Newsletter
20 09 2024
This week our 6th Class children took part in their first boxing lesson. They had a great time and picked up some new skills. We can’t wait for next week already!
Good afternoon parents and guardians,
I hope you have had a nice week.
It has been a particularly nice week here in school, the beautiful weather making all the difference.
Thanks to the parents and guardians from Ciara’s class for attending the coffee morning today in our staffroom. Thanks, Louise, chairperson of PGSA for attending.
Next week, we invite the parents and guardians from Carol Heffernan’s Junior Infants to the staffroom for coffee morning.
Permissions
We are still collecting permissions via Aladdin Connect. There are approximately 100 unfilled permissions. If you log on to Connect you can check out permissions. Just click on the new Permissions option on your home page in the App or log on to Connect via any device to grant/reject your permissions. We do this every year for every class.
Friendship week
Friendship Week is coming up next week, 23-27 September.
The aim of the week is to create a positive culture and climate in the school, and to embed anti-bullying strategies early in the school year.
As part of SPHE, all classes will have lessons based on the theme of friends, being friends, friends and other people and sometimes friends fight.
Classes from 2nd – 6th will read through our school’s anti-bullying policy: https://d7educatetogether.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/D7ET-anti-bullying.pdf
Children from 2nd – 6th will complete an anti-bullying questionnaire. This gives children a chance to disclose if they are having / aware of issues pertaining to bullying. Knowing that this is done every Friendship Week can be a powerful tool. The survey asks whether the children know anyone having a hard time, and whether they would like to talk to someone. This practice was recommended to us in school a few years ago during a continuous professional development session.
Junior classes will do buddy reading with senior classes using some of our new picture books from the library. We will also have class assemblies.
We have a selection of nice songs to learn and, no doubt, there will be lovely artwork at the end of the week on our Friendship Week notice board.
Ahead of Friendship Week, just a gentle reminder, we encourage the children in the junior classes not to speak about parties or playdates during school.
In the senior classes we avoid conversation around afterschool online gaming or phone activity.
You can imagine, if you are the child going on the playdate, or playing a particular online game that is ‘in’, you feel great. If you are not going on the playdate or don’t have that game or phone, it can be a different story.
We must always remember the Educate Together motto – No child is an outsider.
Congratulations Abigail
Congratulations Abigail for winning the poster competition in Phibsboro’s Buzzfest festival last weekend. Buzzfest celebrates sustainability, biodiversity and circularity across Dublin 7.
It is a special community festival organised by Phibsboro Village Tidy Towns held in September each year. The venue is the grounds of St Peter’s Church in Phibsboro. It took place last weekend and the artwork was displayed in Sherry Fitzgerald’s window on Phibsboro Road.
Grainne/ Marie and Katrina’s 2nd class enjoyed a beautiful Autumn Walk in Grangegorman this week. The sun shone as we listened to bird song and discovered lots of interesting Autumn changes in the environment. We are hoping to do some friendship week artwork with the conkers we found.
This week the D7 senior girls team played a very tough match against Castleknock Educate Together in the second round of our Cumann na mBunscol tournament. The girls got off to a shaky start against a very experienced opposing team but managed to fight their way back to put on a very impressive second half performance. We had some amazing saves in the goals from Jess who was under a lot of pressure at times but being supported by a very diligent full backline. The girls in the forwards stayed on their toes and were there to pick up any balls to try and convert them into some scores. At the final whistle the D7 team were very happy with their efforts and are looking forward to our away game next Wednesday against Pelletstown.
Thanks,
Niamh & Anna
GAA update D7 3:5 Scoil Bríde 0:1
D7 Boys followed up on last week’s good work with a second victory. On a beautiful afternoon for football, our lads started sluggishly and found themselves behind following a well taken score by Scoil Bhríde. In a ding dong battle around the centre of the park, possession was hard to come by and the game ebbed and flowed with neither team gaining control of the match. Following a few near misses at both ends, D7 put together a mesmerising move from their own goal that resulted in possibly the goal of the season, a bullet that rattled the top corner.
Half time saw D7 with a slender lead of one goal but playing with the breeze in the second half they eventually found their range with some well taken points. As the game reached the final minutes, Scoil Bhríde had a few breakaway attacks that caused some concern with one goal bound shot that rattled the crossbar. Our hard-fought victory was built from a solid back line performance as our defenders stuck doggedly to their opponents and snuffed out any opportunity that arose and any shots on target were ably dealt with by our outstanding goalkeeper.
Next up is a top of the table clash against Scoil Gráinne at home on Thursday with a 13.00 start. With both sides qualified for the Quarter Finals, a win should give us the home advantage. All support welcome as the journey continues.
Padraig & Jack
Senior Afterschool soccer
Senior football was advertised as being on Friday afternoon. As of Monday 16th September, it will be on Wednesday afternoon instead. If you have already registered, please do so again. If you want to register for the first time, please do so. Both can be done on the following link:
https://ti.to/D7ets-afterschool/snrfootballsept24
D7ETNS Learning Lab STEAM kits
This term, we’re excited to announce that every class will be diving into fun, hands-on activities using our brand-new STEAM equipment! Thanks to the STEAM Grant we received from the Department of Education last year, we were able to purchase fantastic “Learning Lab” STEAM kits from Clever Kids a company based in Co. Tipperary. These kits allow our students explore science, technology, engineering, the arts, and maths in creative and practical ways.
2nd Class and 6th Class were the first to get started. In 2nd Class, students learned all about friction by building their own miniature scooters. They had a great time testing how different surfaces like carpet, wood, and tiles affected the amount of friction. It was a fun way to introduce them to some basic physics while sparking their curiosity. Meanwhile, 6th Class took on the challenge of kinetic energy. They built walking generators complete with working lights! This gave them a chance to test out their ideas about energy transfer and learn more about renewable energy in a hands-on way.
Each class will have their own activities designed to get them thinking, building, and experimenting. We’re looking forward to seeing what the other classes get up to as they explore the various Learning Lab kits throughout the term.
Thanks, Veronica, for coordinating our STEAM equipment.
Student Council
Thanks to our Student Council for collecting and distributing a D7ETNS gift from our local Centra today. Always being mindful of waste, we really appreciate the keep cups. Thanks Dean
Have a lovely weekend,
Fionnuala