Newsletter 2 – Sept 8th, 2023
Dear Parents/ Guardians,
Happy Friday! I hope you have all had a lovely week and are looking forward to the weekend ahead.
Teaching and Learning – For the month of September the focus for teaching and learning for all classes from Senior Infants to 6th Class is on reinforcing and consolidating pupils’ knowledge from their previous class/year. The learning approaches will continue to be varied and there will be a huge emphasis on language, the outdoor environment and play. Language, Mathematics, Wellbeing and PE will be prioritised for the first term in keeping with guidance from the Department of Education and Skills.
New Maths Curriculum – An Information Leaflet on the new Maths Curriculum was sent to all families yesterday.
Junior Infants – Well done to our Junior Infants who are coming to school so independently and so cheerfully. From next Monday 11th September Junior Infants will attend for the full school day from 9.00am to 1.40pm.
Junior Infant Photos – Ian Young will be in the school on Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th September for Junior Infant Photo days. The office will send reminders closer to the time.
Happy birthday – Five pupils are celebrating birthdays at the school this week. They are Olivia Hynes (7yrs), Olivia O Hare (6yrs), Adam O’ Riordan (6yrs), Grace Moran (7yrs) and Brooke Felton (10yrs). Breithlá sona daoibh go léir.
Tesco Tokens – A big thank you to vanessa Doorly and Olga Podhrazska who nominated St. Brigid’s for community funding from Tesco. If you are shopping in Tesco, be sure to pop a blue token in the box for our school. The more blue tokens you put in the box, the more funding we will get. Thank you in advance for your support with this initiative.
Swimming 2023/2024 – On foot of the success of the swimming lessons at Shoreline for 2nd to 4th last year we have enrolled for swimming again for the coming year. Swimming lessons for 4th Class will commence this coming Thursday 14th September. 3rd class will commence lessons on Thursday 18th January 2024 and 2nd Class will commence lessons on Thursday 18th April 2024.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all our volunteer parents who undertook supervision at the curricular swimming lessons in 2nd to 4th Class last year. It would not have been possible without the generous giving of your time.
Sponsored Walk – St. Brigid’s 2023 Sponsored Walk will take place on Friday 29th September for all classes from Infants to 6th Class. The route this year will follow the Greystones coastline through Marina Village and up as far as the dog park (Darcy Field). The walk will take about an hour to complete. The Junior classes will do a shorter route. All children will wear their tracksuits for the walk. Fingers crossed the rain stays away and the sun appears on the day.
Funds raised from the walk will go towards purchasing 2 Chrome Books for each class, maths equipment to support the new maths curriculum and Aistear resources for 1st class.
Sponsorship cards will be sent home next week and the online payment option on Aladdin will be available from later today.
Volunteer helpers will be required to walk with the children on the day and to escort them safely at road crossings. A minimum of 4 helpers per class is needed. Please make sure you are garda vetted if you are offering to help. Classes will be leaving from 9.15am and all helpers will be required to be in the school hall from 8.50am.
Class reps will be sending a message to their classes about the walk so please contact your class rep if you would like to help.
After School activities – All After School Activities will start back this coming week.
It Takes a Village Holiday at the Cove Saturday 9th September from 1pm to 2pm.There will be music, volleyball, sandcastle buildings and some special surprises on the day. Dress Code – Colourful. All are welcome.
No Smart Phone Voluntary Code – This was emailed out to all families yesterday. We would ask that you complete the google form at your earliest possible convenience. Be assured that the Board of Management of St. Brigid’s fully supports a parents decision not to give their primary school child a smart phone.
Respect for Our Neighbours –As a Green School we actively encourage our pupils to walk, cycle and scoot to school. As 80% of our pupils live within 2km of the school, this is very doable for many.
Walking, cycling and scooting not only provide a wonderful opportunity for chats with friends, improving our physical and mental health and caring for our environment, but these methods also help to reduce traffic, making the area around our school a safer place not just for our pupils but for all our neighbours.
From time to time, our neighbours complain of inconsiderate parking on the roads close to our school.
We would encourage you to use the car park at the Park and Ride if it’s on your route to school: parking is free here and it is only a short walk to the school from here.
Frásaí na Seachtaine – As part of our School Improvement Plan for Gaeilge this year we are putting a particular focus on the speaking of Irish. Each week the children will learn a new phrase that we would like them to use as much as possible both at home and at school. This week’s phrase is “Dia duit! Dia is Muire duit! “– We would appreciate if you could play your part in the promotion of the speaking of Irish by engaging with these weekly phrases. Labhair Gaeilge linn le do thoil– sa bhaile agus ar scoil.
Admissions for 2024 – The Admissions Notice with details of enrolment dates and the number of places we have for Junior Infants for Sept 2024 is now up on our school website. Enrolment will take place after the Halloween break.
Your Child in the Primary School – Some useful Tips for Parents
That’s all for now.
Until next week, slán sabháilte .
Le meas,
Máire Costello
Principal