Newsletter
24 Feb 2023
Good afternoon Parents / Guardians,
I hope the children have settled back into the school routine.
As always D7 was a busy place this week.
The Ark
The Ark is organising a Children’s festival from February 23rd – 25th. One of the highlights of the festival is the rally that took place today 12pm in Meeting House Square. Never ones to let an opportunity for a bit of rí rá or indeed rúla búla pass us by, Wesley’s 5th Class marched up to Meeting House Square to take part in the The Ark’s Right Here Right Now rally. Our very own Aoife Butler has been involved with organising the Ark’s ‘Right Here Right Now Festival of Children’ and we were delighted to support the endeavours of our classmate. We heard rousing speeches relating the children’s rights and had a dance to Elaine Mai and MayKay’s performance at the end. On our way back to school, we sampled some of the finest doughnuts Thomas Street had to offer and checked out the playground in the new park on Bridgefoot Street. Not a bad way to see February out. Roll on the Spring Sun.
Thanks Wesley
ESB Science Blast
There is great excitement this week as Veronica’s class prepare for the ESB Science Blast next Tuesday.
Sports News
Another busy week in D7 with the soccer and Hurling training kicking off in TUD during the week. Great to see big numbers heading up for the sessions. Training will continue in both codes next week as we gear up for the new season.
We will also be holding Cross Country trials for the upcoming event in the Bogeys on March 15th. Children from 3rd to 6th Class will be competing in the race. We will be sending almost 100 runners to compete with other schools from the locality. Remind your child to wear trainers and suitable running clothes on Monday if they are interested in trying out for the team.
World Book Day
We will be celebrating World Book Day next week on Thursday, 2nd March. As a school, we are always working towards fostering an environment where reading is celebrated and encouraged, and it is wonderful to have a whole day dedicated to just that! In celebration of reading and to remind us of the endless, invaluable possibilities and learning experiences that books create, we are excited to share with you some activities organised for this year’s WBD:
One School One Book
Each class in the school will read and respond to the same book, After the Fall, by Dan Santat. Classes will explore different aspects of the story and will be coming together to celebrate it at our next Learn Together assemblies. It will be nice for the children to all be on the same page, so to speak, and create a sense of community around the day. We look forward to hearing all the different responses and interpretations that the classes will bring to the assemblies.
Surprise Reader
We are hoping that each class will have one ‘surprise reader’ on WBD to bring in and read a story/excerpt from a book/poem – this could be a parent/grandparent or someone special to children in the class. If you are interested in being/suggesting the ‘surprise reader’, please contact your child’s teacher to coordinate the visit. Please remember not to let the surprise slip to your child!
Swap Shop
This year, we will be having our very own ‘swap shop’ for books in the GP room, organised and coordinated by the very capable 6th class children. We ask that each child, where possible, brings in 1 – 2 books they no longer want from Mon 27 Feb – Wed 1 March. On WBD, each class will visit the ‘swap shop’ to choose a new book to bring home. Please ensure that any books brought to school are suitable and in good condition.
Guess the Staff Member
At reception, the children and parents/guardians might like to look at the display of staff members’ favourite books. If they look closely, they may even be able to make out the staff member hiding behind them! Full points to anyone who guesses them all correctly!
Book Tokens
As always, the children will be given World Book Day tokens to bring home and spend in their local bookshop if they wish.
As you can see, we have a jam-packed World Book Day organised for next week. In the interest of keeping books at the core of our celebration, we will not be having fancy dress as an activity this year. We really look forward to all that is planned and are sure that it will be a fantastic day!
Abbey Theatre
Wesley, Patrick and Veronica’s class are looking forward to going to the Abbey next Wednesday.
They are going to see their upcoming production The Table, presented by one of Ireland’s leading theatre companies for children Branar
I will finish with an unusual request
We need a cabinet for the many keys for the doors, breaking glass units and windows in our new school. John, the site manager has said it would be nice to get a purpose build key cabinet for the school to fit in a specified location. If you would like to take on this project, please email me and I can give you more details! We will cover expenses for all the materials.
Have a lovely weekend,
Fionnuala