October 2016 Newsletter

Pupils of the Week

Congratulations go to Stephen Lee, Claire Wolfe, Grace Leaden, Donnagh Ryan, Caoimhe Butler, in the senior room and to Sarah Ryan, Nicole O’ Sullivan, Micheál O’ Dwyer, Andrea Connolly, Caoimhe Ryan, Ava Maher, Conor O’Dwyer in the junior room who have earned the “Pupil of the Week” title so far this year.

Principal’s Prize

Congratulations also go to fifth class who were awarded the Principal’s Prize for September due to their consistent hard work and enthusiasm.

Two Teacher Schools’ Football Tournament

Friday last saw a fantastic display of gaelic football skills as our school won all three matches in the two teacher schools football blitz which took place in Kilteely. Garrydoolis N.S. secured impressive wins over Kilteely, Fedamore and Bohermore and have earned a place in the final. This will be played against Bohermore N.S. in the Gaelic Grounds on Wednesday 26th October. Senior pupils will travel as a team by bus to the Gaelic Grounds on the day and we ask that each pupil pays a contribution of €3 towards travel costs. We have yet to receive match times and will communicate same as soon as we are informed. Thanks are extended to Ms. Dillon, Ollie Coffey and Breda McGuinness who are training our team. It is huge achievement to reach a final and we hope that our supporters will turn out in force on the 26th to cheer us on! Children will be treated to food in McDonalds after the match and will return to the school by bus. Again, collection time will be communicated when known.

Girl’s Seven-A-Side Football Blitz

We are extremely proud to enter a team into the girls’ seven-a-side football tournament for the first time this year.  Again thanks are extended to the trainers; most especially to Breda McGuinness who works so hard with the girls both at school training sessions and at club level.

Limerick East Trials:

Well done to James Ryan, Matthew Looby, Aoife Lee and Caoimhe Butler who all represented the school at the Limerick East Football Trials. We send good wishes to Caoimhe Butler who has progressed to the next level and to Grace Leaden who was spotted by a talent scout in Kilteely last Friday and invited to trials!

Book Fair

We eagerly await the arrival of our Book Fair later this week. We will have some great titles and a percentage of all sales will be returned to the school in order to purchase resources. Thanks are extended in advance to all parents who will help with sales during the fair. The fair will be organised as follows:

Thursday 13th– All pupils browse books during school time

Friday 14th– Junior pupils may purchase books from 1.40pm

Monday 17th– Senior pupils may purchase books from 2pm

Tuesday 18th– All pupils may purchase books from 2.40pm

Clothes Recycling

Our next clothes recycling event takes place on Tuesday 18th October in aid of the National Council for the Blind. Bags may be dropped to the shed during the day. We thank you in advance for your support.

Parent Teacher Meetings

Parents Teacher Meetings will take place for all classes during the week of October 24th. Appointments will be distributed later this week. Please confirm your intention to attend at your allocated time or let the teacher know if your appointment is unsuitable in order that an alternative may be allocated. We look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child’s/ children’s progress. 

Family Masses

Well done to all pupils who contributed to our first family mass on Sunday and especially to our two junior infants, Micheál and Nicole, who had their schoolbags blessed. I wish to thank Ms. Dillon for her work in preparing the choir and Fr Burns for work in preparing with the pupils. Further family masses will take place in Templebraden Church on December 4th, January 29th and March 5th.

Sacraments

The Sacrament of Penance will take place on Monday March 6th and First Holy Communion will take place on Saturday May 13th in Templebraden Church. Confirmation will take place on Wednesday March 29th in Nicker Church. We wish our candidates well in their preparation for sacraments.

LEAF Programme (Learning About Forests)

We have been invited by An Taisce to pilot this programme. Our school will benefit from direct on the ground support from the Learning About Forests team in the form of seminars, workshops and school visits to Curragh Chase Forest Park.

RDS Primary Science Fair

Our expression of interest for the 2017 RDS Primary Science Fair, to be held in Limerick in January, has been submitted by Ms. Jordan. The senior pupils propose a project entitled “How can we attract more wildlife into our school environment?” In late October, we expect to hear whether or not we will be offered a stand at the fair.

Tree Day

Daffodil and tulip bulbs were planted in pots and Hyacinth bulbs were planted in jars on October 6th in celebration of National Tree Day. We thank Sally-Anne who lent her expertise on the day and who also recently dug our flower beds in preparation for planting. Sally Ann is returning later this week to help us plant our free Rowan tree and to plant some spring bulbs in the field and some pansies in the garden beds.

Maths Week

To celebrate Maths Week, pupils will take part in maths games, maths trails and math eyes activities during the week beginning October 17th.

Super Troopers

Your child/ren received a Super Trooper Activity Journal which includes short 10-15 minute activities to do each night as part of their homework. Also you will find a Family Activity Wall chart so that the whole family can get involved and record their progress. These activities will help to increase their activity levels and wellbeing.

Book Bills and School Fees

Sincere thanks go to all families who have fully paid their book rental and school fees. We kindly ask that any outstanding fees be paid prior to the Halloween holidays.

Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal

We had a wonderful response to our Team Hope Appeal last year and we hope to repeat our success this year with our families’ help. Our provisional date for collection is November 18th so pupils will be invited to bring in their boxes on that day. Should our collection date change we will communicate same. Your support of and enthusiasm about this very worthy cause is sincerely appreciated.

Crazy Hair Non-Uniform Day

Our Crazy Hair Non-Uniform Day raised a wonderful €128. These proceeds will go towards the purchase of our Buddy Bench.

Halloween Celebrations

Just a reminder that all pupils are invited to wear their Halloween costumes to school on Friday 28th October. Our Student Council have organised treats and surprises for pupils on the day. Ms. Hickey and Ms. Jordan are putting together a Halloween hamper which will be raffled by the Student Council on the day. Tickets will be priced at €1 and will be sold to pupils on the 28th. It is hoped that the proceeds of our in-school Halloween raffle will cover the shortfall for our Buddy Bench. School will close at 2.40pm on Friday 28th for Halloween holidays and will reopen on Monday November 7th.

School Closure on November 30th

School will be closed on Wednesday November 30th in order that teachers may attend in-service based on the new language curriculum.

Mass on December 8th

Senior pupils will attend mass as a class with Ms. Jordan in Templebraden Church on Thursday morning, December 8th. Collection and mass times to be confirmed.

Christmas Show and Raffle

Our Christmas show and raffle will take place on Friday December 16th at 1pm. Dress rehearsal will take place on Thursday 15th at 1pm.

“Beauty and the Beast”

As you are aware, all pupils will travel by bus to the University Concert Hall at U.L. to see a performance of “Beauty and the Beast” on Wednesday 21st December. The proceeds of our Christmas raffle will be used to subsidise this trip resulting that the cost per pupil will be €10, which can be paid by Wednesday 14th December.

Christmas Holidays

School will close at 12.15pm on Thursday 22nd December and reopen on Monday January 9th 2017.

 

The first few weeks of the new school year have certainly been extremely busy and we congratulate our pupils on settling back into school life so efficiently and on achieving so much already!

 

Thanking all families for your continued support.

Kind Regards,

Heidi Jordan

 

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