Welcome back to everyone and we hope you had a great summer break. We are looking forward to working with you all again this year.
A special welcome to Junior Infants and their parents to the school!
Staff September 2017
5th&6th Class – Mrs. Catherine Cooke
4th & 5thClass – Mrs. Maude O’Doherty, Deputy Principal
3rd Class – Mrs. Imelda Burke
1st&2nd Class – Ms. Lisa Dunne
1st Class & Senior Infants -Ms. Mary Doyle
Senior Infants & Junior Infants – Ms. Ursula Walsh
Special Education Needs Teacher – Ms. Eileen Byrne, Principal
Special Education Needs Teacher – Ms. Úna Gallinagh
Special Education Needs Teacher – Ms Sarah Fitzgerald (Part-time)
We would like to wish Ms. Michelle Duggan, Ms. Deirdre Dunne and Ms. Frances Doyle SNA who have left the school all the best in the future.
Information Booklet
All families have a copy of the information booklet. Please keep it in a safe place and refer to it if you have questions about any aspect of school life. If you need anything clarified please ring the office. Ann, the school secretary, may be able to help you or you may set up a meeting with the class teacher, at a time that suits you both. Sometimes a return call from a teacher, when she is available, can sort out many issues. Your courtesy is appreciated at all times, when speaking to any member of staff. Please do not delay teachers from class, with queries, in the morning as they are responsible for all the children in the room. Ring Ann and she can pass on a message
Parental Involvement
We encourage parents to get involved throughout the year. We value the whole school working together for the betterment of the school and ultimately, the children. Some activities with which parents have helped in the past – field trips, school tours, walks to the beach, sports events away from school, some maintenance (carpenters, electricians, landscapers etc.) arts and crafts (knitting and embroidery), giving talks to children on a parent’s work, music, setting up stages, preparation for Holy Communion, projects on science and local history, making bird boxes and putting them up, gardening and fundraising. If you can help with any of the above or have other skills from which you think the children may benefit please fill in the enclosed form and return to school and we may call on you at some stage during the year.
Please ensure we have an up to date email address as we send correspondence by email. There will be Newsletters throughout the year which will give you an insight into school life in all classes.
Due to a poor response to the calendar versus card fundraiser, we have decided to leave it for this year.
Upcoming Events:
Athletics: On Tuesday 3rd October, 3rd – 6th classes will participate in the Wicklow Invitational Cross-Country Relays in Avondale. We are very lucky to have Fionnuala and Una Britton (our local superstar athletics!) coming in to give the children some tips and advice on cross-country running. October 5th is Tree Day; 3rd – 6th classes will also celebrate Tree Day when they are in Avondale for the Cross-Country Relays.
Accord: Accord will visit the school on Monday 23rd October, and give a talk to 5th& 6th classes on growing up.
Musical: On Wednesday 25th October, 2nd – 6th classes will be going to see the musical “All Shook Up” in St. Mary’s College, Arklow.
National Concert Hall: On Monday 4th December, 3rd – 6th classes will travel to the National Concert Hall, Dublin for a music workshop “From Quavers to Quadratics”.
Explorers Education Program: The National SEA LIFE Centre Bray is running the Explorers Education Program for the 2017/2018 school year. The centrepiece of this programme is a marine aquarium in 5th& 6th classes for 4 weeks, giving us the opportunity to learn all about our Ocean Environments here in Ireland and how humans and the oceans depend on each other.
The programme is aimed at 5th/6th class and consists of the following:
- A visit to SEA LIFE Bray on November 13th
- An aquarium in the classroom for 4 weeks which the children will look after
- The learning’s from the programme are around Ocean Literacy and the Marine Environment
- SEA LIFE staff will install the tanks and carry out two visits to the classes during the programme on November 16th and December 11th
- SEA LIFE staff will also carry out a quiz with the children on both visits to the classroom, this information is being collected and fed back to the Galway Marine Institute so as to get an understanding of what the children currently know about the marine world around them.
- The students and school will receive a certificate of participation at the end.
In line with our Marine theme, 4th – 6th classes will be carrying out a coast watch survey of marine life on a stretch of local beach, between now and the 15th October. The survey results will be forwarded to Wicklow County Council and Coastwatch Ireland as part of a countrywide project.
Other News
5th& 6th Classes are getting the Irish Independent with three children’s supplements every Wednesday. The supplements are Scope (for Maths), Seachtain na nóg (for Irish) and Eureka (for Science). We already received week 1 and they were very informative, educational and enjoyable.
On Monday 25th September Mr. Aidan Ward, Principal of St. Mary’s College, Arklow visited 5th and 6th classes to invite the girls to their open day and to tell them about St. Mary’s College.
Darren Hayden from Wicklow GAA is coaching children from Junior Infants to 3rd Class for GAA for a block of 6 weeks.
Dates for your Diary
Parent-teacher Meetings will be held on Thursday November 16thafter school hours.
Christmas Carols/Nativity Play will take place on Friday 8th December during the school day, times to be confirmed.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to meeting you.
Brittas Bay National School 