Principal’s Prize:
The Principal’s Prize for December/ January went to 6th class. The February winners were 5th class while 1st class was successful in March. We send congratulations to these classes.
Silver Circle:
Our silver circle has been a great success to date with the weekly draws generating much excitement in school. Sincere thanks are extended to all families who have participated and given so willingly. The total funds raised will be communicated to all families after the Easter break.
Doodle4Google Quarter Finalist:
Congratulations go to David Wolfe, 6th class, who reached the quarter finals of the Doodle4Google competition which we entered in November. David’s fabulous entry entitled “My Adventure around the World” reached the final three hundred entries in the nationwide competition. What a fantastic achievement!
St. Ailbe’s Credit Union Table Quiz Winners:
We were thrilled to be placed first out of thirty one tables in the St. Ailbe’s Credit Union table quiz held in Caherconlish on February 2nd. The winning team members were Joan Beary, Jessica Dillon, David Wolfe and James Wolfe. The pupils won a plaque for the school and a credit union sports bag each. The team then progressed to the regional final on March 2nd when they were placed fifth and received certificates. Well done to all involved including Ms. Ryan who prepared the team so well.
Competitions:
We have recently entered the Texaco Art Competition, the INTO handwriting competition and the Excel colouring competition so we keep our fingers crossed and await the results!
Open Afternoon:
On Tuesday February 18th, Ms. Jordan and Ms. Hickey hosted our open afternoon for prospective pupils and their parents. It provided a lovely opportunity for the children to play, chat and meet some new friends while teachers shared information with parents. As always, we are very grateful to our wonderful parents’ association who provided refreshments on the occasion.
Green Schools:
We celebrated our green schools action day on February 24th. Ms Ryan and the senior pupils organised an impressive display of water experiments which were explained to the junior pupils. Everyone dressed in blue in line with our water theme. The junior children also treated the older pupils to a demonstration of their experiments.
A representative from An Taisce visited our school on February 28th in order to meet with the green team and to evaluate our efforts in relation to reducing water consumption. We are extremely proud of our green team who showed great leadership and comprehensively answered all questions asked. While we have not yet been notified regarding the success of our application, we certainly do hope to be raising our third green flag before the summer holidays!
World Book Day:
World Book Day was celebrated on March 6th by making book worms and book boxes.
All children took part in D.E.A.R. time (“Drop Everything and Read”) and the teachers each read a passage from a favourite book from their childhood. All pupils received a book token in recognition of World Book Day.
Pancake Monday!:
Due to a pre-notified power outage in the school, the Parents’ Association ran their pancake fundraiser one day early on what became known as “Pancake Monday” All who sampled the pancakes agreed that they were utterly delicious, as were the selection of toppings provided, and the event was declared a great success.
First Penance:
Our second class children, together with second class from Barna N.S. celebrated First Penance in a lovely ceremony in Templebraden Church on March 13th. We extend thanks to Ms. Hickey who prepared the children so well and to Fr. Burns who provided a beautiful ceremony. Thanks also go to our friends in Barna who showed great hospitality and provided refreshments after the ceremony for all involved.
Seachtain na Gaeilge:
We marked Seachtain na Gaeilge during the week of March 10th. Pupils were encouraged to use Irish informally throughout the day and teachers listened carefully and awarded spot prizes where deserved. The focus on all things Irish culminated on Friday March 14th when pupils donned the green, white and gold and enjoyed our céilí mór. Pupils performed through song, dance and drama which were specially prepared for the occasion. Green sweet treats were then enjoyed as sold by the Parents Association.
Hurling:
The senior pupils welcomed Seán Herbert back to the school on March 18th. Seán will train the pupils in the coming weeks in preparation for the 7-a-side hurling tournament. Parents will be notified of fixtures for the upcoming tournament as soon as they are arranged after Easter. David McGuinness will return to coach the junior classes after the Easter break.
Update on Computer Upgrade:
Thanks to the generosity of the parents of the school we were enabled to install three new PCs recently. The replacement of the router is currently pending and after much investigation we are in the process of purchasing our set of tablets and educational apps. Our I.T. upgrades have only been made possible through the support of the Garrydoolis families and for that we are sincerely grateful.
New Literacy and Numeracy Resources:
The Board of Management have recently purchased literacy boxes and maths manipulatives and games for both classrooms. These resources are a wonderful addition to our teaching resources.
Draughts Success:
Congratulations go to Jeremy-John and Marianna Looby who won the final of the community games draughts competition. They won medals and are now through to the next round. We wish them continued success!
Staff Meeting:
School will close at 2pm on Thursday April 10th due to a staff meeting.
Spring Clean:
The Parents’ Association are currently organising a Spring Clean in the area to be held on Thursday 10th April at 2pm. This activity supports our green schools project and we encourage as many families as possible to participate. Please note that pupils must be accompanied by adults when taking part in the Spring Clean. Full details will follow in the Parents’ Association newsletter.
Student Council:
Our fabulous student council are busy again! They have decorated the school for Easter and are currently helping teachers put names of deserving pupils on the list for the Easter egg raffle. They are also putting plans in place for a picnic for all pupils in the last term. Well done to all involved and keep up the good work!
Easter Celebrations:
The school will close at 12.30 on Friday April 11th for our two week Easter break. On this day children will be treated to an Easter hunt as organised by our dedicated Parents’ Association. We thank all parents who have so kindly contributed treats for the hunt. Children will also have a chance to win Easter eggs as provided by the teachers in each classroom in recognition of their hard work and good behaviour. We are sure that it will be a fun-filled morning for all involved!
First Holy Communion:
Children from second class will make their First Holy Communion on Sunday May 18th. We extend every good wish to those children involved as they busily prepare for this very special occasion.
Standardised Testing:
In line with Department regulations, standardised testing will take place in our school for all classes from first to sixth during the week of May 26th.
Relationships and Sexuality Presentation:
Fifth and sixth class pupils, with parental consent, will take part in a presentation based on the curriculum content for their age group in RSE (Relationships and Sexuality Education) on Thursday May 22nd. Relationships and sexuality education is part of the SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education) curriculum. The relevant content will be presented by Ms. Mary Dillon who has many years’ experience in the area, having been involved in drawing up the RSE policy documents and devising and teaching related courses. While our Board of Management will fund the pupil’s presentation, our Parents’ Association have generously agreed to fund the accompanying parents talk. This will take place at 7pm on that Thursday evening 22nd. While it is acknowledged that the content may only currently affect the fifth and sixth class pupils, this talk is open to parents of all pupils and we hope that a large number will attend.
Specific information for parents of fifth and sixth class pupils will follow after Easter.
Book Bills 2014/15:
Garrydoolis N.S. is delighted to continue our book rental scheme for the coming academic year and bills for the same have recently been approved by the Board of Management. The book rental scheme is widely acknowledged to provide significant savings for parents so we encourage families to continue to avail of it.
Bills for each class level for the coming year have been itemised and will hopefully prove very transparent. Bills will be distributed towards the end of May and parents will be offered the option to pay in part/ full over the months of June and September. All payments will be noted and receipted so it is hoped that the option of part payment, if desired, will prove helpful to families.
School Tour:
Our school tour is booked for Friday June 13th. We will visit and enjoy tours of King John’s Castle and Thomond Park in Limerick. Further details will follow after Easter.
Active Week:
All classes will celebrate Active Week during the week of June 16th. Fifth and sixth class pupils, with parental consent, will take part in the safe cycling programme in association with Limerick Sports Partnership.
We will soon welcome a representative from the Sports Partnership who will train these pupils in cycle safety and skills. In celebration of active week, all pupils will partake in extra PE activities daily so we ask that pupils wear their tracksuits and runners to school each day. Weather permitting, we will finish active week with our sports day on Friday June 20th.
End of Year Reports:
End of year reports will be distributed on Wednesday June 18th. Reports will be handed by class teachers to parents after school. As reports are strictly confidential, parents should send a written note to teachers permitting a minder/ relative to collect their child’s report if they are unable to do so. In the absence of such permission, any report not collected on the 18th will be held by teachers until such time as the teacher meets the relevant parent.
Graduation:
Our graduation ceremony will take place in the senior classroom on Tuesday June 24th at 1pm to mark the “stepping on” of our sixth class pupils to secondary school and the “stepping up” of our second class pupils to the senior classroom. This will be a lovely occasion to highlight the achievements of our children during their time in the school, to recall their special memories and to hear their hopes for the future
We invite all members of the school community to attend in order to show support and send good wishes to our graduates.
Communication:
We remind parents that at Garrydoolis N.S. we encourage communication and the sharing of ideas and opinions. Should a parent wish to meet his/her child’s class teacher he/she is most welcome to do so. Parents are advised to arrange an appointment through the school secretary, by writing to the teacher, via email at garrydoolisns@gmail.com or by mentioning it to the teacher when collecting their child.
Get well soon Fr. Burns:
The Board of Management, staff, pupils, parents and extended school community of Garrydoolis N.S. extend every good wish to Fr. Burns for a very speedy recovery.
Wishing each family a happy and very well-deserved break this Easter and thanking you once again for your continued support.
Kind Regards,
Heidi Jordan
Principal
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