Newsletter

15 03 2024

Ready for St Patrick’s weekend.

Good afternoon parents and guardians.,

Bhí Seachtain na Gaeilge den scoth againn i D7. Bhí amhránaíocht, nathanna cainte, rabhlóga, damhsa Gaelach agus fiú rapanna as Gaeilge againn ag ár dtionóil inné agus inniú. Labhair rang Wesley go spreagúil ar na buntáistí ollmhór a bhaineann lena bheith ag foghlaim an Ghaeilge. 

Tá súil agam go mbeidh Lá Fhéile Pádraig álainn agaibh féin agus ag bhur dteaghlaigh. 

What a wonderful Seactain na Gaeilge we have had in D7. At our assemblies today and yesterday we had songs, nathanna cainte, rabhlóga, Irish dancing, Irish raps and Wesley’s class all spoke about the benefits of learning Gaeilge.

I hope you and your families have a lovely St Patrick’s day.

Thanks Ciara, Padraig, Peadar and Katrina for coordinating a wonderful Seachtain na Gaeilge

Thanks to our hosts Dylan, Oscar and Rosa for today’s coffee morning. I hope Carol D’s class enjoyed it. Next Friday it will be the parents / guardians in Katrina / Róisín’s class for a coffee morning.

Reminder that school closes at 12pm next Friday.

Irish dancers from 4th class

Paul’s class singing at assembly

Well done to all the boys who took part in the FAI 5s in Irishtown on Thursday. We had two teams of 8 and each performed incredibly well. Both Of our teams played 3 groups games and performed well against some really good teams. They showed great fight and determination, one team managed to qualify for the semifinals where they unfortunately came up against a better team on the day. Massive congratulations to all involved. We look forward to turning our attention back to the cup and league games after the long weekend.

Thanks to our coaches Jack and Enda

The girls’ team managed successive league and cup victories in a busy week of football. The full squad was required, and all contributed ably, led by captains Holly and Riley. Tuesday’s cup match ended up in a dramatic last-minute equaliser from Alannah, extra time and then a penalty shootout, leaving parents and coaches nervous wrecks on the sidelines. The girls were cool as cucumbers with their penalties, scoring on each occasion, while our Lucan opponents struggled to beat Esther. Onwards now to the draw for the last 16. Maith sibh cailiní.

Thanks to our coaches Paul and Mauro and to Sheena and Sian for going to the blitz today.

 Young Environmentalist Awards Report

Veronica’s 5th class made it to the semifinal of the YEA (young environmental awards) and we did very well. Our project was what role do plants play in sustainability. When we arrived, we waited in a room and ate lunch and there were some games there to keep us entertained like Dobble. We were brought to the practice room and a staff member listened to us practice and asked us some sample questions to help us prepare. Once we finished practising, we were led into the hall to present to the judges. We started with Naithí thanking them for letting us present our project and then we all took turns talking to them about sustainability, carbon sequestration, terrariums, organic farming, building our planters and native plants. We presented our project to four judges, and they were very impressed with how we spoke about it without using a script. The judges were delighted with our performance and hopefully we will be told if we are going to the finals.

Niall, Ruth, Aaron, Naithí, Vera and Aisling.

This week both 4th Classes took part in a Times Tables competition, Times Tables Rockstars, against other schools from all around the world. The children worked very hard over three days practising their tables and managed to come 39th out of a large number of schools . Thanks to everyone who took part!

Children in Katrina and Hanora’s first class caught a very interesting sight while planting potatoes in Grangegorman this morning. A Queen Bee fresh from hibernation was resting on one of the newly bloomed hyacinths planted in our school garden. A clear endorsement from the bees of our pollinator friendly planting 🐝

Reminder – Wellbeing supports for parents of children with additional needs

The Department of Education is piloting the provision of additional wellbeing supports in a number of primary schools and our school is part of this pilot.  This pilot aims to support schools in strengthening the whole-school approach to wellbeing, offer psycho-educational support for parents, staff and pupils, and deliver evidence-based interventions. An Education Wellbeing Practitioner Emer Connolly, assisted by NEPS Senior Psychologist Dr Michelle Waldron, will be working with our school to support the wellbeing of our school community.

Emer and Michelle will be delivering a presentation, on Friday March 22nd on ‘Introduction to the Stress Factor for Parents of children with additional learning needs’ . This 15-20 minute presentation will look at how stress can be positive or negative and will provide parents with some helpful strategies on managing stress and self-regulation.

Have a nice long  weekend,

Fionnuala

Fionnuala McHugh, March 15, 2024