles to school, she should aim to reach the school as close to 9am as possible. Please pass this message to the crèche / your childminder if applicable.
- Easter Holidays: The school will close for Easter holidays on Friday 8th April at 11.40a.m. (for Cohort 2) and 11.45a.m. (for Cohort 1). We wish everybody a happy and holy Easter. School will re-open on Monday 25th April.
Kind regards,
Maria Rogerson