ST. BRIGID’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL, THE
PARK
NEWSLETTER
- OCTOBER 2010.
Parking – Urgent!
A reminder to
parents – please do not park on the double yellow lines or the zig-zag lines
outside the school, or use them as a set down area. These lines should be
kept clear at all times, in the
interests of the health and safety of the children.
It is illegal to park or stop on double yellow or zigzag lines.
The school warden has complained that her view of the children and the
traffic is restricted by people using these areas as a set down point.
The issue has been reported to the Gardaí.
Parking on the yellow lines at the main drive-in gate completely blocks
the view of those entering and leaving the school premises and will cause an
accident. Parents should not pull
into the school grounds or use the gate area as a turning point – it is highly
dangerous.
Junior Infants 2011 !
Our three
classes of new Junior Infants have settled in very well to school and we are
already looking at enrolments for September 2011!
If you have a girl due to start school in September 2011, or know of a
neighbour or friend who wish their daughter to attend St. Brigid’s School,
please contact the office for an application form.
Forms have already been posted out to those on our applications list, and
the closing date, for return of completed forms, is Friday 22nd
October. We hope to issue first round offers by mid November of this year.
School Mass
A school Mass
(2nd – 6th classes) will be held during the first week of
November to mark the Month of Holy Souls and Mass will also be celebrated in the
school for 2nd – 6th class pupils on Wednesday, 8th
December to mark the feast of The Immaculate Conception of Our Lady.
Supervision
Please note
that school opens at 8.45a.m. and finishes at 2.25p.m. (1.25p.m. for infants).
The school can only accept responsibility for the children during these
times. No supervision is provided
before 8.45a.m. No arrangements exist for the supervision of children who arrive
to school before the official opening time, or who remain after school hours.
Good Luck
Good luck to
Ms. O’Malley, our 6th class teacher, who is running the Dublin City
Marathon again this October. She
finished in excellent time last year! She is hoping to raise funds for Debra
Ireland, and we will hold a non-uniform day on Friday, 22nd October,
just before we close for the Halloween break, (details to follow) to help
support this excellent charity.
Voluntary Contributions – February
2011
Voluntary
contributions are a vital source of funding in the school.
The Girls School will appeal to parents for this Voluntary Contribution
next February 2011.
The Boys’ school appeal is being issued this October, but the two schools
are funded separated. The girls
school will wait until February 2011, in order not
to overburden parents at this time.
Green Flag
It is time to
renew our Green flag again! – We will continue to promote “Reduce, Re-use,
Recycle”, and our Walk to School days (WOW -
Walk on Wednesday!) The main theme for this year is Climate Change.
An Taisce will arrange talks for the girls on this theme over the coming
weeks.
Holidays
We have been
approached, on occasion, by parents taking children on holiday during term time,
with requests to assign work to be completed during the holiday and to correct
work on the child’s return. Please
note that it is not school policy to do this.
This does not apply to children who miss school due to illness.
Teachers will be happy to assist in cases of absence due to illness.
Parent
Teacher Meetings
Parent / Teacher meetings will be held for classes from Senior Infants to Sixth
class on the 18th
and 19th of
November, this year.
Appointment times and other details will follow, closer to the dates.
Parent / Teacher meetings for the parents of girls in the Junior Infants
classes will take place towards the end of January 2010, when the
children have completed one term in St. Brigid’s School.
Appointment times will follow in mid-January.
School Cellos
Some years ago the Board of Management of St. Brigid’s Girls’ School purchased 4
cellos (2 x ¾ size and 2 x ½ size)
for the school.
These cellos are given on loan to interested pupils who wish to learn to play
the cello, without making the expensive commitment of buying a cello at the
beginning. Pupils, who have just
left the school at 6th class level, have now returned the cellos to
the school. Girls who wish to take
the cello must have some musical ability / interest, and parents must undertake
to pay for cello lessons, either in the school or elsewhere.
Ms. Michelle Le May, who teaches flute and clarinet in the school, and
who also takes the school orchestra, will give cello lessons if parents are
interested.
We would hope that, in time, girls who are playing the cello would also take
part in the school orchestra.
Cellos must be returned to the school when pupils leave. If your child has an
interest in playing the cello, please call, or send a note to the school office.
Hockey
Thanks to one
of our Parents, Emma Meir, Hockey has been added to the list of extra-curricular
activities, available to the girls of St. Brigid’s School.
These include Art, Drama, Irish Dancing, Ballet, Tennis, Gaelic football,
Keyboard, Piano, Recorder, and
Playball.
Welcome
We were
delighted to welcome members of the Dublin Fire Brigade to St. Brigid’s Girls’
School. They spoke to the girls in
3rd class about fire safety.
Jim McMonagle,
Education Officer from Dublin Zoo is coming to visit the school for 3 days in
November and will talk to all pupils about the animals in the Zoo and their
habitats.
Caroline, our
Community Garda will visit the 5th classes over the next few weeks,
and deal with such issues as the work of the Garda, Safety at Halloween,
Internet Safety etc. 5th
classes also took part in an art competition sponsored
by the Gardaí, to mark Social Inclusion Week,
-18th – 24th October 2010
ICT in the School / Parents’
Association
Thanks to
fundraising by the Parents’ Association at the Christmas Fair 2009, and to a
grant from the Department of Education and Skills, we now have interactive
whiteboards in all mainstream classrooms and in two of our learning support
rooms, laptops for teacher planning and a bank of laptops for use by class
groups, in the classroom.
Fundraising by
the Parents’ Association at the Christmas Fair 2009 also funded trips by various
classes to the cinema, during the last school year, to support their class book
study, a trip to the Dodder River during the “Something Fishy” Project, the
Simply Music Workshops for 6th class (composing music) and a visit
from a Story-teller to the younger classes.
The funds we receive from the parents’ Association provide these valuable
resources for the girls in the school.
Please support the Parents’ Association with the Christmas Fair 2010,
either by volunteering to help, donating a prize or attending on the day itself
- Sunday 28th November 2p.m.
– 6p.m.
Contact Debbie
Dettling 087-2467817 or Claire Walsh 087-2112553
Lost Property
We are only
about 6 weeks into the new school year, and we have already accumulated a lost
of lost property – even some brand new tracksuit tops and jumpers (with no names
on them!) This lost property will
be on display in the school hall on Thursday October 21st from
8.45a.m. – 3p.m. It will be
disposed of after that, as we have no
facility to store it.
School “Text a Parent” System.
We still have
approximately 15% of parents who have not joined the School Text-a-Parent
System. This is a very efficient
way of reminding parents of upcoming events, meetings, special closings, staff
meetings, or unscheduled closings in cases of severe weather such as last
winter.
We would urge all parents to join this
system. If you need the
code and instructions again, or are having difficulty joining the system, please
call into our Secretary, Ms Toomey, any time, and she help you.
Photographs
Paul Sherwood,
Photographer, has taken official photos at several school occasions, including
our Garden Day, W.O.W. Days etc. To
access these photos on the website (www.sherwood.ie)
go to “Client Galleries” and put in username: brigids, and password : school.
This will allow you to “unlock” the gallery.