extra-curricular activities
- A wide variety of SPORTS - GAA, soccer, athletics, basketball and hurling - continue this term for various age-groups. Please keep an eye on the school website for updates. Many thanks to the teachers and accompanying parents who give of their time so willingly, and well done to all of the children who participate with such energy and enthusiasm.
- Well done to our senior CREDIT UNION QUIZ team Áine Clancy, Brendan Moloney, Caoimhe Doyle and Jack O’Brien who came first in the Regional semi–final last week. This team will now go forward to the All-Ireland final in the RDS on Sunday 7th April. A special thanks to Ms. Callaghan and the parents for all their work in supporting the children.
- Ms. Smith organised a fantastic in-school DEBATING competition where the 6th class children debated various motions in front of a range of classes. Well done to Rian Carthy and Conor Kenny who made it to the final and debated the motion with passion, confidence and skill. Congratulations to Conor Kenny who was awarded the overall winner.
- The school has applied for the Discover Primary Science and Maths Award and we are well on our way to achieving it. This is led by Ms. O’Brien. A mobile planetarium, funded by the Parents’ Association, is coming to the school on 10th and 11th April as part of our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) programme. A team of scientists from Trinity College came to the school last Wednesday and worked with the 6th classes on DNA, bacteria and immunology. Celbridge library organised a workshop for one of the 5th classes where they made ‘Scribble-Bots’. INTEL worked with the 3rd classes yesterday to mark Engineers’ Week. We will continue to provide all classes with opportunities to engage with STEM activities.
- The Board of Management funded a Polytunnel for the school garden and this was installed during the mid-term break. Tom, our dedicated gardener, is continuing his programme of horticultural work with the children who are providing him with many ideas for planting in the Polytunnel, among them tomatoes and melons. We look forward to sampling them in time.
Seachtain na Gaeilge
Tá seachtain na Gaeilge ar siúl sa scoil faoi láthair. Má tá beagáinín Gaeilge agat labhair í! Déanaigí iarracht an Ghaeilge a labhairt i rith an lae. Bainigí triail aisti agus bainigí sult as an tseachtain!
'Seachtain na Gaeilge' started in the school on Thursday 7th March and will continue until this Thursday 14th. March. During the week the children are participating in various activities e.g. Raidió Mochua, Irish Quiz, Poster competition, Irish Dancing and a concert of Irish music, dancing and song. Musicians from the Leixlip branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann will also visit the school to perform for the children.
Many thanks to Irish dancing teacher Lorraine McGee who is providing classes throughout the week. A special thank you to Ms. Burke for organising the activities for Seachtain na Gaeilge.
'Seachtain na Gaeilge' started in the school on Thursday 7th March and will continue until this Thursday 14th. March. During the week the children are participating in various activities e.g. Raidió Mochua, Irish Quiz, Poster competition, Irish Dancing and a concert of Irish music, dancing and song. Musicians from the Leixlip branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann will also visit the school to perform for the children.
Many thanks to Irish dancing teacher Lorraine McGee who is providing classes throughout the week. A special thank you to Ms. Burke for organising the activities for Seachtain na Gaeilge.
Saint patrick's day parade
The Annual School St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on Thursday 14th March starting at the school gates at 11.15am – weather permitting. All children from Junior Infants to Sixth Class take part in the Parade.
Parents are invited to come out and view the parade and join in the fun and excitement.
Children are asked to dress in green, white and gold for the parade. Otherwise they should wear their school tracksuit. Face paint and hair dye are not permitted on the day.
Before our Parade starts, join us for a Coffee Morning in the School Hall at 10.00am on Thursday 14th March.
All are invited to come along and enjoy the entertainment provided by Rooms 2, 18 and 20.
Thanks to the Parents’ Association for organising this get-together.
Parents are invited to come out and view the parade and join in the fun and excitement.
Children are asked to dress in green, white and gold for the parade. Otherwise they should wear their school tracksuit. Face paint and hair dye are not permitted on the day.
Before our Parade starts, join us for a Coffee Morning in the School Hall at 10.00am on Thursday 14th March.
All are invited to come along and enjoy the entertainment provided by Rooms 2, 18 and 20.
Thanks to the Parents’ Association for organising this get-together.
confirmation
We wish all our 6th class pupils well on April 2nd when they will be confirmed by Bishop Raymond Field. Under the guidance and encouragement of their teachers and the parish team, they are well prepared and we hope they enjoy their big day. Further details will follow.
aghards easter camp
The Easter Camp will take place in the school for 1 week from Monday 15th to Friday 19th April from 10.00am to 2.00pm. It is packed full of fun activities and is guaranteed to be an exciting week.
Booking Forms and payment can be forwarded to Mr. O’Grady (Room 3) or Mr. Hannan (Room 23).
Booking Forms and payment can be forwarded to Mr. O’Grady (Room 3) or Mr. Hannan (Room 23).
readathon
Once again our annual Readathon is proving to be a wonderful success with the children immersed in reading and related activities throughout the school. The children have enjoyed visits from authors, trips to the library, buddy reading, dressing up as a book character and workshops on how to write a book. This is the final week of the Readathon and we would like to thank you for your support in encouraging your children to read. We ask children to return their Sponsorship Cards next week.
This year we will be making one donation using the Readathon funds – to the Declan Naughton Fund. Once again we ask you to be as generous as you can so that we can support this most worthy of causes.
This year we will be making one donation using the Readathon funds – to the Declan Naughton Fund. Once again we ask you to be as generous as you can so that we can support this most worthy of causes.
internet safety update
student council
The Student Council are doing a fantastic job on behalf of their classmates. Ms. Corr reports to the Principal and Deputy Principal after each meeting, and we are all very impressed by the items under discussion. Some great ideas have been passed onto the Yard Committee and we hope to see some of them implemented in the coming weeks. They have each been assigned a junior class and this week they are addressing the junior class and getting feedback from our younger students.
Well done and keep up the good work!
Well done and keep up the good work!
school self evaluation
As we have worked through the gathering and analysis of data, the focus for our SSE has evolved to “Improving Problem-Solving Skills in Maths”. Ms. Flanagan is leading a committee who have just completed analysing the data from parents, pupils and teachers. The committee are in the process of writing our School Improvement Plan which will lay out targets and an action plan on how to achieve these targets. We will share these with you in due course.
school garden
We are delighted to announce that we have a new resident gardener to tend to our school garden. Tom Whelan, a local gardener and friend of the school, has generously offered his time and expertise to promote and develop the garden. The children will get opportunities to visit the garden with their class grouping and Tom will discuss with them a wide variety of topics including insects, fruit, vegetables, herbs, wild flowers and composting. Your children are guaranteed to have green fingers before long!
term 1 - it has been a busy one!
Term 1 has been a busy term for the pupils and teachers alike. Lots of exciting initiatives have been happening around the school, and the pupils’ level of engagement, their initiative and confidence have been a joy to behold.
Fantastic projects were proudly, and articulately, presented in classrooms throughout the school; Maths Week saw all class levels immersed in our new Maths games (thanks to the PA for those!) and lots of classes participated in the Maths Trails in Castletown House; Science week saw lots of investigations and experiments; Tom, our gardener, has worked with 5th and 6th classes, and is now planting a variety of native trees with the infants; the Road Safety Authority worked with all children from Infants – 2nd class; 4th classes attended STEM workshops in Celbridge library; 5th classes excelled at the Intel Mini Scientist exhibition; 3rd classes enjoyed their swimming lessons; there were tours of Tea Lane Graveyard; 5th class pupils pitched Junior Entrepreneur business ideas to a team of Dragons and now have a fantastic class project which they hope to market within the school next March; the Student Council are having a real impact in the school; senior children are participating in debating; the senior quiz teams will be representing the school at a local inter-schools competition this week; several classes benefitted from the wisdom of the local Silver Thread Club; rehearsals for the upcoming Evening of Song, as well as the Peace Proms, are well underway; the popular, and free, Board Games Club continues every Monday evening; GAA, Rugby and Basketball coaches are working with various classes; all children from 1st – 6th attend free classes in Excel Gymnastics. And of course, a huge well done to our school teams: GAA teams, both football and hurling, our soccer teams and our athletes.
Fantastic projects were proudly, and articulately, presented in classrooms throughout the school; Maths Week saw all class levels immersed in our new Maths games (thanks to the PA for those!) and lots of classes participated in the Maths Trails in Castletown House; Science week saw lots of investigations and experiments; Tom, our gardener, has worked with 5th and 6th classes, and is now planting a variety of native trees with the infants; the Road Safety Authority worked with all children from Infants – 2nd class; 4th classes attended STEM workshops in Celbridge library; 5th classes excelled at the Intel Mini Scientist exhibition; 3rd classes enjoyed their swimming lessons; there were tours of Tea Lane Graveyard; 5th class pupils pitched Junior Entrepreneur business ideas to a team of Dragons and now have a fantastic class project which they hope to market within the school next March; the Student Council are having a real impact in the school; senior children are participating in debating; the senior quiz teams will be representing the school at a local inter-schools competition this week; several classes benefitted from the wisdom of the local Silver Thread Club; rehearsals for the upcoming Evening of Song, as well as the Peace Proms, are well underway; the popular, and free, Board Games Club continues every Monday evening; GAA, Rugby and Basketball coaches are working with various classes; all children from 1st – 6th attend free classes in Excel Gymnastics. And of course, a huge well done to our school teams: GAA teams, both football and hurling, our soccer teams and our athletes.
pupil personal insurance
The school has registered all children on the school register for 24-hour cover under the Allianz Schools Pupil Personal Accident Insurance. For details on the benefits, both medical and dental, please refer to www.allianz.ie/schools/pupil-personal-accident/policy-benefits/
ONLINE PAYMENTS
Many thanks to all parents who have registered as users on our new online payment system. We ask all others to please log on, BY CLICKING HERE, and register as users. Going forward, all payment will be online and you cannot receive payment requests unless you have registered. Payment for school tours will be managed online this year.